Browsing by Subject "Music education"
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Item Development and application of a framework for observing problem solving by teachers and students in music(2013-08) Roesler, Rebecca Ann; Duke, Robert A.The development of problem solving capabilities is an essential part of intellectual independence, yet the nature of problem solving in music instruction has not been investigated systematically. The purposes of the current study were to describe the process of problem solving in the context of music learning and to elucidate the relationship between teacher behavior and learners' active participation in solving musical and technical problems. I analyzed approximately 43 hours of private and small-group lessons taught by five internationally-renowned artist-teachers in music. I also analyzed in greater detail 161 rehearsal frames (intervals of instructional time devoted to definable proximal goals) excerpted from recorded lessons by describing the behaviors of teachers and students that led to productive learning outcomes. The process of problem solving was found to comprise five components: establish goals, evaluate performance, conceive and consider options, generalize and apply principles, and decide and act. In assessing the extent of teachers' and students' involvement in problem-solving, I found that teachers promoted change-effecting behaviors in learners by instigating the pursuit of a goal, and then prompting learners to assume responsibility for one or more of the subsequent problem-solving components. In this way these teachers not only brought about change in learners' performance, but also structured ways for learners to practice bringing about change in their own performance.Item Disciplining the popular : new institutions for Argentine music education as cultural systems(2010-05) O'Brien, Michael Seamus, 1978-; Moore, Robin D.; Erlmann, Veit; Slawek, Stephen; Keeler, Ward; Costa-Giomi, EugeniaThis dissertation focuses on a recent but growing movement in Argentina, state-sponsored formal institutions of popular music education. The musics taught in these schools – tango, jazz, and Argentine folk idioms – have historically been excluded from the country’s formal music education systems. Recent moves to standardize and legitimize these musics in this new institutional context raise questions of canon formation, pedagogical praxis, aesthetics and musical meaning that have implications far beyond the classrooms where they are implemented. I examine two of these schools based in and around the capital city of Buenos Aires: the Escuela de Música Popular de Avellaneda, and the Tango and Folklore department of the Conservatorio Superior de Música “Manuel de Falla.” I adopt an ethnographic approach that considers broad structural and policy issues of power distribution, state intervention, and cultural nationalism. I also examine how these structures play out in discourse and practice within and beyond the classroom, shaped by and in turn shaping students’ and teachers’ aesthetics, politics, and subject positions. I then analyze the output of several musical groups composed of current students and recent graduates of these programs, exploring the notion of an emerging institutional aesthetic and the extent to which these institutions act as homogenizing influences or engender creative divergence. Finally, applying Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of a field of cultural production, I question the extent to which this new “música popular” is truly popular, ultimately arguing that it occupies a sort of third space between mass culture and high culture, replicating some avant-garde assumptions about the role of art as anti-commercial, yet simultaneously embracing a symbolic economy that valorizes populist and subaltern identities and ideologies.Item Does Participating in a Music Program in High School Lead to Academic Achievement in College?(Texas A&M International University, 2014-05) Almaraz, Vanessa Lynn; Kilburn, John C.; Ynalvez, Marcus Antonius; Haruna, Peter FuseiniMusic education has and continues to become a constant issue in the cultural aspect and views of the educational system. How does music play a factor in our educational system? This thesis investigates the influence of how music plays in an individual’s educational development. Research has shown that while students in high school who participated in a music program, had significant increases in how they achieved academically in school, with this, students may also have the chance of excelling in their academics while attending a college or university. In this study, I measured the academic excellence amongst several social demographic factors including those students who were involved in a musical performing arts program in high school compared to those who were not. What was learned through this research was that there is a strong significance in the male population of musicians in their college academics. Through showing the importance of music education, this research highlights the significance of music participation and evolution of social skills and academics through the action of music.Item An examination of the integration of traditional core content areas in a kindergarten music classroom : a music specialist’s rationale, understandings, and perceptions(2011-05) Andrews, Stephanie Kuna; Field, Sherry