Music Graduation Night Research Poster Session

Resources for Elementary General Music Teachers:

Implementation and Perceived Usefulness
Rachel McCoy
Oregon State University
mccoyr@onid.oregonstate.edu
Abstract

Table 1: Familiarity of pedagogical

approaches
Not at all

Methodology
Conversational Solfege
Dalcroze
Eclectic
Kodly
MLT (Music Learning
Theory)
Orff-Schulwerk
Suzuki
TBMI (Technology
Based Music
Instruction)
World Music Drumming

I've heard of it

Familiar

Very Familiar

0%

40%

30%

30%

0
15
1

0%
75%
5%

6
1
1

30%
5%
5%

10
4
7

50%
20%
35%

2
0
11

10%
0%
55%

30%

30%

10%

30%

0
0

0%
0%

2
6

10%
30%

7
14

35%
70%

11
0

55%
0%

45%

30%

20%

5%

0%

35%

30%

35%

Table 2: Implementation of methodologies

in daily teaching
Never

Sometimes

Often

Very Often

Methodology
Conversational
Solfege
Dalcroze
Eclectic
Kodly
MLT
Orff-Schulwerk
Suzuki
TBMI
World Music
Drumming

Not Familiar
with this
approach

25%

35%

25%

15%

0%

7
6
2
7
1
15
13

35%
30%
10%
35%
5%
75%
65%

10
3
4
5
4
3
4

50%
15%
20%
25%
20%
15%
20%

0
1
6
3
9
0
0

0%
5%
30%
15%
45%
0%
0%

3
3
8
2
6
0
0

15%
15%
40%
10%
30%
0%
0%

0
7
0
3
0
0
1

0%
35%
0%
15%
0%
0%
5%

30%

35%

20%

10%

0%

Table 3: Pedagogical approach most

closely associated with
Methodology

Kodly

40%

Eclectic

25%

Orff-Schulwerk

20%

Conversational Solfege

10%

World Music Drumming

5%

Dalcroze

0%

The purpose of this study was to investigate resources used by in-service teachers (n = 20)
and their perceived usefulness. The need for this study stems from the lack of consistency
in curriculum between states, districts, and often schools within districts. A hybrid
questionnaire was developed based primarily on a previous study conducted by Bugos
(2011). The questionnaire consisted of 3 sections: demographics, questions regarding
pedagogical approach implemented, and questions regarding resources implemented.
Regarding pedagogical approach, participants were asked to rate levels of familiarity (See
Table 1) on a 4 point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very familiar) and
implementation (See Table 2) on a 4 point Likert-type scale ranging 1 (never) to 4 (very
often). Also in this section, participants were asked which pedagogical approach they
associate most closely with (See Table 3). In the section regarding resources, participants
were asked to rate their perceived usefulness of specified resources (See Table 4) on a 4
point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (not at all useful) to 4 (extremely useful). An open
response question was added to gather qualitative information. Commonly occurring
themes that emerged included various reference books and workshops. The author that
was listed most frequently (n = 7) was John Feierabend.

Table 4: Please rate the following based on

Table
4:
Pedagogical
approach
most
degree of usefulness in your daily teaching
closely associated with
Not at all useful
Resource

Minimally
useful

Somewhat useful Extremely useful

N/A

College
mentor/adviser

15%

15%

20%

30%

20%

District policy or
curriculum

10%

20%

30%

25%

15%

10%

5%

30%

10

50%

5%

OMEA sessions

5%

0%

11

55%

10%

30%

Special workshops
or trainings outside
of OMEA

0%

5%

25%

11

55%

15%

Student
teaching/Cooperati
ng teacher

10%

0%

40%

30%

20%

20%

40%

25%

10%

5%

5%

30%

45%

15%

5%

40%

25%

20%

10%

5%

5%

10%

35%

10

50%

0%

0%

5%

30%

10

50%

15%

Method(s) courses

School wide
professional
development
Curriculum books
Personal
experience as an
elementary student

MLT

0%

Degree coursework

Suzuki

0%

TBMI

0%

Continuing
education
coursework

What are the 3 most frequently used

resources that you implement in your
daily teaching? And why?
John Feierabend: (n = 7)
I like how he scaffolds rhythm and solfege syllables, and that he does not
start with the descending minor third (participant 15)
Conversational Solfege because its easy to use on its own or as an
addition to any other unit (participant 16)
Wide variety of rep. to engage students and teach content (participant 20)
Various reference books (n = 18)
Inside the Music Classroom: Teaching the Art with Heart by Patricia
Bourne. Her book does a great job of showing how lesson planning looks
and how to incorporate multiple approaches in the classroom, as well as a
practical way of seeing child psychology and development in the music
classroom (participant 15)
New England Dancing Masters Books fantastic singing games and
dances that are useful when you are new to a school like I am this year
(participant 2)
Workshops: (n = 5)
I use them because during the workshop I experienced the activity and
understood the concepts and expected outcomes for my students
(participant 19)
Because Im eclectic and I use what works to engage students in
comprehensive music instruction (participant 1)

Discussion
Implications:
Resources used by teachers vary, however teachers are drawn to resources
that are accessible to them and engaging to the students
Career stage seemed to influence what types of resources were most
influential to individuals early career participants seemed to favor
comprehensive resources while later career participants seemed to draw from
a more varied array of resources
In response to the question in which participants rated specific resources,
courses and workshops were rated highly in relation to the other options which
correlates to some of the free responses in which some participants indicated
Limitations:
Small sample size
Sample location was drawn from Oregon, other geographical locations may
have yielded different results
Participants were self-reporting in one of the questions, which may not have
been the most accurate method of data collection
Directions for further research:
This study could be repeated with a larger sample size or either in a different
region or taken nation-wide
A similar study could be repeated to include either case-studies or interviews
which would allow for a more comprehensive investigation