2006 MENC National Conference Research Poster Session Abstracts
| Research Poster Session I | Research Poster Session II | Research Poster Session III |
| Part 1 • Part 2 | Part 1 • Part 2 | Part 1 • Part 2 |
1:45 PM
Research Poster Session III
Benton, Carol cbenton@uca.edu
University of Central Arkansas
A Study of the Effects of Metacognition on Sight-singing Achievement and Attitudes among Students in a Middle School Choral Music Program
The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of metacognition on students’ achievement in and attitudes toward sight-singing in choral music classes. The experimental research design involved pretests-posttests for treatment and control groups on seventh-grade and eighth-grade levels, resulting in two concurrent studies. Treatment and control groups received 40 lessons in sight-singing. Students in treatment groups also engaged in activities to promote metacognition, as follows: (1) think-aloud activities, (2) self-assessment, and (3) self-reflection. On the seventh-grade level: treatment group members made significantly greater gains in music-reading knowledge and developed more positive attitudes, while control group members made significantly greater gains in group sight-singing performance. On the eighth-grade level: treatment group members made greater gains in music-reading knowledge (not statistically significant) as well as significantly greater gains in group sight-singing performance, and they developed more positive attitudes.
Bowles, Chelcy clbowles@wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The Self-Expressed Instructional Characteristics and Needs of Teachers of Adult Music Learners
The purpose of this study was to investigate the self-expressed experiences of teachers of adult music learners which prepare them to be effective instructors, instructional aspects they perceive to be unique (or not) to teaching adults, and their self- perceived needs related to instructional materials, instructional methodology, and educational training experiences that might assist them in providing quality experiences for adult learners. A 25-item questionnaire was designed to investigate the topics of preparation, goals, methodology, materials, evaluation, behavior management, and attitudes. The questionnaire was distributed to instructors with two or more years of experience teaching adult music learners. The results of the survey provide valuable information from the perspective of experienced teachers related to instructional issues that are unique to instructing adults or that may be similar to teaching music at any age level. In addition, the results provide guidance to the music education profession related to the training of teachers of adult music learners, perceived needs for age-appropriate materials, and guidelines for unique instructional methodologies and strategies. Although no generalizations should be made from this study, the results can be analyzed across numerous variables with teachers of specific performance media/subject matter and delivery modes which may be of interest to teacher educators and providers of professional development experiences. The survey instrument and analysis design will be useful in subsequent investigations which may have further implications and recommendations for the music education profession.
Brittin, Ruth V. rbrittin@pacific.edu
University of the Pacific
Professional Instrumentalists: Self-Reports of Practice Strategies and Recommendations to Students
Professional musicians (N=52), including orchestra musicians and university faculty from two sites, completed a survey regarding their own practice strategies and those they recommend to their students. Those surveyed represented a very experienced group of musicians and teachers, with a mean professional playing career of 28 years. Respondents indicated the extent to they used each of 27 behaviors on a three-point scale, representing “often, on occasion, or never”. The most frequently cited strategies included: Starting with slow tempo and gradually increasing speed; practicing small patterns, gradually combining into larger sections; practicing pitch/rhythm patterns (scales, modes, arpeggios, etc.); practicing with a metronome’s sound; practicing “end-to-beginning” (starting with the end of passage, then gradually moving back to work the entire section); and listening to recordings. Respondents then indicated which of the same behaviors they highly recommend for student practice. The rankings of each set of data showed consensus for which are the most and least popular strategies. However, correlation analysis for each behavior revealed 15 of the 27 to be modestly and significantly related; of these, 10 behaviors showed a negative relationship. Possibilities for congruence or lack of congruence between professionals’ practice behavior and advice to students may include developmental readiness, lifestyle, and changes in technology.
Buckner, Jeremy J. jeremy.j.buckner@ttu.edu
Texas Tech University
The Effect of Rhythmic Notation on Undergraduate Music Majors’ Choice of Tempo
The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of rhythmic notation on individuals’ choice of tempo. Undergraduate music majors (N=90) at a large southwestern university served as subjects. Three rhythmic patterns of the same rhythmic grouping but different rhythmic notation were arranged in 6 counterbalanced groups to account for possible order effects, and subjects were randomly assigned to each order. The initial question, “Does notation influence choice of tempo?” can be answered in the affirmative. Simply, subjects’ choice of tempo varied due to notation and presentation order, but the tempo chosen were based on fractions and multiples of the quarter-note as the beat note.
