Scaffolding, organizational structure and interpersonal interaction in musical activities with older people

Abstract

The research reported here focuses on the organizational structure and facilitator strategies observed in musical activities with older people. The observations formed one part of the Music for Life Project, funded by the ESRC New Dynamics of Ageing Programme ( http://www.newdynamics.group.shef.ac.uk/ ), which investigated the social, emotional and cognitive benefits of participation in community music making, amongst older people. Three hundred and ninety eight people aged 50+ were recruited from three case study sites offering diverse musical activities. Observations of 33 groups were analysed. Approximately half of the observed time was spent with participants engaged in practical music-making, supported by facilitators who sang or played along, conducted or accompanied. Facilitators spent a relatively small amount of time providing non-verbal modelling and very little participant discussion or facilitator attributional feedback was observed. The findings suggested that facilitators could develop their practice by a) making more extensive use of non-verbal modelling; b) creating space for open questioning and discussion, where participants are encouraged to contribute to setting goals; c) making more extensive use of attributional feedback that empowers learners to control their own learning; and d) vary the organizational structure and style in order to meet a range of diverse needs within groups of older learners.