With the intention of informing teaching practices in large ensemble settings, the purpose of this study was to describe a democratically engaged ensemble classroom and examine the perceived meaning and value attributed by the students to what and how they were learning. Four research questions guided this inquiry: (1) How do students perceive what and how they are learning in an environment in which they are asked to contribute creatively and critically? (2) How does this learning environment influence students' perception of personal musical meaning? (3) How does participation in this learning environment influence students' musical decision making? (4) How does participation in this learning environment influence student development of musical identity?To answer these questions, I employed an ethnographic single case study design. The orchestra teacher and 21 sixth grade students, eleven girls and ten boys, from a semi-urban Midwestern school district served as primary informants. The teacher, Mrs. Peterson, was a highly trained string musician with a background in Suzuki teaching, early childhood music education, and creative music-making. In addition, Mrs. Peterson incorporated a democratic leadership style. The student participants represented two sections of sixth grade orchestra and were divided into gender-based focus groups to facilitate discussion.Data sources included focus group interviews with students, semi-structured interviews with the teacher, field notes, and observations. Interviews were video and audio taped, and then transcribed for analysis. Additional data consisted of informal interviews, researcher notes, and the study of learning artifacts (e.g. parent communication and student work). Trustworthiness was enhanced through triangulation of data sources, teacher-participant member checks, persistent observation, and external review of analysis.Two overarching theme areas emerged from the data: (1) Multi-faceted learning environment and (2) Facilitated democratic practices. The first theme focuses on the learning environment and three ways in which the students described learning in this environment: (i) Messy - based on the prevalence of sound, student interaction, and the learning process; (ii) Relevant - accomplished in part by the incorporation of facilitated musical critique, student participation in musical decision-making, and regular development of student creativity and composition; and (iii) Social - described as the interactive nature of the learning that occurred as well as the nature and strength of relationships that developed in orchestra. The second theme, Facilitated democratic practices, highlights the teaching practices and leadership style Mrs. Peterson used to engage her students: (i) incorporating different modes of teaching and learning based on modeling and creativity, (ii) integrating student input through the use of purposeful dialogue, and (iii) developing student autonomy through choice.Based on the results of this study, I suggest the following implications for music education: (1) music teachers need to reenvision themselves as participatory democratic leaders, shedding the traditional didactic and competitive approach; (2) instrumental music teachers should use a combination of critical listening, problem-solving, and creativity to enhance student self-evaluation and note reading; and (3) by empowering student music-making, teachers can prepare their students for life-long learning. Additional suggestions for further research are also included.
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