Kenneth L. Liske, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin Oshkosh The Effects of Type of Instructional Web Support and Instructional Mode on the Knowledge and Discrimination of Musical Texture Among Undergraduate Elementary Education Majors Research in Music Instructional Technology: A Sharing Session 2002 TI:ME National Music Technology Conference April 10, 2002 Nashville, TN

Purpose of the Study Investigation of: zVarying types of out-of-class web support media zActive versus passive modes of in-class instruction Implementation of: zSimple authoring options for creating instructor- designed, multimedia web content

Setting Instructional Context: zThree sections of a music fundamentals/methods course for undergraduate elementary education majors zSix-lesson segment on identifying musical texture Subjects: zN = 58 zPrimarily non-musician, pre-service elementary or early childhood educators

Independent Variables Out-of-class web support medium: zText and notation/graphics only (visual only) zText, notation/graphics, and audio (audio-visual) zProgressively disclosed QuickTime multimedia (multimedia) In-class instructional mode: zActivities-experiential (active) ySinging and performing children’s music to learn about texture zListening (passive) yListening to “standard” music literature

Dependent Variables Mastery of musical texture content/skills yTerminology yTexture identification of printed and listening excerpts Transfer of learning yNear/far transfer of texture identification tasks Use of web support materials Student attitudes toward web materials

Experimental Design

Expected Instructional Outcomes Musical Texture Unit  A conceptual understanding of the presence of unique, independent musical voices.  A conceptual understanding of the quality of those voices as either sequential (melodic) or simultaneous (chordal).  The ability to visually and aurally identify the presence/absence of individual voices and their quality.  Knowledge of the specific terminology used to refer to the textural qualities.  Knowledge of the conventional names and characteristics of types of music in children's songs and standard music literature which use particular textural formats.

General Content Definitions

Web Support Materials zCreated with readily available authoring tools yMIDI, notation graphics: Finale (Coda) yAudio editing/conversion: QuickTime Pro (Apple) yMultimedia presentations: QuickTime Pro (Apple) yWeb page creation: Netscape Composer yGraphics creation: ClarisWorks (Apple) zUsed technology accessible to non-expert web designers zIntended to encourage home access zWeb Examples

Results (Content/Skills Mastery) zThere was a significant overall effect in all groups due to instruction. z3-Way ANOVAs with repeated measures showed: yNo significant posttest gains due to web support medium yNo significant posttest gains due to mode of in- class instruction Therefore: zInstruction was effective, but, zUnder these conditions ythe three web media conditions were equally effective yBoth active and passive instruction modes were equally effective.

Results (Content/Skills Mastery) Item Analyses

Results (Transfer) z3-Way ANOVAs with repeated measures showed: yNear and far transfer test results were similar among all subgroups. yBut, both standard literature and children’s song groups identified texture of standard literature recordings better.

Results (Use of Web Support Materials) zPearson Product-Moment Correlations showed no significant relationship between web use time and posttest gains. zUse of web support materials decreased as the complexity (and file size) of media increased.

Results (Use of Web Support Materials) General Student Attitude Survey Results z93% of students felt their understanding of texture concepts and terms improved after the unit. z97% indicated that in-class musical excerpts and activities helped them understand texture. z86% indicated that in-class musical excerpts and activities helped them prepare for the unit quiz (posttest). z76% indicated that the web materials helped them understand and prepare for the test. z88% indicated that the web support site was well organized and easy to navigate. zAs multimedia complexity and file size increased, so did the perception that downloads took too long.

Limitations zEncouraging home access to web support resulted in the need for certain limitations: yRecorded excerpts were kept short (10-30 seconds) yLonger recorded and MIDI excerpts required less graphic involvement ySome students experienced difficulty in downloading and installing quickTime, or their systems were incompatible

Findings  Under the conditions of this investigation, access to QuickTime capabilities on computers outside the controlled environment of the school computer lab was not viable for some students, and consistent downloading of large multimedia files could not be guaranteed.  There was no statistically significant effect on content mastery resulting from access to varying types of multimedia web support, nor was there a significant relationship between increased use of web materials increased content mastery.  Student attitudes concerning the helpfulness of out-of-class access to web support materials were generally positive, but attitudes toward in-class instructional activities were more positive.

Findings  Results indicated that participatory musical experiences, including singing and playing simple children's songs, were as effective as standard literature guided listening experiences for the purpose of illustrating musical texture concepts.  Regardless of the performance medium and musical style of the excerpts used for instruction, students were better able to transfer their texture identification skills to unfamiliar listening excerpts of standard music literature than to children's song literature.

For additional information: Dr. Kenneth L. Liske University of Wisconsin Oshkosh