Adaptive Musical Instruments (AMIs): Past, Present, and Future Research Directions

We review and discuss the literature related to adaptive musical instruments since 2000, focusing on the use of such instruments with children with disabilities. The aim of this review is to provide a synthesis of perspectives and answer the following questions: How have music technologies, including both software and hardware, been used for children with disabilities and how have they been tested and evaluated? What have been the research questions asked and outcomes evaluated concerning these instruments? The studies reviewed include intervention, narrative and descriptive studies. One observation is that adaptive instrument design and research cuts across many different disciplines including music therapy, education and engineering. We considered articles taking functional and rehabilitation informed perspectives as well as critical disability studies, for which music making is often discussed as a human right independently of potential benefits. We discuss methodological approaches used in these studies, and reports of user’s opinions concerning the use of AMIs. It is worth noting that most uses of AMIs by the population under consideration are highly improvisatory, and so a methodological challenge frequently reported is how can the effectiveness of AMIs be assessed without focusing only on easily measurable outputs? We reveal divisions existing between research focusing on the use of AMIs with precise therapeutic and pedagogic goals in mind, and that interested in more general positive effects of improvised collective creative activity and its role in community building. With this two-fold perspective, we analyse the limitations of current research and derive questions for future directions.

Using Case-Based Learning to Teach Information Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate Music Therapy Education: A Cohort Study

Higher education traditionally focuses on didactic, or passive, teaching and learning techniques as these are efficient ways of conveying information to the students. However, passive learning places the responsibility for students’ learning on the instructor rather than the students themselves. Constructive learning techniques, such as case-based learning (CBL), give students opportunities to apply previous knowledge while constructing their own deep learning. The purpose of this article is to describe both the implementation and evaluation of a CBL unit in a junior-level undergraduate music therapy theories and methods course. The cohort study utilized student reflection papers, faculty observations, class materials, and a student survey to evaluate the impact of a behavioral health-focused CBL unit on information literacy, critical thinking skills, and student enjoyment of learning. Students answered both Likert-type and open-ended questions on these topics. Open-ended questions were analyzed using a directed qualitative content analysis. Students felt that the CBL unit was effective in increasing their information literacy and critical thinking skills, and they enjoyed the unit. According to survey results, the CBL developed several measured areas of student critical thinking skills, with the exception of the students’ abilities to analyze their own biases. The CBL unit appeared to be an effective and efficient way of simultaneously covering multiple learning outcomes and music therapy competencies. However, students did not perceive any changes in their ability to analyze their own biases which, based on previous psychology and sociology research, takes more than one isolated learning unit to address. Implications for music therapy education are addressed.

Ethics in Music Therapy Education: Four Points to Consider

Ethical thinking in music therapy is a vital aspect of the profession. However, little is published on the subject of ethics in the music therapy academic setting. Therefore, this article explores the complex issues of ethics and ethical thinking in music therapy education from the perspective of two music therapists who have held various positions within academics in music therapy. The purpose of this article is to encourage integrity within music therapy education and to draw attention to the complex ethical issues within music therapy academics. Four points are described for music therapy educators: (1) Assess positions of power, (2) Explore your adaptability, (3) Assess possible infringement of rights, and (4) Consider cultural bias in your responses. These points are offered as recommendations inserted into the Dileo Model of Ethical Thinking for Music Therapists for people in academia when faced with ethical dilemmas.

Systematic Review of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences: Implications for Music Therapy Education

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) involve entire classes of students in addressing research questions or problems of interest to the scientific community. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the available literature for CUREs and explore implications and best practices for inclusion in music therapy education and training. The research questions included: (a) What are the characteristics of course-based undergraduate research experiences (i.e., participants, grade level, course, field of study, course type, duration, terminology, study design)? (b) What are the outcomes of course-based research experiences and how are these outcomes measured? Searching ERIC, PubMed, and Web of Science, authors identified articles published between 2000–2017 meeting criteria. Of 5,809 articles, 54 met inclusion criteria: published quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods study; involved undergraduate students; and the intervention met the five dimensions of CURE models. The majority of CURE studies were implemented in one-semester required courses in the life sciences for a variety of student grade levels. CURE outcomes frequently included increased research knowledge, increased course content knowledge and skills, improved attitudes and beliefs, general perceptions of the learning experience, and improved course satisfaction. CURE measurement tools were varied, but several used a researcher-created posttest, standard university course evaluations, researcher-created pretests/posttests, or standardized research skill development surveys. The majority of studies indicated a positive student response to CURE implementation. Implications and recommendations for music therapy education and training are discussed.

Queering the Curriculum

Music therapy academic faculty responsible for teaching the next generation of healthcare practitioners have a special responsibility to ensure that the learning environment is one in which the principles of equity and inclusion are upheld and practiced. When LGBTQ+ content is unavailable in the educational environment, it marks the presence of overt and covert hostility and microaggressions toward LGBTQ+ people and their identities. The classroom then exists as a heteronormative and cisnormative space that places the burden on students to discover, include and manage reference to LGBTQ+ identities and experiences. Socially constructed roles which relied on limited conceptions of a normative binary that recognized only hetero and cis male and female identities is shifting; LGBTQ+ people are increasingly reflected in the media and our society, creating opportunities for deep thinking and expansion. Reviewing current teaching environments and methods allows consideration of the kinds of social constructions that limit our capacity as educators and music therapists to fully include LTBTQ+ people and content. In this paper, two LGBTQ+ relatively recent music therapy graduates and two hetero cis seasoned feminist music therapy educators use anti-oppressive practice theory to reflect on and reveal predominant heteronormative and cisnormative values in music therapy education and reflect on ways to make classroom and practicum settings a safe and exploring space for all students and their clients.