Faculty Perspectives on the Master’s Degree in Music Education

The purpose of this study was to examine music education faculty members’ perceptions of the master’s degree in music education (MME). A total of 76 music teacher educators completed a researcher-designed survey instrument. Participants believed their MME students’ top four motivations for pursuing MME degrees were to become a better teacher, to gain a higher salary, to create a possible pathway to doctoral study in the future, and to gain academic stimulation through graduate level coursework. Faculty also indicated the MME degree was focused on both teaching/pedagogy and research. Participants explained that their students primarily learn about research through reading and discussing research articles in class, and that their students learn about pedagogy primarily from reading pedagogical articles and reflecting on personal teaching videos. In addition, participants presented various opinions regarding the purpose of MME degrees. Implications for music teacher educators are discussed.

Effects of Camera Placement on Undergraduates’ Peer Teaching Reflection

We investigated whether camera placement affects peer teachers’ focus of attention during reflection. Preservice music teachers ( N = 14) reflected on peer teaching videos that had been recorded simultaneously from a head-mounted camera and a tripod-mounted camera at the back of the classroom. Participants completed the teaching reflection cycle twice, providing their observation comments in response to open-ended prompts. Responses were coded, with a single sentence as the unit of analysis, and a three-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant difference in comment frequencies according to comment type (student-focused or teacher-focused) but not according to camera placement or trial. Our results corroborate previous research indicating that undergraduate peer teachers focus more on themselves than on their peers, and suggest that placing the camera in a position that shows the students, rather than the teacher, does not seem to affect this tendency. We discuss the implications for peer teaching experiences in teacher education courses.

Self-Determination Theory for Motivation in Distance Music Education

Many researchers have discussed the feasibility of teaching and learning practical skills, such as playing a musical instrument, through distance education. One of the central issues considered in music education is that of motivation, leading educators to wonder how students might remain motivated when learning music at a distance. In this article, I use self-determination theory (SDT) as a lens for examining existing literature on distance music education to identify elements of learning environments that may contribute to, or detract from, the fulfillment of students’ psychological needs. I oriented my reading of the literature toward offering insights on the nature of motivation in online music education and providing educators with tools informed by SDT to maintain and nurture motivation when teaching music online.

Preservice Music Educators’ Perceptions of In-Person and Asynchronous Online Fieldwork Experiences

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine preservice music educators’ (PMEs) perceptions of a semester-long fieldwork experience first delivered in person and then asynchronously online. Using the community of inquiry (CoI) framework, I analyzed the PMEs’ perceptions of their teaching presence in both fieldwork experiences. Participants cited benefits and challenges with lesson plan organization, in-person and asynchronous instruction, and building consensus about effective teaching. Notably, the asynchronous fieldwork provided a non-reactive environment where the script and delivery of content took precedent over a rehearsal mindset, which was more responsive and occurred during the in-person fieldwork. Based on these findings, music teacher educators might consider asynchronous fieldwork when in-person fieldwork is unavailable or as a stepping stone to prepare PMEs for in-person fieldwork experiences.

Elementary General Music Teachers’ Preparation in Classroom Management

The purpose of this study was to examine elementary general music teachers’ classroom management preparation within music teacher education programs. Participants ( N = 341) were active elementary general music teachers as identified by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Descriptive data included frequencies, percentages, and cross-tabulations. The most frequently reported sources of classroom management preparation were mentoring from a licensed teacher and supervised fieldwork, while creating classroom rules and expectations and teaching procedures were the most frequent examples of within-course content. Participants were most satisfied with their preparation received through licensed teacher mentoring and supervised fieldwork. Implications for music teacher educators are presented.

A Mentoring Network for Novice and Experienced Music Teachers: Concept, Design, Outcomes, and Recommendations

Two university music education faculty aimed to expand mentoring beyond a one-to-one relationship to a more collaborative approach by creating a year-long online mentoring network of experienced and novice music educators. The purpose of this article is to describe the network’s structure and content, and discuss outcomes and recommendations based on participating teachers’ perspectives and experiences. Network materials promoted discussion and reflection on various music teaching and learning topics; the sharing of strategies, ideas, and resources; and mutual support and encouragement. Participants discussed topics with direct application for their classes and shared rewarding teaching moments, student successes, positive assessment outcomes, and struggles with fatigue and lack of student engagement. They stated the network provided a supportive space that facilitated connection and reflection, empathetic feedback, and teaching strategy and resource suggestions. Recommendations included more active opportunities to engage with and build relationships with each other, synchronous activities via videoconferencing platforms, and more facilitator participation.

The Reported Self-Care Practices of Music Educators

The purpose of this quantitative descriptive study was to examine personal and professional self-care practices reported by K–12 music teachers while also exploring the relationships between self-care and age, gender, years of experience, and several other contextual variables. The research team designed an instrument, based on a previous measure created by psychologists, to examine self-care behaviors. A sample of 337 music educators completed the instrument. We found very few meaningful relationships between self-care and demographic or contextual variables, although some patterns in common self-care practices were identified. Across both personal and professional domains, teachers reported a high level of activity in maintaining interpersonal relationships. Within the professional domain, participants reported activities most often that pertained to professional development. The least reported behaviors within the personal domain pertained to promotive habits for physical well-being such as taking time off when ill, regularly exercising, or healthful eating.

Reaching to Transgress: A Critical Self-study of a Teacher Education Program

Teaching to transgress, according to bell hooks, entails educators moving beyond an assembly-line approach to embrace integration of the mind, body, and spirit, and engaging in ways that honor the uniqueness of all students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our music teacher education program in order to critically analyze how our practices may or may not transgress. In keeping with principles of S-STEP (Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices), we share the provocation for the study and its multiple overlapping stages. We present themes from the S-STEP process resulting from the data, and then reconsider those data using scholarly literature. Findings include the intellectual and spiritual growth of students and educators, and the challenges inherent in teaching to transgress within an online environment.

A Critical Examination of Preservice Music Teachers’ Writing on the edTPA Portfolio

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between participants’ edTPA writing and edTPA portfolio scores. Specific questions included (a) Is there a relationship between overall word count and total score on the edTPA? (b) Are individual task commentary word counts associated with specific task scores and total edTPA scores? and (c) Is there a relationship between edTPA-specific vocabulary and total score on the edTPA? Written artifacts from 67 music education students who completed the K–12 Performing Arts edTPA Portfolio were collected over a 4-year period. Correlations between word counts and task and total scores were positive and of modest to moderate strength, as was the correlation between edTPA vocabulary word use and total scores. These findings are interpreted in relation to a national K–12 Performing Arts edTPA portfolio average score of 45 and existing edTPA policies affecting music teacher education programs.