affective concepts in music performance education · affective concepts in music performance...

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AFFECTIVE CONCEPTS IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE EDUCATION:

AN EINSTEINIAN APPROACH

BY

KARYN OI LIM CHAN

B.Mus. (Hons.) (School of Music, The University of Western Australia)

M.Mus. (Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester)

This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at

The University of Western Australia

Graduate School of Education

May 2011

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ABSTRACT

The current practices of music performance education at the secondary school level in

Western Australia encourage students to develop a competitive driven mindset at the

expense of gaining a deeper appreciation for the music that they are performing. This

study investigates how to integrate affective variables, based on Einstein‟s humanistic

and philosophical approaches to thinking, into music performance education at the

secondary school level, as a way of rebalancing the competition driven mindset of high

school music performance students. The three variables used were gratitude, humility

and wonder drawn from Einstein‟s non-scientific writings. Such an approach is named

an Einsteinian approach. This research uses qualitative data based on the method of

action research from the perspective of a teacher-researcher. Two preliminary phases

and two major action research cycles were conducted to investigate the necessary steps

required to integrate affective variables into the secondary music performance

classroom setting. Data collected were in-class worksheets, expanded worksheets, and

audio and DVD transcripts of classroom interactions. Teacher-led classroom actions

that worked and those that did not work – based on analyses of student responses –

indicated the essential elements for the integration of the Einsteinian approach. The

findings suggest that reflection, understanding student felt-needs, giving voice to

students and guiding students toward self-discovery of these affective concepts are

central for a successful integration of the Einsteinian approach. The study concludes

that students need to be guided to discover these affective concepts for themselves as

these concepts cannot be intellectualized.

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DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my mother, June Chan (1944 - 1997)

You are always remembered.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the following people, all of whom were instrumental in

contributing to the realization of this study:

Andrew Bushell and PhilipVenables, for your support throughout the course of this

research. Thank you.

John Inverarity and Stuart Meade, for your belief in the research topic. Thank you for

having provided me with this wonderful opportunity.

Professor Samuel Leong, for your valuable early support, and giving so generously of

your time and encouragement during the course of this thesis. I cannot thank you

enough.

Professor Keith Punch, for your supervisory insight, patience, kindness and sense of

humour, all of which kept me going. My heartfelt gratitude for all your efforts in seeing

me through to completion.

All of my students who made wonderful discoveries and to those who found it difficult.

Colleagues, friends and family who have willingly given in one way or another – your

kindness will not be forgotten. In particular, Margaret Denham, Robyn Wilson, Bruce

Carstairs, Eddie Khoo, Penny Vincent and Juletta Christensen.

Dr. Dorothy Colclough, for your encouragement and support in the final phase of this

thesis. Thank you for taking the time to read.

To my sister Carolyn Chan, for always cheering all my musical endeavours. I share this

accomplishment with you.

To my amazing grandmother, Tan Phaik Lian, for your constant reminder of how

fortunate I am to be a musician.

Most of all, to my father, for your unconditional support and love. The many sacrifices

on your part have allowed me to achieve this.

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LIST OF TABLES

Page No

Table 1

Affective Education Statements by the Affective Education Commission.............. 44

Table 2

Values Education Good Practice Schools Project, Stage 2 Final Report

-Ten Principles of Good Practice............................................................................. 45

Table 3

Summary Table of Action Research Setting............................................................ 70

Table 4

Analysis of Simon‟s Thinking Pattern......................................................................99

Table 5

Analysis of George‟s Thinking Pattern................................................................. 101

Table 6

Analysis of George‟s Thinking Pattern................................................................. 103

Table 7

Analysis of George‟s Thinking Pattern..................................................................105

Table 8

Summary of Insights Gained in Preliminary

Phases 1 and 2........................................................................................................108

Table 9

Summary of Findings for Preliminary Study

Phases 1 and 2........................................................................................................ 109

Table 10

Analysis of In-Class Worksheet Data (Cycle 1).................................................... 124

Table 11

Analysis of Audio Transcripts (Cycle 1)................................................................ 128

Table 12

Analysis of John‟s Thinking Pattern...................................................................... 130

Table 13

Question 1 from Questionnaire.............................................................................. 131

Table 14


Table 15


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Table 16


Table 17

Summary of Insights Gained in Cycle 1................................................................ 135

Table 18

Cumulative Summary of Findings

(Preliminary Phases & Cycle 1)............................................................................. 136

Table 19

A Summary of the Interpretation of Students‟ Thinking Patterns.......................... 138

Table 20

Summary of Insights Gained in Cycle 2 Term 1.................................................... 147

Table 21

Summary of Insights Gained in Cycle 2 Term 2.................................................... 154

Table 22

Summary of Insights Gained in Cycle 2................................................................ 166

Table 23

Analysis of In-Class Worksheets (Cycle 2)........................................................... 172

Table 24

Analysis of DVD Transcripts (Cycle 2)................................................................. 174

Table 25

Analysis of Expanded Worksheet 1 (Cycle 2)....................................................... 175

Table 26

Analysis of Expanded Worksheet 2 (Cycle 2)....................................................... 176

Table 27

Complete Summary of the Findings of Teacher-Led Classroom Actions............. 178

Table 28

Toward a General Principle of an Einsteinian Approach....................................... 181

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page No

Figure 1

Initial Conceptual Framework...................................................................................... 7

Figure 2

The Johari Window Model......................................................................................... 31

Figure 3

The Action Research Cycles...................................................................................... 63

Figure 4

Triangulation Process................................................................................................. 75

Figure 5

Overview of Analytical Process................................................................................. 78

Figure 6

Toward A General Principle of an Einsteinian Approach.......................................... 79

Figure 7

Example of Worksheet Data..................................................................................... 126

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Page No

Appendix A

Worksheet Administered in Cycle 1 (Term 3, Session 1)...................................... 221

Appendix B


Appendix C


Appendix D


Appendix E


Appendix F

Worksheet Administered in Cycle 2 (Term 1, Session 2)..................................... 227

Appendix G


Appendix H


Appendix I


Appendix J


Appendix K

Worksheet Administered in Cycle 2 (Term 3, Session 6/1).................................. 232

Appendix L

Worksheet Administered in Cycle 2 (Term 3, Session 6/2)................................... 233

Appendix M

Expanded Worksheet 1........................................................................................... 235

Appendix N

Expanded Worksheet 2........................................................................................... 236

Appendix O

PowerPoint Summary of Student Problems and Issues.......................................... 237

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Appendix P

Data of Student Issues and Problems..................................................................... 238

Appendix Q

Graph of Student Issues and Problems................................................................... 239

Appendix R

Unsolicited Letter from Instrumental Teacher....................................................... 240

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page No

ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................i

DEDICATION.............................................................................................................ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................iii

LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................iv

LIST OF FIGURES....................................................................................................vi

LIST OF APPENDICES............................................................................................vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................ix

CHAPTER 1 PURPOSE AND RATIONALE

Performing Music......................................................................................................... 1

Purpose of Research...................................................................................................... 3

Research Questions.................................................................................................. 4

Context and Background of Research.......................................................................... 4

Current Practices of MPE at the Secondary School Level...................................... 5

Music Auditions................................................................................................ 5

Music Scholarship and Bursaries..................................................................... 5

Music Performance Examinations.................................................................... 6

Issues in MPE.......................................................................................................... 7

Renewed Emphasis on Affective Variables............................................................ 9

An Einsteinian Approach...................................................................................... 10

Why Such an Approach May be Useful to the Student Performer.................. 11

Overview of the Research..................................................................................... 13

Overview of the Australian Education System..................................................... 13

The Study‟s Original and Substantial Contribution to Knowledge........................... 17

Structure of Thesis..................................................................................................... 18

Introduction to the Literature Review........................................................................ 19

CHAPTER 2 A REVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE (PART 1)

Competition in Music................................................................................................. 20

On Excellence and Motivation through Competition............................................ 25

Issues of Music Assessment and Creativity.......................................................... 28

Performance Related Injuries................................................................................ 32

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Music Education Philosophies and Ideals, and Outcomes of MPE....................... 35

Music Education Philosophies................................................................................... 36

MPE and Music Education Ideals.............................................................................. 38

