The unspoken voice and speech debate [or] the sacred cow in the conservatory

Abstract

The article discusses how the direct instruction versus constructivism debate in educational literature relates to the voice pedagogy field. Outlining three spoken (or well researched) debates in the field, the article traces the history of voice and speech pedagogy and explores how direct instruction versus constructivism acts as a dominant and unspoken dispute within the discipline. The central argument states that all instructors prefer either direct instruction or constructivism teaching methods. The author offers a question-and-answer case study and concludes that voice instructors should teach to a variety of learning styles, incorporating both direct instruction and constructivism practices. Insisting that students only learn in the preferred learning style of the instructor is the sacred cow of the conservatory.