L.; Brown, Anthony L.; Brown, Christopher P.; Costa-Giomi, Eugenia; Salinas, Cynthia S.The purpose of this research study was to examine the instructional strategies, rationale, understandings, and perceptions of an elementary music specialist, Michelle Roberts, regarding the integration of traditional core content areas (TCCAs) in the kindergarten music classroom. This study sought to scrutinize the characteristics and details of Michelle’s teaching through Elliot Eisner’s notions of educational connoisseurship and criticism and through his conceptualization of educational research and practice as art. A number of early childhood educators and researchers have stressed the importance and pedagogical efficacy of using interdisciplinary, holistic instructional approaches with young children. Such approaches have the potential to create space for a humanizing education in the early childhood classroom. This qualitative research study was conducted at a public elementary school in a large, urban district in Texas, between September 18, 2009 and January 26, 2010. The participant was Michelle Roberts, an elementary music specialist with nearly 25 years of teaching experience. Data sources included classroom observations, examination of instructional artifacts, and semi-structured interviews. Following analysis of the data, three conclusions concerning the music specialist’s rationale, understandings, and perceptions regarding the integration of traditional core content areas and kindergarten music instruction were drawn. First, Michelle’s rationale, understandings, and perceptions regarding the integration of the TCCAs and kindergarten music instruction were grounded in her wealth of teacher knowledge and skills and in her beliefs regarding teaching. Second, Michelle’s rationale for the integration of the TCCAs and kindergarten music instruction was that it allowed her to educate her students in the most fitting manner possible and that it made learning “solid” or “a complete picture” for the students. Third, Michelle’s perceptions and understandings regarding the integration of the TCCAs and kindergarten music instruction were grounded in three beliefs: (a) the integration of the TCCAs and music instruction is beneficial for young children; (b) it is important to maintain the integrity of the discipline of music when integrating instruction in the TCCAs and kindergarten music instruction; and (c) music cannot be taught in isolation from other content areas.Item Focus of attention affects singer's tone production(2013-08) Atkins, Rebecca Lynn; Duke, Robert A.It is now well understood that skilled motor behavior is affected by performers' focus of attention. This effect has been demonstrated in numerous and varied motor tasks, from golf-putting to piano playing. I conducted two experiments with college-aged singers to test the extent to which trained singers' vocal tone is affected by their focus of attention while singing. In Experiment 1 (N = 11) participants sang a 3-note sequence and an excerpt of a well-learned melody under six different focus conditions. In Experiment 2 (N = 20) participants sang 3-note sequences in both high and low vocal registers, a well-learned melody, and an unpracticed, familiar melody under seven different focus conditions. Focus of attention affected participants' vocal tone in all of the singing tasks. The results of the two experiments are consistent with the results of related investigations of attentional focus in motor skill performance. Singers' tone was rated most highly and described most positively by expert listeners when singers' focused their attention on external rather than internal targets. Focusing on distal targets (i.e., targets that were far removed from the vocal mechanism) in particular was associated with high ratings and positive descriptions of vocal tone.Item Observations of students with disabilities in inclusive music classrooms and guidelines for future research(2014-08) Draper, Ellary Anne; Jellison, Judith A. (Judith Anne), 1940-As a result of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, most children with disabilities in the US are now educated in schools with their typically developing peers. Although many of these children are in elementary schools (VanWeelden & Whipple, 2014) there is little empirical research that informs educational practice in elementary music classrooms (Jellison & Draper, in press). This dissertation comprises an observational study of the behavior of children with disabilities in inclusive music classrooms and their opportunities to practice their Individual Education Program (IEP) goals, and guidelines for conducting research with children with disabilities in inclusive elementary music classes. In the observational study I describe the opportunities for nine students with disabilities (Specific Learning Disabilities and/or Speech or Language Impairments) to engage in behaviors related to objectives defined in their IEPs in four inclusive music classrooms in relation to the music activities in which the children participated (e.g., singing, playing instruments) and instructional formats of the class (e.g., whole class, small groups, pairs). A further goal was to identify students’ participation and peer interactions. Results indicated that music theory and other music knowledge activities provided opportunities for students to engage