Dr. Joseph Manfredo, Illinois State University Dr. Sean R. Powell, Columbus State University

1. Influence of Pre-Service Teacher Instrumental Background upon Effectiveness of Teaching Episodes in Secondary Instrument Classes Dr. Joseph Manfredo, Illinois State University Dr. Sean R. Powell, Columbus State University Dr. David W. Snyder, Illinois State University Dr. Molly A. Weaver, West Virginia University INTRODUCTION RESULTS NEED FOR STUDY DISCUSSION A review of literature on the topic of secondary instruments in music education curricula yields few results, though there appears to be greater interest in this topic in recent years. Previous research efforts in secondary instrument classes have focused on describing the structure and delivery of the classes, perception of the value and relevance of these courses by experienced teachers and PSTs and the role of these classes in the music education degree program. However, one important issue in secondary instrument classes has not been researched. There has not been an attempt to investigate the influence of the PST instrumental background upon teaching effectiveness. It would be useful to determine the extent to which PST teaching and playing experience has an impact upon teaching effectiveness. • Key Point #1:Can PSTs effectively teach an instrument on which they have had no experience prior to the techniques class? • Specialists appear to have greater content knowledge than non-specialists • Non-specialists were as effective as specialists in teaching secondary instruments • Key Point #2: Does experience in teaching and/or playing a secondary instrument influence PST effectiveness? • Year in school did not have an impact on effectiveness • Freshmen & sophomores scored as well or better than juniors & seniors • Accumulation of early field experience did not help upper-class students • PSTs with or without private or small group teaching experience received high evaluations in both content knowledge and modes of instruction • PSTs with or without experience playing a secondary instrument in a collegiate ensemble received high evaluations • Table 1. Mean Scores of All Specialists • Proficiency levels of excellent (3), satisfactory (2) & unsatisfactory (1) • Range of mean scores from 2.00 to 2.90 • Mean scores of the three modes of instruction were consistent in each proficiency • Mean scores for Fundamentals #1 were higher than the mean scores for Fundamentals #2 • Specialists received an evaluation of CCK between 36% and 100%, with a median score of 82% • Only one student received an evaluation of wrong content knowledge (WCK) • Table 2. Mean Scores of All Non-Specialists • Proficiency levels of excellent (3), satisfactory (2) & unsatisfactory (1) • Range of mean scores from 1.82 to 2.88 • Mean scores of the three modes of instruction were consistent, with the exception of verbal feedback, which was lower • Mean scores for Fundamentals #1 were higher than the mean scores for Fundamentals #2 • Non-Specialists received an evaluation of CCK between 50% and 94%, with a median score of 70% • Ten students received an evaluation of wrong content knowledge (WCK) • Table 3. Difference of Mean Scores Between Specialists and Non-Specialists • Specialists were evaluated higher in 20 of the 24 proficiencies • Specialists scored higher in all proficiencies of Fundamentals #1 • The difference of mean scores ranged from 0.01 to 0.69 • Only seven of the proficiencies had a difference of a mean score higher than 0.20 • Background Data • Of the 45 participants: 3 freshmen, 26 sophomores, 13 juniors, 2 seniors and 1 graduate student • 47% have taught private lessons • 42% have taught sectionals for a collegiate ensemble • 31% have played a secondary instrument in a collegiate ensemble Despite the significance of the secondary instrument techniques class for teacher preparation, there are many issues regarding their structure and delivery, including the qualifications of the instructor, instrument groupings and course content. Of special interest are the instructional priorities of these classes, and how the instructor balances the course curriculum in the three major areas of playing skills, teaching skills and pedagogical content knowledge. While music education faculty typically include teaching the instrument(s) as a key part of the course, it is difficult to determine other factors that influence teacher effectiveness. The enrollment of the typical secondary instrument class includes both specialists and non-specialists on particular instruments. Music education faculty must consider if PST instrumental background, including previous teaching and playing experiences, influences PST effectiveness in the secondary instrument class. The fundamental purpose of this study was to examine the influence of instrumental background (specialist versus non-specialist) upon the pedagogical effectiveness of teaching episodes in a secondary instrument techniques class. In addition, this study investigated the impact of teaching and playing experience upon teaching effectiveness. METHODS AND MATERIALS • Four Music Education Faculty from Three Universities • Two Brass and Two Woodwind Techniques Classes • 45 music education majors (11 specialists and 34 non-specialists) • PST taught a ten minute lesson to a beginning level student • PST provided verbal instruction, nonverbal instruction and verbal feedback • Eight proficiencies of fundamentals of tone production • Instrument Assembly • Posture • Instrument Carriage • Hand Position • Breathing • Embouchure Formation • Mouthpiece to Mouth Relationship • Tonguing • Each lesson was video recorded and analyzed • Teaching effectiveness (excellent, satisfactory or unsatisfactory) • Pedagogical content knowledge (correct, incomplete, wrong, or did not do) • Student experience in teaching and playing secondary instruments was also considered REFERENCES Austin, J. R. (2006). The teaching of secondary instruments: A survey of instrumental music teacher educators. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 16(1), 55-64. Conway, C., Eros, J., Hourigan, R., & Stanley, A. M. (2007). Perceptions of beginning teachers regarding brass and woodwind instrument techniques classes in preservice education. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 173, 39-54. Weaver, M.A. (2010). Orchestrating secondary instrument playing and teaching proficiencies for future music educators: Effective curriculum configuration, delivery, and administration. In M. Schmidt (ed), Collaborative Action for Change: Selected Proceedings from the 2007 Symposium on Music Teacher Education (pp. 183-197). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.