Cassidy, Jane jcassid@lsu.edu
Byo, James
Whitaker, Jennifer.
Louisiana State University
An Investigation of Practice Behaviors Used by Instrumental Music Majors
The purpose of this study was to document the practice behaviors of undergraduate instrumental music majors (N = 25) to examine possible relationships between the use of specific techniques and performance accuracy. A 6-measure practice exercise entailed simultaneous singing and rhythmic clapping. The practice task was chosen because it was unfamiliar to participants, without bias toward an instrument, and of sufficient difficulty to require practice directed toward a goal of flawless performance in 15 minutes. Participants practiced the exercise, performed it three times at the target tempo immediately after practice, and performed it again three times at the target tempo approximately 24 hours later. Videotape recordings were transcribed for time use in various practice activities. Posttests were scored for pitch, melodic rhythm, and clapped rhythm accuracy. Results indicated that participants spent more time practicing very short and short segments than longer segments; more time practicing in-context (melody plus rhythmic clapping) or melody-alone than other decontextualized activities; and more time practicing without rather than with piano. Participants were most accurate rhythmically on the posttest, with more correct response on melodic rhythm than clapped rhythm. Pitch responses were considerably less accurate. Correlations between practice variables and posttest scores indicated strong positive and significant (p < .05) relationships between total number of beats practiced and posttest scores, the number of beats spent practicing in-context and posttest scores, and the number of long practice segments (greater than 16 beats) and posttest scores.
Ciorba, Charles R. crciorba@hotmail.com
University of Miami
The Use of Self-Assessment in the Measurement of Instrumental Jazz Improvisation Achievement: An Exploratory Study
The primary purpose of this study was to examine the use of self-assessment in the measurement of instrumental jazz improvisation achievement. It is hypothesized that the implementation of an effective method of self-assessment may yield many benefits in the development of one’s improvisational skills. An instrument was developed to measure jazz improvisational ability and music majors (N = 12) enrolled at a private Southeastern university volunteered to participate in the study. Participants were asked to rehearse two jazz standards prior to recording and assessing their own performances. A panel of two judges then evaluated the recordings. Participant and interjudge reliability was internally consistent (.93-.99). Participant and interjudge correlations ranged from -.03 to .99 (p < .01). Self-assessment correlated poorly with the judge’s assessments, which is indicative of previous research by Bergee (1993, 1997).
Colley, Bernadette D. colley4@juno.com
Boston University
Significant Beginnings: Connections between Music and Arts Education Partnerships and Local K-12 Arts Education Policy
This research presents a synthesis of reviews which identify success factors in music and arts education partnerships in K-12 settings. It incorporates that synthesis with the results of an evaluation of the partnership Arts Can Teach (ACT), in order to examine connections between partnerships and local K-12 policy decisions. ACT is a collaborative effort of Boston’s Wang Center for the Performing Arts, the Lynn Public Schools, and LynnArts which matches music specialists and teachers in other disciplines with a practicing artists for full year partnerships consisting of five modules. Evaluators studied ACT’s impact in terms of: a) teacher and student behavioral and attitudinal changes that resulted from program participation, b) organizational and administrative program operations which influenced the program’s effectiveness, and c) potential for replication of the model elsewhere Results indicated that, with certain conditions met, the ACT model has potential for influencing and sustaining local K-12 arts education policy over time at the local level. Success factors of the ACT partnership are considered terms of their convergence to factors from the growing literature on partnerships. Implications for increasing and sustaining music and arts education programming and policy development at the local level are discussed.
Conway, Colleen conwaycm@umich.edu
University of Michigan
Micheel-Mays, Cory
Livonia-Clarenceville, Michigan Schools
Micheel-Mays, Lindsey
Michigan Center, Michigan Schools
Student Teaching and the First Year of Teaching: Common Issues and Struggles
The purpose of this inquiry was to compare perceptions about teaching and the teaching lives of both a student teacher (Lindsey) and a first year teacher (Cory) working in two different music classroom settings. The research question was: What challenges and struggles are articulated by both Lindsey and Cory in their descriptions of their teaching lives? Lindsey, Cory and I drew primarily from narrative inquiry and data included teacher journals, observation, and interview. Issues and struggles that were common in both student teaching and the first year of teaching included: issues of time, the silencing of the beginning teacher, a need to be validated, the importance of teacher reflection, and issues of job security.
Costa-Giomi, Eugenia costagiomi@mail.utexas.edu
University of Texas at Austin
Characteristics of Band Programs in a Large Urban School District: Diversity or Inequality?
