Education Commons^™

Music In Steam: Beyond Notes, Hao Huang

The STEAM Journal

Given current debates about STEAM, it would be well to remember that more than five centuries before STEM was conceived, the original Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, wrote in one of his notebooks that "To develop a complete mind, study the science of art, study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else." (Spong 2006) A discussion of the effectiveness of teaching music and its accompanying technology in conjunction with math and the science education follows. .Given the recent shift from in-classroom teaching to online instruction compelled by the Covid 19 pandemic, an …

The Connections Of Music, Culture, And Language: A Qualitative Case Study Of The Musical Experience Of A Newcomer Program, Jessica Strawderman

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In this qualitative case study, I investigated the philosophy and process of an elementary newcomer program and explored the perceived benefits for newcomer students of the musical experience, aiding in transition from full-time English as a second language (ESL) services in self-contained class to a general education setting. The studied school division serves a high population of students who are English Language Learners (ELLs), representing a multitude of languages and cultures. The division places students of immigrant families who have no social or educational experience speaking English in the newcomer program. In order to gain a deep understanding of the …

Gamification Strategies For Music Educators: An Online Continuing Education Course, Luis Enrique Espinosa

Masters Theses

This curriculum project is designed to provide music educators in the public and private sector with introductory knowledge about the topic of gamification and game-based learning, framed within the scope of an online continuing education course. It is meant for adult learners who teach young musicians in the K-12 range. The course offers a set of strategies and step-based processes that help transform a traditional music lesson plan into an interactive and meaningful learning experience that leverages games. The games created by the students in the course can serve to motivate music students by incorporating a sense of competition and …

Gender Expansive Students In The Choral Classroom: Awareness & Practices Of Secondary Music Educators, Emma E. Taranko

Honors Projects

In an age of growing diversity, it is essential for educators, both pre- and in-service, to seek out strategies that will assist them in creating a welcoming classroom environment for all learners. It is incumbent upon choral music teachers and community leaders to educate themselves in the diversity that presents itself in their classrooms in order to better service all students. In this study, twenty-five secondary music educators shared their awareness of gender expansive students in their choir classrooms and any strategies they have used to better service their singers. This study was conducted in order to assess which strategies …

Fundamentals Of Teaching Vocal Music Performance, Malcolm Shaquan Richardson

Masters Theses

This study outlines the significance and sole purpose of developing fundamental techniques of student vocal music performances, using professional constructive evaluation that will improve their overall performance experience. One of the most practical ways to support vocalists is to provide a constructive evaluation of their performances. The implementation of constructive evaluation is to reflect upon what is being done well, discover areas of improvement or refinement, plan and facilitate important lessons, and apply the lessons to future performances. As a music teacher who is actively overseeing the development of students as performing or creating musicians, including constructive evaluation is a …

Google It! Supplementing Instructional Material In The Secondary Band Classroom With The Google Suite, Jacob Elder

Masters Theses

In order to meet the needs of the students of the 21st century, the traditional methods for teaching in the secondary instrumental music classroom should be updated. The Google Suite coupled with a variety of commonly used instructional music technology programs is one way to modify the traditional classroom to accommodate modern learners. Data from case studies, information on effectively using the Google Suite, and supplemental programs to use for blended instruction are included as resources for the 6th-12th grade band classrooms. Since technology is rapidly changing, the subsequent information and tools provided will be updated continually. Keeping current on …

Reflections Of Female Band Directors: The Perceived Effect Of Sex, Gender, And Race On Career Experiences And Professional Practices, Robyn M. Lawrence, Robyn Olichwier Lawrence

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of this study was to examine the introspections of female band directors, and their perceived beliefs about the effect of sex, gender, and race on their own personal career experiences and professional practices. Participants (N=82) were all current members of Women Band Directors International. After contact through the organization’s website, participants were invited to complete an online survey that consisted of 39 multiple choice, Likert-scale based questions. An optional short answer question was included in the survey (totaling 40 questions), to offer participants the opportunity to share information about personal experiences if they felt comfortable. …

Arts Education: Benefits, Disparities, And Reaching For Equal Access, Madelaine Shreeman

Senior Honors Theses

Arts education is a unique way to engage students. The arts include, but are not limited to, music, theatre, visual/studio arts, poetry, and dance; they are powerful bridges for students to knowledge and classroom contribution. They assist students with lower academic achievement, problematic behavior, or those who have a likelihood of dropping out of school. While there are plenty of resources displaying the student benefits, there remain inequalities in access to arts education among students across America. Often, areas and schools that generally receive fewer opportunities or less arts funding are ones with more at-risk youth. Disproportionate arts access negatively …