CHAPTER 3 A REVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE (PART 2)

Literature on Affective Education.............................................................................. 43

What is Affective Education?................................................................................. 44

Literature on Affective Aspects in Music............................................................... 46

Affective Learning in Education............................................................................. 49

Affective Variables in Moral Education versus the Einsteinian Approach............ 51

Einstein‟s Humanistic Thoughts.................................................................................. 51

Gratitude................................................................................................................. 52

Humility................................................................................................................. 54

Wonder................................................................................................................... 56

CHAPTER 4 METHOD

Overview of Action Research.................................................................................... 61

Music Education Research and Action Research.................................................. 63

Relevance of Action Research to this Thesis........................................................ 65

Research Setting......................................................................................................... 68

Preliminary Phases................................................................................................ 69

Two Major Action Research Cycles...................................................................... 69

Data Collection........................................................................................................... 70

In-Class Worksheets.............................................................................................. 70

Expanded Worksheets............................................................................................ 71

Transcripts of Audio and DVD Recordings........................................................... 71

Student Emails........................................................................................................ 72

Teacher-Research Journals..................................................................................... 73

Ethics Consent............................................................................................................ 73

Data Analysis.............................................................................................................. 73

Overview of the Analytical Process...................................................................... 74

Conceptual Framework for Organizing Data............................................................. 75

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CHAPTER 5 PRELIMINARY STUDY

Overview of Preliminary Study.................................................................................. 81

Toward an Einsteinian Approach............................................................................... 81

Preliminary Study Phase 1......................................................................................... 82

Preliminary Study Phase 2......................................................................................... 89

Preliminary Study Phase 2a – Year 11.................................................................. 89

Preliminary Study Phase 2b – Year 10.................................................................. 93

Preliminary Study Phase 2c – Year 11.................................................................. 96

Summary - Preliminary Study Phases 1 and 2.......................................................... 106

Events leading up to Action Research Cycle 1......................................................... 110

CHAPTER 6 ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE 1

Background.............................................................................................................. 111

Purpose of Action Research Cycle 1........................................................................ 112

Overview of Classroom Sessions in Cycle 1............................................................ 113

Data Collection......................................................................................................... 118

Overview of the Analytical Process......................................................................... 120

Observations during Cycle 1............................................................................... 121

Analysis of In-Class Worksheet, Audio Transcripts and

Questionnaire – Cycle 1...................................................................................... 123

Worksheet Administered During Session 6 of Cycle 1................................. 129

Feedback Questionnaire................................................................................ 131

Findings for Cycle 1................................................................................................. 134

An Interpretation of Students‟ General Thinking Patterns....................................... 137

CHAPTER 7 ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE 2

Purpose of Action Research Cycle 2........................................................................ 139

Overview of Classroom Sessions............................................................................. 139

Data Collection......................................................................................................... 167

Overview of the Analytical Process.......................................................................... 169

Observations during Cycle 2.............................................................................. 169

Analysis of In-Class Worksheets, DVD Transcripts and

Expanded Worksheets – Cycle 2 ....................................................................... 171

Findings for Cycle 2................................................................................................. 177

Toward a General Principle of an Einsteinian Approach......................................... 179

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CHAPTER 8 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary................................................................................................................... 183

Summary of Research......................................................................................... 183

Summary of Methods......................................................................................... 184

Summary of Research Findings.......................................................................... 186

Conclusions............................................................................................................... 187

Discussion................................................................................................................. 188

Teaching Approach in Music Performance........................................................ 188

Mismatch between Music Education Philosophies and Ideals, and MPE.......... 190

The Lack of Affective Approaches within MPE................................................ 191

Education as Therapy......................................................................................... 191

Classroom Size................................................................................................... 192

Recognizing the Importance of Looking within the „Self‟................................. 193

Recommendations..................................................................................................... 194

Recommendations for Practice........................................................................... 194

Recommendations for Further Research............................................................ 196

Concluding Comments............................................................................................. 198

REFERENCES......................................................................................................... 200

APPENDICES.......................................................................................................... 220

1

AFFECTIVE CONCEPTS IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE EDUCATION:

AN EINSTEINIAN APPROACH

CHAPTER 1

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE

Music performance lies at the core of music education. In Western Australia,

for example, the performance component constitutes 50% of the total music

examination mark in the high-stakes Tertiary Entrance Examination (TEE)1 during the

period in which this research was being conducted. A similar emphasis is also found in

other states of Australia where the performance component forms a substantial portion

of the school‟s music syllabus. Elliott (1995) an eminent music educator, underscores

the importance of performance when he says, “Music is not simply a collection of

pieces, products or objects. Fundamentally, music is something that people do” (p. 39).

Performing Music

Music remains simply a symbol on a page until a performance is generated and in

order for a performance to take place, a performer is required. The performer‟s role is

to interpret and transmit the written work of a composer for the listener. In other words,

the performer acts as a medium between the composer and the listener. In acting as a

medium, several factors come into play. These factors involve a complex integration of

an entire set of motor skills as well as psychological factors that pertain to the context of

a musical performance. In addition to being highly skilled in all aspects of their

instrument as well as managing aspects of their psychological makeup related to

performing music, performers are also required to go beyond the technical demands and

into the aesthetic and interpretive design of the musical score. All of these demands

1 TEE refers to the standard academic entrance examination in Western Australia for high school

students planning to pursue their tertiary studies at the end of their twelfth year of schooling.

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need to take place simultaneously during a performance, which requires an immense

amount of concentration on the part of the performer. As such, the act of performing

music is complex. Clarke (2002) captures these complexities in terms of the physical as

well as psychological demands required of the performer through this descriptive

account:

Musical performance at its highest level demands a remarkable combination of

physical and mental skills. It is not uncommon for pianists to play at speeds of

ten or more notes per second in both hands simultaneously, in complex and

constantly changing spatial patterns on the keyboard, and with distinct patterns of

rhythm, dynamics and articulation. Equally, a performer has to have an

awareness and understanding of the immediate and larger-scale structure of the

music itself, an expressive “strategy” with which to bring the music to life, and

the resilience to withstand the physical demands and psychological stresses of

public performance (p. 59).

Furthermore, apart from these complexities, the ability to transcend the self is also

an important requirement expected of the high level performer. According to Kendall

(1976), the renowned musician-educator, Nadia Boulanger once said, “To me the

greatest objective is when the composer disappears, the performer disappears, and there

remains only the work...” (p. 115).

Therefore, the dual nature required of the music performer in being able to

transcend the self, as well as needing to be fully present in order to attend to the many

technical requirements whilst performing a musical instrument, makes performing

music for high school music students, a highly complicated task.

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Ultimately, in conquering the before mentioned complexities in any given music

performance, the general aim of a performer is to transmit a deep and meaningful

expression of music in order that the audience may be treated to an uplifting and

memorable experience of the performance. However, when the notion of competition is

introduced into a music performance, it is likely that the goal to win takes on a higher

priority in place of the aspirations originally esteemed by the performer. As will be

discussed, the current practices of music performance education (MPE) are competitive.

Therefore, the many demands placed on the music performer contain an added

challenge for the high school music student performer, who not only has to contend

with the complexities of the act of performing music, but also the inherently competitive

environment of MPE. As such, the student performer is constantly being subjected to

an enormous amount of stress while performing. Chapter 2 further considers the

implications that such stress can have on the student performer. Issues of assessment

and creativity as well as how such a competitive mindset results in creating an

incongruity with the philosophy and ideals of music education, will also be discussed.

Purpose of Research

In light of the global changes within the educational domain highlighting the

renewed use of affective variables in education in general (Gardner, 2000; Haglund,

2004; Palmer, 2006), the purpose of this study is to investigate how an approach based

on affective variables can be integrated into MPE within a secondary music classroom

setting to promote a deeper and more meaningful approach to music performance. As

will be described, this approach is based on a practical application of Einstein‟s

humanistic attitudes and approaches to thinking, drawn from his non-scientific writings.

Such an approach will be referred to as an Einsteinian approach.

Given that competition continues to thrive, as evidenced through the current

practices of MPE, it is possible that stakeholders may not be aware of the negative

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effects of competition. In promoting a deeper and more meaningful approach to music

performance based on the Einsteinian approach, this study hopes to provide better

balance within the competitive culture of MPE and to enhance students‟ learning

experience in music performance overall.