The purpose of this study was to assess the differences in band programs and teacher characteristics among schools of diverse socio-economic status (SES). The two socio-economic indicators used in the present study were minority representation and proportion of economically disadvantaged students in the schools. In general we found that in this urban district, schools with fewer minorities or with lower proportions of disadvantaged students had more financial resources, more adequate facilities, and more supportive parents than school with a higher proportion of minority students or disadvantaged students. In fact, analyzing the data according to minority representation (MR) or to the proportion of economically disadvantaged students (ES) produced very similar results. In both instances, the significant differences among the schools were in the number of students taking private lessons in and out of school, the general support of parents, the specific involvement of parents in organizing booster clubs, the program fees, the access to external funds, fundraising moneys, availability of financial aid for students, and the adequacy of technological resources. The results of this study suggest that the distribution of school funds is not sufficient to equalize the many differences among high and low SES schools. The opportunity to participate in band programs does not seem to be the same in all schools and the resources of the programs are clearly dependent upon the socio economic level of their students.
Dell, Charlene E. cdell@ou.edu
University of Oklahoma
Singing and Tonal Pattern Instruction Effects on Beginning String Students’ Intonation Skills
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of singing and tonal pattern instruction on beginning string students accuracy of intonation. Two research questions were addressed: (1) Would there be a difference in the intonation performance posttest scores of the groups instructed using the Aural-Based, Aural- Based with Tonal Pattern Enhancement, and Notation-Based methods? (2) How might intonation performance scores differ as a function of treatment, pitch discrimination, and prior experience while controlling for music aptitude? Subjects (N=158) were fifth and sixth grade beginning string students in nine intact classes of Columbia, South Carolina. Three methodologies were used. A personal information survey including age, instrument, and experience was administered. Intonation Performance Scores served as the dependant variable. An ANCOVA was used to determine the effect of methodology on intonation performance skills, using the IMMA- Tonal as a covariate. Results indicated that students taught using Aural-Based and Aural-Based with Tonal Pattern Enhancement instruction performed with greater intonation accuracy than those taught using Notation-Based instruction.
Duke, Robert A. carlamiadavis@mail.utexas.edu
Davis, Carla M.
University of Texas at Austin
Sleep Enhances Performance of Brief Motor Sequences
We examined the effect of overnight sleep on the memory consolidation and enhancement of motor skill performance. Using two simple sequential key press sequences, we tested the extent to which subjects’ performance changed between the end of training and retest on subsequent days. We found consistent, significant improvements attributable to sleep-based consolidation effects, indicating that learning continued after the cessation of practice during both the first and second nights of sleep following training. When subjects learned two similar sequences in one session, performance improvements between the end of training and the retest the next day were greater for the sequences learned second, indicating that learning the second sequence inhibited the consolidation of the sequence learned first. When subjects briefly recalled a learned sequence one day after training and then immediately learned a second, similar sequence, there were no observable improvements in subjects’ performance of the first sequence during the second night of sleep. We discuss our results in relation to similar findings in neuroscience and cognition.
Dulaney, John R. cfjrd2@eiu.edu
Eastern Illinois University
The Design and Course Content of the Music Appreciation Component of the Junior High School Non-Performance Based General Music Course
This study was designed to examine the design and course content of the music appreciation component of the junior high non-performance based general music course of 100 school districts representing twenty states from nine distinct geographic regions across of the United States. Participants were randomly selected from a list of general music teachers supplied by the National Association of Music Education (MENC) national headquarters. It was the desire that through this study, pertinent information would be gained to assist in the development of a music appreciation textbook applicable to students at this grade level. The Junior High Music Appreciation Course (JMAC) survey containing six sections was developed to gather the information for this study. A nearly equal representation of vocal and instrumental teachers completed the JMAC survey, identified the music appreciation course as the type of non-performance based general course taught in their schools. Forty-nine of the 100 participants indicated that this course was required of all students in their schools, and indicated that the last opportunity that students had to study music occurred in the eighth grade, if not a participant in one of the traditional performance based music courses. The study further showed that only thirty-one of the 100 schools districts currently utilized a textbook, assessed as being “marginal” in quality. Many participants indicated the texts currently available for this type of course as being “too elementary” or “too advanced” for their students.
