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

1. Influence of Preservice 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 IMPLICATIONS 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 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. Findings showed no significant difference in the teaching effectiveness or content knowledge of specialists vs. non-specialists. Therefore, instructors of secondary instrument courses should not assume that specialists will be better teachers or have a greater knowledge base than non-specialists. Findings also imply that non-specialists should be held to the same standard as specialists in regard to teaching effectiveness and content knowledge. Participants in this study were more effective giving verbal instructions and modeling than giving verbal feedback. This suggests that instructors of instrumental techniques courses might consider providing more opportunities for the development of verbal feedback skills within the course. Or, it might suggest that these skills should be focused upon later in the curriculum in methods courses and field experiences. Results showed that PSTs who had private lesson teaching experience were more effective modelers than those who did not. Instructors of secondary instrument courses should consider the private lesson teaching experience of PSTs when designing course experiences. • Background Data • 45 participants: 3 freshmen, 26 sophomores, 13 juniors, 2 seniors, and 1 graduate student • 47% have taught private lessons previously • Teaching Effectiveness and Pedagogical Content Knowledge • No significant difference in the teaching effectiveness or pedagogical content knowledge of specialists (e.g., woodwind principals enrolled in a woodwind course) and non-specialists in any category. • PSTs with private lesson teaching experience scored significantly higher (p < .05) than PSTs with no private lesson teaching experience in the modeling category only (no significant difference was found in other categories of verbal instruction or verbal feedback). • Scores for verbal feedback were significantly lower (p < .05) than scores for verbal instruction and modeling for both groups. • Scores for students enrolled in woodwind courses were significantly higher (p < .05) than those for students enrolled in brass courses in every category. 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 influences 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 private lesson teaching 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 evaluated by all four faculty members • 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 • Multivariate statistical analysis DISCUSSION REFERENCES Research Question 1: Can PSTs effectively teach an instrument family with which they have had no experience prior to the techniques class? No significant difference was found between specialists and non-specialists in teaching effectiveness or content knowledge. This finding suggests that students who have no previous background as a performer on a woodwind or brass instrument can become proficient teachers on those instruments within the timeframe of the secondary instrument course with skills and knowledge comparable to specialists. Research Question 2: Does private lesson teaching experience influence PST teaching effectiveness in secondary instrument courses? The results show that PSTs with prior private lesson teaching experience scored significantly higher on the modeling parameter only. Perhaps private lesson teaching experience provides PSTs with more opportunity to model, making them more effective in this area. 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.