Peter Miksza

I am a professor and chair of the music education at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. I am also an affiliate member of the Indiana University Cognitive Science Program.

My primary research interest lies in the investigation of social- and cognitive-psychological dimensions of musical skill acquisition (e.g., practicing and self-regulation, expertise, motivation, musical expression, musical memory). I also conduct research on music teacher preparation and have done work with national data sets to address policy issues relevant to music education. I’ve presented papers at regional, national, and international research conferences and have published articles in several prominent peer-reviewed publications, such as the Journal of Research in Music Education, the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Psychology of Music, Musicae Scientiae, Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain, Frontiers in Psychology, the Journal of Music Teacher Education, Contributions to Music Education, Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy, Music Education Research International, The Journal of Band Research, and the Music Educators Journal. I have also published several book chapters in edited volumes and have authored the following books: Design and Analysis for Quantitative Research in Music Education, with co-author Dr. Ken Elpus; Music Education Research: An Introduction, with co-authors Drs. Julia T. Shaw, Lauren Kapalka Richerme, Phillip M. Hash, and Donald A. Hodges; and Teaching Kids to Practice, with co-author Dr. Stephanie Prichard. I am also a co-founder and, currently, co-director of the IU JSOM Music and Mind Lab.

My teaching duties include undergraduate and graduate courses with emphases on music teacher preparation, foundations of music pedagogy, psychological and social-psychological dimensions of music teaching and learning, measurement and evaluation, and quantitative research methods. I also work with graduate students to develop and carry out original research projects as theses and dissertations. I am now serving as the faculty advisor for the IU collegiate chapter of the National Association for Music Education.