Feay-Shaw, Sheila feayshas@uww.edu
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
The Musical Enculturation of Children through the Celebration of Cultural Festivals
Participation in cultural festivals provides children with windows into adult musical activities. These experiences are not taught, rather children are enculturated through observation and practice, recreating the musical activities as a form of play. The purpose of this study was to investigate folkarts and cultural festivals for evidence of the enculturation of children into adult musical behaviors. Caillois’ defining processes of play were used to guide the investigation. Ethnographic techniques of participant observation were utilized in the naturalistic environment of cultural festivals. Children’s participation in the Folkarts and cultural festivals appeared to fall into four areas: 1) free experience, 2) interaction with the music or musicians, 3) creating experience for themselves, and 4) performance.
Flowers, Patricia J. flowers.1@osu.edu
The Ohio State University
Predictive Ability of Undergraduate Grade Point Average, GRE, and TOEFL on Success in Graduate Music Study
Data from 563 graduate music degree recipients over a 12 year period at a large midwestern research university were examined to determine their predictive ability in terms of final graduate GPA and faculty ratings of success during graduate study and professional achievement thereafter. Regression analyses showed that undergraduate GPA and all components of the GRE were significant predictors of final graduate grade point average, accounting for a range of variance from 7.2% (quantitative GRE) through 16.7% (undergraduate GPA). Faculty ratings of student performance were significantly correlated with both undergraduate and graduate GPA, but not with GRE scores; faculty ratings of doctoral students’ subsequent professional achievement were significantly correlated only with undergraduate GPA. In examining a subset of 178 music education graduates, a similar pattern of results was found: Undergraduate GPA and all components of the GRE were significant predictors of final graduate GPA. Further, all of these measures except the quantitative GRE were significantly correlated with faculty ratings. Music education students represented the most academically diverse body of students within the music unit. While two of the three quantitative measures examined were effective predictors of success in graduate school, it was observed that these measures may not provide the best basis for program evaluation. Outcomes should also be viewed in light of mission statements and resource bases in discipline-specific contexts.
Frego, R. J. David frego.1@osu.edu
Baltagi, Ibrahim H.
The Ohio State University
The Role of Improvisation in the Elementary General Music Classes
The purpose of this study was to investigate the various types of music improvisation that occur in the elementary general music classrooms. Fifty-nine elementary general music specialists from urban and suburban school districts in the Midwestern United States were asked specific and open-ended questions related to music improvisation in the classroom. The specific questions sought to answer: the time allocated for improvisation; the medium used in improvisation activities; how the topic is discussed; and what analogies are used. Results showed that teachers allocate between zero to twenty percent of contact time to the teaching of improvisation, with the average of 10%. Most improvisation activities are conducted with body percussion and non-pitched percussion instruments. Vocal improvisation is less often used, but when present, is often scat singing with call and response phrasing. The findings of the open-ended questions offer insight into how improvisation is taught by a general music specialist.
Fung, C. Victor cvfung@arts.usf.edu
University of South Florida
Preservice Music Educators’ Personal Preferences for Chinese Orchestral, Traditional, and Popular Pieces in Relation to Familiarity, Perceived Value, and External Preferences
Using three Chinese musical genres, this study investigated (a) the relationship between preference rating and forced-choice preference, (b) personal preference as related to familiarity, perceived value, and external preferences for musicians and for K-12 students, (c) verbal descriptions of the pieces, (d) perceived reasons for preferring a piece the most and the least, and (e) the relationship between verbal descriptions and reasons for preference. Results showed that both the rating scale and the forced-choice methods yielded the same preference rank order: orchestral, traditional, and popular. Personal preference was correlated with perceived value and external preferences for musicians and for K-12 students. Musical qualities were the most frequent descriptions and perceived reasons for preference. Rankings of other comment categories (emotional references, extramusical references, text references, mass media references, familiarity, unfamiliarity, and other) were similar between descriptions and reasons for preference to some extent.
Geringer, John M. geringer@fsu.edu
Madsen, Clifford K.
MacLeod, Rebecca B.
Florida State University
Droe, Kevin
University of Northern Iowa
The Effect of Articulation Style on Perception of Modulated Tempo
We investigated the effect of legato and staccato articulation styles on the perception of modulated tempos. Ninety music majors served as participants. Listeners were presented with musical examples that had been selected from two pieces, each of which included staccato and legato passages. Excerpts were presented in three conditions of tempo modulation: gradual increases, gradual decreases, or no change. Modulations were produced in small increments so that listeners would not notice any abrupt change in tempo. Results indicated that articulation style and direction of modulation affected listener perception of tempo, and these two factors interacted significantly. All staccato stimuli were judged as increasing in tempo more than legato stimuli, however, differences between the two articulation styles were perceived as larger in tempo increase examples compared to the no change and tempo decrease examples. Implications for performance practice and teaching are discussed.