Research Questions

The central research question is: How can an Einsteinian approach be incorporated

into a competitively driven music performance education culture at the secondary

school level?

The three guiding questions are:

1. What were Einstein‟s attitudes and approaches to thinking?

2. How can Einstein‟s attitudes and approaches to thinking address issues of concern

experienced by music performance students?

3. In what ways will high school music performance students benefit from an

Einsteinian approach in MPE?

Context and Background of Research

This section describes the context and background for this research. The context

is described in five parts: The current practices within MPE; issues found in MPE; the

renewed global emphasis placed on affective variables within education in general,

evident at the start of the millennium; what the Einsteinian approach entails and finally,

why such an approach may be useful to high school student music performers.

Following this, a background of the research covering the method employed and an

overview of the research setting are outlined. The study‟s original and substantial

contribution to the current knowledge base of MPE and an overview of the thesis

structure along with an introduction to the literature review concludes this chapter.

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Current Practices of MPE at the Secondary School Level

As will be shown, the current practices of MPE within the school environment

place emphasis on competition. During any given school year, high school music

performance students are likely to encounter activities such as auditions for orchestral

seating placements, music festivals and eisteddfods, and internal as well as external

music performance examinations. Such activities are common for high school music

performance students. Observations based on a substantial number of years of teaching

experience as a secondary school music educator, specialist instrumental tutor and an

examiner for the Australian Music Examination Board indicate how some educators, as

well as parents, tend to perceive these activities to be of educational value to high

school music performance students. A belief commonly held by some parents and

music educators is that these activities can provide music performance students with a

source of motivation and performing opportunities.

Music auditions. Auditions for orchestral seating placements are important

annual events for the music student. Being placed on the first desk in any section of the

orchestra has always been highly esteemed and sought after by music students. Parents

are proud to see their child attaining such a status within the orchestra particularly as

such a position becomes visibly prominent during school music concerts. However,

such an activity requires students to out-perform their peers in an attempt to gain such

placements. As such, the auditioning process is inherently competitive.

Music scholarship and bursaries. Music scholarships and bursaries are school

based monetary awards offered to students who exhibit potential for high achievement

in the subject of music. Students applying for these scholarships or bursaries are

required to go through an audition process where they have to perform a selection of

pieces on their instrument as well as being interviewed. Here, students are competing

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amongst their peers in order to attain these awards. Therefore, these events are also

competitive.

Music performance examinations. Music performance examinations provide a

form of measuring student proficiency in terms of instrumental performance. These

measurements are conducted through a grading system based on a pre-selection of

musical criteria and are held at the end of each school semester. Apart from this, it is

not uncommon for a performance student to be also involved with external music

examination bodies such as the Australian Music Examinations Board, Associated

Board of the Royal Schools of Music or Trinity Guildhall, all of which have continued

to thrive and expand over the recent years. These external examination bodies offer

extended opportunities for music performance students to demonstrate their performing

abilities. External examinations are highly valued by both students and parents as they

are considered a means of exhibiting further evidence of achievement, in addition to the

school music performance examinations. Such successes are often used as added

verification of students‟ competence in order to create a competitive advantage when

applying for a music scholarship or bursary offered by a school.

Each of these activities found in the current practices of MPE involve some form

of an assessment. These assessments revolve around a selection process. To select

denotes an ordering which creates a hierarchy of placements. These placements

produce a ranking order of students‟ abilities as music performers. In ranking music

students‟ abilities, a comparison is made between students. When comparisons are

made, students become aware for a need to be placed in the best possible position.

Seeking to be placed in the best possible position implies intent to be placed ahead of

their peers. This ultimately sets up a competitive situation where each student tries to

out-do the other in order to be placed in a better position. Music activities found in the

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current practices of MPE are structured around such a selection process and are,

therefore, considered to be competitive.

These competitive structures woven into the musical life of high school music

student performers have been given much prominence by both parents and students. As

a result, the current practices of MPE force high school music performance students to

place greater value on achievement at the possible expense of gaining a deeper

understanding and appreciation for the music that they are performing. Figure 1

provides an illustration, showing the initial conceptual framework of this thesis.

Figure 1 Initial Conceptual Framework

Issues in MPE

As mentioned, experiences in performing music for high school music student

performers are structured around participation in events such as concerts, music

festivals, music examinations or music auditions. In addition, it is not uncommon for

high achieving music performance students to seek out various other opportunities to

Music Performance

Student

Deep and Meaningful

Approach and

Appreciation for Music

Current Practices of

MPE

Music

Competitions/

Festivals

Music Auditions

Music Scholarship

Auditions

School Performance

Examinations External

Performance

Examinations

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extend themselves, for example, through participation in national or international music

competitions.

The researcher‟s years of experience and observation indicate how these

activities, usually being accorded prominence by both parents and educational

institutions, teach students from an early age to value “winning.” Thus, it is instilled in

the student‟s early adolescent years that success in music is measured by the number of

trophies that one can accumulate. This is likely to cause students who were not placed

first to become disheartened with the learning process as a student performer.

In preparation for a music performance examination, many teachers struggle to

nurture depth of musical understanding in their students. However, due to students‟

general focus in gaining higher marks, efforts made by teachers toward engaging

students in developing further appreciation for the music they are performing are often

not perceived to be important by students. This is possibly due to students‟ typically

held belief that areas in relation to improving technique are the stronger contributor to

the attainment of higher marks. However, consider the situation where a student has to

perform a musical composition requiring tenderness of expression at a music

competition. Even when the teacher is successful in nurturing a deeper musical

understanding in the student, the notion of competition itself is at odds with what is

required of the student, as on one hand, the student is expected to express tenderness

and on the other, being driven to win. Therefore, in such an instance, the act of

competing can produce incongruities between the intent and outcome of both teacher

and student.

Therefore, the competition driven mindset in the current practices of MPE

embeds within the student from an early age, the importance of achievement at the

expense of gaining a deeper and more meaningful approach as part of their music

education. This thesis will show how to integrate a practical approach through the use

9

of affective variables as an intervention in addressing the issues raised in the current

practices of MPE, in order to rebalance the competitive driven mindset of high school

music performance students.

Renewed Emphasis on Affective Variables

Global changes in education leaning toward a renewed affective outlook can be

evidenced from nearly one and a half decades ago. At the start of the millennium,

Gardner (2000) advocated that K-12 education should encompass an approach based on

a deep understanding of the three principles - truth, beauty and morality - declaring

these as “an education for all human beings” (p. 19). The introduction of the outcomes-

based Curriculum Framework of the Education Department of Western Australia in

1998 shares Gardner‟s vision in its inclusion of the five clusters of core-shared values.

These values underpin the overall broad-based outcomes approach framework seen as

essential for holistic education to occur. Briefly, these five clusters are as follows: A

pursuit of knowledge and a commitment to students achieving their potential, self

acceptance and respect of self, respect and concern for others and their rights, social and

civic responsibility and lastly, environmental responsibility (Government of Western

Australia, 1998). During this time, The British National Curriculum Council and the

Office for Standards in Education, in the area of Children‟s Services and Skills, gave

unexpected prominence to the moral and spiritual aspects of education, which took most

educators by surprise (Lang, 1996). In music, Palmer (1995) had long been concerned

with “the dimensions of music beyond the printed page” (p. 91) and stressed the need

for music education to incorporate the spiritual aspect of music as part of the music

educator‟s teaching knowledge. A second part to this exploration was added by Palmer

(2006) which demonstrates a continued emphasis in giving consideration to the spiritual

aspect of music education. Recently, studies conducted in the area of spirituality within

music education are also becoming more apparent (M. Anderson, 2009; Matsunobu,

10

2009; Mell, 2010). These global changes in education seemed to indicate a renewed

shift from the prescriptive and technical syllabus-based framework that often

emphasized a cognitive approach, to that of a more meaningful outcomes-focussed

education giving more prominence to affective variables.

Given the renewed interest in the use of affective variables in education in

general, it would seem appropriate that consideration also be given to the exploration of

affective concepts within MPE. In line with that, this study investigates how it is

possible to integrate the use of affective variables into MPE through the practical

application of an approach based on Einstein‟s philosophical and humanistic writings,

termed an Einsteinian approach.

