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The purpose of this study was to investigate Integrated Music Education (IME) as a pedagogicalapproach to address both music and non-music learning. We explored middle-school music andnon-music teachers’ perceptions of IME and observed their instructional practices. Ourcorresponding research questions were: (a) what were participants’ perceptions of IME; and (b)how did participants’ observed instructional practices demonstrate IME quality (i.e. disciplinaryand interdisciplinary instruction)? Using a case study design, we recruited a purposeful sample ofthree teacher-participants: one music teacher and two of their non-music teacher colleagues. Wecollected interview and observation data. To rate the level of observed integrated instruction, weused a protocol adapted from existing models. Using inductive and deductive analysis, fourthemes emerged from the interview data: defining IME, benefits of IME, obstacles to IME, andsupports for IME. We identified a disconnect between teachers’ perceptions and practices. Ingeneral, our interviews indicated higher-level IME perceptions while the observational ratingsrevealed lower-level practices. Implications of this study include the importance of defining IME, bridging the gap between perceptions and practices, and developing effective PD to fostereffective IME instruction.

Music teachers in urban, suburban, and rural communities face a multitude of challenges and opportunities. To identify and examine specific experiences that may be unique to rural general music teachers, we recruited six teacher-participants to complete a 5-week online professional development (PD) course for this exploratory study. We created a teacher-led approach for this PD, implementing topics and solutions generated by the participants. Using qualitative content analysis, we found two categories of themes in the online discussion posts that either connected or disconnected our participants with other music teachers on their general music context or their geographic setting. Although participants clearly articulated the influences of setting and place-based pedagogy, we found shared issues related to general music that transcended location. Implications for future PD include the importance of online delivery methods and developing PD differentiated by teaching contexts and geographic settings.

Integrated Music Education (IME) involves collaborative and experiential instruction, designed to address both music and non-music standards. The purpose of this study was to explore music and grade-level teachers’ perceptions of IME and to examine their observed instructional practices. The corresponding research questions were: (a) what were participants’ perceptions about IME; and (b) how did the participants’ observed instructional practices demonstrate IME quality (i.e. disciplinary and interdisciplinary instruction)? We chose a multiple case study design and recruited a purposeful sample of teacher-participants, focusing on the research questions in context. In each of two cases, one music teacher and two of their grade-level teacher colleagues served as participants. We collected data in two forms: interviews and classroom observations. To determine the level of integration via the observations, we adapted existing models and created a protocol to rate disciplinary and interdisciplinary instruction. After inductive and deductive analysis of interview data and rating observations, five themes emerged: how participants defined IME, benefits of IME, factors that supported and hindered IMEpractice, and needs for its continuation. Our ratings largely confirmed these themes but also revealed a disconnect between teacher perceptions of higher IME levels and their lower-level practices. Implications for preservice and in-service teacher education include aligning definitions with practice, enhancing teacher collaboration, and developing focused professional development. Taken together, these may address the challenges of IME while simultaneously recognizing its opportunities for both elementary music and grade-level teachers.

Pre-instructional decisions that teachers make fundamentally and directly influence their students’ music learning. Particularly with expert educators, as defined by their professional qualifications and education, these decisions reveal teachers’ motivations and pedagogical reasoning. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to examine pre-instructional decisionmaking from the perspective of expert music teachers, as framed by these two research questions: (1) which factors have more influence on pre-instructional decision-making among expert music teachers? and (2) what are the differences in pre-instructional decision-making by expert teachers in terms of teacher characteristics (gender and teaching experience) and educational setting (teaching level and musical context)? In a rank order analysis, teaching experience had the most prominent influence followed by materials and facilities, while the least influential factor was curriculum. In comparing differences among classroom-based and performance-based music teachers, results were largely the same. Performance-based teachers, however, ranked the influence of their own musical activities and assessment higher than did their classroom-based counterparts, who gave more emphasis to their own education and state curricula. Non-parametric tests revealed further insights, including directions for future research on pre-instructional decision-making among expert music educators, as well as recommendations for enhancing pre-service music teacher preparation and in-service professional development.