Goodrich, Andrew goodricha@nsula.edu
Northwestern State University
Community Musicians Assisting with a High School Jazz Ensemble
The use of community members to assist the director in teaching a successful high school jazz band in the metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona area was explored using ethnographic techniques to collect data during one academic year of instruction. Two groups of participants served as informants in this study: (1) primary informants including the students in the jazz band, the director, assistant director, and community members, and (2) secondary informants including a guidance counselor, the principal, parents, and students not enrolled in the jazz band. Research literature including studies on teaching and learning of jazz, jazz curriculum, jazz pedagogy, jazz history and culture, and mentoring served as the theoretical grounding for the study. The following questions guided the study: Do community members contribute to the success of this jazz band? What role do community members have in the educational process of the students in the jazz band? Do community members provide a connection to music outside of the walls of the band room for these students? Community members included a retired jazz educator from the Midwest, and local professional jazz musicians. Community members assisted in various aspects of this jazz ensemble including performing, conducting, pedagogy, curriculum, and instruction.
Gregory, Dianne dgregory@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
Florida State University
University Students’ Perceptions of Course Web Sites after Participation in a Web-Managed Field Experience
Ninety four students enrolled in a one-semester community-based service learning course during the 2004 – 05 academic years participated in the study. Students in the Arts in Medicine Service (AIMS) course volunteered individually on a weekly basis to entertain and engage patients in a local general medical hospital through direct contact with music and arts projects. The course was managed by a web site in lieu of weekly class meetings. The web site included a syllabus, a semester calendar with weekly links to pertinent announcements and assignments, and a resource page with many links to Internet sites and instructor-designed course management pages. Students’ evaluative ratings of the AIMS web site were very positive and not related to the amount of course web site experience prior to participation in AIMS. Students’ enthusiasm for course web sites in general was high but significantly lower than their course-specific evaluative rating. Enthusiasm was not related to the amount of previous experience with course web sites. Non music majors’ enthusiasm, however, were significantly higher compared to music majors. Students’ perceptions about the functions of course web sites were consistent with generally accepted intended purposes. Almost all of the efficacy perceptions were not related to academic major or level of course web site experience. The design of the AIMS course web site coupled with students’ positive evaluation of its implementation provides a model for computer-based management of field experiences such as community-based pre-service music education observation and participation courses.
Gumm, Alan J. gumm1aj@cmich.edu
Central Michigan University
Investigation of the Reliability, Validity, and Dimensionality of a Generic Student Opinion Survey of College Conductor Effectiveness
The study investigated the reliability, validity, and dimensionality of a generic university student opinion survey (SOS) in the evaluation of music ensemble conductors. Students produced reliable ratings except for the item overall effectiveness. Factor analysis of university and music department SOS items revealed four dimensions: Impact on Learning (use time wisely byhelping students learn, think, and be sensitive performers), Planning/Delivery (organize the course, prepare for class, study scores, and present material clearly and enthusiastically), Rapport (accessibility, respect, and enthusiasm to students), and Conducting (conduct clearly, enthusiastically and meaningfully to the score). The university SOS lacked content and concurrent validity for Conducting, had concurrent validity but possessed weaker content for Impact on Learning compared to department items, and showed strong content validity for Planning/Delivery and Rapport. Overall effectiveness did not relate to several factors as intended of a global evaluation. Was enthusiastic about the subject was shown to relate to Planning/Delivery, Rapport, and Conducting, indicating the need for rewording to clarify its different roles in effective ensemble instruction. Music teaching style, motivation for music, learning styles, and background variables accounted for bias in student opinions and supported the convergent validity of the university SOS and items related to Conducting. Most influential to student opinions overall were conductors’ positive learning environment and time efficiency, though conductor nonverbal motivation showed increased effectiveness for upper level students. Student music teaching style ratings were statistically no different than conductor self-ratings except for time efficiency. Ensemble persistence and experience level were also studied.
