Campbell, P. S. (2008). "Theories of musical thinking and doing" (pp. 104-124) in Musician and teacher: An orientation to music education. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

1. I agree with this quote about theories because I think teaching without having any idea about how students learn will make you unprepared for the classroom. If you don’t know the different ways that children learn, I don’t believe that you can have a very affective classroom. You will be designing lessons that apply to one type of student instead of creating one that will touch all the different types of learners in your classroom.
2. Throughout this chapter the author references several developmental theories. For example, Jean Piaget explains that as individuals go through life they use their own experiences to interact with other people and in certain environments. Jerome Bruner how students willingness and ability to learn changes as they mature, as well as how they apprehend what they are learning. This also mentions Lev Vygotsky’s theory that the parent, or any other adult figure, is the main influence on a child’s learning. Reinforcement theory, or operant conditioning, states that behaviors that are rewarded, or reinforced, are more likely to recur. Teachers are more likely to keep students on task, or get work accomplished if there is some type of reward at the end. The author also mentions constructionism, which is similar to what we did with Dr. Alsupp. It means that while teachers act as a facilitator for learning, they also step aside and let students lead their own activities so they are able to make discoveries on their own. The theories learning style includes several different aspects. First it describes how some people are left brain thinkers (verbal, sequential, linear) while others are right brain thinkers (nonverbal, spatial visual, and simultaneous processing).  A second aspect of the theory is that there are three sensory channels, Visual, auditory, and tactile, that students identify and learn best from. The last theorist the author mentions is Robert Gagnes’. This explains how there is a process, usually 8 steps, that allows students to perceive and understand the concepts they are learning. Some of the steps include: preparing and presenting instruction, having students respond to instruction, and assessing the student’s retention of the instruction. I think all of these theories contribute to how students learn and retain information.
3. Several of these theories were familiar to me, such as Vygotsky’s and Piagets, but it was interesting hear about other perspectives on development. I think that it’s important as instructors to take into account all the different ways student’s process information, as well as all the ways we are able to deliver information. I think it is so interesting that each brain is unique, and retains information in different. The fact that we as teachers get to facilitate that learning is exciting, as well as incredibly scary. It’s difficult in an instructional setting to reach all different types of learners, but it is possible. I think that learning how students develop, and having a deeper understanding of ways we can facilitate learning will make us better teachers. I really enjoyed this article because it allowed to explore different theories about development and learning that I hadn’t thought of before.