ME740 Assignment 1 - Richard Thompson

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In ““Knowing Their World”: Urban Choral Music Educators’ Knowledge

of Context,” Julia Shaw uses argument to prove the need for her study, as

well as to draw conclusions from her results. Shaw begins by stating the

premises and supporting evidence that illuminate the need for her study.

The first sentence of the article, “Poverty, violence, and low academic

achievement are often among the first images that come to mind when

teachers envision urban education” (2015, p. 198), is Shaw’s first premise in

the argument for her study. This premise is presumably reliable, and broadly

generalized towards all teachers. However, there are some ambiguities, as

the definition of “urban” is left unspecified. As Weston (2008) said, “a term

may be in popular use, but still unclear,” (p. 81). While this term is widely

used, a definition would nonetheless strengthen this premise. Shaw provides

supporting evidence for this premise in the rest of the paragraph, including a

citation of Benedict from 2006.

The first sentence of paragraph two is Shaw’s next premise in the

argument for her study. The sentence reads, “The practical realities of

teaching in urban settings can present a myriad of obstacles that reinforce

negative perceptions of urban education” (2015, p. 199). This premise is

presumably reliable, and again generalized, this time to the “practical

realities of teaching in urban settings.” Also, there is some ambiguity again

due to Shaw’s continued undefined usage of “urban.” Shaw provides

supporting evidence throughout the remainder of the paragraph, citing

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multiple authors, and showing examples of the negative issues present in

urban settings. Shaw’s use of multiple, representative examples help

strengthen this premise (Weston, 2008).

Paragraph three is used by Shaw to offer three more premises, as well

as the conclusion that research is needed to address the challenges of urban

education. Each premise in this paragraph is presumably reliable, but again

generalized to an “urban setting,” which is slightly ambiguous without a

concrete definition. Shaw’s only supporting evidence for the premises in this

paragraph are citations, which she attempts to strengthen by including

multiple authors and studies. Shaw concludes that research is needed to

help music teachers with the challenges of urban education. There is a

weakness in her argument here due to generalization (Weston, 2008), as this

is the first time that music teachers have specifically been addressed.

Whether or not music teachers face the same challenges as teachers of

other subjects is not discussed.

At this point, Shaw offers a new argument, and discusses the purpose

of this particular study. Shaw begins with the premise that lessons can be

learned from successful arts organizations that exist outside of the public

school system. Shaw’s next premise states that “Urban teaching success

may be determined by how teachers navigate the dynamic cultures of their

particular classroom environments and the broader communities in which

they are situated,” (2015, p. 199). Her third premise is that Grossman’s
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concept of contextual knowledge is a useful model for studying urban

teaching success. This leads to the purpose of Shaw’s study which was “to

explore how successful urban choral music educators use contextual

knowledge to inform pedagogical practice,” (p. 199). Shaw follows with

three questions that guided the research, all of which are addressed in the

body of the study.

Shaw also uses argument in the Discussion section of the article,

leading to the conclusion of the study. Shaw’s basic argument is that:

If music teachers use knowledge of learners and context and

If music teachers use personal practical knowledge (PPK) and

If music teachers enact this contextual knowledge through culturally

responsive teaching (CRT)

Then music teachers will be successful in urban environments.

The first conclusion drawn by Shaw is that preservice teacher

education programs must help candidates to develop their own contextual

knowledge, a necessary component for effective teaching in urban settings.

This is supported with evidence in the form of multiple examples. Each

example provides an instance of an educational program that help students

to better understand the context of student communities, thereby preparing

them for successful teaching in an urban setting.

Shaw’s second conclusion is that professional development (PD),

specifically tailored to urban teachers, is necessary to strengthen contextual

knowledge, and stimulate continued growth in educators. Shaw supports

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this conclusion with evidence from her study, referring to the PD of the

teachers interviewed, as well as the teachers’ insistence on the importance

of the PD.

Shaw’s third and final conclusions illuminate two weaknesses in this

study. Shaw’s third conclusion is that the effectiveness of CRT needs further

research, especially from the viewpoint of students, as her study focused

only on the views of teachers. Shaw supports this with examples of

evidence of other studies that show a misalignment between teacher’s views

and student’s views. Shaw’s final conclusion indicates that because the

scope of this study was so narrow (involving only four teachers), findings

cannot be simply extended to other teachers in similar environments. Had

Shaw considered these conclusions prior to undertaking the study, she could

have extended the scope, thereby possibly remedying these problems.

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References

Shaw, J. T. (2015). “Knowing their world”: Urban choral music educators’

knowledge of context. Journal of Research in Music Education, 63(2), 198-
223.

Weston, A. (2008). A rulebook for arguments (4th ed.). Indianapolis, IN:

Hackett