Hall, William R. whall@dana.edu
Dana College
A Rationale and Methodology for Producing Critical/Performing Editions as Dissertations in Music Education
Critical/performing edition research projects are well established for graduate degrees in Musicology and the Doctor of Musical Arts. However, this type of study is rare in the field of Music Education. Given the emphasis on the study and performance of historical repertoire by the Comprehensive Musicianship Project (CMP), and more recently found in the National Standards for Music, critical/performing editions of important repertoire should be encouraged. The appropriateness of critical/performing editions as dissertation projects in Music Education was addressed by noted music education researchers George Heller, Bruce Wilson and Roger Phelps. In the review of literature the writer sought a clear and well-established methodology to provide guidance, but only one author discussed or demonstrated his/her procedure in sufficient detail to establish any model. The need for “replicability” seemed to require a well-established methodology. Therefore, based on the review the writer developed the following procedures: Acquire all available sources, assemble a working score from the available parts and scores, compile a list of the discrepancies between various sources, design a system that will show interpreters the differences between original and editorial markings, make editorial corrections and additions, and produce the final copy of the edited score (critical edition). It is recommended that this methodology be disseminated to graduate faculty so that students may conduct research using the developed procedure, and extend the production of critical/performing edition dissertations to the field of Music Education.
Hancock, Carl chancock@bama.ua.edu
Richards, Suzanne
University of Alabama
Music Major’s Affective Responses to Congruent and Incongruent Music Video Performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2
The purpose of this study was to extend the work of Adams (1996) by investigating the effect of congruent and incongruent aural/visual conditions on the affective response to music by musicians. Thirty undergraduate music majors were randomly assigned to three experimental groups: aural only, congruent visual/aural, and incongruent visual/aural. Stimuli were created from a commercially available video recording of the fourth movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”) performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Zubin Mehta. Subjects were asked to indicate degrees of felt emotional response by manipulating a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) dial during the experimental conditions. Results indicated a significant difference among aural and aural/video conditions, responses to the aural only condition were higher and demonstrated greater variance than for either the congruent or incongruent aural/visual groups. Surprisingly, no significant difference existed among the congruent and incongruent aural/video conditions. Discussion of these results for music education are included.
Hayward, Carol chaywar@bgsu.edu
Bowling Green State University
A Course in Band Literature Based on a Standard Repertoire Developed from the Opinions of Selected Collegiate and Secondary School Band Directors
The issue of literature selection for performing ensembles is of critical importance for ensemble directors in the schools with many authorities agreeing that the repertoire chosen for study is the curriculum for these classes. Pre-service professionals and less experienced directors of wind bands may lack skills for determining the quality of materials chosen for study, as well as knowledge of standard literature for these ensembles. The purpose of this study was to identify works from the standard literature of the wind band that would be appropriate for study and analysis in a wind literature class. This was accomplished by surveying a select group of collegiate and high school directors of bands who were identified for their expertise and knowledge of literature. This literature also provided insight for determining criteria of quality in the repertoire which can then be applied to less familiar works that have not yet entered the body of standard literature. The 83 respondents included directors from both the collegiate and high school levels who teach in all six regions of the College Band Directors National Association. Thirty-one works were identified for inclusion in a list of basic repertoire to be included in the class syllabus. In addition, a list of criteria for determining quality in music was substantiated for use as a catalyst for discussion of that topic in the class. This list can serve as a basis for students to develop their own criteria for determining quality in music.
Hellman, Daniel dhellman@annamaria.edu
Anna Maria College
Do Music Education Majors Intend to Teach Music? An Exploratory Survey
Music education majors (N = 152) at six institutions in one state completed the Music Major Survey that was designed to assess music education majors’ intent to make K-12 music teaching a career. Generally, the respondents indicated favorable speculations for entering the music education profession and remaining in music teaching with a preference for high school teaching, and an expectation that ensembles and general music will dominate the curricula. More than half indicated that they planned to teach music in schools until retirement. Almost half the respondents indicated that they would prefer to teach at the high school level. The results of this study suggest that music education majors have strong intentions to become music teachers who are committed to the field, but it is unclear if these intentions are sufficiently robust to sustain a long career as a music teacher. All college faculty and K-12 music educators, particularly those directly involved in music teacher preparation, should provide the needed support for potential music teachers to enter the profession and develop into effective teachers.
