Characteristics for Successful Music Teaching

The 2011 Survey of the NHDOE Requirements for Music Educator Certification

Purpose Statement and Research Questions

This study was designed to: (a) determine how professional New Hampshire music educators rate the State of New Hampshire Department of Education’s Standards for Certification in Music Education in terms of their relevance in preparing students to be successful music educators in the twenty first century and (b) find if there was a consensus in their input regarding areas for improvement in the certification requirements. The research questions included in this study were based upon: (a) The State of New Hampshire Department of Education Standards for Teacher Preparation- Music (Ed. 612.20) and (b) three open-ended questions: 1) what area of your music education preparation did you find most useful in the “real world?” 2) What area of your music education preparation did you find lacking in sufficient preparation for the “real world?” and 3) as an experienced educator, what advice would you give to a student entering a preparation program to become a music educator?

Method The target population for this survey study was

all elementary, middle and high school music educators in both public and private schools in the State of New Hampshire. The actual sampling frame consisted of all public and private New Hampshire elementary, middle and high school music educators identifiable through (a) district Web site searches, (b) existing New Hampshire Music Educators (NHMEA) and New Hampshire Band Directors (NHBDA) databases and (c) the New Hampshire Department of Education’s database of principals. A total of 317 music educators with publicly available e-mail contact information were found. There were a total of 203 respondents.

203 Respondents from 317 Requests

Current Teaching Assignment exclusive to one level

General Music

Choral Band String General/Choral

General/Band

General/ String

All Aspects

Total Count

Elementary 42.4%(28)

0.0%(0)

10.6%(7)

3.0%(2)

18.2%(12)

9.1%(6)

1.5%(1)

15.2%(10)

66

Middle/Jr. High

8.8%(5)

14.0%(8)

12.2%(6)

3.5%(2)

14.0%(8)

19.3%(11)

3.5%(2)

15.8%(9)

57

High School 0.0%(0)

12.2%(6)

12.2%(6)

4.1%(2)

22.4%(11)

32.7%(16)

0.0%(0)

16.3%(8)

49

Replied: 157/46

Current Teaching Assignment Covering Multiple Levels

General Music

Choral Band Strings General/Choral

General/Band

General/Strings

All Aspects

Total Count

Elementary 27.0%(17)

7.9%(5)

27.0%(17)

4.8%(3)

12.7%(8)

6.3%(4)

3.2%(2)

11.1%(7)

63

Middle/Jr. High 15.1%(8)

11.3%(6)

30.2%(16)

3.8%(2)

5.7%(3)

13.2%(7)

3.8%(2)

17.0%(9)

53

High School 3.3%(1)

16.7%(5)

23.3%(7)

13.3%(4)

10.0%(3)

23.3(7)

3.3%(1)

6.7%(2)

30

Replied 84/119

Survey Items The items on the survey consisted of the five areas presented

in the New Hampshire Department of Education Standards for Teacher Preparation- Music (Ed. 612.20): Educator’s Performance Ability; Knowledge of Theory and Composition; Knowledge of Music History; Knowledge of Music Pedagogy; Educator’s Knowledge of Curriculum. The respondents were asked to rate characteristic skills for each area: Educator’s Performance Ability (e.g., perform accurately and expressively from notation either vocally or instrumentally as a soloist and as a member of a musical ensemble), Theory and Composition (e.g., hear accurately individual parts in musical pieces and their relative balance, intonation, and harmonic function), Music History (e.g., describe the history of Western art music from the Middle Ages to the present), Music Pedagogy (e.g., teach students to read and write music in traditional and non-traditional notation), Knowledge of Curriculum (ability to describe and advocate for a comprehensive K-12 music program).

Instructions & Ranking Ranking was set up in a Likert-style with four

columns (Crucial skill; Important skill; Valuable, but not necessary; Unnecessary). Respondents were given the following instructions for ranking the characteristic skills: “ I am seeking your wisdom and expertise in order to determine the effectiveness of music teacher preparation in our great state. I am hoping that the information you give me will help to prepare the next generation of music educators for success. This information could also be used to advance and update teacher training programs in such a way that new music teachers would be able to enter the field prepared with the skills and characteristics most relevant to overcoming contemporary challenges in our field. Please rate the following skills in each area from 1 to 4. 1=Crucial skill, 2=Important skill, 3=Valuable, but not necessary, 4=Unnecessary.”

Ability to Perform

Ability to Accompany

Ability to Conduct

Ability to plan and present

Crucial Skills rated higher than 40% in the Performance Ability Category

Ability to perform accurately and expressively from notation either vocally or instrumentally as a soloist and as a member of a musical ensemble (66.5%).

Ability to accompany students on the piano, guitar or other instrument capable of playing a chordal accompaniment, and transpose as necessary (41.4%).

Ability to conduct: Common beat patterns, meters and tempos; preparatory and down beats; entrances; fermatas and releases (76.8%).

Ability to plan and present a musical performance, including selecting literature appropriate to the occasion and ability level of the students (89.2%).

Important Skills rated higher than 40% in the Performance Ability Category

Ability to accompany students on the piano, guitar or other instrument capable of playing a chordal accompaniment, and transpose as necessary (40.9%).

