Journal of Music Teacher Education

The purpose of this study is to describe the current process of selecting cooperating teachers and their preparation for this role in music teacher education throughout the state of Illinois to improve future practices and policies. Coordinators of student teaching and music education professors (N = 19) were surveyed regarding their school's selection and preparation practices. Findings include a reliance on the personal and professional relationships between K–12 and collegiate music educators when selecting music cooperating teachers rather than on the recommendation of school principals (p = .003) as reported throughout the general education literature. Preparation activities are limited to the use of handbooks of student teaching, one-on-one conferences between cooperating teachers and college or university supervisors, and an occasional class or workshop. Finally, current selection practices based on previous knowledge of cooperating teacher candidates may in fact decrease the need for preparation.

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of student-written cases as part of an instrumental music methods course. Research questions included the following: (a) What are the positive and negative issues associated with student-written cases? (b) What are preservice music teachers' perceptions as to the value of case writing as part of an instrumental music methods class? Five preservice instrumental music students who were enrolled in music teacher education at a large midwestern university agreed to participate in this study. A qualitative comparable case study design was used in this investigation. Student-written cases, the researcher's feedback, and interviews with the participants served as data for this study. Positive issues included student reflection and the building of music teacher identity through revisions and feedback. Negative issues included lack of time, the need for discussion of cases, and the need for peer feedback. Participants expressed that case writing was a valuable activity.

The purpose of this study was to determine undergraduate music education majors' opinions and reported learning outcomes related to recital attendance required by their degree program. Comparisons were made between underclassmen (n = 99) and upperclassmen (n = 48) and between those attending a university with periodic deadlines for completing the requirement (n = 101) and those attending a university without periodic deadlines (n = 46). Types of recitals attended were also examined. Results indicated positive opinions concerning recital attendance; however, respondents were neutral about the value of the recital attendance requirement itself. Respondents were also neutral about reported learning outcomes, although underclassmen reported significantly greater learning in regard to concert etiquette than upperclassmen. Respondents without periodic deadlines were found to be significantly more likely to procrastinate in completing the requirement and rated the value of recital attendance significantly lower than those with periodic deadlines. Analysis of types of concert attendance revealed that instrumentalists predominantly attended instrumental recitals, whereas vocalists were divided equally between instrumental and vocal recital attendance.

The purpose of the study was to better understand what influences preservice instrumental music teachers' acquisition of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Research questions were as follows: (a) Are there identifiable applications of PCK in the preservice teachers' interactions with students? (b) To what source—apprenticeship of observation, methods classes, cooperating teachers, or intuition—do preservice teachers attribute these applications of PCK? Video recordings of preservice teachers conducting a rehearsal were collected and analyzed for events that demonstrated PCK. Exemplary excerpts were selected and reviewed with each participant. Interviews revealed a substantial amount of identifiable PCK. Apprenticeship of observation, methods courses, and cooperating teacher were each cited by 2 participants as their primary source of PCK. One participant cited intuition and methods courses equally. Determining where preservice teachers go to access PCK is the first step in redesigning college methods courses to better account for previously learned PCK.

In this article, a model for the effective mentoring of music educators is presented. Mentoring and induction literature is referenced to examine recent trends and determine the contents of the model. The model begins with state government design and funding of a mentoring program. Layers are built on this foundation, including (a) support of professional organizations; (b) mentor selection, training, and compensation; (c) mentor–mentee release time; and (d) a multiyear concept. Completion of a mentoring program as a requirement for full teacher certification completes this mentoring program model. The model provides a departure point for experimental trials, future research, and eventual comprehensive program design.

The authors engaged in a team-teaching approach to foster improvements in the writing and evaluation of scholarly literature reviews by their graduate students in music education. A focal point of the semester-long project was the analysis and public critique of each author's dissertation literature review by the other author, using a variant of a rubric for evaluating literature reviews by Boote and Beile. Students further refined the rubric by evaluating literature reviews in current music education journals and then used the rubric to guide their own writing. Student reflections and responses were gathered through questionnaires and interviews, with indications that the process had a twofold effect: (a) improved skills in conceptualizing, writing, and analyzing literature reviews and (b) increased collegiality as students perceived their instructors as peer scholars.

This study examined high school band and orchestra students' perceptions of effective music student teacher skills and behaviors. Participants (N = 314) began by completing a 34-item survey by rating items 1 to 31 from 1 (not very important) to 5 (very important) regarding the degree of importance with which each trait should be exhibited by a student teacher in a music class. Items 32 to 34 asked the respondents to indicate (a) how often they had a music student intern during a specific time period, (b) the respondent's primary performance area, and (c) the respondent's year in school. Resulting data indicated that skills and behaviors receiving the highest mean scores were “Is able to apply knowledge; being competent” (M = 4.595) and “Has a positive behavior” (M = 4.586). Skills and behaviors receiving the lowest mean scores were “Can play the piano” (M = 2.952) and “Has knowledge of technology” (M = 3.407). ANOVA found few significant differences among the teacher traits and different groups of students.