r... .3332": a. . z. r i 3...... :15: 3: : .. . ....n_..n. , .., . . a. .32. 9w.» 1. . a? «a: 3 2"} :3: :7... . 2- ... 1 :1... i. .w a A . g... a ......,,....,......«r... 9: 3 LP... . z... 4:. 5. .. .aI‘ 63;}. 1.345: ‘3»: 3.3.3. 3:03.032. 9. 3 i k. al.35335. ‘1,A¢q‘e .’ 5 5.4 .- :3... arm... .99.: 0" .C- . ,2: s, . .. . .- 13.5.3.5 9??» £33... .3. it {3:53 Na", 0. zdd't In. :3 rhnflhiflune .i... . at .17 $3: .5 .7: 3.}. 1 ) ..vi’i.-§.. I ~ 3.3.11.1... :9! 2 I. .>. .{.\.Z.¢\ [LO . {9‘ 3:04 I) s: 119 \\ :9. :1:~ 1 1.3.3:... ll BRARY Michigan State University This is to certify that the thesis entitled Incorporation of Music Learning Theory in a Middle School Choral Classroom presented by Shelly A. Jenema has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Master degree in Music WM. Major professor Date (”/077/01 0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE “flaw! ffii 3? 24.209 6/01 c-JCIRC/DateDuepGS-p. 15 INCORPORATION OF MUSIC LEARNING THEORY IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL CHORAL CLASSROOM By Shelly A. Jenema A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF MUSIC Department of Music 2001 ABSTRACT INCORPORATION OF MUSIC LEARNING THEORY IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL CHORAL CLASSROOM By Shelly A. Jenema The purpose of this action research study was to describe the incorporation of Music Learning Theory’s tonal and rhythm patterns, as developed by Gordon, in a seventh grade choral classroom. The study had seventeen participants who chose to participate in seventh grade choir for one year. The tonal and rhythm patterns were taught daily during the first 5 to 10 minutes of class with rhythm patterns and tonal patterns taught separately on different days. The process is described through various lenses including the instructor, other colleagues, and the students. Research questions were formulated to aid in the data collection and description process and centered around perceived advantages and disadvantages. Data collection included: an instructor’s log; colleague interviews; and student interviews and journals. The examination focused on perceived advantages and disadvantages of the curriculum. Results indicated an improvement in tonal and rhythm Skills. Additional observations included the ease of incorporating Music Learning Theory’s tonal and rhythm patterns into the choral rehearsal, the importance of following the sequence of objectives as developed by Gordon and finally the challenges of incorporating Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom. Copyright by SHELLY A. JENEMA 2001 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION What is Music Learning Theory Music Literacy and Understanding Appreciation through Understanding Research Questions CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Rhythm Instruction Tonal Instruction Action Research in Music Education CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY Theoretical Perspective Personal Orientation Access Research Site Participants Procedure Data Collection Devices Triangulation CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS STRATEGIES Student Interviews and Journals Colleague Interviews Teacher Journal Daily Lesson Logs CHAPTER 5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Introduction Tonal Improvements Rhythm Improvements CHAPTER 6 ADDITIONAL FINDINGS Introduction Incorporation of Familiar Patterns into a Choral Rehearsal iv CDNOD-t-t 1O 14 16 23 23 24 25 25 26 27 28 31 32 33 33 34 34 36 36 37 41 49 49 49 The Importance of Sequence as Described in Music Learning Theory Implementation Musical Challenges of Adapting Music Learning Theory to a Choral Classroom CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION Recommendations for Future Research APPENDICES REFERENCES 50 52 55 58 59 62 72 Chapter 1 Introduction The work of Dr. Edwin E. Gordon and Music Learning Theory is recognized by music educators and researchers throughout the world (Woodford, 1996). Indeed, “the publication of Gordon’s Music Aptitude Profile (1965)...forced the profession to admit the importance of this music educator and his ideas about talent and instruction” (Colwell & Abrahams, 1991, p. 20). In 1986, “Music Educators Journal described Music Learning Theory as one of the five major approaches to music education” (Shuler, 1991, p. 38). Whether music educators embrace or reject Music Learning Theory, undoubtedly their teaching has been affected in some way by Gordon’s research. As numerous as Gordon’s contributions are, little research exists in applying Music Learning Theory to choral music education. Gordon’s work as a researcher has led to the development of a general music and instrumental series using Music Learning Theory. However, In choral education, few have explored Music Learning Theory and its effect on choral music education. The purpose of this study was to describe the incorporation of Music Learning Theory in a seventh grade choral classroom. What is Music LeamflTheow? Music Learning Theory is a set of comprehensive and sequential objectives used to teach music as developed by Gordon. His learning theory “outlines this sequence for Ieaming music, explaining what students need to know at a particular level of Ieaming in order to proceed to a more advanced level” (Gordon, 1997, p. 25). The foundation of Music Learning Theory is music aptitude and the belief that everyone has the ability to achieve some level of success in music. One of Music Learning Theory’s goals is “to teach students to appreciate music through understanding” (1997, p. 33). Audiation is the fundamental building block necessary for understanding to take place. Audiation is defined as what “takes place when we assimilate and comprehend [music] in our minds” (1997, p.4). Audiation is an essential component of Music Learning Theory, and without it, music literacy and understanding cannot be achieved. The process of audiation is facilitated through the practical application of Music Learning Theory called Music Learning Sequences, which include a) skill Ieaming sequence, b) tonal content learning sequence and c) rhythm content Ieaming sequence (1997, p. 86). Gordon defines Skill Ieaming sequence activities (SLSA) as “all of the discrimination and inference Skills that are taught sequentially to students in conjunction with tonal or rhythm content Ieaming sequence” (1997, p. 376). Music Learning Theory divides learning into two types. The first is discrimination Ieaming, or rote Ieaming, which acts as readiness for the second type called inference Ieaming. Inference Ieaming is conceptual Ieaming. “Discrimination and inference learning, however, are not mutually exclusive. They occur together as one or the other receives the greater emphasis” (1997, p. 87). Discrimination and inference Ieaming have hierarchical levels and subparts of levels of learning. In Music Learning Theory each level or subpart of a level of Ieaming coincides with one or more sequential objectives (Grunow & Gordon, ix) 1995, p. 21). As each level or subparts of levels are achieved, it combines and interacts with the next higher levels of Ieaming. The following is an outline of the levels and sublevels of discrimination and inference Ieaming. DISCRIMINATION LEARNING AURAL/ORAL VERBAL ASSOCIATION PARTIAL SYNTHESIS SYMBOLIC ASSOCIATION Reading — Writing COMPOSITE SYNTHESIS Reading — Writing INFERENCE LEARNING GENERALIZATION Aural/Oral — Verbal — Symbolic — Reading — Writing CREATIVITY/IMPROVISATION Aural/Oral - Symbolic - Reading — Writing THEORETICAL UNDERSTANDING Aural/Oral - Verbal — Symbolic - Reading — Writing (1995,p.21) At the Aural/Oral level of learning, students are taught by rote to perform tonal patterns and rhythm patterns on a neutral syllable. Once students can audiate and perform tonal and rhythm patterns at the Aural/Oral level, tonal and rhythm syllables are then added for the Verbal Association level. Tonal syllable solfege uses “do” based major and “la” based minor. Rhythm syllable solfege associates “Du De” with macrobeats and microbeats in duple, and “Du Da Di” for macrobeats and microbeats in triple. As well as associating solfege with tonal and rhythm patterns, students learn the proper names of the tonalities and meters and the functions of the tonal and rhythm patterns they are audiating. The Partial Synthesis level combines familiar tonal patterns into a series of tonal patterns and familiar rhythm patterns into a series of rhythm patterns. In Symbolic Association, students associate in audiation the tonal and rhythm patterns to the notation of these patterns. Through audiation, students are able to bring meaning to the notation. As well as reading individual patterns, students are also asked to write individual patterns. At the Composite Synthesis level students are able to recognize and audiate the tonality of a series of tonal patterns and the meter of a series of rhythm patterns. Through Music Leaming Theory’s SLSA students are able to audiate, read, write and perform with musical meaning what they see in notation. With all levels of discrimination Ieaming, students are asked to perform first as a group, and then as an individual. In inference Ieaming Generalization, students Ieam to audiate, read and sing series of familiar and unfamiliar tonal patterns and rhythm patterns. The more familiar patterns a student can recognize in notation, the more unfamiliar pattems a student will be able to recognize or sight-read in notation. At the Creativity/Improvisation level of learning, students are taught to audiate familiar and unfamiliar tonal patterns and rhythm patterns with and without the aid of notation. Once students have developed Creativity/Improvisation skills through SLSA, they have the readiness to create and improvise in any style of music. It is important to note that creativity and improvisation cannot be taught; only after the readiness will students be capable of teaching themselves how to create and improvise. Theoretical Understanding is teaching students letter names, time values and definitions othen~ise known as music theory. Students do not need this information to audiate, improvise, and read music. Teaching music theory may jeopardize their development of audiation, improvisation and reading skills. The hierarchical levels and subparts of levels of discrimination and inference learning are achieved through stepwise or bridging movement as described by Gordon: Classroom instructional method appropriate to music Ieaming theory occurs when teachers organize their objectives for a class in logical sequence toward the accomplishment of a goal or a standard, or what in music Ieaming theory we call a comprehensive objective. These sequential objectives have logical order when they progress by step from achievement at one level or sublevel of learning to the next higher level or sublevel of learning, or when they progress by skip to make a “bridge” from one level or sublevel of Ieaming to achievement at any higher level or sublevel of Ieaming. The first type of progression is called stepwise movement and the second is called bridging movement. (1997, p. 211) The stepwise motion simply follows the hierarchy and sequentially moves from one level to the next. The bridging movement requires students to make a mental connection and temporarily skip ahead one or more levels in the sequence. Once achievement is completed at the higher level, the Ieaming reverts back to the lower level. The bridging movement is important for two reasons: first, it can strengthen what students learned at the lower level, and second, students have optimal achievement when in SLSA they are introduced to “unfamiliar skill in association with a familiar tonality or meter or when they are introduced to an unfamiliar tonality or meter in association with a familiar skill” (Gordon, 1997, p. 213). The focus of my study was the incorporation of SLSA into my seventh grade choral classroom. When levels of skill Ieaming sequence are taught in combination with levels of tonal content Ieaming sequence or rhythm content Ieaming sequence, a curriculum based on music Ieaming theory can be developed using stepwise movement and bridging movement to create a classroom Ieaming environment where all student can achieve (Gordon, 1997, p. 211) Music literacy andiunderstandinq; Gordon believes “the long-range