684 research outputs found

    The tablet as a classroom musical instrument

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    Music education is rightly recognised as an important part of children’s social, creative and academic development. Current UK policy holds that all children should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and have access to quality music education. In practice, however, many primary schools do not have the resources and guidance to deliver this, and with the pressures of literacy and numeracy attainment, the more advanced aspects of music education, such as notation and theory, often seem unachievable goals. Primary schools increasingly utilise tablet devices, such as iPads, to improve interactivity, engagement and accessibility in other aspects of learning, but this approach is yet to be widely adopted within music classes. As part of a wider research project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, this study examines the effectiveness of such tablet applications in a Year 5 class on performance and composition, and assesses how this approach might function on a wider level. All children have the right to a music education which allows them to develop their expression and understanding. The modes of interaction and representation with which children are accustomed from regular use of tablets may help to ensure that this is present in every music class

    Evaluating Improvisation As A Technique For Training Pre-service Teachers For Inclusive Classrooms

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    Improvisation is a construct that uses a set of minimal heuristic guidelines to create a highly flexible scaffold that fosters extemporaneous communication. Scholars from diverse domains: such as psychology, business, negotiation, and education have suggested its use as a method for preparing professionals to manage complexity and think on their feet. A review of the literature revealed that while there is substantial theoretical scholarship on using improvisation in diverse domains, little research has verified these assertions. This dissertation evaluated whether improvisation, a specific type of dramatic technique, was effective for training pre-service teachers in specific characteristics of teacher-child classroom interaction, communication and affective skills development. It measured the strength and direction of any potential changes such training might effect on pre-service teacher’s self-efficacy for teaching and for implementing the communication skills common to improvisation and teaching while interacting with student in an inclusive classroom setting. A review of the literature on teacher self-efficacy and improvisation clarified and defined key terms, and illustrated relevant studies. This study utilized a mixed-method research design based on instructional design and development research. Matched pairs ttests were used to analyze the self-efficacy and training skills survey data and pre-service teacher reflections and interview transcripts were used to triangulate the qualitative data. Results of the t-tests showed a significant difference in participants’ self-efficacy for teaching measured before and after the improvisation training. A significant difference in means was also measured in participants’ aptitude for improvisation strategies and for self-efficacy for their implementation pre-/post- training. Qualitative results from pre-service teacher class iv artifacts and interviews showed participants reported beneficial personal outcomes as well as confirmed using skills from the training while interacting with students. Many of the qualitative themes parallel individual question items on the teacher self-efficacy TSES scale as well as the improvisation self-efficacy scale CSAI. The self-reported changes in affective behavior such as increased self-confidence and ability to foster positive interaction with students are illustrative of changes in teacher agency. Self-reports of being able to better understand student perspectives demonstrate a change in participant ability to empathize with students. Participants who worked with both typically developing students as well as with students with disabilities reported utilizing improvisation strategies such as Yes, and…, mirroring emotions and body language, vocal prosody and establishing a narrative relationship to put the students at ease, establish a positive learning environment, encourage student contributions and foster teachable moments. The improvisation strategies showed specific benefit for participants working with nonverbal students or who had commutation difficulties, by providing the pre-service teachers with strategies for using body language, emotional mirroring, vocal prosody and acceptance to foster interaction and communication with the student. Results from this investigation appear to substantiate the benefit of using improvisation training as part of a pre-service teacher methods course for preparing teachers for inclusive elementary classrooms. Replication of the study is encouraged with teachers of differing populations to confirm and extend results

    Perspectives in Gifted Education: Creativity

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    This is the fifth in a series of monographs published through the Institute for the Development of Gifted Education at the University of Denver, and it has been graciously funded by the Lynde and Harry Bradley foundation. The first monograph contained different perspectives on the growth and development of young gifted children while the second addressed the characteristics and needs of the twice-exceptional - those who are gifted and also have some type of disabling condition. The third monograph focused on the personality and spiritual and character development of gifted children; the fourth explored giftedness in a variety of diverse, under-represented populations of learners. It is a pleasure to welcome Dr. Bonnie Cramond as guest editor for this issue. which is focused on aspects of creativity and the gifted learner. Dr. Cramond is currently a Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia and has formerly been director at the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development. During her career she has worked as a classroom teacher and university professor and researcher, and she has assumed many leadership roles through membership on national boards, editorship of journals, presentations at conferences, and contributions to books, articles and monographs. Her efforts and leadership have furthered professional understanding of creative learners.https://digitalcommons.du.edu/perspectivesingifteded/1004/thumbnail.jp

    Cognition and musical improvisation in individual and group contexts

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    The aims of this research are to investigate how improvisatory skills develop in individuals and\ud teams. It focuses upon the effect of musical expertise in different musical genres on the\ud development of improvisatory skills. Multi methods were applied in the research and classified\ud into four phases. The first phase involved a self-case study implementing deliberate self\ud regulated practice based on a planned sequential model; a) sight-reading; b) memorising; and c)\ud improvising; over 8 weeks in a trained classical musician. Additionally, the self-case study used\ud two commissioned musical compositions matched in length, harmony and structure, one in the\ud classical genre the other in jazz. In the 2nd phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted\ud with novice and expert improvisers. The final phases included experiments studying sightreading,\ud memorising and improvising as a duo and observations and interviews relating to\ud ensemble rehearsals and improvisation with cross genre compositions. The findings suggest\ud that learning to improvise is frustrating and anxiety provoking. Seven elements were found to\ud be important in acquiring musical skills and domain knowledge acquisition: physiological\ud adaptation and developing reading music skills; establishing auditory schemata; automaticity;\ud use of memorisation strategies; analytic strategy application; and improvising to a coherent\ud musical structure. The findings also show that sight-reading and improvising share similarities\ud in their characteristics when learning to improvise as a duo. Issues such as communicating to\ud the audience, performance identity and connecting to the context are essential in the duo\ud improvisation performance. The findings indicate that a 'concept of break-points' (Poole,\ud 1983) take place during the latter stage of the ensemble improvisation process where changes\ud occur across all three elements, musical structure, social structure and communicative behavior. (Bastien\ud and Hostager, 2002:21) Factors such as leadership, group member characteristic, resource, information flow, the creative environment and collateral structure can influence the quality of\ud group improvisation performance
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