The purpose of this inter-university project was to explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions ofcollaboration and use of online technology. Twenty-two undergraduate music education majors fromtwo separate universities participated in an eleven-week collaborative project to develop, teach, andself-assess general music lesson plans via a variety of student-selected online technologies. Todetermine the participants’ perceptions, the researchers administered the quantitative TechnologyIntegration Confidence Scale and periodic qualitative questionnaires consisting of open-endedquestions. Participants showed positive quantitative gains in understanding technology operationsand concepts, planning and designing learning environments, applying technology, assessment, andunderstanding ethical and legal issues in the classroom. From the qualitative data, the researchersfound four emergent themes relating to communication and pedagogical knowledge: (1) versatilityand potential of collaborating through technology, (2) barriers and challenges to effectivecommunication, (3) importance of collaborative communication, and (4) increased personaleffectiveness through reflective growth. Participants reported that working through collaborativeassignments increased their self-confidence and reflective thinking skills, as well as helping themrecognize the value of communication in terms of curriculum and instructional effectiveness. Thesefindings highlight the importance of identifying strategies to instruct, motivate, and evaluate pre-servicemusic teachers as they develop 21st century skills and music teaching competencies. Toconclude, the co-authors discuss implications of technology-based collaborations beyond musiceducation for the teaching profession in general.

The purpose of this study was to examine familiarity with and usage of “Understandingby Design” (UbD) among music teacher educators. UbD (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) provides acurricular approach for the revised National Standards for Music Education as part of theNational Coalition for Core Arts Standards. Accordingly, the co-authors collected quantitativeand qualitative data to examine how music teacher educators conceptualized and implementedUbD. Initially, 300 members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) servedas participants and responded to an online survey. Responses indicated a low level ofunderstanding UbD, some frustration with communication about the revised standards, and aninterest in creating a UbD resource network for music educators. As a follow-up, 13 participantswho had experience using aspects of UbD in their teaching volunteered for semi-structuredinterviews. From those data, four themes emerged: curricular modeling, awareness andadvocacy, teacher mindset, and pedagogical disadvantages of UbD. Implications includeresponsive professional development to explain and promote UbD in terms of its role in therevised standards. Additionally, music teacher educators may find a repository of sample UbDformattedlesson plans useful in understanding and using the revised national standards.

The focus of this article is the authenticity of Orff-Schulwerk practices, particularly in Americanmusic teaching. Since its adoption in American schools nearly 50 years ago, Orff Schulwerk hasenjoyed an enthusiastic following. With the assistance of the national American Orff-SchulwerkAssociation (AOSA), teachers and children alike have learned by making music creatively inthousands of schools across the country. While this approach is most obviously associated withthe barred instruments (xylophone, metalophone, and glockenspiel), its true identity transcendsthese instruments and other media. Instead, the actual nature of the Schulwerk is creativity asembodied by the Orff Process. Beginning with observation and imitation, this processencourages exploration and improvisation before creating in sound and movement. Only whenneeded to record a musical creation does the process include notation as a final and lessimportant step. Since its growth in popularity, Schulwerk teachers have access to abundantpublished and recorded resources. They include arrangements, lesson plans, songbooks, andcurriculum guides. The tendency of some American music teachers to use these pre-packagedmaterials as fixed musical experiences to produce well-rehearsed performances is actuallyantithetical to the Schulwerk. Instead, the Schulwerk celebrates organically createdperformances and thrives on improvisation. From its historical foundations and laterdevelopments, this article explores questions of authenticity in Orff-Schulwerk practices.Concluding with implications for music teachers and music teacher educators, the criticaldiscussion question is: How Orff is your Schulwerk?

