The More We Get Together, The More We Learn: Focus on Intergenerational and Collaborative Learning Through Singing

This paper explores the conceptual and practical frameworks necessary to foster vibrant and equal learning opportunities for young children and elders through intergenerational singing programs. The paper focuses on the affordances necessary to create authentic and transformative learning environments for both generations, including the need for knowledgeable, insightful, and informed leadership, the development of a curriculum with specific outcomes for each generation, attention to curriculum planning, implementation, and ease of access to the program, to the curriculum, to each other, and to the venue. The benefits of learning through intergenerational singing extend well beyond the vibrancy of lifelong learning and improved singing, and include the mutual, reciprocal, and valued friendships between the younger and older participants that develop during such programs; observations of the incremental confidence that each generation acquires during the program; awareness, acceptance, and appreciation for growth, aging, and death; and better health such as improved mobility, less stress, and increased breath support.