Effective learning.

One of the most remarkable discoveries of the past 20 years is the fact that Americans are getting smarter. It's remarkable because the conventional wisdom seems to postulate that people are getting dumber. As evidence, critics point to a variety of "usual suspects": the ubiquity of television shows that cater to the lowest common denominator; educational curricula that seems less rigorous; and, to the consternation of many musicians, the current diminished interest in classical music in favor of the basest forms of pop music. The list could go on and on.

However, the reality is that IQs are steadily rising despite these "negative" cultural phenomena.

Several theories for the increase have been suggested, including better health care, better nutrition and even economic growth. One of the most interesting and thought provoking is proposed by author Steven Johnson in his book, Everything Bad is Good for You (Riverhead Books). The subtitle provides the clue: How Today's Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter. Johnson's thesis is that the very thing we think is making us dumber, "popular culture," is, in reality, making us smarter.

He uses as a prime example television. TV today is much "harder" than it was 20 to 30 years ago. Then, a typical show had two characters, a single story line, and moved to a decisive conclusion in 30 minutes.

Today's programs have multiple plot threads, dozens of characters who flow in an out of the story lines and subtle, inconclusive episodes. Johnson argues that these greater cognitive demands contribute to an increase in IQ rather than a decrease.

So what's my point? Well, all of this is background to a portion of his book devoted to video games. Johnson uses the same arguments to praise the cognitive development resulting from video games. However, I was quite intrigued by his thoughts on "effective learning." Although focused on video games, his insights, I believe, have important relevance to music teachers in their continual quest to enhance learning. Johnson remarks:

"Cognitive scientists have argued that the most effective learning takes place at the outer edges of a student's competence: building on the knowledge that the student has already acquired, but challenging him with new problems to solve. Make the learning environment too easy, or too hard, and students get bored or frustrated and lose interest. But if the environment tracks along in sync with the students' growing ability, they'll stay focused and engaged.

"The game scholar James Paul Gee has observed this phenomenon--the 'regimen of competence' principle--at work in the architecture of successful video games. Each level dances around the outer limits of the players abilities, De writes, "seeking at every point to be hard enough to be just doable ... which results in a feeling of simultaneous pleasure and frustration--a sensation as familiar to games as some thumbs."

"Game designers don't build learning machines out of charily, of course; they do it because there is an economic reward in creating games that stay close to that border. Make a game too hard, and no one will buy it. Make it too easy, and no one will buy it. Make a game where the challenges evolve alongside your skills, and you'll have a shot at success. And you'll have built a powerful educational tool to boot."

I will leave it to you, the music teacher, to decide the kind of "powerful educational tool" you can devise for your students. Our, and your, ultimate goal is "effective learning" that not only continues to make us smarter, but also makes us more musical.

Gary L. Ingle 

Executive Director