The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Fall 12-2017 Alabama Classroom Teachers Who Participated in Arts Integration Workshops and Their Implementation of Music into the Core Curriculum Laurie Martin University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Martin, Laurie, "Alabama Classroom Teachers Who Participated in Arts Integration Workshops and Their Implementation of Music into the Core Curriculum" (2017).edu/dissertations/1455 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact Joshua. ALABAMA CLASSROOM TEACHERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN ARTS INTEGRATION WORKSHOPS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION OF MUSIC INTO THE CORE CURRICULUM by Laura Jane Martin A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School and the Department of Educational Research and Administration at The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved: ________________________________________________ Dr.
Hill, Committee Chair Professor, Educational Research and Administration ________________________________________________ Dr. Ann Blankenship, Committee Member Assistant Professor, Educational Research and Administration ________________________________________________ Dr. Myron Labat, Committee Member Assistant Professor, Educational Research and Administration ________________________________________________ Dr. Fuller, Committee Member Professor, Music ________________________________________________ Dr.
Coats Dean of the Graduate School December2017 COPYRIGHT BY Laura Jane Martin 2017 Published by the Graduate School ABSTRACT ALABAMA CLASSROOM TEACHERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN ARTS INTEGRATION WORKSHOPS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION OF MUSIC INTO THE CORE CURRICULUM by Laura Jane Martin December2017 With the growing emphasis on academic achievement, it has become increasingly more challenging to justify the integration of arts into the curriculum. Effective teachers employ instructional strategies that enhance student engagement and can positively affect student learning. This qualitative study investigated the instructional practices and experiences of classroom teachers who implement music into the academic lesson to increase student engagement and enhance learning. Specifically, the research questions explored how teachers use music to enhance their curriculum, the level of preparedness after attending arts integration professional development, and where they located resources for music activities.
Effective teachers realize that all students learn differently as proven through Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences which served as the conceptual framework for this general qualitative inquiry study. Fifteen classroom teachers volunteered to interview for this qualitative study. In these face-to-face semi-structured interviews, data was collected from participants who discussed practices and experiences of the implementation of music in their classroom lessons. This data was transcribed and analyzed to reveal the extent to which the participants utilized music as an instructional tool in the classroom.
The data showed sufficient evidence to support the fact that participants find using music in their classroom to be effective not only fort student ii achievement but for classroom behavior, to reinforce memorization skills, and engage students in the lesson. In addition, data showed that the majority of teachers who participated in this study felt more prepared to implement music into their lesson once they completed the Arts in Education professional development through the University of South Alabama. The findings in this study imply there is a need for more collegiate level classes offered in the area of music integration within the course of study. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge several people who made this dissertation possible.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Lilian Hill and my USM committee members who patiently helped me wrap up and complete this paper. I am most grateful to Dr. Leslie Locke who faithfully worked with me from the beginning until she relocated to The University of Iowa, and my faithful sister in Christ and dear friend Dr.
Karen Dennis, University of Mobile, for her unselfish love and devotion with unwavering encouragement. I am forever indebted to my family Judy Martin Bobo, Leslie Martin Nettles, and my precious daughter Sarah Jane Shearer who on many evenings ate cereal for dinner. I love you all and am more than grateful for your love and support though this tremendous endeavor. Finally yet importantly, I acknowledge my four legged fur baby Lula who is always happy to see me when I walk in the door.
It is great to be loved unconditionally. iv DEDICATION This dissertation is lovingly dedicated to my parents Judith Martin Bobo and the late James Richard Martin who have always believed I was number one and made me feel like I was “the winner and still champion”. Their constant devotion and Godly example have inspired me to be determined and successful. Thank you for giving me every tool needed to pursue my passion for vocal music.
I love you and will forever be indebted. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT. v LIST OF TABLES. xiii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. xv CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION. 1 Statement of the Problem. 2 Purpose of the Study.
6 Definition of Terms. 9 CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW. 11 History and Early Research in Music Education. 11 vi Early Influences on Music Education.
12 Early Music Conventions. 15 The Yale Seminar. 16 The Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project. 18 The Tanglewood Sympsium.
19 National Association for Music Educators. 20 Music Education Curriculum. 22 Politics in Music Education. 24 No Child Left Behind.
29 Music and the Brain. 30 Listening to Music. 36 Funding in Music Education. 38 Budgets in Music Education.
40 Using Music in the Classroom. 51 CHAPTER III - METHODOLOGY. 53 Purpose of the Study. 54 vii Research Questions.
54 Methodology and Design of the Study. 62 APPENDIX A - Placeholder Appendix Title. 101 viii APPENDIX B – Standard Consent Form. 112 xi xii LIST OF TABLES Table A1.
Appendix Table Title Example (be concise). 101 xiii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Example figure title.Error! Bookmark not defined. Example figure title.