in behaviors related to their IEP objectives. Opportunities for individual responses (verbal/nonverbal and music) and music performances were rare, but when students responded they were most often accurate. Students were most often on-task, particularly when engaged in music making activities, and they interacted with peers when assigned to work in groups and also when interactions were extemporaneous. I developed guidelines for future research based on my experiences conducting the study, and I discuss the challenges of identifying schools, classrooms, and participants; obtaining formal consent; developing the methodology (research questions, variables, operational definitions, equipment and materials); analyzing and reporting results; and consulting with school personnel before, during, and following the completion of research.Item Predictors of instrumental music enrollment : how school policies may influence retention in Title I and non-Title I public schools(2013-12) Chappell, Elizabeth Whitehead; Costa-Giomi, Eugenia; Scott, LaurieThe purpose of this study was to (1) examine the academic and demographic characteristics of 6th-grade instrumental music students attending selected public schools of contrasting socioeconomic backgrounds, (2) examine the retention patterns of students who were required to enroll in 6th-grade instrumental music compared to those who elected to do so, and (3) construct a predictive model of student retention in middle school instrumental music programs. Individual student data (N = 1052) were gathered from beginning instrumental 6th-grade programs at selected schools in a large, urban school district in Texas. Data included students’ 5th and 6th standardized test results, 7th-grade class schedules, and demographic information. Data were analyzed according to the 6th-grade campus the students attended (Title I/non-Title I) and the type of school (elementary school with required music programs or middle school with elective music programs) to identify demographic and academic factors associated with 6th-and 7th-grade music participation. I examined students’ schedules for retention patterns associated with individual school scheduling and academic remedial policies. I used logistic regression to develop predictive models of retention based on the following factors: gender, ethnicity, special education, at-risk, gifted, 5th and 6th-grade standardized test results, 5th-grade campus and pre-AP enrollment. Only the 6th-grade standardized tests, either math or reading, predicted retention in instrumental music in all of the school settings. Ethnicity, at-risk, and 5th-grade standardized tests did not predict retention in any school setting. Each school setting was unique in the factors that predicted instrumental music retention. For example, in the Title I setting, giftedness and 6th-grade reading test results predicted retention whereas in the non-Title I setting, gender, pre-AP enrollment and 6th-grade math results predicted retention. I also observed that 6th-grade required music programs were, by default, more inclusive than elective programs, and that the diversity in the student population of the 6th-grade required programs was maintained during the 7th-grade when music became elective. Results from this study suggest that offering only one elective choice per year may exclude access to music education for low academic achievers and reduce enrollment in music ensembles.Item Staying in the profession: A study of five public school orchestra teachers(2012-12) Neal, Kimberly B.; Dye, Keith; Killian, Janice; Martens, PeterThe purpose of this study is to identify reasons why five Texas public school orchestra directors have decided to stay in the teaching profession. Extant research indicates that approximately half of all orchestra teachers nationwide leave the profession within five years. Furthermore, research has primarily focused on why teachers leave, rather than why others stay. This study is designed to be a proactive approach in finding out why certain orchestra teachers not only remain in the field, but seem to thrive. Using a qualitative approach of data gathering and analysis, participants with seven to fifteen years of experience were both interviewed and observed in class. Interview questions were developed based on historic issues in teacher retention, including administrative support, compensation, student behavior, school facilities and resources, and pre-service teacher training. Participant responses were examined for positive factors that aided in their decisions to remain in the profession. While there were responses that shed light on the challenges orchestra teachers face, participants also shared multiple factors that motivate them to continue in their chosen profession. These include setting and achieving goals, experiencing the intrinsic rewards of music, rich connections with students, and enjoying solid community and administrative support. In addition, certain teacher characteristics emerged among the participants, such as individual determination and perseverance, optimism, creativity, and a desire to improve as educators. This less common look at reasons why orchestra teachers stay in the field may serve to aid teachers as they decide whether or not to continue in the profession, as well as helping teacher educators and administrators retain public school orchestra teachers.