Abstract
Welcome back! In this issue of Update, we have seven outstanding articles, including one research-to-resource article, three reviews of literature, two studies, and one extending-the-discussion article. The research-to-resource article by Chappell addresses aural learning in the strings classroom. The topics of the reviews of literature are infant music development by Arrasmith, music participation variables by Yoo, and movement, gesture, and singing by Kilpatrick. The topics of the studies are perceptions of social media’s influence on the decision to participate in college marching band by Cumberledge, and a case study of instrumental opportunities by Thornton and Culp. Finally, we have a Part 2 extending-the-discussion article by Gardner that provides additional context on string tuning for teachers. You can also find a podcast discussing the results and implications of Cumberledge’s study (https://journals-sagepub-com-s.web.bisu.edu.cn/page/upd/podcasts).
This is my final issue of writing comments-from-the-editor ideas for Update. I have had a wonderful time working with the outstanding Update reviewers and SAGE staff over the past 6 years and I hope that over these years we have helped authors promote their useful research-based findings for practitioners. The idea that research should be readily usable by practitioners is a primary mission for this journal, and I want to highlight this topic of the importance of practicality in my final comments from the editor.
My aspiration for the field of music education is that almost all research could consider ramifications for practice. I vividly remember Teaching Music magazine putting out a call many years ago when I was a middle school band director. The call asked P–12 teachers to respond with topics that they thought should be researched. I loved this idea that teachers would have a say in the prioritization of valid, important, useful research studies that could be investigated. It made me a believer that research was not just an ivory tower activity; it was a conversation, a communication between theory and practice, between idea and doing. I knew that this link between an important research finding and how that finding could live in the classroom would always be a part of my value system as a teacher-educator.
I believe that I was attracted to editing for Update because of its mission of bridging research and practice. Update strategically addresses research that can be linked to outcomes that are usable by teachers, and the journal has supported this mission consistently across its history. Most recently, the journal has put implications upfront for practitioners and has added new article formats that aim to highlight application ideas; these new formats are called extending-the-discussion and research-to-resource articles and have added a new way to promote the practice of linking research findings to classroom practice.
More novel formats for articles are still needed. I think it would be wonderful if authors would propose formats that highlight their take on the link between research and practice so that we have a continuous supply of novel ways to present research-based ideas to the profession. The more that researchers can step out of the comfort zone of “here are my findings” and move into the innovative area of “and this is how these findings may be able to be used and here are some resources to help make the findings real to teachers,” the more that research and practice can be linked.
Resources are the imperative bridge between research and practice. Without resources, findings can be ethereal, theoretical, and pie-in-the-sky. Resources don’t need to be prescriptive; they are not intended to take away teacher autonomy. Quite the contrary, an example of how a finding may live in a classroom can be the difference between a teacher saying, “Oh, that is interesting” about a study versus a teacher saying, “Oh, I get it, and I could do something like that at my school.”
Resources can come from a variety of sources. Prac-titioners can do action research to present findings and resources that are endemic to their settings. Coauthoring across researchers and practitioners may help authors brainstorm implications that can be immediately usable by teachers. Also, seasoned researchers can coauthor with graduate students who are still in the field to merge research expertise and up-to-date teaching applicability. The graduate students may have resources that they use and know work with today’s students.
On the higher education side, it would be outstanding if universities could value the place of practice in a comprehensive, professorial vitae enough for merit and promotion-and-tenure weight to be afforded to it. If those who engage in researching and disseminating resources to aid teachers could be commended for that practice, it might be more enticing for faculty to help develop materials to bridge the research and practice gap. Research-informed curriculum design and resource development can provide teachers with materials that may have greater quality assurance than found in a store-bought curriculum.
Clearly, ideating about how we can remove barriers between research findings and the applications of those findings in classrooms may help research be engaging, not only to college faculty but also to practicing teachers: those who could most benefit from the combination of strong research and useful application ideas. I am so honored to have been part of the conversation over the past 6 years, and I hope that bridging research and practice continues to be at the forefront of future important discussions in the field of music education.