An Einsteinian Approach

The renowned physicist, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) is well known for his

many scientific contributions to humanity. However, matters of concern apart from

science, which revolved around philosophical and humanistic issues, can also be found

in Einstein‟s writings (Einstein, 1956; Einstein, Dukas, & Hoffmann, 1979). These

non-scientific writings provided the basis for this development of an Einsteinian

approach.

The thinking processes of Einstein have created an interest for authors such as

Thorpe (2000), Newbold (1999) and Gardner (1993). Whilst these studies have touched

on Einstein‟s thinking processes in one way or another, the authors have chosen to

represent his thinking through descriptive accounts and the use of cognitive approaches.

For example, Thorpe (2000) offers ways of how to think like Einstein through an

emphasis on strategic approaches that go against one‟s conventional thinking patterns

while Newbold (1999) and Gardner (1993) offer insights into Einstein‟s thinking

processes through a descriptive account of the creative aspects found within his

11

thoughts. However, no practical approach based on affective variables as suggested in

this thesis is provided.

McNeill‟s (2001) PhD thesis entitled A State of Preparedness, has demonstrated

a relationship between students‟ innermost attitude and their learning abilities. The

findings from her research show that “students claimed to be able to learn better by

adopting innermost attitudes of gratitude” (p. 109). Furthermore, according to Bond

(2004), the Inhelder-Piaget experiments found no difference in the level of operational

thinking between a nuclear physicist and that of an adolescent, apart from the content of

the thought. Therefore, in this context, it seems appropriate to investigate the adoption

of Einstein‟s thinking, based on his humanistic and philosophical writings within MPE

at the secondary school level.

Why such an approach may be useful to the student performer. As

mentioned, the activity of performing music is complex. Such complexities impose

heavily on the student performer who also has to contend with the competitive

structures that are found in the current practices of MPE. A competitive mindset is

likely to place emphasis on an outcome where students are taught to value winning and

the attainment of high marks over the importance of gaining a deeper understanding and

appreciation for the music that they are performing. In other words, the competitive

mindset encourages high school music performance students to trade-off the value of

searching for what it means to develop deeper meaning in the music that they are

performing. Instead, greater value is placed on winning.

The Einsteinian approach may be useful to high school student music performers

as such an approach may assist in rebalancing the competitive driven mindset of these

student performers and enhancing their learning process. As will be demonstrated,

students who have successfully engaged with the Einsteinian approach have

demonstrated the ability to regain such a balance. As a result, a keen sense of searching

12

for greater depth and meaning in the music that they perform becomes a part of their

learning process. In addition, they were also found to exhibit qualities of becoming

better musicians by paying closer attention to the quality of the sounds that they were

producing on their instrument while performing. On particular instances, students were

also able to apply such an approach within the context of their everyday life.

Subsequent chapters will report on these benefits that high school music performance

students experienced through the integration of the Einsteinian approach.

Students‟ ability to value and deeply appreciate the music that they are

performing does not form part of the standard assessment structure of a music

performance. Knowing this, students who focus on winning or attaining high marks are

likely to overlook such aspects in their development as a musician. Adler and Fagley‟s

(2005) research into the effects of being appreciative, indicates that the act of

appreciation promotes positive emotions that result in “feelings of well-being” (p.79).

Research in the area of positive psychology acknowledges the importance of building

on the theory of positive emotions as it has been found that positive emotions are also

related to generating positive outcomes in cognitive aspects (Fredrickson, 2005).

Correspondingly, the domain of cognitive neuroscience has also verified how areas of

the brain that involve emotional processing are intricately linked to other areas

involving cognitive learning (Phelps, 2006). Based on this, it is likely that nurturing

music students‟ ability to deeply appreciate the music that they are performing may also

enhance their cognitive skills as musicians.

Therefore, in rebalancing the competition driven mindset of the music

performance student through the use of affective variables, it is believed that high

school music student performers are likely to gain a better sense of well-being thus

aiding their ability to cope with the detrimental effects of a competitive music

performance culture as well as positively influencing their cognitive musical skills.

13

Overview of the Research

This is a qualitative piece of research, employing action research as its method from the

perspective of a teacher-researcher. Action research from the teacher-researcher

perspective requires that the teacher assume the role of educator as well as that of a

researcher. An overview of the literature on action research and its growing usage in

education will be provided in Chapter 4.

As reported in Chapter 5, a preliminary study involving two phases was

conducted. These phases served as a catalyst in framing the central research question,

which is: How can an Einsteinian approach be incorporated into a competitively

driven music performance education culture at the secondary school level?

Two major action research cycles followed the preliminary study that inquired

into how the Einsteinian approach could be integrated within the secondary school

classroom setting. Data gathered throughout the research cycles included student in-

class worksheets, student expanded worksheets, a detailed teacher-researcher journal

and transcripts of audio and DVD recordings. With this database, an analysis was

conducted at the end of each of the research cycles, findings from which provided the

basis for the planning of subsequent cycles. Details of the analysis conducted are

provided at the end of each of the preliminary phases and at the end of each of the two

major action research cycles with a suggested general principle toward an Einsteinian

approach included at the end of Chapter 7.

Overview of the Australian Education System

The Australian education system consists of two sectors – government schools

(also known as public schools) and non-government schools (also known as

independent or private schools). The schooling system in each state is regulated and

funded independently by each state government and territory. As such, the curriculum

14

offering is likely to differ from state to state. However, the learning areas remain the

same throughout the entire country. There are eight key learning areas across the

nation. These learning areas are as follows: Arts, English, Health and Physical

Education, Languages other than English, Mathematics, Science, Society and

Environment, and Technology and Enterprise, with music education assuming its role

under the learning area of the Arts (Australian Government Department of Immigration

and Citizenship, 2006; Government of Western Australia Curriculum Council, 2010).

In Western Australia, secondary school education encompasses Years 7 to 12.

Students are in their early adolescent years of approximately 13 years old upon entering

their first year of high school in Year 7. In general, private schools are often perceived

as being more elitist than public schools as private schools are full fee paying schools

that offer a wider choice of specialized courses, for example, psychology, law,

astronomy or even aviation, in addition to the core subject requirements. Parents who

enrol their child into a private school often hold high expectations for their child‟s

success. Such expectations from parents inadvertently add to the overall

competitiveness between students.

Music is offered as an elective in both government as well as non-government

schools. However, there are some differences between these two systems of schooling.

For example, the Department of Education of Western Australia provides instrumental

tuition services for students in public schools through the School of Instrumental Music

(SIM) (Government of Western Australia Department of Education, 2011b) and in

private schools, specialist teachers are employed as itinerant staff of the music

department to provide instrumental tuition for students at the school. Apart from this,

students also have the choice to engage private studio teachers outside of school as their

instrumental tutors. Overall, music programmes offered in public schools tend to run on

a smaller scale to private schools apart from two public schools that are reputed as being

15

specialist music schools offering the Gifted and Talented Music Program as extension

programmes (Government of Western Australia Department of Education, 2011a).

The structure of how Music as a subject is offered varies from school to school

with some schools providing a stronger music programme than other schools. The

amount of time allocated for the study of music as a subject also differs from school to

school. The school in which this research was conducted offers Year 7 music students

the choice of semester length or year-long course. Typically, four hourly periods per

week are allocated to classroom music in Years 7 – 10. This is extended to six hours

per week in Years 11-12. Instrumental music is generally held once a week lasting for

an hour. Music students are also required to participate in an ensemble such as choir,

chamber music, band or orchestra.

It is typically found that the number of students who elect to study music in the

final two years of schooling tends to be smaller in the private schools compared to the

public schools that offer specialist programs such as The Gifted and Talented Program.

The number of students who enrol to study Music as a subject in Years 11 and 12 at the

school in which this research was conducted, generally ranges from six to ten in any

given year. Such small numbers are also reflected in other private schools within

Western Australia. Students in their final two years of study who elect to study music

as a subject are required to complete written examinations as well as performance

examinations during the course of these two years. During the academic year, music

students are required to complete both written and practical music examinations at the

end of each of the semester. This culminates in a final examination at the end of the

year known as the TEE. The TEE result is considered high stakes, as the marks gained

in this examination will determine students‟ acceptance into tertiary studies. Students

who elect to study Music at a tertiary level are required to complete an audition prior to

admission into tertiary studies at the university. Therefore, high school music

16

performance students encounter several tests and assessments in the course of their

music studies at the secondary school level. Such practices contribute to encouraging

students to cultivate a competitive driven mindset.