Ability to differentiate and correct individual parts (84.2%).

Ability to recognize common musical genres, including, but not limited to: Symphony; Jazz Combo; Oratorio (51.7%).

Ability to read & write music accurately in traditional and non-traditional notations in a variety of clefs (62.1%).

Ability to transpose from written pitch to concert sounding pitch and vice versa (56.7%).

Ability to analyze formal and expressive elements in written music (44.3%).

Ability to hear accurately

Ability to aurally recognize musical forms

Ability to differentiate

Ability to recognize common musical genres

Ability to read & write music accurately

Ability to transpose

Ability to notate from listening

Ability to analyze elements

Ability to improvise

Ability to compose & arrange

Crucial Skills rated higher than 40% in the Theory & Composition Category

Ability to hear accurately individual parts in musical pieces and their relative balance, intonation and harmonic function (77.8%).

Important Skills rated higher than 40% in the Theory & Composition Category

Ability to aurally recognize musical forms, including, but not limited to: Theme and Variation; Binary and Ternary forms and Song (57.1%).

Ability to recognize common musical genres, including, but not limited to: Symphony; Jazz Combo; Oratorio (41.4%).

Ability to notate music from listening (52.7%).

Ability to analyze formal and expressive elements in written music (43.3%).

Ability to improvise harmonies to melodies, melodic variations, and melodies around a chord pattern (47.3%).

Ability to describe

Ability to recognize

Ability to relate

Crucial Skills rated higher than 40% in the Knowledge of Music History & Culture Category

No crucial skills rated higher than 40%.

Important Skills rated higher than 40% in the Knowledge of Music History & Culture Category

Ability to describe the history of Western art music (the history of American and European music from the Middle Ages to the present) (51.7%).

Ability to recognize: Western art music; American music, including Jazz; World music (50.7%).

Ability to relate your knowledge of music to other art forms, cultures and disciplines outside of the arts (45.3%).

Teaching students to read & write music

Ability to guide students

Ability to provide experiences

Understanding relationships

Understanding music’s relation to history & culture

Understanding of career opportunities

Develop ability to sing & perform

Develop ability to play & perform

Instruct, rehearse and evaluate vocalists

Instruct, rehearse and evaluate instrumentalists

Crucial Skills rated higher than 40% in the Musical Pedagogy Category

Ability to teach students to read & write music in traditional and non-traditional notation (75.4%).

Ability to guide students to express themselves musically through purposeful movement, improvisation, composition and arranging (50.2%).

Ability to provide experiences for students in guided listening that will develop their ability to describe, analyze and evaluate music and musical performance (58.6%).

Ability to develop in students an understanding of music in relation to history and culture (46.8%).

Develop in students the ability to sing and perform expressively alone and with others at a beginning level in healthy, age appropriate ways with an understanding of: Tone production; Diction; Breathing; Posture; Varied repertoire; the extended range and general range of the voice, including the changing voice (77.3%).

Crucial Skills rated higher than 40% in the Musical Pedagogy Category pg. 2

Develop in students the ability to play and perform expressively alone and with others at a beginning level on classroom instruments, including but not limited to pitched and un-pitched percussion instruments and recorders, and beginning band and orchestra instruments in healthy, age appropriate ways with an understanding of standard techniques of: Tone production; Articulation; Fingerings and Transposition for commonly used instruments (78.8%).

Ability to instruct, rehearse and evaluate vocalists throughout their school career and in performance of choral music with knowledge of advanced techniques of: Tone production; Vocal techniques (Diction in English and foreign languages); Varied repertoire, including music in four parts, accompanied or not (63.5%).

Ability to instruct, rehearse and evaluate instrumentalists throughout their school career and in band and orchestral performances an understanding of advanced techniques of: Tone production; Articulation; Fingerings, including alternate fingerings; Transposition for less commonly used instruments (66.0%).

Important Skills rated higher than 40% in the Musical Pedagogy Category

Ability to guide students to express themselves musically through purposeful movement, improvisation, composition and arranging (41.9%).

Ability to develop in students an understanding of music in relation to history and culture (41.9%).

Ability to develop in students an understanding of relationships among music, the other arts, and disciplines outside of the arts (42.9%)

.Ability to develop in students an understanding of career opportunities in the field of music (54.7%).

Adapt methods, assess & communicate progress

Describe & advocate

Crucial Skills rated higher than 40% in the Knowledge of Curriculum Category

Ability to use and apply various methods and materials to: Design and modify instruction for all learners; Continually assess individual and group learning; Communicate student progress to students and to parents (80.8%).

Ability to describe and advocate for a comprehensive K-12 music program that is consistent with RSA 193-C:3 III (67.5%).

Important Skills rated higher than 40% in the Knowledge of Curriculum Category

No skills with a rating higher than 40% in this category.

What area of your music education preparation did you find most useful in the

"real world?”

What area of your music education preparation did you find lacking in sufficient

preparation for the "real world?"

As an experienced music educator, what advice would you give to a student entering a preparation program to become a music

educator?