objective for a music education program is music literacy; that is, the ability to read and write music with understanding” (Colwell & Abrahams, 1991, p.28). This idea of music literacy and understanding is highly debated among music educators and researchers. Reimer insists, “a curriculum to be valid must be inclusive of all possible musical experiences and modes of involvement and developmental patterns” (Reimer, 1989, p. 150). Music Learning Theory provides immersion into a wide variety of tonalities and meters. Gordon contends that other ‘methods’ do not provide a comprehensive system of sequential objectives as does Music Learning Theory, but rather they are a collection of techniques (Shuler, 1991 ). Music Learning Theory fulfills at least two criteria for appropriate method. It is based on taxonomies that are clearly both systematic and sequential. Music Learning Theory is arguably comprehensive; in that it provides a long-range framework within which instruction may be designed to meet the comprehensive goals of a particular music program. The goals of Music Learning Theory are also valid in that they are compatible with contemporary music education. (Shuler, 1991, p. 43) Appreciation through understanding. Music Learning Theory’s ultimate goal is music appreciation through understanding (Shuler, 1991). ”Music appreciation...develops only as one gains an understanding of, and thus a respect for, music” (Gordon, 1997, p. 31). In addition Gordon believes this appreciation cannot be taught, but must be modeled. Through this understanding of music, appreciation can begin. The better students understand music the better they will be able to appreciate music, although they may not necessarily like all that they understand. Without denying the aesthetic qualities of music, students should Ieam to understand what they hear in music of all cultures, eras, styles, and forms and then decide for themselves what music they will listen to, perform, and compose. (1997, p. 32) Shuler points out that many prominent music educators and authors agree that understanding is the primary focus of music instruction rather than appreciation (Shuler, 1991). He goes on to list such supporters as Benson, Tatarunis and Forcucci; Buggert and Fowler and Hoffer (Shuler, 1991, p.45). Research Questions After reviewing selected Music Learning Theory literature, it became obvious that there was a need for a study involving the application of Music Learning Theory to choral education. To address this need, I developed an action research plan to describe the incorporation of Music Learning Theory’s SLSA in my seventh grade choral classroom. Based on the review of the literature and my prior classroom experiences, the following research questions were developed. 1. How do my seventh grade choral students describe the experience of using skill Ieaming sequence activities? What do my seventh grade choral students perceive as the advantages and disadvantages of using skill Ieaming sequence activities? How do I, the instructor of a seventh grade choir describe the experience of incorporating skill Ieaming sequence activities? What are the perceived advantages and disadvantages of teaching skill Ieaming sequence activities to my seventh grade choir? What skill Ieaming sequence activity techniques are the most valuable in teaching my seventh grade choir? What skill learning sequence activity techniques are the least valuable in teaching my seventh grade choir? How do colleagues describe the incorporation of skill Ieaming sequence activities in my seventh grade choir? What benefits and challenges do colleagues describe of incorporating skill Ieaming sequence activities in my seventh grade choir? Chapter 2 Review of the Literature This review of the literature will include a discussion of 1) the use of Music Learning Theory’s tonal patterns in music education, 2) the use of Music Learning Theory’s rhythm patterns in music education, and 3) general information on action research in music education. Rhythm Instruction “Gordon’s use of rhythm syllables is a significant departure from tradition in terms of purpose, character and applications” (Grunow, 1992, p. 97). Traditionally rhythm syllables are used to count or keep time, but Gordon uses them “to facilitate audiation and the retention of rhythm patterns in long-tenn memory" (Grunow, 1992, p. 97). Grunow states that the traditional system is illogical, because it is based on note values, while Gordon’s theory provides internal logic based on beat function (Grunow, 1992). Gordon’s introduction of rhythm syllables in the early seventies, met with much resistance. Since that time, he has continued to modify his definitions so that they are better understood. Grunow states that originally the operational definition of rhythm was in terms of tempo beats, meter beats, and melodic rhythm (1992). These terms caused much confusion and Gordon eventually renamed them macro beat, micro beat and melodic rhythm respectively. Brink (1983) also discusses this evolution of rhythm syllables. Both Brink and Grunow report Gordon’s diversion from the traditional classification of 6/8 time as compound duple. Gordon calls his ‘new’ 6/8-classification triple, because it essentially contains two macro or big beats divided into three micro or small beats. “In retrospect, less confusion would exist had Gordon stated that 2/4 could be duple meter and 6/8 could be triple meter” (Grunow, 1992, p. 99). Likewise Brink states “Gordon finds the traditional duple and triple classification of no use...therefore he appropriates the term “meter" for pulse division rather than pulse multiples” (Brink, 1983, p. 4). Several studies provide information regarding the effectiveness of Music Learning Theory’s rhythm instruction. In Stockton’s experimental study, 52 nonmusic major college students in a music appreciation class were studied to reveal the relative effectiveness of teaching aural discrimination of meter using two different approaches (Stockton, 1983, p. 8). The experimental section was taught aural meter discrimination derived from learning sequence activities and the control section received instruction from a more traditional methodology (p. 21-23). Both groups worked on aural discrimination of duple, triple and combined meter within the context of recorded musical excerpts (p. 20). Stockton’s (1983) research concluded that “students in the study who were exposed to rote pattern instruction performed meter discrimination tasks significantly better than did students exposed to an instructional sequence based on the notational analysis of recorded musical excerpts” (p. 28). McDonald (1987) conducted an experimental study by developing a method for third grade recorder instruction using Ieaming sequence activities. The 27 students who participated in the study received four fifteen-minute lessons for twelve weeks (McDonald, 1897, p.9). Through random sampling, the students were divided into two sections, a control group and experimental group. The control group received recorder instruction from a traditional method book while the experimental group used an investigator-designed method incorporating Ieaming sequence activities (p. 9-10). The Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA) (Gordon, 1979) was the pretest and posttest. The Ieaming sequence group showed improvement in composite PMMA scores (McDonald, 1987, p. 86). McDonald reports, “the mean increase in rhythm scores was significantly greater for the students taught by the investigator designed method” (p. 87). Palmer (1974) compared the effects on music rhythm reading of the Gordon and Richards’s approaches in elementary general music (p. 4). Palmer’s quasi-experimental study (n=135) included a control group, and two experimental groups, with one experimental group using the Gordon approach and the other using the Richards approach (p. 14). The three schools that participated in the five-month study were chosen by the County Vocal Music Supervisor; however, each group was randomly assigned to an experimental or control group (p. 14). Palmer measured rhythm reading achievement and musical aptitude prior to the study and re-administered the rhythm reading achievement measures at the conclusion (p. 14). The achievement measures included “the “Meter Discrimination” section of Colwell’s Music Achievement Test l (1969-70), part — 3 Auditory Discrimination in Music — Subtest B, Rhythm from Colwell’s Music Achievement Test ll (1969-70), and the Rhythmic Concepts: Reading Recognition section from Gordon’s Iowa Tests of Music Literacy Level One (Gordon, 1971)” (Palmer, 1974, 14-15). The aptitude measure was the Music Aptitude Profile (MAP) (Gordon, 1988) (Palmer, 1974, p. 14). Palmer also used an investigator designed performance achievement measure that included response to meter and rhythmic notation and imitation of rhythm patterns (p.15). Palmer reports, the “results indicate that the experimental treatments did account for a significant difference in rhythm reading achievements...the results of the analysis of gain scores indicate that the Gordon approach is superior to the Richards in terms of performance achievement in rhythm reading” (p. 153-154). Bacon (1998) designed an experimental study to compare rhythm syllable systems in beginning instrumental instruction. The experimental design included 81 subjects who were taking sixth grade band in a central Michigan suburban school (p. 25). The subjects were divided into three groups and each received instruction with a different rhythm syllable system: Gordon rhythm syllables, 1 e and a, and using a neutral syllable “tah”. The pretest was the Rhythm Imagery subsection of the MAP (Gordon, 1988) and revealed “no significant differences between the groups according to aptitude” (Bacon, 1998, p. 28). The students attended a 42-minute band period every other day and received 5 to 10 minutes of rhythm instruction from the researcher for 12 weeks. The instruction and procedure were from Jump Riqht In: The Instrumental Series (Grunow and Gordon, 1995) with the only variance being the rhythm syllable system used to teach rhythm. At the conclusion of the study, the students were given a researcher-designed meter recognition test, and asked to perform four short rhythm etudes written by the researcher. The etudes were evaluated for “rhythmic accuracy by two independent judges using a five-point continuous rating scale” (Bacon, 1998, p. 33). Results indicated that the groups using Gordon rhythm syllables and a neutral syllable “both performed significantly better than those taught using 1 e and a” for the triple etudes (p. 54). None of the groups performed better than the others on the meter recognition test or on all four etudes. However, the researcher notes from observation that subjects using the 1 e and a system experienced more confusion (p. 54). The researcher also suggests that Gordon rhythm syllables or neutral rhythm syllables “may be a better teaching system than what is used with popular band method books” (p. 54). After reviewing research regarding Music Learning Theory’s rhythm instruction, it was obvious that research had not looked at the incorporation of Music Learning Theory’s rhythm instruction in a choral classroom. I wanted to know how the rhythm patterns could be incorporated into a choral classroom, so I decided to explore this incorporation of Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom using action research. Tonal Instruction Several studies provide insight into the tonal instruction aspect of Music Learning Theory. The McDonald (1987) described that the tonal score of the Ieaming sequence group was higher than the control group, but the difference was not significant at the .05 level (McDonald, 1987, p. 87). However McDonald also notes that the “mean increase for the experimental group was significantly greater at the .071 level” (p. 87). Shuler (1987) used experimental research to investigate the effects of Gordon’s Ieaming sequence activities on music achievement. A population (n=126) of third grade general music students was divided into an experimental and control group. The experimental group devoted 25% of their class time to Ieaming sequence activities with the remainder of time spent on traditional music activities (p.69-70). Shuler states, “no conclusions can be