Currently, there exist little materials to introduce elementary students to auxiliary percussion instruments. There is a need for the creation of more instructional material for this age group that provides pedagogy descriptions for the instruments as well as playing examples. The purpose of this project is to create a method book that provides…

Overwhelming evidence supports the fact that music instruction greatly increases academic achievement on standardized test scores at the elementary, middle and high school level. When school districts face budget deficits, typically they alleviate the shortfall by eliminating music programs. Currently in Dallas ISD, teacher salaries are affected…

This embedded experimental mixed-methods study examined the implementation and outcomes of World Music Drumming (WMD) curriculum on reading fluency in primary elementary children and teacher perceptions of its effectiveness in student-to-curriculum, student-to-student, and student-to-teacher interactions in a summer camp setting. WMD, with its…

The purpose of this study is to examine guitar tablature as a strategy to facilitate student-led learning in order to contribute to liberation of music students in the elementary setting. This researcher seeks to understand the effect it has on beginning guitar students in elementary school and what role, if any, it should take in an elementary…

This dissertation examines the reciprocal relationship between text literacy and music literacy through an experimental design. Music teachers and English Language Arts (ELA) teachers often address similar components of literacy, including fluency, comprehension, and symbolic interpretation. The theory of cognitive structuralism maintains that…

The purposes of this study were to examine the effects of an online synchronous lesson environment on beginning piano students' musical achievement, time spent in target behaviors across the study period, and attitude toward piano lessons. Beginning piano students (N = 19) between ages 6-9 with no prior private music instruction served as…

This research illustrates how varying enactments of an engineering-design-based science curriculum shaped the development of students' domain-specific scientific ideas and practices. In this comparative case study rooted in the analytical perspectives of activity theory and learning environments, student and teacher participants in three…

This study examines the impact of instrumental music study and group chess lessons on the standardized test scores of suburban elementary public school students (grades three through five) in Levittown, New York. The study divides the students into the following groups and compares the standardized test scores of each: a) instrumental music…

The purpose of this study was to obtain the perceptions of cooperating teachers in beginning and middle school instrumental music regarding their student teachers' skills and knowledge both at the beginning and at the end of the student teaching experience. The related research has focused primarily on two areas of music teacher education. Program…

This qualitative study examines perspectives of parents of children with autism related to engagement in the home environment. Increased engagement decreases the likelihood of less productive behaviors. Investigation of engagement in the home setting may provide insights into the development of interventions. Collaboration between parents and…