The purpose of this longitudinal project was to investigate the effects of a program combining musical ensembles-in-residence with regular classroom music instruction on elementary students’ auditory discrimination and spatial intelligence scores. In combination with regular, sequential general music classes as part of their school curriculum, participants in the program received two half-hour lesson each week, from musical-ensembles-in-residence. These chamber ensembles provided aural models for reinforcing fundamental concepts for four consecutive years. Researchers collected data from a stratified, random sample of students in grades K-2 and 4-5 receiving the experimental program and demographically similar comparison schools, which did not receive any regular music instruction. A total of 684 elementary students in one school district in the southwestern United States served as participants in this study. Researchers found that the experimental program with the chambermusic ensembles was associated with consistent and significantly (p < 0.05) greater scores inboth auditory discrimination and spatial intelligence measures. Although these statistical results should be interpreted cautiously, implications for music education include promoting such an ensemble-in-residence program in conjunction with regular, sequential music instruction to benefit student learning. Future directions of this research include investigating the role of musically enriched school environments as a means of enhancing student learning

The evolution of C4 photosynthesis in many taxa involves the establishment of a two-celled photorespiratory CO2 pump, termed C2 photosynthesis. How C3 species evolved C2 metabolism is critical to understanding the initial phases of C4 plant evolution. To

Of all musical activities, music listening is the most ubiquitous and essential to all other musical endeavors. In practice, however, music listening is often over-looked as a passive and prescribed activity. This article has a three-fold purpose: (1) to describe music listening as a thoughtful, creative, and purposeful activity; (2) to explore the connections among the four active musicmaking approaches in terms of music listening; and (3) to suggest ways teachers can incorporate meaningful and active music listening activities into their teaching practice. Topics in the first section include foundations of music listening as an activity and what research in related literature offers. The second section contains an exploration of links among the four active music-making pedagogies and their relationship to music listening as instruction, with an emphasis on Orff-Schulwerk and its connections to other active music-making pedagogies. Finally, the third section presents two practical applications of music listening instruction paired with active music-making tasks. Because the National Cultural Policy now links with the Australian Curriculum, implications for the Australian music and general classroom educators concludes this article.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine perspectives of experienced university faculty and cooperating teachers in general music education. The co-authors’ four guiding research questions were: (a) What are the ideal components of preservice general music teacher preparation; (b) What do cooperating teachers and university supervisors expect of preservice music teachers; (c) How may preservice general music teacher preparation be improved; and (d) What are the possible roadblocks and solutions for improving preservice music teacher preparation? For this case study, 11 university faculty and 19 cooperating teachers completed a researcher-designed, open-ended survey (N = 30). Using a downward coding process to identify diversity within the data, followed by upward coding to determine synthesis within the data, three themes emerged: enabling conditions, inhibiting conditions, and curriculum reorganization. Research questions (a) and (b) matched with enabling conditions,when present, and inhibiting conditions,when absent. Curricular reorganization responses matched with question (c),while inhibiting conditions and elements of curricular reorganization matched with question (d). The co-authors discuss implications of their findings for music teacher education and make recommendations for further research to extend this exploratory study

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of critical thinking instruction on music listening skills of fifth-grade students as measured by written responses to music listening. The researcher compared instruction that included opportunities for critical thinking (Critical Thinking Instruction, CTI) with parallel instruction without critical thinking opportunities (Activity-Based Instruction, ABI). The same music teacher delivered both instructional treatments concurrently in a series of sixteen, forty-five minute classroom lessons. Two randomly-assigned, intact classes of participants (n = 41 and 40) comprised the CTI and ABI treatment groups, respectively. Three independent judges scored participants’ pretest and posttest responses using a researcher-designed instrument. Using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), the researcher found a significant test by treatment interaction. The post hoc analysis indicated that while the CTI participants scored higher on the posttest as compared with the pretest, ABI participants demonstrated no significant differences by test. Readers should note the larger than expected standard deviations when considering the positive effects of the CTI treatment . Implications include recommendations for future research and for designing music listening lessons to incorporate critical thinking skills in classroom music instruction.

