7.3 Recommendations for an inclusive pedagogy in online music
teaching
Regarding the pedagogical plan, our experiment makes clear that choosing
an individual modality and brief session length is a good option for
remote music sessions. However, it may be interesting to begin the
project with individual sessions and then, according to the youth’s
development, integrate siblings, parents, or friends into the musical
activities, favouring interactions with others, social bonds and a sense
of belonging. Eliminating length restrictions to better follow youths’
pace may also be interesting (e.g. between 20 and 50 minutes, rather
than a fixed 30 minutes). Also, considering the time needed for the
youths to learn and integrate their new skills, we suggest providing
them with a recording of their sessions so that they can practice
between lessons, which would enhance knowledge reactivation. Further, in
the physical environment it would be important for future experiments to
ensure optimal conditions for sessions, as much for the youths as for
the session leaders themselves, to limit distractions and background
noise, to have enough space to move, and to have computer equipment
adapted for remote music sessions. It may also be interesting to offer
the possibility for the session leader to travel to the youth’s home in
addition to the distance modality, according to the stated objectives
and the youth’s attention span. In future, it would be important to
define more precisely the respective roles of parents and session
leader. The research team could, for example, propose different
modalities according to the needs and interests of parents and their
child; among them, it would be important to propose a modality where the
parent leaves their youth alone with the session leader, and another
where the parent would actively participate in musical activities
(having developed pedagogical material according to this parent-child
modality).
The instruments were another compelling aspect. First, ensuring that
instruments offered do not have a too-strident sound when captured by a
microphone (e.g. shakers, cymbals). Then, instruments must be adapted to
participants’ needs and interests; involving participants and parents in
instrument selection was useful. We also noted that beginning with
sessions without instruments was useful for establishing a session
routine and to take care of technical questions, integrating instruments
after a few weeks to foster participants’ interest. Adapting session
tools according to youths’ evolution is also important, as is
flexibility in their use (e.g. pictograms vs. physical gestures). On the
technical side, the videoconference software’s settings must be tested
and updated to optimize the sound quality and latency. Use of
complementary software like Ecamm Live can improve the experience for
the youths and session leaders by allowing images to be shown on-screen
in real time. Finally, a fisheye and wireless headphones are useful
tools to provide to session leaders, to reduce camera manipulations, to
facilitate movement, and to ensure confidentiality in meetings.