General music studies are offered in the classroom while instrumental music

studies are offered on a one-to-one setting. Classroom music covers the study of music

history, aural skills, music theory and composition. Students who enrol to study Music

as a subject are also required to enrol in instrumental music lessons, as playing an

instrument is part of the general music curriculum requirement. Instrumental lessons

are taught by instrumental specialists who are often professional musicians employed as

itinerant staff. The above description is typical of how music as a subject is structured

at an independent school in Western Australia. A similar arrangement is offered by the

public school system with the exception of instrumental lessons, which take place at

SIM.

Students participating in this study were Year 10, Year 11 and 12 music students

from a private all-boys school in Western Australia. Typically, students, parents and

educators place great emphasis on achievement in these final years of schooling.

Therefore, these senior students provided an appropriate setting for this research as such

an environment contains highly competitive structures.

As will be described in subsequent chapters, the school in which this research

was conducted encouraged teachers to be innovative in their teaching approaches. This

was very much the culture and ethos of the school. Also, the administrative staff as well

as teaching colleagues provided much support for the implementation of new teaching

ideas. Therefore, conducting such a study was made possible due to the

broadmindedness of the school culture.

17

The Study’s Original and Substantial Contribution to Knowledge

Einstein has become an inspiration to humanity in the way he transformed our

understanding of the universe in which we live. Apart from science, Einstein was also

known to have been a competent musician having learnt to play both the violin and

piano. In an excerpt taken from an interview, Einstein was quoted to have said the

following about music, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I

often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music…I

get most joy in life out of music” (Calaprice, 2000, p. 155).

Also, when discussing the development of his Theory of Relativity with Shinichi

Suzuki, the renowned developer of the Suzuki Method for violin playing, Einstein was

reported to have said the following, “It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the

driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception”

(Fryer, 1985, p. 42)

Thus, it appears that Einstein‟s thinking was a combination of two opposing

perspectives: That of the objective scientist, alongside that of the creative artist. In

keeping with Einstein‟s two worlds of thought, the focus of this thesis is to integrate the

current practices in MPE that tend to accentuate the technical aspects that require

cognitive reasoning together with affective variables. Hence, this study aims to inform

practitioners of how it might be possible to integrate a practical application of such an

approach in the secondary music classroom setting.

A search of the literature through relevant databases revealed that student learning

and growth in the performance of music is presently considered predominantly from the

cognitive perspective, and that the affective domains have been generally unexplored.

Therefore, this study aims to generate a new approach within MPE in the hope of

contributing to the future learning and teaching of music education in general.

18

Competitive structures have been entrenched within the educational practices of

MPE for a considerable length of time, thus it is likely that this study can be potentially

challenging to the current mindset of the stakeholders involved. However, this research

is not suggesting that current competitive practices of MPE be replaced. Instead, it is

seeking to consider how it might be possible to integrate an Einsteinian approach with

the current structures found in MPE. As mentioned, this integrative approach hopes to

promote a means of addressing the negative issues that are present within MPE, and

aims to enhance the learning process of the high school music performance student

through a rebalancing of their competitive mindset.

Structure of Thesis

This thesis comprises eight chapters with this introduction being the first.

Chapter 1 provides the context and background of the thesis. The review of relevant

literature is divided into two parts and will span Chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 4 describes

the research approach and method employed, including data collection and analysis

procedures. The next three chapters (Chapters 5, 6 and 7) report the two phases of the

preliminary study and the two major cycles of action research conducted. Details of the

background to each cycle along with a description of the classroom sessions that took

place during each of the cycles are also provided. A report of the analysis conducted at

the completion of each cycle is provided at the end of each of these chapters with a

general principle of the Einsteinian approach suggested at the end of Chapter 7.

Chapter 8 provides a summary of the research and its conclusion, and contains a

discussion and recommendations. This final chapter draws together the findings of this

research and outlines the key elements required in the integration of an Einsteinian

approach within MPE at the secondary school level.

19

Introduction to the Literature Review

The literature review is provided over the next two chapters. Chapters 2 deals

with literature relevant to the key issues of this research in the following areas:

Competition in music; performance related injuries linked to competition affecting the

physical and emotional health of the music performer; issues of assessment and

creativity, and philosophy and ideals of music education. Chapter 3 deals with literature

relevant to the key issues of this research in the following areas: The resurgence of

affective variables and values education in general, and Einstein‟s humanistic and

philosophical approaches to thinking found in his non-scientific writings that were used

in the Einsteinian approach.

The decision to present the literature review over two chapters was done in order

to allow for a clearer division between materials that relate to the context and

background of this research involving competition and music performance, and

materials that relate to affective education and the use of affective variables in relation

to the Einsteinian approach. The review is based on monographs, academic journal

articles, published and unpublished theses, and documents pertaining to the relevant

areas.

20

CHAPTER 2

A REVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE (PART 1)

The extent to which the competitive culture has permeated MPE at the

secondary school level has possibly gone unnoticed by the stakeholders given that a

competition driven mindset continues to be evident in the current practices. As will be

demonstrated, several concerns arise from such a competitive mindset.

This study investigates how to rebalance the current competitive mindset

through the use of affective variables. In line with the renewed interest for the use of

affective variables evidenced at the start of the new millennium (Gardner, 2000; Palmer,

2006), an investigation into how such an approach may be integrated into MPE at the

secondary school level was conducted.

A systematic search of all relevant databases was done in conjunction with this

review of literature. The SuperSearch gateway of The University of Western Australia

was used to access the following databases: JSTOR, International Index to Music

Periodicals, ProQuest 5000 International, ERIC (1965-2010), Education Full Text,

Trove, Bibliography of Australian Music Education Research and PsychINFO (1806-

2010).

Competition in Music

The World Federation of International Music Competitions, a member of the

International Music Council of UNESCO, has a register of over 120 members

(International Artist Managers' Association, 2011). However, this represents a listing of

only the major international music competitions and does not include the various

national or state competitions that also exist. The large numbers of competitions that

are being held attest to the fact that music competition remains a strong institution and

is a major part in the social structure of music.

21

As mentioned, at the secondary school level of education, music performances

often take the form of concerts, music festivals, examinations or auditions. These

events typically define the musical milieu of the student performer. Whilst each of

these types of events provides students with an opportunity to perform, they also place

considerable emphasis on achievement. For example, students are taught to always

strive to be the best and so the main goal of student performers participating in any

music festival is to be placed first. Similarly, the desire to outshine their peers becomes

evident during music auditions where students continuously vie for the position of first

desk in the school orchestras or bands. Also, emphasis on achievement forces high

school music performance students to become “marks-oriented” during music

performance examinations. In addition, some students even feed on a false sense of

accomplishment by seeking gratification through applause and publicity within a

concert situation. In other words, high school music performance students are often

placed in a position where they are required to compete in the musical activities that

they engage upon. However, as will be discussed later in this chapter, a competitive

mindset raises several issues for the high school music performance student, which

often results in negative outcomes. For example, in sharing their perception of their

time at school, a written reflection provided by a Year 11 TEE student said the

following:

I find that school is not a place where one goes to learn or to pursue any real

educational goal, rather, it‟s more about getting the scores which enables us to go

to university. Therefore, many of us drop out of the higher ranking subjects, in

order to do easier subject, pass well and achieve an overall higher score in TEE.

For example, a student doing literature, finding he was eligible for ESL, dropped

the literature course in order to do the ESL course and pass with minimal effort.

22

Therefore, it is also possible that in trying to do well, students may possibly end up

underachieving as a result of competitiveness.

