Factors affecting the motivation of Hong Kong primary school students in composing music Presenter: Jenny Tseng Professor: Ming-Puu Chen Date: March 21, 2009 Leung, B. W. (2008). Factors affecting the motivation of Hong Kong primary school students in composing music. International Journal of Music Education, 26(1),

2 Background Motivation theories Expectancy-Value Theory  Expectancy of task-specific beliefs and ability beliefs  Achievement values of individuals toward specific domains, which include achievement value, intrinsic value, utility value and cost Self-efficacy  Individuals who possess high self-efficacy tend to undertake difficult and challenging tasks more readily.  Students who possess high self-efficacy tend to be better at monitoring their working time, more persistent and better in solving conceptual problems.

3 Background Motivation in music composition Highly motivated children performed better in divergent- thinking tasks in music than children exhibiting low levels of motivation. Using a computer-assisted instruction approach could be advantageous in initiating interest on an individual basis, i.e. intrinsic motivation, in composition. Students with intrinsic motivation in composition demonstrated more creativity in their musical compositions than those with extrinsic motivation. Students’ self-efficacy in music knowledge and their experience in instrumental playing may affect the extent and the nature of their compositions. Whether gender is an effective factor affecting the students’ motivation in music composition remains uncertain.

4 Background Purposes & Questions Lack of research on  Motivation of Hong Kong students in music composition  How students’ former composing experience affects their motivation to compose. This study aims to investigate primary school students’ motivation changes after participating in music composing activities.  To what extent does composing experience affect the students’ motivation levels towards composing music?  To what extent do students’ gender and their instrumental learning experience affect their motivation levels towards composing music?

5 Research Method Participants A total of 582 students (aged 9–16) from five primary schools. Before the project started they were asked to respond to a pre-activity questionnaire. They were then involved in a compositional task that lasted for three months. After completion of the project the students were asked to fill in a post-activity questionnaire.

6 Research Method The questionnaire Pre-activity: asked for a prediction of composing Post-activity: asked for a reflection of the composing experience The main aim was to measure the possible differences between students’ motivation levels before and after participating in composing. The motivation levels were divided into six categories: (1) intrinsic value; (2) attainment value; (3) utility value; (4) perceived cost; (5) expectancy; and (6) self-efficacy.

7 Research Method Composition tasks A sound project: the students composed their music using different instruments and the sound available in the classroom. A project for composing a melody in either a happy or sad mood. Composing melodies depicting different roles in a musical drama. To compose a piece of music to accompany the morning exercise activities held in the school. To compose music to depict a story.

8 Result (1/5)

9 Result (2/5) Boys indicated increases in five of the six motivational measures and remained unchanged on utility value. Girls and instrumentalists indicated decreases in all six motivational measures. Non-instrumentalists indicated increases in all six motivational measures.

10 Result (3/5) Self-efficacy  Before the composing activities, boys and non- instrumentalists scored very low while girls and non- instrumentalists scored rather high.  After composing, the scores of the former two groups increased dramatically while those of the latter two groups decreased. Intrinsic value  Boys and non-instrumentalists had a relatively low intrinsic value for composition before composing, yet increased their intrinsic value.  The girls and instrumentalists started at a higher level but decreased after composing.

11 Result (4/5) Attainment value  After composing, the attainment value for boys and non-instrumentalists increased, while that for girls and instrumentalists decreased. Utility value  Before composing, boys and non-instrumentalists expressed a low utility value for composing, while girls and instrumentalists had a rather high level of utility value.  After composing, non-instrumentalists increased their utility value, yet boys remained unchanged. Girls and instrumentalists decreased their utility value.

12 Result (5/5) Perceived cost  Before composing, while boys and non-instrumentalists had a lower perception with regard to cost (they regarded composition as a challenging task); girls and instrumentalists had higher levels (they regarded composition as a less challenging task).  After composing, boys and non-instrumentalists increased their levels; girls and instrumentalists almost remained unchanged. Expectancy  Boys and non-instrumentalists increased from lower levels to higher levels after composing, while girls and instrumentalists decreased

13 Discussion (1/3) The analysis of results suggests that both gender and previous instrumental learning are significant factors affecting students’ motivation towards music composition. The actual experience of composition significantly increased only the self-efficacy of boys but decreased that of girls.  It is speculated that the composing activity might be a new experience for boys who have low self-efficacy but who successfully recognize their competence in composing through the activity.

14 Discussion (2/3) Instrumentalists significantly decreased their self- efficacy, intrinsic value, utility value and expectancy towards composition, while the non- instrumentalists significantly increased the same motivation measures.  The composing activities providing non- instrumentalists with experience in music composition, enabling them to change their minds  One possible reason is a mismatch between the musicianship of the instrumentalists and the challenge of the compositional tasks.

15 Discussion (3/3) Implications for teaching music composition  Teachers should actively motivate students to compose by teaching composition in class rather than waiting for students to develop their motivation in composition.  The level of challenge in composing should match well with the music competence of students to achieve the ‘flow’ experience.  A two-way communication between the students and the teacher is important in motivating students to compose.