Project of a 'flipped' Unit of Learning

Title Unity is Strength

Teacher Elisa Bellini
Type of school: Lower secondary school
Subject: Transverse Flute - Ensemble Music Class (3 students) Second grade

Choice of the curricular topic:

(indicate the curricular topic you want to address with a flipped classroom approach, examples: the
atomic structure of matter, grammatical punctuation, the Congress of Vienna, etc.
Ensemble music: methods of study and performance of a piece for a flute trio

How to stimulate the interest and curiosity of students:

indicate how to stimulate interest, motivate and involve the students in order to make them part
active in the construction of the indicated knowledge. Typically, this happens by launching a challenge that can
consist in asking a question to which one responds or a problem to solve, or a research to
to perform, a case to analyze in an engaging and motivating way.)
Students, in the study of ensemble music, necessarily start with the study of their own part and
they usually have no idea about the parts of their companions. In the individual study conducted preliminarily to
house and in the subsequent ensemble execution, which takes place for the first time in class, very often the students
they limit themselves to doing their part without trying to create a result with their peers that has value
musical and that is better than the sum of the individual parts. As a result, the overall work turns out
slowed down and burdened because the teacher has to dedicate additional time to reviewing the individual parts, which
they generally show uncertainties and even trivial inaccuracies, due to the lack of attribution of
sense from the students up to that moment. This time, in which one focuses on a single stop
the whole group is taken away from the actual work on the whole. The learning unit intends
develop in the student the perception of the polyphonic structure of a piece of ensemble music, where necessary
to know and listen to the parts of others in order to be aware of what is played. This work is
proposed showing from the very beginning how difficult it is to get along with oneself in studying
individual of the parties, which leverages new technologies. At the same time, the use of technologies allows for
to have an immediate perception of the final result. With the help of a multitrack recording tool,
available for free on smartphone or computer, the student is encouraged to study all parts of the piece
polyphonic with an element of continuous feedback on the execution.
The challenge that will be proposed to the students will be to be able to perform a piece musically.
polyphonic together with other companions, knowing how to leverage a preliminary work done separately in
optimal way. An stimulating result for individual work is proposed with the viewing of a video of
multitrack recording ([Link] it is a very pleasant piece, of
immediate grasp and particularly indicative of the quality achievable through study.

What activities are intended to be carried out before the lesson:

Indicate whether the proposed teaching activity includes preparatory activities to be carried out before the classroom lesson.
For example, the use of educational resources that provide a frame of reference, recall
prior knowledge, trigger curiosity or activities to verify knowledge already addressed to put
better to focus the action in class. Indicate the resources used.
The students are given the score of the selected ensemble piece.
(The provided text is a URL and does not contain translatable content.) and can be sent to students by the teacher via email. The
The assignment given does not allow for the choice of roles, as is usually the case, but it is explained to the students that the
roles will be determined in class and therefore they will have to study all three parts of the piece. The level of
The difficulty of the piece is chosen so that all students can perform the different parts.
The students have a multitrack audio recording software and have already used it in
some lessons in class. Along with the parts, the video mentioned earlier is also sent to the students.
students are given the task of creating a significant work, similar to that of the video, in which they will have to
use the software to record the three parts of the piece in succession, so as to recreate it at home
a performance of the trio. The recording must be sent by the students to the teacher before the lesson.

What activities are intended to be carried out in the classroom:

(indicate the teaching methodologies that will be used in class: frontal lesson, group work,
peer learning, individual study to enable students to meet the proposed challenge and
build the required knowledge, also indicating different methodologies and several successive phases.
The lesson is expected to last one hour and thirty minutes and is divided into several phases. The first part is
dedicated to a brief discussion of working from home. Students are informed that each one
they have followed the same path and are asked what difficulties they encountered and the
involvement in the task. The teacher, who has listened to the homework, offers some considerations of
general character and possibly brief corrections to the individuals.
The second part is dedicated to a peer education project. Initially, the students agree on the choice of
who plays the first flute, who the second and who the third, knowing that in turn, in the subsequent phases, the roles
They will be exchanged and everyone will perform all the parts. For a few minutes, the students will discuss the work.
performed at home (for example, they agree on the execution speed) in order to prepare for the execution of
The teacher observes the process and is available, if necessary, to facilitate the dialogue.
Subsequently, the students perform the piece, which is recorded. This operation is
repeated three times, rotating the students in different roles.
In the next phase, the three recordings are listened to again and a self-assessment procedure is started.
critical discussion on the results obtained. This work is conducted by the teacher, who encourages the students to
a positive comparison focused on the overall final result, proposing key aspects to consider as
guiding during the listening, so that no negative judgments are made about the performance of the individual. The goal
the teacher's role is to encourage students to find the best configuration for this particular
piece studied with the present group.
Once the roles have emerged, the teacher can address the overall passage, working on any critical points and
on the typical aspects of ensemble music (intonation, dynamics, articulation, agogics, phrasing,
At the end of the lesson, an additional recording session of the piece is carried out.
followed by a comparison between the results obtained at home and those in class, also in other lessons (How it was
play together knowing all the parts? How did the overall result seem to you? Were you able to
listen to you even during the performance?)

What assessment activities conclude the teaching activity:

(indicate which formative and summative assessment tools you believe should be implemented to verify and
consolidate learnings and the development of skills.
The self-assessment work of the students, carried out individually, in groups, and with the teacher, is continuous throughout
the learning unit.
The teacher's assessment checks the homework through listening to the significant work that is being done.
sent before the lesson. For this assignment, the teacher assesses individual effort and has a feedback.
useful about the student's study method. The student, by producing the recording, will be more aware of their
level compared to the piece.
At the end of the teaching activity, the teacher evaluates the final recording according to the basic criteria of
ensemble music, taking into account the progress made up to that moment and the possibilities for improvement.

How does the proposed approach differ from its traditional approach?
(indicate the advantages of the chosen approach compared to the traditional approach and highlight the differences.)
The proposed approach differs primarily in the possibility for the teacher to monitor
in detail also that which is left as individual study at home, which becomes a meaningful task
for the student who needs to engage to solve the proposed challenge.
Studying at home makes it possible to customize the speed of learning pieces even in a
overall context, what is not applicable during the collective lesson in class.
The assessment of the significant product, placing itself at the center of the educational journey, is a useful feedback.
on the adequacy of the proposed task and on the level of participation of the students.
The learning unit is focused, unlike traditional teaching, on peer education, in
particularly in the initial stages of studying the piece.
The study of the piece is carried out by each student in a complete manner on all parts, allowing
an interchangeability of roles that determines the understanding and the overall meaning of the passage, unlike the
traditional method in which the teacher assigns a specific part to the student.
Throughout the entire unit, there are continuously planned moments of individual and group self-assessment, which are
usually absent in traditional teaching.