In education in general, an extensive review of literature from nearly two decades

ago into the effects of competition conducted by Kohn (1992, 1993), urges educators

and parents to steer away from the competitive mindset and to be mindful of the

detrimental repercussions generated by such an approach to education. Kohn (2000)

subsequently invited educators to rethink their fundamental assumptions about

education such as standardized testing, which emphasized achievement and fact-based

knowledge rather than gaining a genuine interest in understanding the material taught

and the ability to synthesize what was learnt. Furthermore, the educational deficits that

result from a standardized testing based on the “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001 in

the United States has inadvertently caused concerns in other areas of class and race

(Hunter & Bartee, 2003). A recent study on the effects of envy between music students

added to the body of knowledge that expresses how the inherently competitive

structures found in the current practices of MPE continue to produce negative outcomes

in both the emotional and behavioural aspects of students (Kim, 2008). These studies

share a common ground in pointing to the disadvantages that are likely to occur when

students engage in a competitive environment. Therefore, the disadvantages articulated

by these scholars in their findings suggest that the act of competing is likely to prevent

students from gaining a deep and meaningful educational outcome. Music performance

students involved in this study were found to show a lack of awareness in terms of how

a competitive mindset is the likely cause of issues voiced by them in relation to their

music performance studies. The following is a reflection written by a student who says:

My last performance was the Semester 1 exam. As always, I felt that whilst I

played better than in many class situations, my mark for set pieces could never

reach above 13 out of 15 because I was too tense and nervous which led me to

23

“thinking” about the music rather than “feeling” it.

In this reflection, the student attributes his nerves and tension during a

performance as an inhibitor in gaining a higher mark and also states how he performs

better in situations where no formal assessments are involved. It is also clear that this

student strives to achieve a mark beyond 86% in his performance examinations.

However, this student appears to be unaware that his constant striving for a higher mark

may also be a possible factor that is preventing him from progressing further, as his

focus on achieving higher marks is likely to take his attention away from the music that

he is performing.

Music educators remain divided in their opinion regarding the effects of

competition in music (Rohrer, 2002). The proponents of competition, as a way of

encouraging better student performances, often cite benefits such as increased

motivation and technical excellence gained through the act of competing. On the other

hand, the opponents of competition tend to voice their concerns in seeing students

placing greater emphasis on extrinsic needs at the expense of the intrinsic values of the

music itself (Austin, 1990; R. E. Miller, 1994, 1995; Scheib, 2006) as well as pointing

to the neglect in the development of musical skills that may promote lifelong interest in

the study of music (Rohrer, 2002; Schoene, Adam, & Richmond, 1995). Given such

diversely opposing opinions, it is possible that music educators who possess a strong

view for competition in music are unaware of the detrimental effects of competition on

the development of the high school music student performer. A search of the relevant

databases in relation to research into music competition in the past decade found that the

majority of studies conducted were done in relation to band music competition (Chou,

2001; Groulx, 2010). A study on the social aspects of music competition by

McCormick (2009) confirms the scarcity of research from the sociological perspective.

It is possible that the paucity of research in this area may be a reflection of how

24

competition is accepted as a cultural norm within the music domain. Therefore, the

detrimental effects of competition have possibly gone unnoticed.

A recent article, publishing an extract from a journal of a musician, outlines the

quandary that competition places on her as an educator. On the one hand she says,

I know why I bother with music contests in the first place. The bottom line is that

it makes me a better teacher to work with and coach students on that higher level,

with the degree of care and attention demanded to be competitive. I also know

that it makes the students better to have to prepare carefully and to learn to handle

issues of pacing for performances and the nerves of competing. (Greer, 2009, p.

10)

But on the other hand she also voices the following conundrum,

I sense an internal conflict these days between turning out musicians who are

well-trained but generic, and helping to develop creative, uniquely musical little

people. You see, preparing students for contest puts me in danger of becoming

narrow-minded, of missing the forest for the trees. It makes me less willing to

take risks in students' interpretations. It makes me overly focused on the music

and less focused on the person sitting on the bench. (Greer, 2009, p. 10)

A recent case study by Scheib (2006), conducted from the perspective of a student

musician, inquired into the reasons influencing why a student might choose to remain

involved as well as succeed in instrumental lessons. The findings of the study

conducted through a series of interviews revealed that the student‟s motivation for

remaining in the band revolved primarily around competition and achievement. For

example, the student who was named Lindy, would often cite reasons for practising her

instrument in order that she could gain a better chair placement in the band. However,

25

the case study findings also reported that Lindy showed “lack of musical, artistic, or

emotional language in her description of band experience” (Scheib, 2006, p. 35). It was

also noted that during one of the interviews that was conducted to inquire into what she

enjoyed most about the band, Lindy never once mentioned the term music during the

entire interview, noting how her responses focused instead on “statements that were

non-music-specific” (Scheib, 2006, p. 35). Furthermore, it was also pointed out how

her motivation was derived “solely from the extrinsic qualities of the traditional band

program, such as competition and achievement, rather than from attributes specific to

music or fine arts, such as the qualities associated with performing or creating music”

(Scheib, 2006, pp. 34-35). Such findings prompted the researcher of this thesis to

encourage MPE educators to re-evaluate their viewpoints and current practices against

their principal belief that they hold regarding the intrinsic and extrinsic values of music.

Therefore, although motivation may be spurred on by a competitive

environment and may induce students to demonstrate a positive behaviour in their

learning, unfortunately, an apparent lack of a genuine internal desire to learn and

understand may result. It is hoped that this study can provide a rebalancing of such

competitive and extrinsically motivated mindset through the Einsteinian approach and

thus enable high school music performance students to become well-rounded

intrinsically motivated music performers.

On Excellence and Motivation through Competition

Excellence through achievement and increased motivation are two main benefits

often cited by proponents of music competition (Graff, 2008; Malone, 2006). The

following section will further consider these purported benefits gained through

competition.

26

Malone (2006) sees the processes of competing in a competition as a means of

fostering excellence. He qualifies this by saying, “Even if the person or group does not

take home the top prize, a victory has been achieved by having made a valiant effort to

perfect one‟s performance… Competition is a step in the right direction, a step toward

excellence” (p.52). However, extensive earlier studies on motivational behaviours

found that “when people try to compete at an activity, they begin to see that activity as

an instrument for winning rather than an activity which is mastery-oriented and

rewarding in its own right” (Deci, 1981, p. 82). A similar conclusion was found in a

later study (Vansteenkiste & Deci, 2003). Also, an earlier work on the effects of

competition by Kohn (1992) clarifies the confusion clouding the issue on excellence in

achievement through competitive means by making the distinction that “trying to do

well and trying to beat others are two different things” (p.55), which supports the stand

taken in this thesis. Furthermore, Austin (1990) points to a possible hidden agenda that

may be present in music educators that are predisposed toward a competitive framework

when he says:

Competition oriented teachers tend to view students in a dichotomous fashion

(low ability or high ability) and often gear their efforts toward validating their

own egos rather than toward accomplishing educational goals. They invest a

majority of instructional time in high-ability students who, from the teacher‟s

perspective, represent the ticket to competitive success. Because these teachers

focus on maintaining a performance image rather than on employing specific

instructional strategies to help students improve, low achievers find themselves

trapped in a catch-22 situation - neither talented enough to help the teacher‟s

cause nor equipped with the tools for progress. (p.24)

27

Therefore, negative effects of competition are not a recent assumption, but have

created a genuine concern in the minds of educators and scholars for quite a while

(Austin, 1988; Kohn, 1993; R. E. Miller, 1994, 1995; Schoene, et al., 1995).

The selection of a winner is the end-result of any competitive event with the

primary objective of each participant being to win. The winning status can only be

attributed to one person during this event. This inevitably results in consistently

producing a larger number of losers in comparison to winners. Thus, the dynamics of

competition possess an in-built bias toward sifting out a winner from the rest of the

group, who will automatically be assigned to the status of losers. Such was the concern

voiced by leading education psychologist Martin Maehr, in his presentation at the third

session of the Ann Arbor Symposium on Motivation and Creativity in 1983, where he

was quoted by Austin (1990) to have said the following:

There is a tendency in music education to place elites and regulars on the same

track, designing the system in such a way that most would inevitably fall by the

wayside with only the cream of the crop surviving. Competitions, contest and

recitals all seem to revolve around that end…. One does not create enduring

motivational patterns by showing people that they are incompetent. Insofar as an

activity is structured to do that, it will be a motivational failure for the large

majority of the participants. (p.23)

The above statement suggests that if students who are better ranked in the

competition were better musicians to start with, then success in a competition may add

no real educational value for these students, as the purpose of competition is to only sift

out the “cream of the crop.” Furthermore, findings from a meta-analysis by Deci,

Koestner & Ryan (2001) on the relationship between extrinsic rewards and intrinsic

motivation conclude that “...expected tangible rewards did significantly and

28

substantially undermine intrinsic motivation...” (p. 15). Such a view continues to be

maintained and was recently expanded by Deci and Ryan (2008) with further

consideration being given to assist in generating optimal motivation across various

domains in life from education to health as well as parenting, sports and relationships.