Hobby, Jill L. Hobnob2000@aol.com
Knox County, Tennessee Schools and East Tennessee State University
Strategies to Address the Effects of Reduced Funding for Music Education
The purpose of this study was to develop a consensus from a panel of experts composed of public school music teachers both based in instrumental and/or choral methods, higher education music professors, school administrators, philanthropists, authors, researchers, state music supervisors, and leaders in professional music organizations. Through the use of the panel of experts from geographical regions across the United States and Canada, this study strove to build strategies that addressed the effects of reducing funding for music education. The vehicle used to build consensus was the Delphi Technique. Through this Delphi study, the 35 panelists suggested, refined, and prioritized strategies that could address music education funding issues. The Delphi panel members were asked to respond to three rounds of questionnaires. The first questionnaire consisted of 14 open-ended questions, the second questionnaire asked for further recommendations or clarification to the already presented strategies, and the third questionnaire asked panel members to rate the strategies using a Likert-type scale. The consensus of strategies by the Delphi panel members may be used to address funding issues on local, state, and national levels. The strategies listed in this study could be transferred into a mass produced pamphlet and distributed to governmental leaders, conference attendees, or published in music education textbooks to educate future music teachers on methods that can be used to combat ever pressing funding issues that threaten the reduction of publicly supported music programs.
Howe, Sondra Wieland howex009@umn.edu
Independent Scholar
Women Editors of Music Education Textbook Series, 1900-1950
In the nineteenth century the three major music textbook series were Mason’s The National Music Course, Tufts and Holt’s The Normal Music Course, and Ripley and Tapper’s The Natural Music Course. These textbooks were edited by male music teachers, often with the help of invisible female editors and translators. By the beginning of the twentieth century, public schools expanded and there was a huge demand for textbooks. Women were supervising urban music programs and were active in the development of the Music Supervisors National Conference. The major publishers continued to produce textbook series with male editors, but female editors were emerging. Who were these women? What was their education, teaching experience, and involvement in national music organizations? What was the philosophy of their music series? This paper will focus on the textbooks of four major female music educators: Eleanor Smith, M. Teresa Armitage, Mabelle Glenn, and Lilla Belle Pitts. Smith promoted the ideas of Froebel, published hymnals, and edited the Modern Music Series (Silver Burdett) and The Eleanor Smith Music Course (American Book). Armitage was the senior editor of the Laurel Music Series (Birchard) and A Singing School (Birchard), focusing on a song method. Glenn edited Music Notes, a series on music appreciation, and was the senior editor for the World of Music (Ginn). Pitts and Glenn were editors of Our Singing World (Ginn). These women editors of music textbook series received a university education, supervised music in large cities, and were leaders in national organizations.
Keast, Dan A. keast_d@utpb.edu
University of Texas of the Permian Basin
Keast, Michelle S.
Ector County, Texas Schools
Effects of Instruction on Fifth Graders’ Preferences for, and Willingness-to-learn About, Minimalist Music
The purpose of this study was to determine if guided listening, general information about pieces, and active performance related to one minimalist-type piece would increase expressed preference for that and other minimalist works. The participants were 421 students in 19 sections of fifth grade general music attending six elementary schools in a mid-sized southern community. Listening responses of the participants were examined to determine if students were listening attentively to the music selections and to determine what attracted their attention while listening. Additionally, students’ descriptors of the music were categorized in pre- and post-surveys. Results of a repeated measures within-subjects ANOVA between pre- and post-survey Likert scales results indicated a significant, positive effect on preference and willingness-to-learn for only the treatment piece, “Knee Play 1” from Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach. An analysis between willingness-to-learn and expressed preference yielded a substantial correlation (r2(1) = .697Rpre, .692Rpost, .662Apre, .663Apost, .643Gpre, .719Gpost, .722Capre, .714Capost, .775Copre, and .726Copost) on all five pieces in the survey, indicating that participants were more willing to learn about pieces they preferred. The words children used to describe the unfamiliar music they heard were more positive and neutral than negative. The results of this study should be encouraging to music educators who strive to incorporate non-traditional music to the general music classroom.
Kennedy, Mary makenn@uvic.ca
University of Victoria
“A School on Wheels”: Balancing Performing and Academics on Tour with the American Boychoir School
This paper addresses the dual issues of performing and academic studies at the American Boychoir School (ABS). Specifically, the paper focuses on the balancing act that occurs between performing and academic work while the choir is on tour. As a participant observer on a 6-day ABS tour in December, 2003, the author gleaned first-hand insight of the mechanics of a tour and of how the school authorities and personnel operate in order for the boys to reach both performing and academic expectations. Data collection techniques include interviews (both formal and informal), observation, participant observation, and the examination of material culture. Analysis involved preparation of field notes and interview transcripts, document analysis, and study of the field notes and interviews. Themes that emerged include the areas of rules, routines, roles, and reactions. ABS has established a set of rules and procedures that guide the day-to-day operation of the school. Many of these rules continue to apply when the choir is on tour while others exist primarily for the sake of the tours. A unique feature of ABS tours is that the daily school routine is adhered to whenever possible, being adapted as necessary to accommodate performances and unexpected occurrences. The tour staff—musical, academic, and “parental”—all have specific roles that assist in the management of the boys as they balance their academic and performing commitments. The boys themselves have roles to play. Finally, the reactions of the boys and staff contribute to the overall picture of an ABS tour.
