Enhancing Language Activities in Elementary Music Education: Based on Worksheets from the Italian Elementary School Textbook Musica Guida (2008)

This study aimed to examine methods of cognitive learning employed in music classrooms in Italy based on an analysis of the Italian elementary school textbook Musica Guida (2008). Using worksheets from that textbook, this study also includes a discussion on how learned content can be linked to language activities. This study involved the development of a series of proposals on how language activities can be enhanced in Japanese music classrooms. The results indicated that when devising teaching methods for cognitive learning, it is necessary to provide students with textual explanations in addition to images. It was also found that to encourage students to perceive the characteristics of music and virtues of musical performance and express them in words, teachers must help students understand the close relationship between music and their daily lives; teachers need to demonstrate the effect of music on the students’ lives and emotions. Once students have grasped these important points, they are more likely to take an interest in activities that require them to consider the characteristics of music and virtues of musical performance and to apply that knowledge in presentation activities

Memories with Prof. Mayumi Mimura

三村真弓教授退職記念号 Special Number Commemorating the Retirement of Professor Mayumi Mimur

イタリアの小・中学校における音楽教育の歴史的変遷 : 国家的教育基準と教科書・指導書から見る音楽教育の目的と役割

内容の要約広島大学(Hiroshima University)博士(教育学)Doctor of Philosophy in Educationdoctora

Trend Analysis of Demo Lessons in Music Teacher Education: Focusing on the Introductory Section

This article aims to clarify tendencies in them by focusing on the introductory section of demo lessons. The research method consists in an analysis of teaching behavior. The purpose of the class entitled “Studies in Teaching of Music”, which is given to second-year students, is to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to become a music teacher. After being taught the interpretation of the course of study, evaluation method, and writing a teaching plan, students take a 15-minute demo lesson. As a result of the analysis, I discovered five trends. First, few teachers confirm what they have learned or know, which was found to result from their lack of understanding of the curriculum and of studying the teaching materials. Second, there are many explanations by teachers, which was caused by the fact that it was their first demo lesson, they were lacked knowledge. Third, many teachers ask simple questions. Consequently, they were unable to motivate learners or deepen their thinking. Fourth, few teachers evaluate students. As it was their first demo lesson, they were unable to evaluate them and had no vocabulary. Fifth, students do not speak independently, as they are not surrounded with a free-speaking atmosphere and they have been unable to motivate themselves. However, a reason for this student issue was that university students played the role of students, which did not properly reflect the behavior of junior and senior high school students. Thus, I aim to consider a teaching method that will improve the teaching ability of students

Changes in Piano Learners’ Perceived Cost of Learning Over Time: A Study of Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers

In professional childcare and teacher training, acquisition and improvement of piano proficiency are often included in the curriculum. However, various challenges have been reported. There has been substantial research into learning motivation, and several studies have reported that beginners tend to perceive a psychological burden regarding learning (Yoshimura & Shibasaki, 2015; Beppu, 2016). However, because these previous studies obtained measurements at only one point in time, the ways in which this perceived burden changes as learning progresses remains unclear. Therefore, the current study sought to examine changes in the perceived cost of piano learning (opportunity cost, psychological cost, and effort cost) using a longitudinal survey. A questionnaire survey was conducted twice with the same students, in October 2017, and July 2018. At the time of the first survey, participants were 172 freshmen. At the time of the second survey, participants were 168 sophomores. After excluding participants with missing data, 138 data-sets were analyzed. Analysis of variance revealed that a greater opportunity cost was perceived in the second year compared with the first year. Although the psychological cost did not change between the first and second years, the negative correlation between psychological cost and learning motivation was stronger in the second survey compared with the first survey. This finding suggests that this relationship may impede learning for students who had not previously studied piano. Regarding the effort cost, the results revealed a characteristic perception among students with more than 10 years experience learning keyboard instruments before entering a 2-year junior college program: although these students exhibited optimism regarding the effort cost in the first year, they perceived the necessity of effort in the second year because they experienced training at nursery school, or because the learning tasks changed from solo playing to playing accompanied by singing. These changes may cause an increase in the perceived burden of learning

The Opera Project at Hiroshima University amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Focusing on Educational Significance of Opera

This paper reports an opera concert which was held at Hiroshima University in November 2020 as well as the process surrounding this concert. Through an analysis, it aims to examine the educational significance of the Opera Project held at Hiroshima University. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a tremendous influence on our lives. Almost all music concerts were canceled or postponed. Opera concerts faced especially greater challenges than other types of concerts, as singers cannot wear a mask when they sing and keeping a distance between performers is extremely difficult due to the nature of the performance. At first, an opera concert was to be held in April 2020 at Hiroshima University as part of a class entitled “Opera Ensemble”. Needless to say, it was also delayed to November 2020. In addition, the “Opera Ensemble” class could not be normally taught. Therefore, class activities were transformed. Students took and edited videos themselves on behalf of regular Ensemble in the first semester. Consequently, in this November concert, only solo arias were played, and the produced videos were displayed. Additionally, various measures were prepared to counter the spread of the virus. These measures aimed, for instance, to decrease the capacity of the hall, to provide ventilation between the pieces, to collect the addresses of spectators etc. Although the pandemic had a profound influence on us all, positive aspects which we would have never witnessed without the pandemic exist. In conclusion, three positive aspects were identified: (1) the possibility of breaking fixed ideas, (2) cultivating students’ information and communication technology (ICT) literacy, planning ability, and cooperation spirit, and (3) considering what essential music is