drawn regarding the effects of Ieaming sequence activities on music performance achievement”, which is due primarily to the interaction between the treatment and teacher variables (p. 133). Schuler suggests causes of the result may include that a different teacher taught each group in the experimental study (p. 106) and that assigning each class to a control or experimental group was determined primarily by the reading group content of the class (p. 109). Although the results were not statistically significant, Shuler suggests in a later article “Music Learning Theory may be effective” (p. 52). MacKnight (1973) conducted a similar experimental study investigating the effectiveness of teaching music reading to 10-year-old wind instrumentalists. The experimental group used tonal patterns similar to Ieaming sequence activities, while the control group emphasized note identification skill (MacKnight, 1973, p. 16). MacKnight studied 85 students stratified on the basis of music aptitude using the MAP (Gordon, 1988) and academic aptitude using the Lorge-Thomdike Intelligence test. He also used the Watkins-Famum performance scales (WFPS) as a part of the treatment. MacKnight concluded that the tonal pattern method was a superior method to teaching instrumental music reading than the note identification method of teaching instrumental music reading (MacKnight, 1973, p. 98). Other observations from listening to the tape-recorded responses indicated that the experimental group performed with better intonation and with better tone quality in a more connected style (p. 98). He continues with “these finding reaffirm that associating tonal patterns with tonal syllables is an effective means of developing musical understanding” (p. 100). After reviewing research regarding Music Learning Theory’s tonal instruction, it was obvious that research had not looked at the incorporation of Music Learning Theory’s tonal instruction in a choral classroom. I wanted to know how the tonal component of Music Learning Theory could be incorporated into a choral classroom. So, I decided to explore the incorporation of Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom using action research. Action Research in Music Education Action research as described by Bogdan and Biklen is real people in the real world conducting “research that is practical [and] directed at their own concerns” (1998, p. 224). Through action research, research is not limited to people with years of training, but rather for people in the real world who seek a solution for a specific problem. “Action research is generated from a felt need at the crucial level of the practicing teacher, so the main goal is an immediate and personal solution” (Miller, 1996, p. 100). In order for teachers to effectively implement action research, they must do more than “usual reflection”. They must uphold “a standard of data collection, reasoning and reporting that can produce trustworthy studies” (Miller, 1996, p. 103). A teacher approaching the task as a researcher, forces the researcher into a frame of mind to undertake the work systematically and ask “research questions” (Bogdan and Biklen, 1998, p. 230). The systematic work of action researchers evolves from research questions, to emergent themes and conclusions. These themes and conclusions are supported through the triangulation of data or the “obtaining of information in many ways” (Bresler, 1995, p. 4-5). Several action research studies in music education provided valuable insights into the analysis and results of this study. Miller (1996) researched the authentic integration of music into the curriculum of a whole language first-grade classroom (p. 100) The focus of this year long study was collaborative action research teaching a 25 minute music lesson to first grade students once a week (p. 107). Millers goal was to "integrate [the] music program with the first grade curriculum in order to create a gestalt for learners (p. 106). She began the research with several specific questions: First, are there enough authentic points of intersection between the music curriculum and core curriculum to warrant integration? Second, will integration enhance learning? Third, do the children exhibit more enthusiasm for Ieaming when music is integrated with classroom work? Fourth, does integrating music into the core curriculum affect the way classroom teachers perceive the role of music education in the public schools? (p. 37) Miller used several different methods of data collection to gather enough information to answer the research questions and to ensure triangulation. First were the observations of the first grade teacher, a fifth grade teacher and herself. Next, observations and critiques were collected from the collaborating university faculty, as well as videotaping student composition and performance skills. A questionnaire was used to ascertain the opinions of teachers regarding student and teacher attitudes of music instruction and randomly selected students were interviewed concerning their perceived attitudes toward music class. Finally Miller collected artifacts on videotape to judge "assimilation of musical elements and to address the question of affect" (p. 107). Of secondary importance were the other three first grade classes that she taught using the same lessons designed for the whole language classroom; however, she made no attempt to correlate music with their classroom subjects or Ieaming styles (p. 108). Quantitative evaluation was employed as well and used for the pre- and posttest that consisted of a researcher-designed criterion test “based...on basic underlying conceptual notions about music that were identified as appropriate for first grade children" (p. 107). As research continued and themes emerged, Miller began to view integration differently. Integration was no longer a one-word entity, but rather "an assortment of connections" (p. 108). These connections became a large part of the results that included: five categories of integration (topical, mechanical, conceptual, higher level thinking, and pedagogical), a better understanding of student-constructed Ieaming as taught through emergent themes, and the value of various learning modalities (p. 110). Miller also cites valuable personal results from the action research study. Before this study, I chose an action research model, because it seemed the only way I could answer my original question on a personal basis. After the study, I saw that action research experience had provided me with considerably more than I expected. It gave me the opportunity to network closely with expert teachers whose example will inform my teaching through-out the rest of my career. (p. 110) Conway and Borst (2001) also explored collaborative action research in a study aimed at gaining information about student motivation and participation in school choral programs. The “action research interview design was used to gather data, with an interest in collecting deep and rich description...[and] to know why certain phenomena occurred” (p. 5). Conway and Borst observed that many former middle school choral students chose not to continue with choral music at the high school level and wanted to find out why this attrition was taking place (p. 4-5). After reviewing various literature on student perception of teacher behavior, they were still left unable to explain student intrinsic motivation for continuing with choral music. They then decided to use an action research plan with an interview design to explore student perception. Six students agreed to participate in the interview study. Through the planning and preparation for the study, Conway and Borst developed research questions and data collection devices. Conway and Borst utilized three data collection devices to represent the triangulation of data. First students were interviewed individually, second the students were asked the same questions in a panel like discussion during their choral rehearsal, and finally one parent of each student was interviewed in a five- minute phone conversation (p. 6). All interviews were audio taped and later transcribed and typed into a word processing file. Data were analyzed through coding and categorizing of the words and concepts consistently evident from transcriptions. Words, phrases and concepts from each question emerged through the grouping and color coding of similar responses. Final categories were solidified by deleting and adding, as coded responses were reviewed (p. 6). During the categorizing and coding of the individual interviews, seven categories emerged describing specifically why students chose to continue participating in the choral music program. It was not possible to code parent interviews into such succinct categories; however, “the parents all spoke about the self-confidence that their children had gained through singing experiences...most parents mentioned how much they enjoyed hearing their children sing around the house and in church” (p.7). In addition, Conway and Borst report that students’ lives were positively impacted through their choral experiences and that the primary motivation for students continued choral involvement was the “enjoyment of singing” (p. 7-8). Action research studies are unique, in that various stages of the research often meld together and become ambiguous. This melding process often causes confusion for a teacher-researcher who may have less experience than a more traditional researcher. Conway and Borst (2001) provide five guidelines for action research that aided in clarifying various phases and stages in this study: 1. The first step for teachers interested in doing action research is to identify a problem or formulate a question regarding music teaching or learning. Once a problem has been identified, the action researcher must begin to gather information and document issues relating to that problem. Throughout the research process, the teacher-researcher must assess when enough data has been gathered. The action researcher must search for meaning by coding the collected data and developing categories to describe and organize themes presented in observations, diary notes, interviews, and other materials. The final step for the action researcher includes making decisions regarding teaching and learning based on the results of the study. (p. 4) After reviewing various Music Learning Theory research and scholarly literature, it was obvious that little research existed about incorporating Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom. Already having a background using Music Learning Theory in my instrumental classroom, I decided to explore and study how Music Learning Theory could be adapted to work in a choral classroom. I wanted this exploration process to be personal in describing how Music Learning Theory worked in my choral classroom. Thus after reviewing various literature, I decided an action research approach was the best choice for my study. My action plan could be molded and shaped to fit my individual needs, while still providing insights to other music educators. IQ IQ Chapter 3 Methodology The purpose of this study was to describe the incorporation of Music Leaming Theory’s tonal and rhythm skill learning sequence activities (SLSA) patterns in a seventh grade choral classroom. The tonal and rhythm patterns were taught daily during the first 5 to 10 minutes of class. The process is described through various lenses including the instructor, other colleagues, and the students. Data collection included an instructor’s log, colleague observations and interviews, and student observations interviews and journals. The examination focused on perceived advantages and disadvantages of the curriculum. Theoretical Perspective The researcher’s perspective is crucial in a qualitative study. “Qualitative researchers in education...do not attempt to control for variables in a setting; instead, they examine and describe the unique characteristics of a specific teaching context” (Conway & Borst, p. 4). As a researcher, I take a phenomenological approach to viewing the world. Phenomenologist’s perception celebrates diversity and the belief that people view the world differently. As a researcher and choral educator, my perception throughout the data collection and analysis was a vital part of this study. “In phenomenology, the researchers