Accommodations For Underserved Students In Music Education, William M. Refuss

The Corinthian

This research examines socioeconomic status and its relation to accommodating students with special needs where access to specific technologies and equipment is limited. For students who need costly accommodations where socioeconomic status affects access, other methods of accommodation need to be found. This paper focuses on the specific goals in a music education classroom and how students with disabilities struggle to achieve such goals without accommodations, as well as examining different personnel and technologies in which access is limited when examining the financial impact. Such accommodations include music therapists assigned to the school, inclusion classrooms, modified instruments, and other technologies …

S3e9: How Do You Teach Music During A Pandemic?, Ron Lisnet, Philip Edelman, Shianne Priest

The Maine Question

The coronavirus has disrupted just about every facet of academia, especially music education. Like concerts and jam sessions, teaching music is a shared community experience, but the pandemic has prompted several educators to switch instruction from in-person to remote. How can a teacher help a student improve when they can’t be in the same room or even play together? Philip Edelman, an assistant professor of music education at UMaine, tried to make the best of a less than ideal situation. He and Shianne Priest, director of music at Leonard Middle School in Old Town, developed a pilot program that gives …

Children's Creative Processes In Music Composition Through The Orff-Schulwerk Approach, Ashley Viera Espinal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to explore the creative processes of elementary school students in music composition through the Orff-Schulwerk approach. Twenty-two 5th grade students and a music teacher with all three levels of the Orff-Schulwerk certification participated in the study. There were three main focal points that were investigated within a span of five-weeks: 1) children’s creativity in an Orff-based composition task, 2) children’s perceptions of their creative processes employed during the composition task, and 3) the teacher’s perceptions of teaching/learning music composition through the Orff-Schulwerk approach. Data were generated through observations, field notes, interviews with …

Responsive Classroom Approach (Rca) In Music Classrooms To Acknowledge And Cultivate Diversity: A Curriculum, Carley Pelella

Masters Theses

In present day America, there is a growing need for educators to acknowledge diversity and create a safe learning environment for all students. Students should feel safe, welcomed, and free to express themselves in any classroom. While there are many social emotional learning (SEL) strategies to support building this atmosphere, for over 40 years the Responsive Classroom Approach (RCA) has made a significant impact on the culture of classrooms across America. By fostering an environment to “build academic and social-emotional competencies every day,” RCA provides teachers a tool to promote relationship building within their school populations. However, with a rapidly …

The Value Of Assessment For The Inclusive General Music Classroom, Mary Elizabeth Quigley

Masters Theses

This project contains an analysis of the current inclusion and assessment practices of the middle school (7th and 8th grade) general music classroom. There are many studies concerning inclusion of students with special needs and the importance of assessments in teaching music. However, there are very few studies that connect assessment techniques with inclusion, demonstrating that music teachers are teaching to each student’s ability. This study used the case study methodology in the qualitative approach with teacher interviews, surveys, and several classroom observations to analyze the data. The data was coded, and names of people and the school district were …

The Relationship Between Music Performance Anxiety And Self-Efficacy In Sixth To Eighth Grade Instrumental Students, Brian Bersh

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research study examined the relationship of self-efficacy to performance anxiety, as outlined in social cognitive theory. The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to test the theory of social cognitive theory that relates self-efficacy to anxiety. MPA and music performance self-efficacy (MPSE) were tested within the context of a school setting for instrumental music-making. The participants (N = 228) included a stratified random sample of Grade 6 to 8 instrumental middle school students located within the Mid-Atlantic region. To determine levels of MPA and MPSE, participants completed the Music Performance Anxiety Inventory for Adolescents and the Music Performance …

“Compassionate Dictatorship”: Leading Old Singers In Community Choirs In Australia, Dawn Joseph Dr, Jane Southcott Dr

The Qualitative Report

In Australia, the ageing population generate challenges, pressures and opportunities for both governmental and community organisations. Involvement in community choirs offers older people diverse benefits that increase with ongoing participation. The music directors/conductors (MD/C) of community choirs are pivotal in the success of ensembles. This paper forms part of our wider study into Well-being and ageing: community, diversity and the arts in Victoria, Australia and addresses the questions, how do music directors/conductors (MD/C) of community choirs understand working with older people? And, how do older choir members understand the role of their MD/C? We interviewed two MD/Cs and thematically analysed …