Legette, Roy rlegette@uga.edu
Hair, Harriet I.
University of Georgia
Effects of Stimulus Modality on Attention and Affective Responses of Adults While Watching Children’s Educational Television
The effect of aural, visual, and aural-visual stimuli on the affective and attention responses of adults was investigated in this study. Music education (n=24) and elementary education (n=24) majors watched three excerpts from the “Barney and Friends” television program while manipulating the dial on a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) device to indicate their impression of what they heard and/or saw. Subjects completed a brief questionnaire, indicating those features that they attended to the most, and their degree of like or dislike for a particular excerpt in the presence or absence of a stimulus condition. Findings revealed that affective and attention responses were not significantly affected by stimulus condition, excerpt, or major. Implications for future research are discussed.
Lowe, Anne S. lowean@umoncton.ca
Université de Moncton
The Co-construction of a Music/Arts/Language Learning Model
The purpose of this study was to understand the process of integrating music and the arts into the language curriculum in order to develop a model which underlies the music/arts/language learning experience. Grade 1 French students and their classroom teacher participated in the study. Eighteen 45-minute music/arts/language interdisciplinary lessons were taught by the classroom teacher and me three times a week for a period of six weeks. Specific learning outcomes were determined for music and French. A collaborative qualitative research design was chosen where both the classroom teacher and researcher are reflective partners in the co-construction of knowledge pertaining to educational practice. Data were collected through video-tapes, semi-structured and informal interviews, written materials, and my personal journal, and analysed through several coding procedures, constant comparison, and triangulation methods. Data analysis procedures resulted in the co-construction of a music/arts/language model which consisted of four major categories: teaching, learning, professional development, and environmental conditions. The constant interaction of all four categories seemed to have a positive impact on students’ learning, teaching practices, and on undergraduate pre-service training.
Lychner, John A. john.lychner@wmich.edu
Western Michigan University
A Comparison of Non-Musicians’ and Musicians’ Aesthetic Response to Music Experienced With and Without Video
The purpose of this study was to examine aesthetic response to music experienced with and without video—in this case a produced video and not a performance video. The aural and aural/visual conditions were isolated in an attempt to determine if there is a greater aesthetic response to the aural component when the visual is paired with it. In addition, there was an attempt to determine if there is a difference in response between musicians (students majoring in music) and non-musicians (students not majoring in music). Results indicate that overall non-musicians had a stronger response to the stimuli than musicians, particularly when the music was coupled with the video. However, in general, video added to an audio stimulus does not appear to enhance participants’ aesthetic response. In addition, musicians and non-musicians demonstrate strong differences in their aesthetic response to the stimulus, in this case, a piece of Country music.
Madsen, Katia kmadsen@lsu.edu
Louisiana State University
Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness, Music Teacher Effectiveness and Student Learning
The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of teaching effectiveness and student learning. Participants for the study included music students in grades 8-9 (n = 60), music students in grades 10-12 (n = 60), undergraduate music education majors who had no field based teaching experience (n = 60) and graduate music education majors who had at least one year of full-time music teaching experience (n = 60). Participants filled out a two-part questionnaire. Part 1 of the questionnaire asked participants to write a definition of teacher effectiveness. Part 1 was collected and participants were randomly assigned to receive one of three versions of Part 2 of the questionnaire. Each of the three versions was similar in that it asked participants to write answers to three questions concerning the knowledge, behaviors and values of effective teachers, but differed in that each version isolated teacher effectiveness as it related to student learning only, teaching only, or music teaching only. Results indicated that the experienced teachers included student learning in their definitions (58.3%) more than any other group, particularly in comparison to the student in grades 8-9 (3.3%). A greater percentage of students in grades 10-12 included student learning in their definitions (45%) in comparison to the pre-service teachers (38.3%). Delivery and communication skills, knowledge of subject matter, and enthusiasm/interest emerged as common themes for all experience groups in relationship to effective teaching, effective music teaching, and student learning. Common written responses regarding methods of assessment, commitment, self-development and care for the music profession were only observed in the experienced teacher group.