have directly experienced the phenomenon being explored. As such, they are insiders, participants in the study. In action research they are not only participants but have a key role in shaping the educational setting” (Bresler, 1995, p.13). Rather than trying to remain a neutral factor in my study, my perception is another lens for the triangulation of data. An integral part of my phenomenological approach incorporates symbolic interaction. Symbolic interaction views human experience as mediated by interpretation (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998, p. 25). These perspectives allow me to embrace the uniqueness and subjectivity of my study. Action research “is tied to its ability to produce an enhanced understanding leading to an improvement in classroom practice” (Bresler, 1995, p. 15). More specifically, I wanted to know how Music Learning Theory works for me, in my choral classroom with my students. I designed this study to meet my needs as an educator as well as my choral students’ educational needs. Miller supports this idea of action research by teachers “for the purpose of solving their own immediate education questions or problems (1996, p. 103). My action research plan was shaped and molded to fit my specific needs in this classroom situation. Personal Orientation Prior to teaching vocal music at Reed City, I taught general and instrumental music at a school in a neighboring county. It was during this teaching experience that l was introduced to Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. Over the course of the next few years of study and application, I adopted Music Learning Theory as an integral part of my philosophy of music education, and I am certified to teach Instrumental Music Level One. When I taught instrumental music, I used Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series for my beginning band curriculum. During the past two years at Reed City, I have continued using Music 24 Learning Theory techniques with my general music classes. However, I have grappled with how to apply Music Learning Theory instrumental curriculum concepts to choral music education. As a choral educator, I understand and value the importance of teaching a system for sight-reading. Solfege syllables with moveable ‘do’ and ‘Ia’ based minor is the system I use and teach in my choral classroom. I teach this system because it is the way I was taught and I am comfortable with this system; and also because it is the system used with Music Learning Theory. Gordon believes moveable ‘do’ with ‘Ia’ based minor is the best system (Gordon, 1997, p. 67). Access After obtaining permission from the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) (Appendix A) and sending a letter to the superintendent of Reed City Area Public Schools along with the principal at Reed City Middle Schbol (Appendix B), the action research study began. Research Site Reed City Middle School is a sixth, seventh and eighth grade building enrolling approximately 450 students for the 2000-2001 school year. Reed City Middle School used a modified four by four block scheduling system. Students attend ‘core’ classes for an entire block of 88 minutes. Enrichment classes, including choir, are scheduled for half blocks of 40 minutes. The choral program is in the growth and development process; this was the second year the middle school had offered both a seventh grade and eighth grade choir. I was beginning my third year of teaching choir at Reed City Area Public Schools. My teaching load included a high school choir, an eighth and seventh grade choir, as well as teaching fourth and fifth grade general music. Prior music experience for students enrolled in the seventh grade choir included band, private lessons, fourth or fifth grade honors choir, and sixth grade enrichment choir. Participants Participants were seventh grade students at Reed City Middle School who chose to enroll in seventh grade choir for the year. No audition process is required for choir until the high school level. In the spring of 2000, sixth grade students enrolled in classes for the 2000-2001 school year. Prior to the study, students filled out a musical background questionnaire (Appendix C). Through this questionnaire l ascertained that almost half of my participants had no prior choral experience and only two students had prior instrumental experience. Previous choral experience included sixth grade lunch enrichment choir and fourth and fifth grade honors choir at Reed City. Choir students also took the Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA) (Gordon, 1989). The AMMA is a stabilized music aptitude test designed for junior high, senior high, college and university students. The AMMA takes about twenty minutes to administer with two subtests of tonal and rhythm. Although the MAP (Gordon, 1988) has greater diagnostic capabilities, with seven subtests, it takes about three and a half hours to administer. I gave AMMA rather than the MAP due to time constraints. Since music aptitude has already stabilized, AMMA provided much of the same information as MAP. AMMA provided me with individual music aptitude and allowed me to teach to individual differences. The seventh grade choir members were unable to participate in a sixth grade choir class during the 1999-2000 school year because of scheduling issues. Instead, they voluntarily rehearsed at lunch two days a week, and the sixth grade lunch enrichment choir performed in the Holiday concert. During the second semester, student participation dropped substantially and the few remaining members did not perform at the spring concert. The seventh grade choir members were familiar with me as an instructor from sixth grade choir, if they chose to participate. Those students who attended Reed City Area Public Schools in the fifth grade knew me, as I teach all sections of fifth grade general music. Through the several years of teaching and interaction, rapport has developed between these students and myself. These participants were ideal for my study, because they know me and have developed a respect for my teaching procedures and styles. I, in turn, know these students personally and musically and understand what they are capable of achieving. Procedure During each 40-minute class period, I spent approximately 5 to 10 minutes of class teaching SLSA from Music Learning Theory. These patterns were taught using the sequence and technique specified in Jum Right In: The Instrumental Sings (Grunow & Gordon, 1989). In my daily lesson plan log (Appendix D), l specified as to the specific tonal or rhythm patterns used and the level of Ieaming. The log also contained a section for reflection on the lesson. 27 Data Collection Devices In addition to the daily lesson plan log, I also kept a daily personal journal. Students were asked to write in their own personal journals as well. Students’ journal entries were weekly and written in a ‘pen name’ of their choice. No attempt was made to keep their journal identities anonymous through the course of this study. However, pen names are used in the analysis and results of this study to provide confidentiality. The 5 to 10 minutes of class devoted to teaching SLSA was video taped approximately once a week. As an additional form of data collection, I asked two other music colleagues to view the videotapes, and then I interviewed them about their observations on the incorporation of Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom (Appendix E). Pat Osborne was the first of two colleagues who I interviewed after she viewed my videotape. Pat has a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Music Education, and throughout her twenty years of teaching experience, she has taught kindergarten through fifth grade general music, sixth through twelfth grade choral music, and seventh grade band. In April, I interviewed Pat for about an hour concerning her perspectives on the benefits and challenges of Music Learning Theory in a seventh grade choral classroom. The interview was tape- recorded and later transcribed. Andrea Wheeler was the second colleague whom I interviewed. Andrea has 24 years of teaching experience, including elementary general music and high school choral music. She received her Bachelors Degree in Music Education as well an additional 20 hours in elementary general education. She is certified through Gordon Institute of Music Learning (GIML) in General Music Level One and has been using Music Learning Theory in her classroom for the past 12 years. Scheduling conflicts did not allow me to interview Andrea in person; instead I conducted a phone interview late in May near the completion of my analysis. When the fall semester began, students were told I would interview them later in the year regarding their impression of my teaching process (Appendix F). Students were interviewed individually during the last choir class of the semester. They did not know the details of the study, but were told that l was looking for feedback on specific teaching techniques. All interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. During the research and data collection process I began to formulate ideas and notice emergent themes. As supported by Conway and Borst (2001 ), “the teacher-researcher must assess when enough data has been gathered. The data collection phase of an action research project melds together with the analysis phase so that thoughts regarding the meaning of data begin to emerge during the process, not just after it” (p. 4). As a result, after several months of research and data collection, I reviewed my research questions, coded and categorized the data, and framed my analysis. Chronology of Study Month Activities August UCRIHS approval 2000 Reed City administrative approval Musical Background Questionnaire 5 Music Learning Theory lessons September Administered AMMA 2000 16 Music Learning Theory Lessons October 11 Music Learning Theory Lessons 2000 November 10 Music Learning Theory Lessons 2000 December 2 Music Learning Theory Lessons 2000 Performed in Holiday Concert January 1 Music Learning Theory Lesson 2001 Interviewed students April 2001 Transcribing, sorting, coding and categorizing data Colleague interview, Pat Coding and categorizing continues May 2001 Colleague interview, Andrea 30 Triangulation “The strength of fieldwork lies in its “triangulation,” or obtaining information in many ways. Triangulation is supposed to support a finding by showing that independent measures agree with, or at least do not contradict it” (Bresler, 1995, p. 4-5). Collecting data from various sources like my daily journal, student journals and interviews provided several lenses for the triangulation of data and helped to ensure validity. Data analysis from colleagues and myself assisted in providing my study with validity as well. Bogdan and Biklen support this idea stating, “not only do people in different positions in an organizations tend to have different views, but there is great diversity among those occupying similar positions” (1998, p. 233). Through this triangulation process, I explored how Music Learning Theory works in a seventh grade choral classroom. Although this information may not be generalizable to other situations, the triangulation process may allow others to employ “logical situational generalizability” (Schwartz, 1996, p. 7). Conway (in progress) supports the idea of logical situational generalizability “if the reader can logically assume that participants in another population are in a situation similar to the one described in this study, it may be possible that results from this study are relevant in other contexts” (Unpublished manuscript, Michigan State University). 