A Musically Embedded Curriculum For Rural Elementary Schools, Rachael Marie Dubay

Masters Theses

Rural school districts across the nation have been at a crossroads for decades. The amount of funding and resources provided to these small towns is often meager and falls short to provide the schools and students with the proper education, teacher training, curriculum, building maintenance, and other necessary educational materials. School officials and board members in these areas across the nation each year have had to make the hard decisions of what to prioritize and what will have to fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, cuts in budgetary and educational reform have regularly faced music education programs and it has become …

Music Education Transformation: How Orff, Kodaly, And Suzuki Promote Academic Success, Michelle M. Angeli

Masters Theses

We all need Music in our lives. Music education is valued less in the education system, but present data from these literature sources of articles, books, and research, tells us another story. For decades school systems have struggled with whether or not to include Music in the education system. There are many values for Music, including individual growth and development. In this research study, I intend to showcase the central benefits of Music to help show there is a need for these programs and to help promote music programs based on their own merits and not just because of academic …

Black Expressions Of Dillard University: How One Historically Black College Pioneered African American Arts, Makenzee Brown

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The proposed public history project, Within These Walls (WTW), will be one component of a larger exhibit produced by Dillard University’s, Library Archives and Special Collections entitled The Star Burns Bright: History of Dillard’s Theatrical and Musical Arts, Faculty and Students. WTW will focus on Dillard’s historic African American faculty, students and alumni who became prominent painters, musicians, writers, actors and directors among them Adella Gautier, Randolph Edmonds, Ted Shine Frederick Hall, Theodore Gilliam, and Brenda Osbey. This exhibit will also highlight the many art programs, across genres, offered at the university between 1935 and 1970. This exhibit will demonstrate …

“A Lot Of Stories In My Mind”: Perspectives Of Children And Elders Living With Dementia On Intergenerational Collaboration In A Participatory Music Project, Cameron Dusman

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Trends of music engagement include a shift towards presentational music culture, as well as inequitable access to participatory music-making for some populations. Meanwhile, trends of societal engagement include ageism and age-segregation. Especially for people living with dementia, stigma often prevents equitable access to creative participatory arts. This convergent, mixed-methods case study design explored participation in an intergenerational, participatory creative arts project. Participants included children from an elementary school and senior adults with dementia in a memory care neighborhood. The purpose was to explore the meaning of participation and interaction in the project from participants’ perspectives. Participants collaborated in eight sessions …

Effects Of Chair Testing In Orchestra On Student Motivation: Student Perspectives And Applications From Motivational Theories, Rosanna Christine Honeycutt

MSU Graduate Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine how string students perceive achievement on chair testing through the lens of attribution and achievement goal motivational self-theories. A teacher survey was administered to identify the goals of chair testing in two high school and seven middle school orchestra classrooms. A student survey was used to collect data in those same classrooms on (a) the reasons why students do and do not do well on chair tests, (b) the perceived goals of chair testing and (c) the ratings of motivation and self-achievement. Qualitative techniques were used to analyze attributions within both …

Secondary School Chorus: Practical Implication Of Praxial Music Education In Sight-Singing And Ear-Training, Euna P. Kim

Masters Theses

High school chorus students are often required to sing and memorize a diverse range of choral repertoire for performances. In the process of performance preparation, students learn many techniques including basic breathing, vocalization, blending of the voice, singing in pitch, keeping the rhythm, and following dynamics. Sight-singing is an essential technique for singers because music requires coordination of sight and singing through recognition of notation and rhythm. When a group of singers have a higher skill level of sight-singing, the learning of the song is easier and more efficient. The competency of sight-singing level of a group of singers allows …

Moments Of Music: A Qualitative Case Study In A Metropolitan Community Chorus, Katherine Iooss

Masters Theses

Making music in collaboration with others has impacted the strength, development, and connection amongst people throughout American history. Community music ensembles can strengthen social bonds and improve collaboration between citizens. Developing interest and skill in choral singing can provide an avenue for social connectedness in adulthood, as well as reduce stress throughout adolescence. This qualitative study focused on participants’ professed benefits from voluntary participation in a community chorus and the effect of rehearsal participation on perceived stress and/or energy level. The study was situated in a non-auditioned community choir in a densely populated metropolitan suburb in Northern Virginia. Data was …

Inclusive Ensembles: Differentiating For The Singer On The Autism Spectrum, Natalie Wilkins, Natalie A. Wilkins

Honors College Theses

Exceptional children belong in music classrooms. Music ensemble directors need to overcome complex challenges to meet the goal of inclusion, because ensembles often include a mixture of ages, grades, social and intellectual development stages, musical skills, and a wide variety of diverse learning needs. This study focuses on how a choral ensemble director may create an inclusive environment for students on the Autism Spectrum.