101 xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USM The University of Southern Mississippi WCU William Carey University xv CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION Overview In 2001 the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) mandated that all students must perform at grade-level proficiency, which is to be assessed and determined through scores on state mandated tests. Duncombe, Lukemeyer, and Yinger (2006) noted that the result of these scores determine funding availability for schools; therefore, more emphasis is given by educational leaders to the subject areas that are tested, such as math and reading, rather than the arts (US Department of Education, 2010). Because music courses are considered a non-tested core subject by NCLB, testing is not required. Consequently, educational leaders do not value music on an equal level as they do other core subjects (Gerrity, 2009).
In December 2015 President Barack Obama’s administration worked to execute the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This law replaced its predecessor, the No Child left behind Act. ESSA allows more power at the state level to implement an accountability structure within its public school systems (Peet & Vercelletto, 2016). According to Levy (2008), all school districts have created standards for graduation, which students must achieve to fulfill the requirements of the federal government.
Many educators feel there is insufficient funding and time for music education to be included as a class in and of itself (Conrad, 2006). If these scores fail to demonstrate an increase in student achievement, teachers could lose their positions and schools could be penalized financially by not receiving certain federal funds (Gerrity, 2009). Many of these extra supplies needed for remediation such as technology, textbooks, and computer programs can be costly. Instruments for the music classroom 1 can be expensive as well, but because some educational administrators do not value the subject of music, many music teachers are using old classroom instruments and other supplies, which may not be working properly (Spohn, 2008).
The newest and latest program is many times made available for students in math or reading, but not for the students in music class (Spohn, 2008). To raise awareness for the importance of music in the classroom, music educators have developed a plan of embedding music into the regular classroom lessons to enhance learning (Spohn, 2008). This plan is known as ‘Arts Integration’ whereby music and the other art forms are included in the lesson plans of classroom curriculum for learning enhancement (Fischer, 2002). Arts integration involves linking the educational arts such as dance, music, and visual art into a written curriculum for each subject area (Parsad & Spiegelman, 2012).
Learning math and reading through music makes learning fun, and often increases student achievement (Randall, 2012). For example, Courey, Balogh, Siken and Paik (2012) studied the implementation of music into a third-grade math lesson on fractions, which is considered by many as the most difficult mathematical concept in the 3rd grade elementary curriculum. Results showed music to be effective for students who are coming to instruction with a lower than average understanding of fractions. The students were shown to be more engaged and at ease with the instruction.
In addition to having fun learning fractions, the students demonstrated deeper knowledge of the content (Courey et al. Statement of the Problem Since the reconstruction of public elementary and secondary education during the post-Sputnik era, student access to a high quality music education has been drastically 2 reduced (Walker 1998). Past education reform policies such No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) established through the Bush administration limited students’ access to quality music education. Gerrity (2009) said, “Although NCLB refers to music and the other arts as core subjects, the legislation along with school principals, do not encourage achievement in the core subjects with equal fortitude” (p.
While it may be true that educators believe music is beneficial for students’ course of study, principals and administrators are often reluctant to relinquish class time for music education (Rentner, Scott, Kober, Chudwsky, Joftus, & Zabala, 2006). Although the current education law, ESSA, does recognize the arts and music as an integral part of a well- rounded education, the lingering accountability systems of NCLB do not encourage using instructional time for arts instruction or even integration. Moreover, with funding based on academic achievement, and the considerable amount of emphasis geared toward the tested core subjects, teachers are expected to devote instructional time to tested subjects such as reading and math during school hours as well as during after-school hours (Hemmel & Gerrity, 2012). Research from the National Center for Education Statistics (2012) showed the value of music as a tool for instruction that stimulates knowledge retention.
Delivering lessons with engaging techniques has long been a goal of classroom teachers. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has been the justification for teaching in a variety of techniques. While many teachers believe in the value of arts integration in our schools, they feel pressured to spend class time teaching and remediating core subjects. In addition, many teachers felt ill-prepared to effectively integrate the arts with academic subjects (Vitulli, Santoli, & Fresne, 2013).
However, by attending professional 3 development workshops and conferences, teachers discovered ways to integrate music to enhance, rather than distract, from learning academic subjects. However, it is not known how attendance and participation in arts integration professional development classes influenced teacher’s use of music as an instructional tool. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this general qualitative study was to describe the perspectives of classroom teachers who have participated in professional development regarding the integration of music into academic core subjects. Specifically, this study explored how teachers use music to enhance their curriculum, how they use knowledge gained through attendance in Art in Education workshops to integrate music, and where they find music resources.
Data was collected through interviews and provided a description of the participants’ experiences with using music in their daily routines. This study outlined the journey of music in the education system and how it has become an integral part of the elementary classroom as an instructional tool.