3| Chapter 4 Analysis Strategies Action research is for people who are actively engaged in the practice of teaching. These teacher-researchers identify a problem and seek a personal solution to bring about a change. In an effort to facilitate change in my class, I listened to interview tapes, and reviewed my personal log and student logs, as well as my daily lesson plan log. Since the data collection and analysis phase of an action research project blends together, emergent themes and ideas were formulating throughout the research process. The process of coding and categorizing the information solidified emergent themes into conclusions and resuns. As I read through each set of data collection devices, similar responses were grouped together and categorized as emergent themes. Each theme was assigned a different color, and I began to carefully read through all of my data. When I found similar words, phrases or concepts, it was underlined and color- coded using the assigned color. I read through the data in this order: student interview transcriptions, colleague interview transcriptions, student journals, teacher journal, and daily lesson logs. When the color-coding of my data was complete, each piece of supporting information was copied onto a 4 by 6 inch note card. The top left of the note card described the theme and was color coded using the same colors while the top right hand side of the note card described which data collection device the information was taken from. The treatment of each data collection device is described below. Student Interviews and Journals Although it was difficult to predict the organization of the analysis, I wanted to describe specifically the incorporation of Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom. I interviewed my seventh grade choir students in January before the semester break regarding their perception of using Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom (Appendix F). Students responded to the interview questions first by writing them in their journals during class, and then I interviewed them individually several days later and tape-recorded their responses. During spring break in April, the coding and categorizing process began as I transcribed student’s tape-recorded interviews and photocopied their journals. As I began to code and categorize this data, similar words, phrases and concepts from interviews and journals were color coded and underlined. These codes included student description of how Music Learning Theory’s tonal and rhythm patterns helped their seventh grade choral experience, and student perception of performing tonal patterns at the Aural/Oral and Verbal Association levels. Similar responses from all the data were then grouped together and categorized as emergent themes. Colleaque Inten/iews Colleague interviews were transcribed, and the data was then color coded and categorized according to similar responses. Similar codes emerged which included an improvement in both tonal and rhythm skills. Similar responses from all the data were then grouped together and categorized as emergent themes. 33 Teacher Journal My personal journal provided the majority of my data, including the rich descriptions needed to write my conclusions and results. I photocopied my personal journal as well; leaving the original intact while the copy was coded and categorized using colored pencils for themes during the analysis. Similar responses were grouped together as smaller categories. The codes included the improvement in tonal skills, and the improvement in rhythm skills with additional finding split into several smaller pieces that. included: the ease of incorporating Music Learning Theory’s tonal and rhythm patterns into a choral rehearsal, the importance of following the sequence of objectives as developed in Music Learning Theory, and the daily struggles of a teacher incorporating Music Learning Theory’s SLSA patterns in a choral classroom. Similar responses from all the data were then grouped together and categorized as emergent themes. Dailv Lesson Loos My daily lesson log (Appendix D) provided much of the same information as my personal journal. However, the daily lesson logs lacked the depth and rich descriptiveness of my personal journal. The daily lesson logs were sorted, coded, and categorized then filed in chronological order. With the analysis phase complete, I sorted my note cards according to themes. After the note cards were coded by themes, I broke the codes into smaller ideas or categories. With the categorizing and coding process complete, I began to formulate and write my results and discussion chapters. The most logical way to organize the data results were to include two chapters to discuss 34 the results. Chapter five focuses on the tonal and rhythm improvements from incorporating Music Learning Theory’s SLSA into a choral classroom. Chapter six is additional findings which includes the ease of incorporating SLSA patterns into a choral rehearsal, the importance of following the sequence of objectives as developed in Music Learning Theory, and the daily struggles of a teacher trying to incorporate Music Learning Theory’s SLSA to a seventh grade choral classroom. 35 Chapter 5 Results and Discussion Introduction Throughout the color-coding, categorizing and sorting of the information, prominent themes were becoming evident. The first theme discussed is the improvement in tonal and rhythm skills while incorporating the SLSA in my seventh grade choral classroom. In the results and discussion that follow, I discuss the first theme in two sections, the tonal improvement and the rhythm improvement. The tonal improvement section is broken down into smaller categories, which included where we started and how we progressed, the teaching of proper names, and tonal and harmonic improvisation. The rhythm improvement is also broken into smaller categories that include: where we started and how we progressed, the trouble with duple divisions and how we worked through a solution, and what I learned as a choral music educator teaching the rhythm patterns in a seventh grade choral classroom. The other themes l have merged into Chapter six, Additional Findings. They include the ease of incorporating SLSA patterns into a choral rehearsal, the importance of following the sequence of objectives as developed in Music Learning Theory, and the daily struggles of a teacher trying to incorporate Music Learning Theory’s SLSA to a seventh grade choral classroom. For the ease of reading, discussion is included after each description. 36 Tonal Improvement Beginning a new school year with seventeen students who have had very little prior choral experience is a difficult task. One of my first journal entries attests to this idea: ‘We began to sing. Some of them are not even in their singing voices. Most of them were not even on pitch during warm-ups” (Jenema log, 8/24/01). “All students sang back to me as a group, some were not even singing the correct pattern” (Jenema log, 8/25/01). The challenge was to keep my class motivated about singing while helping them to improve their tonal skills. Even less than one month after my first journal entry, when I asked them to sing their individual part to “Play For Me a Simple Melody,” (Berlin, Arr. Shaw) most were unable to sing through their part without a mistake. “It became painfully apparent how many are not singing the correct pitches” (Jenema Log, 9/21/01). However the 5 to 10 minutes of class time spent each day working on SLSA tonal patterns played a big part in improving students’ tonal skills. During the first month, several of my journal entries record that singing is improving. “Singing back is improving” (Jenema log, 8/28/01) and “even though I was struggling they were more focused” (Jenema log, 9/14/01). Establishing a daily routine and using a sequential set of objectives aided in the tonal improvement. “You always sang the same pattern for them to establish [the tonality]. The instructions were sung to the students so they were immediately hearing the pitches for the inner placement” (Colleague interview, Pat). “I think it helps the children be more tuneful or they sing more in tune because they are audiating” (Colleague interview, Andrea). Even after coming back to the first set of tonic and 37 dominant patterns after two months, they were still familiar to the students. “I am pleased and amazed at the ease of which they sang the patterns back. After having been away from them for several weeks, they were still familiar (Jenema log, 11/13/01). One of the most exciting improvements came when I took the class from the Aural/Oral level of singing patterns on a neutral syllable to singing patterns at the Verbal Association level using solfege. “The responses were loud and clear today. It was like they weren’t afraid to sing back” (Jenema log, 9/18/01). Interview responses support this: “as the lesson progressed the students singing was more confident and in tune.” My personal log also support this improvement: “I am amazed at how much better in tune they sing with syllables” (Jenema log, 9/8/01) and “they sang so much better in tune with the syllables” (Jenema log, 9/7/01). As tonal skills improved, we progressed from singing back familiar patterns to giving proper names to the tonic and dominant patterns. The instructions I gave prior to the activity were that any combination of “do mi 30” was “tonic” (sung on the resting tone) and any other combination of syllables was “no” (sung on low “so”). Then I sang a pattern, gave students time to audiate, had them breath with me and sing the answer back as a group. I then asked an individual to justify their response, because it had “do mi 30”. I was pleased with students ability to give the correct response “because it had “do mi 30””, l was further encouraged when some of the students even sang the correct pitches for “do mi so” rather than just speaking them. 38 They seemed very interested in today’s SLSA they were reluctant to give me the answer as a group. Individually they supported why the answer was correct. It is also interesting that few [sang back the answer]. (Jenema log, 10/9/01) Even a month after doing the original activity, students remembered the proper names: Again I am pleased with the ease at which they sing back the answer. Almost all of them remembered...all responded with do mi so, but not all sang the syllables. (Jenema log, 11/21/01). Once students had a grasp of “tonic” and “no,” I added that any combination of “ti re fa so” was a dominant pattern to my original instructions. I sang a familiar pattern, gave the students time to audiate, had them breath with me and asked them to sing their response, “tonic” or “dominant.” Then I called on individuals to give their reason. Having twice as much to remember did cause a little more confusion as I recorded in my personal journal, “noting confusion keeping tonic and dominant straight” (Jenema log, 10/10/01). Once I assessed that students had a competent understanding of tonic and dominant patterns, we bridged to the inference objective of improvisation. The first improvisation activity was tonal improvisation. In this activity, I would sing a tonic or dominant pattern, and then I would ask them to respond with a different tonic pattern. The first time through the activity, students were imitating my pattern and saying other solfege syllables; however, the second time through, I gave more specific instructions. If they didn’t know what to say, they 39 could reverse the pattern I just sang or sing “do mi so.” Then I went through the patterns again, asking them to improvise in between my patterns. As they improvised this time, I was able to hear the outline of tonic patterns (Jenema log, 11/28/01). During the first day, I asked them only to improvise after I sang a tonic pattern; however, the next day I had them improvise a tonic pattern after I sang a dominant pattern as well. After a reminder of a tonic pattern, “most were improvising” (Jenema log, 11/29/01). My colleague, Pat, also commented on the improvisation during her interview. When asked if she saw an improvement during the improvisation she responded, “Yes I did because at first they were searching around for it [tonic] and each time it was more secure and each time you could hear glimpses of chords.” Getting individual responses from students was more of a challenge. “I think it’s time to move on and sing more songs and patterns” (Jenema log, 11/30/01). My students had not had enough readiness to improvise individual patterns. Had I more time, I would have gone back and taught them more rote songs that contained tonic and dominant patterns. Teaching students more songs provides them with more vocabulary to speak tonic and dominant patterns. The second improvisation activity was harmonic improvisation. After teaching the class my hand signal for tonic (one finger) and my hand signal for dominant (five fingers), I divided the class into three sections. Each of the three