Costa Rica does not have a strong tradition for music education other than the teaching of classical music performance. In order to promote music education, Dr. Daniel C. Johnson, an associate professor of music education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, presented international outreach workshops on the importance and practice of Orff Schulwerk to teachers, college students and children from a number of Central American countries. Organized with Guillero Rosabel-Coto, an associate professor of music education and chair of the music education department at the University of Costa Rica, Johnson was invited by Rosabel, the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and the Costa Rican Form of Music Education (FOCODEM) on two occasions, to present workshops on Orff Schulwerk. These workshops were the first of their kind.

Departments in the arts and humanities are often inhospitable environments for assessment of learning outcomes. For one thing, student learning in these disciplines is not easily quantified. Also, department chairs and faculty members, having survived the culture wars of the 1990s, are understandably wary of any initiative that seems to demand a justification of what they do. In an atmosphere of distrust, assessment becomes little more than a defensive tactic. When, on the other hand, departments take ownership of the process, assessment becomes a powerful tool in making an effective case for scarce resources. We have found that that the best approach to assessment starts with first principles(historical perspectives on the discipline, the fundamental aims and methods of its research), then proceeds to instrumental issues (what to measure and how to measure it).

The article discusses the history and development of shape note singing in the U.S. Shape-note singing is recognized as one of the original style of American music. Shape-note singing derives its name from the use of shaped note-heads during 18th-19th centuries. It delivers significant remarks in both social and religious aspects. It cites that the music characteristics of the shaped notation assists music literacy.

Despite the proliferation of technology designed to increase efficiency and connectivity, students’ understanding and comprehension of course content often lags behind the latest advances in e-learning. Critical thinking in the form of higher-order processes provides one way to improve the grasp students have on course content and related knowledge. In this session, the gap between assessment and learning is explored from a theoretical perspective in terms of Bloom’s “Cognitive Taxonomy” and other paradigms. Because “the test” frequently drives the curriculum, assessment of online learning is the focus of critical thinking in this session. Discussion topics include: reasons for assessment, formative vs. summative assessments, testing vs. measuring vs. assessing, and the practicality of assessments in online learning. With a focus on learning outcomes, this session explores curricular connections by thinking critically about content knowledge and assessment strategies. By shifting the focus from technology to thinking, the advantages of making meaningful connections are investigated in terms of innovative assessments. The theoretical basis for this session will include constructivism and reflective thinking as applied to an online learning environment. Participants are encouraged to apply critical thinking assessments to their own content areas.

Beyond the obvious knowledge and skills imparted, education respects and enables students in ways that training does not. Composer Carl Orff articulated a central theme of his approach to education also known as Orff-Schulwerk, or schooling in music through active involvement when he wrote: “Anyone who has worked with children or young people in the spirit of Schulwerk will have discovered that it has a humanizing influence which transcends its musical function.” This paper is an exploration of the Schulwerk in terms of its humanizing potential as well as a comparison of the Schulwerk to humanism as articulated by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.

The two purposes of this pilot study were: to classify fifth-grade students’ verbal responses as either Musical Term or Affective/Associative, and to determine if there was a significant difference between subjects’ verbal responses in written and spoken forms. Fifth-grade subjects (n = 40) completed the “Listening and Thinking” measure, consisting of six open-ended questions based on two pairs of instrumental musical examples. Half the subjects responded in written form while the other half responded in oral form. In a Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), a disordinal interaction was found (p = 0.01) such that there were more spoken responses referring to musical terms, and more written responses referring to affective/associative responses. The subjects provided significantly (p = 0.00 1) more musical term than affective/associative responses. There were, however, no significant differences found in the subjects’ responses by musical example, by order of musical examples, or by form of data. For affective and associative responses, written data may prove to be more useful than spoken data, and written responses to music listening appear to be as effective as spoken data. These results have implications for future investigations of cognitive and affective responses to music listening and evaluations of music listening instruction.