This study reviewed the current research on inclusive rehearsal environments. Analysis revealed varied methods for differentiation that allows students with special needs to thrive in a music classroom and also revealed that music can be a …

Gender-Specific Mentorship For Collegiate Female Band Directors, Laura M. Johnson, Douglas T. Owens

College of Arts and Letters Posters

The purpose of this study was to provide insight on the impact of gender-specific mentorship for aspiring female collegiate wind band conductors. The areas of focus included impactful mentorship methods, identifying mentors, and potential improvements for the wind band field. This research project was approved for an IRB exemption by the Old Dominion University College of Arts and Letters Human Subjects Review Committee. Two Qualtrics surveys were created for this study to reflect the differences in the level of experience of wind band conductors. Female collegiate/university band conductors and current/former music education or conducting graduate students completed Survey A (N …

Gender-Specific Mentorship For Collegiate Female Band Directors, Laura M. Johnson

Music Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide insight on the impact of gender-specific role models and mentorship for aspiring female collegiate wind band conductors. The areas of focus included methods of impactful mentorship, identifying role models, and potential improvements for the wind band field. This research project was approved for an IRB exemption by the Old Dominion University College of Arts and Letters Human Subjects Review Committee.

The subjects in this study were separated into two groups. Those that completed Survey A were either female collegiate/university band conductors, current music education or conducting graduate students, or former music education …

"Seeing" Music Theory: Graduate Music Theory For The Visually Impaired Music Student, Moriah Leigh Wilson

Masters Theses

Visually impaired individuals often encounter obstacles when seeking to become financially independent and obtain marketable skills. An increase in technology has allowed visually impaired persons, who desire to further their musical skills, the capability to seek further education. However, there is a lack of curriculum, especially in higher education, for teaching music theory skills to visually impaired individuals. Because a foundational knowledge of music is developed through music theory, it is essential that music educators at higher education institutions are prepared and equipped to properly and adequately teach and prepare visually impaired individuals for the music industry. By building on …

Music Education In A Liquid Social World: The Nuances Of Teaching With Students Of Immigrant And Refugee Backgrounds, Gabriela Ocádiz Velázquez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This integrated-article dissertation explores the multiple ways in which music teachers, community facilitators, and students engage in music teaching and learning in social contexts prone to change due to human mobility. Drawing upon Bauman’s sociological understanding of modern societies as liquid and the larger implications of processes of human mobility in schools and communities, this research focuses on exploring music education as it happens within an increasingly diversifying Canadian society.

In the first article, a philosophical research study, I conceptualize the notion of coping with discomfort as a form of response possibly experienced by music teachers. Here, I draw from …

Senior Recital, Brody Roland

Honors Theses

No abstract available.

Music Notation-To-Color Synesthesia And Early Stages Of Music Education: A Grounded Theory Study, Eduardo Sola Chagas Lima

Dissertations

Problem

Synesthesia is a neurological condition characterized by over-abundant neural connectivity between commonly highly specialized areas of the brain. The developmental form of the condition often results in automatic and consistent cross-sensory associations between perceived stimuli and commonly unrelated brain regions. This research contemplates the specific form of music notation-to-color synesthesia and its impact on early stages of music education. Synesthetes with this mode of the condition tend to involuntarily yet consistently associate music-notational concepts with colors, thus rendering their assimilation of these concepts unique and individualized. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of these individualized …

Creating Life-Long Relationships With The Arts: A Caring Philosophical Approach, Jennifer Sparkman Bartee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is important to understand how performing and visual arts teachers make their classes personally relevant for students. This study examines what the intentions of elementary performing and visual arts teachers who chose to teach with additional affective content. Four research questions were addressed in this study: 1) What are the instructional intentions of care-oriented elementary arts teachers? 2) What are the affective intentions of care-oriented elementary arts teachers? 3) How are these intentions actualized (or not actualized) within elementary arts classrooms? 4) What is the significance of these findings for elementary schools throughout the country?

To respond to these …