sections was asked to hum one of the three tonic pitches while I improvised other tonic patterns. The first time through the activity, the class had difficulty maintaining their individual pitches. So I asked the class to sing a tonic pattern 40 “do mi 50” and I had each group stop on their assigned pitch, once they were sustaining a tonic chord, I had them hum their pitches as I improvised over the chord. This time students had better success maintain their pitches (Jenema log, 12/6/01 ). My colleague, Pat, also found the harmonic improvisation an important tool to use in a choral rehearsal. “That is an excellent tool. I want to use that again. I really liked that and its good because they have to hang on to their part when they are hearing something else and that’s excellent prep for more advanced stuff.” My seventh grade choral students also provided me with valuable insights into how they perceived using Music Leaning Theory in a choral classroom. Comments taken from student journals support that the tonal SLSA were beneficial in helping them in their seventh grade choral experience. Help[ed] my voice. I could get on tune and warmed my vocal chords. It helped my voice and help[ed] ...me with my notes. Helped me so I could get on tune. Warms our vocal chords. Although the seventh grade choral music class still has room for improvement with their tonal skills, using the tonal SLSA were beneficial in helping them with the improvements made during their first semester in my class. Rhythm Improvement During the semester I conducted this action research study, I also took a class at Michigan State University with Dr. Gordon. He told our class one evening 4] “Just expect the worst from your students rhythmically” (Gordon, 2001). As I reflected on my teaching of rhythm patterns, I was expecting too much from my students in terms of their rhythmic abilities. The first set in the sequence of rhythm patterns are Macro/Micro Duple rhythm patterns (Appendix G), meaning the patterns were all in duple meter and contained only beats and the division of the beat. My first task was to take students through the coordination rhythm readiness activities. My instructions for the coordination rhythm readiness activity were “to do what I do.” I then put the macro beat in my heels and the micro in my hands. The first time through, I chanted the patterns while they tried to maintain a steady beat. The second time, students continued the movement activity and echoed the pattern after I chanted it. Later that day I wrote in my journal “steady beat wasn’t there at first, but most students locked in after the first pattern. Second time through students echoed [the patterns] all together, heard lots of wrong answers” (Jenema Log, 8/30/01). However, as with the tonal patterns, the more saturation with the patterns, the better their improvement. Just the next day, I began to call on individuals using the same patterns. “I seem to get a lot of wrong answers from the group, but individually they do better, perhaps they are more focused” (Jenema log, 8/31/01). The improvements in rhythm skill continued after spending over a week with the rhythm patterns. “Went through teacher and evaluation mode...getting many more right answers” (Jenema Log, 9/6/01). As with the tonal patterns, once students were able to achieve success with the rhythm patterns on a neutral syllable, we moved to the verbal association level and added rhythm solfege. “They seemed a little more fascinated and intrigued with “Du Da Di” and I think it held their attention better” (Jenema Log, 10/5/01). My colleague, Pat, also agreed that the rhythm syllables were effective and worked well for students of many ages. “I’m working at transitioning over to those so we can be consistent.” It seemed that the rhythm patterns were going well; students were achieving success and improving their skills, so I moved on to Duple Division patterns (Appendix H). These patterns are much more complex rhythmically as they contain divisions of the beat (micro) and divisions of the divisions (divisions). The first activity was the same as with the macro/micro patterns. I chanted the patterns while they performed the coordination rhythm readiness activities. “Macro in feet and hands most caught on. When I put micro in hands few could follow” (Jenema log, 10/12/01). When I asked them to actually chant the patterns several days later, they really struggled. Duple divisions Aural/Oral familiar. They can’t even say them back to me in a group in rhythm! I am so far over their heads they shut down and didn’t even look at me so I couldn’t call on them as individuals. They rush terribly. I’m not sure where to go from here. (Jenema log, 10/16/01). Putting it simply, they had not had enough saturation with division patterns to be able to speak them. Looking back, I compare this to teaching students a new language that they have never heard before and expecting them to remember and repeat phrases after me. Needless to say, I was extremely frustrated and unsure of where to go next. After talking with Dr. Cynthia Taggart 43 who was a member of my research committee and an expert in Music Learning Theory, I understood that I had to back up and find out where my students were rhythmically and move them through the sequenced objectives from there. The same evening Gordon told us to “just expect the worst from your students rhythmically,” he also told us of the readiness sequence need for rhythm skills: “Coordination>Movement>Rhythm” (Gordon, 2001). Dr. Taggart helped me to better understand that readiness sequence. So, I spent over a week with flow and rhythm readiness activities. In the first rhythm readiness activity, I sang “Bread Baking Song” from The Early Childhood Music Curriculum chant #27 (Gordon, Bolton, Hicks and Taggart). The song is duple in minor tonality and contains division patterns similar to the Jump Right In: The lnsjumental Series duple division patterns. I asked the class to sit in a circle while I sang the chant on a neutral syllable. “The kids did well with macro in heels and hands, putting micro in hands was more difficult, some could follow, some couldn’t” (Jenema log, 10/23/01). At the end of the song, I would chant a duple division pattern on a neutral syllable and asked the class to chant it back to me. “They were able to echo my pattern with better accuracy” (Jenema log, 10/23/01). The next day we continued and worked on flow. I sang from The Early ChilgdhoodL/Iusjg Curriculum chant #97 “Red Umbrella” which is in unusual meter (7/8) (Gordon, et. al,). I picked a song in unusual meter specifically to make it more difficult for them to find the beat, because I wanted them to work on continuous flow. While I sang the song, I had them “copy cat” me. I moved in continuous flowing motion and explored all of the space around my body. After several times through the 44 chant, I told each of them they were in a box and that they could touch the sides with their arms extended out in any direction. While I sang the song, they need to explore the box with a continuous flow motion. The first activity they moved easily although it was obvious they were uncomfortable with the concept. When I gave them the box to explore, they had a much more difficult time with keeping the flow continuous. (Jenema log, 10/24/01) During the “explore the box activity,” I had to stop numerous times and remind them of specific areas to explore (behind their back, over their head, etc.). After over a week of coordination and movement activities, I took them through the duple division patterns again. “Wow, much improvement...they were able to handle the patterns with ease. Most answered correctly, even the difficult ones” (Jenema log, 10/30/01). The improvement continued: “I am pleased with students’ progress with these patterns. A few weeks ago they couldn’t even keep a steady beat with these patterns and now most of them are able to chant the patterns” (Jenema log, 11/9/01). Pat Osborne also commented on the problem with rhythm readiness, which she calls tempo. It seems always a tempo that is common to those that follow the director there are those who always rush the tempo. That’s not a problem with just this system, it’s with any, they really have to watch and stay with the director. Although I spent the time through out the semester working on coordination rhythm readiness activities, I did not thoroughly understand them 45 until one of my last evenings in Dr. Gordon’s class. The sequence as described in the Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series is as follows: Using Only Macrobeats 1. Move both arms in the same direction (up and down) while sitting with elbows resting on a desk or table top. Move both arms in the opposite direction (one arm is up while the other is down) while sitting with elbows resting on a desk or table top. Swing both arms in the same direction (front and back) while standing. Sway the upper part of the body from side to side while sitting. Move both feet (heels only-up and down) in the same direction while sitting. Move both feet (heels only) in the opposite direction (one is up when the other is down) while sitting. Move both arms and both feet together in the same direction while sitting. Stand and rock in place. With both feet on the floor, shift the weight from one foot to the other with knees bending. The weight should be on the heel of one foot when the weight is on the toes of the other. Using Both Macrobeats and Micro beats 9. Stand and rock in place to macrobeats. Tap thighs with both arms and hands to duple microbeats and with only hands to triple microbeats. 46 10. Sit and move both feet in the same direction to macrobeats and both arms and hands to duple microbeats and only hands to triple microbeats. (Grunow and Gordon, 1995, p. 156) I was doing only the macrobeat and microbeat activity (Steps 9 and 10). I also expected students to do the activity in rhythm. After the class where Dr. Gordon described and demonstrated coordination rhythm readiness activities, I understood that the activity should be done without music, chant or talking. I simply needed to say, “watch please” before I moved on to the next step and students would follow me. I also understood that they did not need to be in rhythm with me, only that they were able to demonstrate macro/micro in duple (2 to 1) and macro/micro in triple (3 to 1). Once a student is able to demonstrate their ability to perform all ten steps, then they are ready to begin chanting back patterns. Perhaps starting with coordination rhythm readiness activities using the correct sequence from the first day of my action plan could have eliminated both my students’ and my frustration with the duple division patterns. However, looking back, I feel that I learned a valuable lesson. I now understand the importance of following sequential objectives and meeting my students at their level. Had someone simply told me the proper way to sequence the coordination rhythm readiness activities before I began my study, I would have been unable to realize the full impact of what it means to follow the sequential objectives. Interviewing students regarding their perception of development of using their skills as a result of rhythm SLSA also provided me with valuable 47 information. These are some of the comments students made about how the rhythm SLSA helped their seventh grade choral experience: It got us all concentrated. Staying in rhythm and keeping the beat and stuff. [Helped] in the songs you used them in. I liked them too. They helped with my tune. They like exercised your vocal chords. They...helped my voice get the notes down when I sang. Although seventh grade students are unable to grasp the full impact of how they benefited from the SLSA rhythm patterns, it is obvious that they found them helpful in their choral experience. The seventh grade choral music class still has room for improvement with their rhythm skills; however, using the rhythm SLSA was beneficial during their first semester in my class. 