Other studies were also found within this area which continues to support the

importance in promoting intrinsic motivation as “the attainment of an intrinsic rather

than an extrinsic goal promotes deeper processing of the learning material, greater

conceptual understanding of it, and both short-term and long-term persistence at

relevant learning tasks” (Vansteenkiste, Lens, & Deci, 2006, p. 28). Within the context

of instrumental music, Schmidt (2005) also found that “students responded best to the

intrinsic and cooperative aspects of instrumental music, rather than its extrinsic or

competitive aspects” (p.144). This was further reinforced by another study specific to

performing arts students, where intrinsic goals, such as having a deep sense of

enjoyment for the music while performing, produced a more positive outcome than that

of the other more traditional goals based on achievement (Lacaille, Koestner, &

Gaudreau, 2007).

Therefore, by perceiving the virtues of excellence through winning as a source of

motivation for the student, it would appear that there is a body of work on motivational

research where the results run contrary to such assumptions. In other words,

competition does not necessarily produce the benefits claimed by its supporters.

Furthermore, it appears that not only can competition produce detrimental effects, but

also that the claimed benefits themselves may well have been wrongly perceived.

Issues of Music Assessments and Creativity

Unlike a sporting event where the criteria used in determining the outcome of any

game are based on a set of clearly defined and tangible rules, the parameters used in

29

identifying the winning performance in music cannot be universally determined due to

the more intangible qualities that surround a music performance.

The assessment of a musical performance hinges on several aspects ranging from

the technical such as accuracy of rhythm, intonation, articulation or dynamics to the

aesthetic dimensions such as the interpretation of style and expression of music. Whilst

the technical categories may be somewhat easy to rank, the aesthetic and creative

components are often more difficult to assess due to factors such as individual

preferences and personal interpretations afforded by the performer. Therefore, the

judging of a musical performance is likely to be laden with inconsistencies. However,

even when the notion of the best music performance is not quantifiable by any

commonly accepted benchmark, it remains a requirement that a mark or grading be

given during the assessment of a music performance. In an attempt to address such an

issue, specific categories are often set-up to assist in enhancing the objectivity of the

outcome, and to provide structure to the assessment process. However, Swanwick

(1998) makes the point that even when such measures are put in place, the issue of

accurately measuring a performance can still persist. He explains how such

inaccuracies can result:

…it does not make sense to identify several different dimensions and assess them

giving a separate mark for each – say for technique, expressiveness and stylistic

awareness – adding them up to a single figure. When we conflate several

observations we lose a lot of information on the way. For instance, in competitive

ice-skating one performer might be given six out of ten for technique and nine for

artistry, while another contender gets nine for technique and six for artistry. The

sum of each set of marks happens to be the same – 15 – but the actual

performances will be quite different. (p.6)

30

As such, the many intangible aspects inherent within any creative endeavour

make the assessment of an event such as a musical performance an arduous task. From

over a decade ago, McPherson & Thompson‟s (1998) review of the research literature

identified the issues and influences surrounding music performance assessment,

pointing to the inherent difficulties that lie in this area. They concluded by drawing

attention to pertinent questions regarding inter and intra-judge reliability showing how

these issues, “plus a host of others remain unanswered despite 30 years of research in

this area” (p.22). Following on from that, a re-examination of this topic by McPherson

and Schubert (2004) identified further areas through the use of the cognitive

psychological model known as the “Johari” window, to bring attention to other areas of

complexities that may be contributing to generating flaws in the assessment process of a

music performance.

Based on the cognitive psychological model known as the Johari window created

by Luft and Ingham in 1955, the four areas of interaction between the performer,

audience and adjudicator, which were termed public, blind, secret and hidden, were

used to point out how these further areas can also affect the assessment of a music

performance. In such a model, the public area refers to anything overtly known to both

the performer and the adjudicator such as the musical values of technique, interpretation

or feedback given about the performance. However, awareness in relation to the three

other areas of blind, secret and hidden may also contribute to influencing the final

assessment of the performance and is often not realized due to the covert nature of how

these elements function. Figure 2 displays examples provided by McPherson and

Schubert, of elements that are contained within each of these three areas. The arrows

extending outward from the public area is a graphical representation of the hope that

more attention be given to the public area in relation to the other three areas of the

Johari window model during the assessment of a music performance, thus lessening the

31

possibility of incurring further errors in the adjudication process from the other three

areas.

Figure 2 The Johari Window Model

An example of a study involving the hidden aspects of a performance can be

found in an analysis conducted by Glejser & Heyndels (2001). This study was based on

(Adapted from McPherson and Schubert, 2004 p.76)

32

all piano and violin contests between the period 1956-1999 from the Queen Elisabeth

Contest held in Brussels, considered to be one of the most prestigious in classical music.

The findings concluded that strong evidence of bias was found within the competition

itself. For example, one of the biases listed in the findings of this analysis is that

contestants performing recently composed concertos were often ranked higher than

those who chose to perform the better-known repertoire of the great classics. Similarly,

the identification of other biases that pertain to the three areas of blind, secret and

hidden such as the order of players, performer attractiveness as well as various other

music performance variables have also been considered in other studies (Ryan & Costa-

Giomi, 2004; Ryan, Wapnick, Lacaille, & Darrow, 2006; Wapnick, Mazza, & Darrow,

2000). All of the above examples reinforce the covert aspects of the assessment

structure based on the Johari window model as outlined by McPherson and Schubert.

It would seem that music performance assessment procedures are laden with

issues of reliability and contain an element of uncertainty as well as ambiguity.

Inaccuracies in the assessment of music performances are still being noted (Newman,

2008). Therefore, this raises the question of whether music students performing in a

music competition are receiving a fair assessment of their ability.

Performance Related Injuries

The high incidence of performance related medical issues amongst professional

musicians have been noted in several studies (Brandfonbrener, 1990; James, 2000;

Parry & Christopher, 2004). Well-known figures such as Leon Fleisher and Gary

Graffman are examples of artists who have suffered from injuries associated with the

performing of their musical instrument. Furthermore, the development of “performing

arts medicine” as an area of research, provides a sense of acknowledgement and

recognition for how such injuries experienced by musicians are a source of distress

33

affecting performing artists. All of the above indicate that physical and emotional

injuries sustained by musicians performing a musical instrument are very real.

Upon the identification of medical issues relating to the performing arts in the

early 1990s, awareness for the prevention of such injuries continues to be promoted

(Berenson, 2005; Guptill & Zaza, 2010; Williamon & Thompson, 2006). For example,

courses relating to performance wellness are becoming part of the music performance

students‟ education at the tertiary level. This is to heighten student awareness relating

to injuries both physical and psychological that are associated with performing a

musical instrument. Also, journal publications on topics relating to performing arts

medicine such as the Medical Problems for Performing Artists and International

Journal of Arts Medicine are now a basic resource found in databases of many tertiary

institutions. Such research demonstrates a growing interest in the development of

knowledge in this area. Therefore, these debilitating injuries sustained by musicians are

being addressed. However, according to Grant (2008) the “ongoing lack of effective

and across-the-board mechanisms to prevent and manage injury within Australian

tertiary music institutions is striking” (p.2). Also, a recent study investigating the

prevalence of playing-related musculoskeletal disorder amongst the majority of piano

players in Western Australia found that 42% out of the 505 participants surveyed

reported experiencing some form of performance related disorder (Allsop, 2008, p. 70).

Therefore, although medical researchers have demonstrated much concern and

awareness for the physical injuries sustained by musicians, it appears that music

performance students in Australia may not be sufficiently informed in terms of the

management of such issues. It may be possible that the lack of awareness and

understanding of such issues is a result of the current competitive practices of MPE,

where emphasis on achievement may be compromising students‟ physical well-being.

