Rethinking Aural Skills Through Backward Design
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2994-7073.2026.39.85-108Keywords:
backward design, aural skills, music theoryAbstract
In this article, we invite you to engage in reimagining aural skills courses and curricula using the backward design process developed by Wiggins and McTighe (2005). This lens will help us move beyond activity- and coverage-focused teaching to instead develop course outcomes that best provide real-world applicability to our students. We adapt the backward design approach to the unique needs of the aural skills classroom and draw in broader pedagogy research to augment our discussion. Throughout this process, we will invite the reader to: consider and prioritize goals, imagine appropriate assessments, and only then plan what to do in the classroom. In some cases, this may lead one back to oft-used activities like dictation or sight singing, but in others, it may lead to new visions of what aural skills classes might be.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Jenine Brown, Timothy Chanette, Stacey Davis, Philip Duker, Daniel Stevens, Leigh Vanhandel (Author)
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