48 Chapter 6 Additional Findings Introduction This chapter will include a discussion of the additional findings from the incorporation of Music Learning Theory’s SLSA in a seventh grade choral classroom. These additional findings are divided into three parts and include incorporating SLSA patterns into the choral music we rehearsed, the importance of following the sequence of objectives as developed in Music Learning Theory, and the daily struggles and challenges of a teacher trying to teach Music Learning Theory’s SLSA to a seventh grade choral classroom. Incorporation of Familiar Patterns into a Choral Rehearsal When students were asked in an interview how the SLSA tonal and rhythm patterns helped them in seventh grade choir, several responses surfaced: Helped in certain songs that you used them in. It helps so you can get used to them and used to them in a song. It helped a lot because it helps you sing songs that used them. They...helped my voice get the notes when I sang. As well as students responding that SLSA patterns were helpful to incorporate into our choral rehearsal, I also used these patterns to correct wrong pitches and rhythms during our rehearsals. I specifically recall preparing for our Holiday Concert and rehearsing “Sing Hey!” (Unknown, Arr. Spevacek-Avery). “Sing Hey!” is in 6/8-time and uses several different combinations of eighth and sixteenth note rhythm patterns in the refrain section. My students were struggling 49 with the last refrain that used a new rhythm pattern. I gave them the pattern using Music Learning Theory’s rhythm syllables for triple divisions and asked them to chant the pattern back to me several times as a group. Then we went back through the refrain with the words and the pattern was correct. In later rehearsals, if students were singing the pattern wrong, I simply reminded them of the pattern using the rhythm syllables and they sang it correctly. My colleague Pat, also discussed rhythmic as well as nonmusical benefits for using Music Learning Theory in a classroom. Immediate physical and mental involvement. I think this is important for junior high but it works all the way through high school. They can get on task and it engages them mentally as well. There can be a variety of tempos, body positions, body uses, so its got a lot of advantages as far as that goes. I think there is development and they are much more poised. That doesn’t seem like it goes together musically, but it does. When they know what they’re doing they can focus when they are in front of people. The Importance of Sequence as Descritgd in Mtfiiculueaminflreory Reading through pages of raw data, transcriptions and journals, the importance of Music Learning Theory’s sequential objectives became very apparent. Gordon’s ideas are based on the concept of moving from one objective to the next through stepwise or bridging movement (Gordon, 1997, p. 211). The process of teaching SLSA to seventh grade choral music students solidified this concept in my mind as well. It is impossible to take students to another objective 50 level until they are able to audiate the pattems at the previous level. In my teacher’s journal, several entries state that the students had little difficulty with the SLSA rhythm patterns that were macro and micro beats only (Jenema log, 8/31/01 & 9/6/01). However, once I tried to move on to duple divisions patterns, my students were unable to keep a steady beat or chant back the rhythm patterns with success. “Frustration! Duple divisions Aural/ Oral in familiar order” (Jenema log, 10/16/01). I had to spend almost a week of class time going back over rhythm activities to saturate and immerse them so they would have the readiness for duple division patterns. These saturation activities included spending two to three minutes of class each day doing coordination rhythm readiness activities as described in Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series and working on continuous flow movement activities. After the week of going back for immersion and saturation, I went back and gave the duple division patterns in familiar order and the students were able to chant back those pattems with “much improvement” (Jenema log, 10/30/01). My goal when beginning this study was not only to describe the incorporation of Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom but hopefully to demonstrate to other choral music educators that Music Learning Theory is an effective and successful method. About half way through my action plan, I realized I was approaching the process backwards. I wanted this to work for the world in general and then focus on how it worked in my class. My priority should have been to attend to the individual needs of my students and leave the generalizations to other music educators. 5] I wanted to prove to everyone that Music Learning Theory could work for them and me in a choral classroom. Maybe that’s why I’ve been so frustrated with progress. Instead of meeting my choir where they are and helping them succeed individually, I was trying to make this work in general. (Jenema log, 11/9/01) In my zeal to convert the choral music education world to using Music Learning Theory, I lost sight of Music Learning Theory’s underlying principle: helping every student achieve some level of success in music. As I reflect on my study, many of my frustrations could have been avoided if I had only focused on what was really important: meeting my students where they were musically and helping them to gain the most from their musical experience. Implementation As well as the daily challenge of adapting Jump Right In: The lnstrumenLal §e_rie_s (Grunow and Gordon, 1995) to a choral music classroom, there were several other challenges I encountered. The biggest challenge was getting seventh grade choral music students to respond in teaching and evaluation mode to the SLSA patterns given daily in class. At times, certain students would deliberately not make eye contact with me or choose not to respond when asked to chant or sing back a pattern (Jenema log & Daily lesson log, 9/11/01). Besides not responding, my students were often times unfocused during class. Several of my journal entries discuss my frustration with having to stop during the SLSA and ask students to stop talking or put things away that were distracting. I only went through teaching mode, as students were not focused and paying attention. (Jenema log, 9/11/01) Only teaching mode some students are deliberately not responding. (Daily lesson log, 9/11/01) Unfocused, I had to stop twice to get them to stop talking. (Jenema log, 9/13/01) I’m so frustrated; today I had to stop at least four times because people were talking, writing notes or reading books. (Jenema log, 9/27/01) New approach today, every time someone started talking I began again with establishing meter...l would pause a few seconds and begin again. They really got tuned into me then, even though they didn’t want to. (Jenema log, 10/6/01) Stopped numerous times and began again because people were not focused. (Jenema log, 10/12/01) There are several explanations for these disruptions. The first being that these students are typical seventh grade students. After talking with other seventh grade teachers in the building and observing students’ behavior in the hall, this is not a problem confined only to my choral music class. Are they getting it? [My first response] according to behavior is no, but as I read their journals I am understanding the seventh grade body and even though the brain is engaged, they may not be able to stop the body from fidgeting. (Jenema log, 10/13/01) 53 I still feel they are not focused, but I have to remember their journals are telling me something different. (Jenema log, 9/15/01). I am totally amazed at how busy their bodies are when their brains are engaged. (Jenema log, 9/18/01) Second, seventh grade students are extremely sensitive about how they are viewed by their peers. The pressure of chanting or singing back a pattern ‘wrong’ could easily make them not want to respond at all. Andrea discusses this idea in her interview. “Some kids are audiating and able to master that concept and have ownership in that. Even though you don’t think they’re focused, they are.” Although individual student response is a necessary and every day activity in a Music Learning classroom, it is not something other music teachers require in their music classrooms. Perhaps if these seventh grade students had been immersed in Music Learning Theory from early elementary on, they would not be so inhibited with giving an individual response. It is interesting to note, however, that in individual student journals when I asked them how they felt about being called on to respond individually, most admitted to being embarrassed but stated that they “like the individual attention” (Jenema log, 9/13/01). On several days when l was out of the classroom for various reasons, these same students actually requested “to do the bah, bah’s” (Jenema log, 10/3/01). “[Perceived challenges are] the few that didn’t respond, and that makes you think is it that they need more readiness, that they’re in middle school [or it’s] their personality” (Colleague interview, Andrea). Seventh grade choral music students may feel 5.4 inhibited about giving an individual response; however, they need and enjoy the individual attention. Musical Challenges of Adapting Musicfil.eaming Theory to a Choral Classroom During the course of this study of Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom, I taught the sequential objectives as described in J_ump Right In: The Instrumental Series (Grunow and Gordon, 1995), which included teaching patterns first at the Aural/Oral Level and then moving on to Verbal Association. However, I struggled with the fact that my students responded with more success and seemed less confused when I moved to the Verbal Association Level with the SLSA tonal patterns. “I am amazed at how much better in tune they sing with syllables” (Jenema log, 9/8/01) and “they sang so much better in tune with the syllables” (Jenema log, 9/7/01) were two specific comments written in my personal journal. I believe that my students understood the patterns better and seemed less confused with the tonal patterns when they sang them with tonal syllables. Gordon specifically uses ‘la’- based minor so major and minor patterns that sound different do not have the same names (1997, p. 67). As an example, a tonic triad in major is ‘do mi 30’ and sounds much different than a tonic triad in minor called ‘la do mi’. My students also had some confusion after I gave them tonic and dominant major patterns at both the Aural/Oral and Verbal Association level, and then I taught minor tonic and dominant patterns at the Aural/Oral level. It seemed that my neutral syllable “bum” was telling them two different things, one for major and one for minor. 55 When students’ were asked to write a journal entry about which they liked better, “the bum way or the solfege way,” several interesting points were made in support of using solfege. I like both but I think it is very embarrassing because everybody looks at me. I like it better [with] solfege because it is more musical. I like the solfege because it’s kind of cool. I like solfege because I think it’s cool. I like the solfege way because I think it is easier than the bum way because after sometime the burn, bum way gets confusing. I like the solfege better than the bum because it is funnier and it is also more musical than the burn. I also think it is easier to sing the solfege than the bum. However some students wrote that they preferred the “burn” way: I like the bum because it is easier to say. I like burn because solfege gets too high of notes. I like the bum way because it just sounds better than the solfege. I like the bum way because it’s a lot easier. I like the bum because it’s easier to remember. I like the bum way because it is easier to say. I like the bum because it is funny. I like the bum way better because it [is] easier to say. 56 In the process of developing Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series (Grunow and Gordon, 1995) modifications were necessary to meet the needs of instrumental music. As an example, the SLSA patterns developed for the instrumental series had to be adapted and adjusted for various instrument registers and executive skills. If a choral series is developed from Music Learning Theory, modifications and adjustments will be necessary as well. Patterns may need to accommodate various ranges and registers. Many choral music educators have only a semester to prepare students for sight-reading at a choral festival. This lack of time could cause choral music educators to skip directly to the Verbal Association Level. As with the development of any curriculum, it is important to explore the skills and techniques necessary for a successful choral program and adapt those techniques to fit the methodology. 