Despite continuous efforts to develop teacher observation and evaluation frameworks, one-size-fits-all evaluation tools may not be adequate for an instrumental music classroom. Since implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, teacher evaluation has shifted from a high-stakes accountability model to models focused on feedback and…

The purpose of this study was to develop a measure to investigate studio teacher's observational skill as a function of the observer's ability to identify effective pedagogical practices. A secondary purpose was to see if observational skill varied as a function of scores on a measure of empathy. Participants (N = 60) were saxophonists who…

Self-observation has proven to be a powerful medium for personal and professional growth and development. This research makes use of self-observation through video to determine the latent structure that underlies the gestures to be learned and mastered by orchestra conducting students. Exploratory Factorial Analysis (EFA) techniques have been…

For children born in the 21st century, the enmeshing of natural and human forces in the survival of the planet requires conceptual and practical innovation. This paper comes from a project funded by the Australian Research Council investigating the integration of literacy and sustainability in early years learning. The methodology employed was…

This study, generated from considerations of embodied cognition, observational learning, and cognitive load theory, investigated the effect of mimicking gestures on learning to play piano tasks. Fifty university students from an Australian University, with two different levels of piano-playing experience, were randomly assigned to one of the two…

There appear to be considerable differences in the outcomes of group string teaching programs in Queensland. Some teachers appear to be able to generate, manage, and administrate highly efficacious programs; others seem to experience difficulty transferring the knowledge and skills required for students to become successful string players. As a…

The implementation of a school-based integrated curriculum enables schools to plan a balanced, flexible and coherent curriculum in order to reduce subject specification, especially in kindergartens. Despite kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) being encouraged to integrate music content across subject areas, these…

Musical performances provide a rich context for studying complex spatial and embodied modes of group learning. This article proposes a framework for analyzing gesture in musical performances to highlight the ways musicians' movements reflect and promote their emerging and changing conceptions of a piece of music. The constructs of "expressive…

This study aimed to investigate the process of constructing a "fast-protocol" for violin instruction. Since learning string instruments has not been common, and because there are limited hours for music in Japanese schools, the author, a violinist, collaborated with the general music teacher at a middle school in the Tokyo metropolitan…

Over the past several decades, music education scholars have put forth a variety of convincing rationales for world music education. Yet the gap between theory and practice in this area persists. In theoretical ways, practicing music educators acknowledge the value of world music learning experiences, but many remain reluctant to fully embrace and…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe children's lived experience of enjoyment during musical play. Data sources included class video from 15 weeks of a 24-week extracurricular music class for 4- to 7-year-olds taught by the researcher, parent-filmed video of child participant music-making in home settings during the same…

This paper is based on the data collected from a longitudinal study of seven maintained, secondary schools in England that have adopted Musical Futures as an approach to teaching music. The research had a particular focus on key stage 3 (11-14). For the purposes of this paper, data gained from 18 music staff and 325 student interview…

The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate instrumental music education majors' score study practices as they related to the effectiveness of their simulated conducting. Participants (N = 30) were video recorded in two sessions in which they completed a 20-min score study session and a simulated conducting performance. In the first…

The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of how one classically trained musician adapted his pedagogical practices to accommodate the needs and interests of his students. A case-study methodology was employed to explore the perceptions and practices of this teacher, and data were collected over a two-year period through…

Traditionally, pedagogical research has been child centered, where materialities often have been considered as objects and tools. However, in recent posthuman research, attempts have been made to consider human materiality combinations to have impact on pedagogical activities in preschool, but to a large extent music as an issue has been…