Music, a universal human endeavor, offers a unique perspective on studying the humanities. Studying music combines the intellectual and emotional meaning listeners make from music, engaging them in aesthetically focused-activities. In this article, the benefits of teaching music using a methodology based on critical thinking are discussed. Additionally, the nature of critical thinking as an instructional methodology is explored from multiple perspectives. To elevate intellectual standards and to effect a qualitative change in thinking, critical thinking advocates have encouraged students to think for themselves by guiding students’ reflection on their own experiences, by developing listening as a critical thinking skill, and by asking probing questions. To reflect the fast-paced technological changes in contemporary society and education, teachers should impart thinking skills instead of mere information. As Whitehead suggested, the real goal of education is the development of thought processes instead of the accumulation of information. Constructivism, an approach emphasizing the meaning students create in the process of education, is also examined in terms of musical settings. While human beings are naturally predisposed to create meaning and construct concepts, particular ways in which we make sense of the world are learned. From constructivist paradigms to educational interventions, critical thinking is discussed as a movement based both on theory and applied techniques. Among the goals of this movement is the responsibility to educate independent thinkers and autonomous learners who actively make their own meaning of the world. Implications for understanding music, critical thinking, and the humanities in general conclude this paper.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how elementary-aged students with instrumental experience listen to unfamiliar music. My two research questions were: how do elementary instrumentalists categorize unfamiliar music? and, how much attention do students give discrete musical elements (e.g. tempo, instrumentation, and dynamics) as compared to global musical characteristics (e.g. style. genre, and affect) when describing music? The participants were fifth-grade students who had played in the school band or orchestra for at least one year. After listening to fifteen short musical examples, the participants wrote descriptions of the music, sorted the examples into groups, and explained their sorting strategies. Four categories of descriptors emerged: Elemental Music Descriptors, Extramusical Associative Descriptors, Affective Descriptors, and Other Descriptors. The participants used elemental musical terms most often, yet also included a substantial number of extramusical associations and affective descriptors. The extramusical associations were often based on personal experiences particular to each participant and encompassed four recurring sub-themes common to many of the participants. Implications of this study for future research include evaluating how students actually listen to music, using their own words, to provide a more complete understanding of their musical experiences. Instead of teaching music analytically and piecemeal, music educators could honor all the categories of responses children have to music. Music listening instruction could facilitate more meaningful listening experiences in the classroom by adapting music instruction to involve associative and affective responses along with elemental musical descriptors. Instead of exercises in repeating memorized musical terms, music listening experiences may be investigated as opportunities for creative and critical thought.

This project explored the feasibility of constructing task-by-element matrices for three avionics MOSs--35L, 35M, and 35R. Matrix rows define critical tasks, and columns specify behavioral elements (soldier perceptions, decisions, and actions) required for successful task performance. The GJPM identifies commonalities among tasks within and across MOSs based on behavioral content. Concurrent with this analysis, a generalizable avionics troubleshooting guide was developed. The GJPM was used to develop prioritized task Lists, identify performance measures for critical tasks, and identify behavioral elements common across tasks in one or more MOSs. SQT written components were developed for the three MOSs. The GJPM facilitated MOS content coverage while reducing unecessary redundancy. Interviews were conducted upon completion of the SQTs to evaluate the usefulness of the GJPM for SQT development, training design, training media evaluation, and MOS management, and to discuss appropriate levels of matrix task and element specificity. The project demonstrated that the GJPM facilitates SQT development. Interviews suggest that the GJPM will be useful for training, training device design, and test design and development. The GJPM is a systematic approach that can point out areas of commonality not previously apparent, and can identify areas of differences where commonality had been assumed., Prepared in cooperation with Honeywell, Inc., Minneapolis, MN. Systems and Research Center.