57 Chapter 7 Conclusion Prior studies indicate Music Learning Theory’s SLSA to be an effective method of instruction in instrumental and general music, and I believe Music Learning Theory is an effective methodological approach in my choral classroom. I have supported these conclusions in the previous three chapters as my data collection and analysis gave way to emergent themes. Upon gathering all my data and reflecting on my research questions, I sorted, coded and categorized prominent themes as I listened to interview tapes, reviewed my personal log, student logs, and daily lesson plan log. After my data was coded and categorized I wrote my results and discussion organized by the emergent themes. My first discussion point was the improved tonal and rhythm skills that resulted from using Music Learning Theory’s SLSA in my choral classroom. Secondly, although Music Learning Theory’s SLSA were effective in my choral classroom, it is necessary to follow the comprehensive sequenced objectives as described in Music Learning Theory. My third point was the ease of incorporating Music Learning Theory’s SLSA patterns into our choral rehearsal. The fourth discussion point was the challenges of a teacher incorporating Music Learning Theory’s SLSA patterns in a choral classroom. This action research project forced me to do more than usual reflection. As a teacher-researcher, I gained new insights about my students and myself. I appreciate the perspectives that I have attained through this research project and I hope that my newly acquired perspectives will affect my teaching in positive 58 ways. I now recognize more fully the value of incorporating Music Learning Theory into my choral classroom and that the inherent nature of the instrumental tonal patterns does not meet the needs as effectively for my choral students. As I begin a new school year, I hope to explore and experiment with tonal patterns to find patterns to better meet my student’s needs. Recommendations for Future Research This semester long research project is only the beginning of my journey into how the incorporation of Music Learning Theory’s SLSA patterns can work for me in a choral classroom. My long-term goal is to develop a 6 to 12 choral curriculum based on Music Learning Theory’s sequenced objectives tailored to the specific needs of my choral students. On the way to this goal, further research is essential to explore the modifications and adjustments necessary to incorporate Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom. I chose to use Music Learning Theory’s tonal and rhythm patterns developed for the instrumental curriculum Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series (Grunow and Gordon, 1995). I used this curriculum because of my teaching background in instrumental music and my GIML certification level one instrumental. However it has been suggested by other Music Learning Theory experts that I use the SLSA included in the register books designed for use with the general music series. The SLSA pattems developed for the instrumental series had to be adapted and adjusted for various instrument registers and executive skills. The SLSA patterns in the register books are ’purer’ and follow more specifically the sequenced objectives of Music Learning Theory without 59 having to take into consideration instrumental limitations. Although I am more comfortable with the instrumental patterns, I see an opportunity to better meet the individual needs of my students while exploring how Music Learning Theory’s SLSA can be adjusted to choral education. Although I chose an action research design for my study, other designs could be employed for further research into the incorporation of Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom. Much of the Music Learning Theory literature reviewed was experimental. Perhaps a future study could compare the tonal and rhythm improvements of choral students using an experimental design in which the experimental group incorporated Music Learning Theory. Another suggestion is to interview or survey choral music educators who incorporate Music Learning Theory in their classrooms concerning their perceptions of Music Learning Theory. As well as using various research designs, other studies could explore the incorporation of Music Learning Theory from other perspectives. Of interest may be the perceived benefits and challenges of incorporating Music Learning Theory with elementary or high school choral students. Other research lenses could include parent perception or video observation of the incorporation of Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom. Although further research is necessary, I hope that this study provides insights into the effects of SLSA in a seventh grade choral classroom. I am not implying that generalization should be made to other choral music classrooms or that all choral educators should use Music Learning Theory in their classroom. However, if the reader finds similarities between this study and their own 60 situation, they may wish to transfer these themes and ideas. As I reflect by on my journals during the study, I can sum my results best with my personal goal for teaching: “No change is easy, it takes time. We must teach to individual differences. That is what I must do, I must teach to my kids to help them succeed in music” (Jenema log, 11/9/01). I believe Music Learning Theory is the best way to accomplish my goal. 6| APPENDICIES University Committu on Research Involving Human Subjects Michigan State University 246 Administration Building East LanSing. Michigan 48824-10“ 5173552180 FAX. 517f353-2976 Web mmsu edit/usef/ucnns E-Maii ucnhs©m5u eat: the Michigan State Unmri DU :5 insiirww Dries/ti Ewe/m in Aaron MSU IS an minimum earn/mum attrition APPENDIX A MIC u N HICAN STATE iv E R SIT Y January 23. 2001 TO: Colleen CONWAY 150 W Circle Dr. Music Bldg RE: IRB# 00-622 CATEGORY: EXEMPT 1-A APPROVAL DATE: January 19, 2001 TITLE: MUSIC LEARNING THEORY IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL CHORAL CLASSROOM: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY The University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects' (UCRIHS) review of this project is complete and I am pleased to advise that the rights and welfare of the human subjects appear to be adequately protected and methods to obtain informed consent are appropriate. Therefore, the UCRIHS approved this project. RENEWALS: UCRIHS approval is valid for one calendar year, beginning with the approval date shown above. Projects continuing beyond one year must be renewed with the green renewal form. A maximum of four such expedited renewals possible. Investigators wishing to continue a project beyond that time need to submit it again for a complete review. REVISIONS: UCRIHS must review any changes in procedures involving human subjects, prior to initiation of the change. If this is done at the time of renewal, please use the green renewal form. To revise an approved protocol at any other time during the year, send your written request to the UCRIHS Chair, requesting revised approval and referencing the prOject's IRB# and title. Include in your request a description of the change and any revised instruments, consent forms or advertisements that are applicable. PROBLEMS/CHANGES: Should either of the following arise during the course of the work. notify UCRIHS promptly: 1) problems (unexpected side effects. complaints. etc.) involvmg human subjects or 2) changes in the research environment or new information indicating greater risk to the human subjects than existed when the protocol was previously reviewed and approved. If we can be of further assistance, please contact us at 517 355-2180 or we emall’ UCRIHS@msu edu Please note that all UCRIHS forms are located on the web- http://wwwmsu.edu/user/ucrihs Sincerely, Ir"' ,, ,v "/T)?’ ’7/ ;L//\/\‘/g Ashir Kumar. MD Interim Chair, UCRIHS AK: rj cc Shelly A. Jenema 9590 W. McIntyre Ave McBain. Ml 49657 63 APPENDIX B To: Mr. David Killips, Superintendent Reed City Area Public Schools and Mr. Tim Webster, Principal Reed City Middle School From: Mrs. Shelly A. Jenema, Vocal Music Teacher As a part of the 2000-2001 school year I would like to conduct an action research study in my seventh grade choir class. In my action plan I use a sequential and comprehensive set of musical objectives called Music Learning Theory and teach these objectives in seventh grade choir. My action plan will describe my process of teaching Music Learning Theory in seventh grade choir. I believe that Music Learning Theory can enhance and improve students’ musical skills and abilities. As a part of the data collection process I will videotape in my classroom approximately once a week. Several of my music education colleagues and myself will view videotapes. I will store the videotapes at my home and videotapes will be destroyed in one year. No student will be identified in the published report. Student and colleague confidentiality will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law. This action plan “Music Learning Theory in a choral classroom”, is partial fulfillment for a Master of Music degree from Michigan State University. Questions regarding this research plan can be directed to the chair of my research committee or myself. 64 Dr. Colleen Conway Music Education 102 Music Building Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824 (517) 355-7658 E-mail - conwayc@msu.edu Questions regarding the rights of human research subjects may be directed to David E. Wright, Ph.D., Chair University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects (UCRIHS) 246 Administration Building, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1046 Phone (517) 355-2180 E-mail — UCRIHS @ msu.edu Musically, Shelly A. Jenema Vocal Music Teacher 65 APPENDIX C Reed City Middle School seventh Grade Choir Information Please answer the following questions as thoroughly as possible. 1. Years of choir participation at Reed City Area Public Schools? 2. Did you participate in choir in another school? 3. If so which one(s)? 4. List other instrument(s) played and years of instruction for each. 5. List years of private voice instruction and teacher. 6. List any other choral experience (i.e. upper elementary honors choir, church choir etc) 7. What ‘pen name’ will you use when writing in your choir journal? 66 APPENDIX D Daily Lesson Plan Log Tonal/Rhythm pattern focus: Key/Tempo: Discrimination Learning level: Inference Learning level: Songs or chants used in conjunction with lesson: What worked well? What did not work well? 67 APPENDIX E Colleague Observation Questionnaire What are the perceived benefits of using Music Learning Theory’s tonal patterns in seventh grade choir at RCMS? What are the perceived challenges of using Music Learning Theory’s tonal patterns in seventh grade choir at RCMS? What are the perceived benefits of using Music Learning Theory’s rhythm patterns in seventh grade choir at RCMS? What are the perceived challenges of using Music Learning Theory’s rhythm patterns in seventh grade choir at RCMS? 68 APPENDIX F Student Interview Questions What is the best thing about participating in seventh grade choir at RCMS? What is the worst thing about participating in seventh grade choir at RCMS? How did the tonal patterns help your seventh grade choir experience at RCMS? How did the tonal patterns hinder your seventh grade choir experience at RCMS? How did the rhythm patterns help your seventh grade choir experience at RCMS? How did the rhythm patterns hinder your seventh grade choir experience at RCMS? 69 EE IiiI APPENDIX G Macro/Micro Duple Patterns 70 APPENDIX H Duple Division Patterns NO NO NO "0 W4 W4 15555145551 7l REFERENCES REFERENCES Bacon, T. E. (1998). A comparison of rhythm syllable systems used in beginning instrumental instruction. (Master Thesis, Michigan State University, 1998). Qissertation Abstract Online, 36, no. 6. Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (1998). 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