Musical Motivation: Towards a model synthesising the research

This article explores motivation to participate in music making activities. It examines historical and current theories of motivation and sets out a model describing the way that the characteristics of the individual including, personality, self-concept and personal goals interact with the environment to influence motivation and subsequent behaviour. The environment may include culture and sub-cultures, society, time, place, institutions, family and peers and the rewards and punishments that these offer. The article then explores research relating to motivation to actively participate in music. This supports the notion that musical motivation is determined by complex interactions between the individual and the environment within which they find themselves. The article concludes with a consideration of directions for future research

The Development of Metacognition in Musicians: Implication for Education

Recent research on musical practice has focused on metacognition and the strategies that musicians adopt in their preparations for performance. This study explored the development of metacognition and performance planning strategies in musicians from novice to professional level. 22 professional musicians and 55 novices were interviewed about their practising. The novices were also tape recorded learning and performing a short piece. The professional musicians demonstrated extensive metacognition in relation to their preparations for performance encompassing technical matters, interpretation, and issues relating to learning itself, e.g. concentration, planning, monitoring and evaluation. Although there were similarities in the strategies adopted there was considerable variation because of individual need. In the novice musicians, there was a complex relationship between the development of expertise and the use of planning strategies

Academic Libraries and Remedial Students: A Four-Pronged Approach

This article provides one possible solution to the question: How can academic libraries contribute to remedial student success? A four-pronged approach is suggested: appropriate collection development, involvement in support services, collaboration with faculty, and embedding librarian/information literacy in courses

The end-triassic mass extinction event

The end-Triassic is the least studied of the five major episodes of mass extinction recognized in the Phanerozoic, and the Triassic-Jurassic boundary is not precisely defined in most parts of the world, with a paucity of good marine sections and an insufficiency of biostratigraphically valuable fossils. Despite these limitations it is clear that there was a significant episode of mass extinction, affecting many groups, in the Late Norian and the existing facts are consistent with it having taken place at the very end of the period. The best record globally comes from marine strata. There was an almost complete turnover of ammonites across the T-J boundary, with perhaps no more than one genus surviving. About half the bivalve genera and most of the species went extinct, as did many archaeogastropods. Many Paleozoic-dominant brachiopods also disappeared, as did the last of the conodonts. There was a major collapse and disappearance of the Alpine calcareous sponge. Among terrestrial biota, a significant extinction event involving tetrapods was recognized. With regard to possible environmental events that may be postulated to account for the extinctions, there is no evidence of any significant global change of climate at this time. The existence of the large Manicouagan crater in Quebec, dated as about late or end-Triassic, has led to the suggestion that an impact event might be implicated, but so far despite intensive search no unequivocal iridium anomaly or shocked quartz was discovered. On the other hand there is strong evidence for significant marine regression in many parts of the world. It is proposed therefore that the likeliest cause of the marine extinctions is severe reduction in habitat area caused either by regression of epicontinental seas, subsequent widespread anoxia during the succeeding transgression, or a combination of the two

Every picture tells a story: pupil representations of learning the violin

Abstract: 
 The influence on learning outcomes of interpersonal interaction amongst
 teachers, pupils and parents is the subject of an inquiry that took this researcher on a
 voyage from the qualitative to the quantitative side of the “methodological divide”, and
 back again.
 This paper presents findings from first phase of the research, which included a
 quantitative survey to examine how learning and teaching experience for violin pupils was
 influenced by the interpersonal dynamics of responsiveness and control, within pupilparent
 and pupil-teacher relationships.
 As part of the survey pupils were asked to draw pictures of their violin lessons. It was
 thought that the pictures might reveal pupils’ perceptions of their experience of learning
 an instrument and that the pictures would add depth to the quantitative scales that
 measured interpersonal mechanisms and pupil outcomes.
 The pictures were subjected to content analysis and coded accordingly. These codes
 were matched with pupil artists’ scores for control and responsiveness, as well as with
 their scores for outcomes that included enjoyment of music, personal satisfaction, self
 esteem, self efficacy, friendship, motivation and musical attainment. Analysis of variance
 was computed in order to test the null hypotheses that a) pupil-teacher-parent
 interpersonal behaviour (control and responsiveness) was not represented in their
 pictures and b) pupil outcomes were not reflected in their depictions of violin lessons. This
 paper presents the results of this analysis, thus addressing the question of whether the
 pictures could be accepted as telling a credible and coherent story about pupils’
 perceptions of learning the violin

Secondary school pupils' satisfaction with their ability grouping placements

There has been little research exploring pupils’ satisfaction with their ability group placement. This paper explores the extent to which pupils are happy with their placement, and the reasons they give for wanting to move to another class or set. The sample comprised over 5,000 year 9 pupils (aged 13-14 years) in 45 mixed secondary comprehensive schools in England. The schools represented three levels of ability grouping in the lower school (years 7 to 9). Pupils responded to a questionnaire which explored their current set placement, their satisfaction with it, and their reasons for wanting to change. A substantial proportion of pupils expressed a wish to change set, most, but not all, in an upward direction, mainly because the level of work was inappropriate. The implications for ability grouping practices in schools are discussed

Interpersonal interaction within the violin teaching studio: the influence of interpersonal dynamics on outcomes for teachers

The overall aims of this study were to identify qualities of interpersonal interaction within teacher- parent-pupil learning partnerships and to explore whether these characteristics were predictors of learning and teaching outcomes for teachers, parents and pupils participating in pursuit of expertise on musical instruments. This article presents the findings relating to how teachers' beliefs relating to interpersonal interaction with pupils and parents impacted on their professional satisfaction, self-efficacy, and involvement with pupils and parents. Two hundred and sixty-three violin teachers were surveyed, each completing a questionnaire that included measures of the interpersonal constructs of control and responsiveness as well as measures for outcomes that included professional satisfaction, teacher self-efficacy, and involvement with pupils and parents. The scales for control and responsiveness were subjected to a principal component analysis, revealing several underlying dimensions of these constructs. Multiple regressions revealed that facets of control bore significant correlations with all of the specified teacher outcomes, while the interpersonal factor that had the greatest influence overall was teacher sensitivity (a responsiveness component). At the heart of this finding is a model of a 'responsive leader', providing authoritative direction but also compelled to respond to the individual pupil needs and parental wishes or circumstances. © The Author(s) 2010