34

High frequencies of performance-related impairments have been linked to a

number of causes, one of which is the virtuoso world of the performing artist aspired to

by young musicians (Blackie, Stone, & Tiernan, 1999). Such an aspiration is witnessed

through the constant participation in demanding music competitions. Typically, music

competitions are known to act as a stepping-stone for young performers seeking their

dream of attaining the virtuoso status. In striving to realize such a dream, young

performers often experience high levels of emotional and physical stress brought on by

the competitive environment of music competitions. During these competitive events,

these young performers are often required to produce note-perfect performances through

demanding repertoire, requiring an extended amount of practice time involving constant

repetition of passages of music. Research into performance related disorder has linked

such intense levels of demand and practice, with an emphasis on speed and accuracy, as

a cause of musculoskeletal disorders affecting these elite musicians (Bragge, 2006;

Ostwald, Baron, Byl, & Wilson, 1994).

Medical issues of performing artists caused by physical and emotional stresses

linked to music competitions, provide very tangible evidence of the negative effects

caused by the competitive music culture found in the current practices of MPE. Given

that such competitive practices are likely to produce negative effects on the health of the

music performer, it would be educationally imprudent for educators to continually

subject music performance students to such competitive practices without some means

of recourse. As such, current assumptions regarding the positive benefits generated by a

competitive structure in the current practices of MPE warrants reconsideration.

As will be demonstrated, when students become more aware of what it means to

align themselves with greater depth of meaning and appreciation for the music that they

are performing, they seem better able to approach a competitive situation with less

stress, thus reducing the negative effects associated with performing during a music

35

competition. Therefore, by integrating the Einsteinian approach into MPE, it is hoped

that music performance students can learn to rebalance their competitive mindset to

assist them in softening the detrimental effects linked to the stresses of music

competitions.

Music Education Philosophies and Ideals, and Outcomes of MPE

The current practices found within MPE are highly competitive, as has been

shown. Under such competitive conditions, it has been observed that students tend to

focus on the end result of the activity. For example, during the annual orchestral

placement audition, students are continually vying for the position of the first desk.

Similarly, while performing during a music competition, students are likely to have their

goals set on attaining the first prize. Also, during a music performance examination,

students continue to focus and strive for the „A‟ grading. In other words, the current

competitive practices of MPE encourage students to value an outcome-oriented

approach. In each case, when value is placed on the end-result of the music activity,

consideration for developing a deeper appreciation for the music being performed is

likely to be compromised. In such an instance, the priority of the student is to win or

attain a high grade. Therefore, the current competitive practice of MPE is likely to steer

students away from developing a deeper and more meaningful approach to performing

music.

As will be explained in the following section, the two main philosophies of

music education, that of music education as aesthetic education and the praxial

approach to music education, also work on the premise that is based on an outcome.

However, the concept of an outcome, as envisaged in these two philosophical pillars of

music education, differs from that of outcomes that are based on a competition driven

music performance culture.

36

Music Education Philosophies

The on-going debates and discussions of the two major philosophical

perspectives in the field of music education, that of Reimer‟s (1970) music education as

aesthetic education and Elliot‟s (1995) praxial philosophy of music education, are well

documented (Alperson, 1991; Daugherty, 1996; Goble, 2003; Koopman, 1998;

Panaiotidi, 2003; Plummeridge, 1999; Westerlund, 2003). Burnsed (1999) makes the

distinction between these two main philosophical pillars in music education by pointing

to how music as aesthetic education is essentially to do with “[knowing] about

something” while the praxial approach is about “[knowing] how to do something” (p.5).

In considering music education as aesthetic education, music educators are

encouraged to develop students‟ aesthetic sensitivities to music. Acts of perceiving and

reacting to music are central in developing such sensitivities that inevitably tap into

students‟ ability to engage with spheres relating to their imagination, expression and

emotional reactions. Therefore, such a philosophy aims at capturing the importance of

attending to music as it is occurring. In Reimer‟s own words, “aesthetic education can

be taken to symbolize a process rather than an entity” (Reimer, 1991, p. 213). On the

other hand, the praxial approach concerns itself with finding musical meaning whilst

engaging directly with the act of performing music. Furthering this concept, Elliott

(1995, p. 40) even goes as far as developing the term musicing thus making music a

verb. In detailing the philosophical principles of a praxial approach, Elliott makes

steady references to Csikszentmihalyi‟s (1990) concept of “flow.” Briefly stated, the

concept referred to as flow is an experiential mental state, which occurs when a person

becomes deeply engaged with the present moment. In gravitating toward such concepts

as “flow” and generating terms such as musicing, there is a sense that Elliott is placing

emphasis on the process of music making. Therefore, even when the two philosophical

37

perspectives of Reimer and Elliot differ to one another, the central premise of both these

philosophies attends primarily to the processes involved in music learning.

In giving emphasis to process, needless to say, resulting outcomes are still

important to consider. For example, in learning to appreciate music for its aesthetic

qualities, the outcome is to gain deeper appreciation for the music itself. Similarly,

although Elliot places emphasis on a praxial approach to music education, performing

music results in producing a performance as an outcome. Therefore, in both cases, a

product is produced at the end of the learning process, which is musical in content. This

is also true, for example, of the music composer, who produces a piece of composition

as an outcome of the process of composing. In other words, the two major philosophies

of music education engages in a process which looks toward producing a musical

product as an outcome; be it a written piece of music, as in the case of a composer, a

musical performance in the case of the praxialist or gaining a deep sense of appreciation

for the music through the act of listening, in the case of the aesthetician, a musical

outcome results. However, the outcome of a competition driven music culture results in

focussing on “winning” as an outcome. Music education outcomes are never about

winning. Instead, music education outcomes are concerned with the development of the

musician in order to produce a musical product. In other words, music education is

about educating for a musical outcome and not about educating to “win.” Reinforcing

this notion, it should also be noted that the word “winning” or “win” cannot be found in

the definition and rationale provided by the Curriculum Council of Western Australia in

the Learning Area Statement for The Arts (Government of Western Australia, 1998).

Therefore, contrary to the desired practices of music education, the competition driven

environment of MPE instills in the music performance student the notion of “stardom”

and “winning,” instead of a search for greater depth and meaning in the music that they

are performing.

38

While it is important to have an attitude of wanting to achieve in the different

stages of development as a musician, it is likely that the drive to “win” can lead to an

unbalanced educational outcome for the music performance student. Therefore, as

already mentioned, given the highly competitive structures that are embedded in the

current practices of MPE, a rebalancing of perspective may be useful. It is hoped that

this study can provide the stakeholders involved with a new perspective to address the

imbalance in the way MPE is currently practised.

As the current competitive practices of MPE lean toward emphasizing

“winning” as an outcome while the aim of music education is to produce well-rounded

musicians, it would appear that the philosophy of music education and the current

practices of MPE are mismatched at this point. A further incongruence can also be

found between the current practices of MPE, and the ideals espoused by scholars of

music education. The following section will outline the presence of such incongruence.

MPE and Music Education Ideals

The winner of a music competition is generally regarded as being “special”

compared to the rest of the competitors. Such a perspective is likely to encourage the

audience to perceive music as being an elitist art, reserved only for the talented few,

thus tending toward the notion of exclusivity. However, the ideals of music education,

as endorsed by distinguished music scholars are at odds with such a perspective, as

ideals put forth by music scholars are fundamentally inclusive by nature.

A broad perspective in important matters relating to music education can be

found in Jorgensen‟s book entitled Transforming Music Education, where she seeks an

all encompassing approach to music education. She finds that this may be possible

through a transformation of music education to one that “respects and listens to the

other and draws on reason, intuition, imagination and feeling” with the hope to “create

a space where many voices heretofore silenced can be heard” (2003, p. 18). Such a

39

wide-ranging invitation toward facilitating greater development and understanding

within music education ideals clearly demonstrates an inclusive outlook.

Another instance of an ideal in music education which aims to include rather

than exclude can be seen in Regelski‟s (2005) notion of music as praxis.2 The notion of

praxis as proposed by Regelski, grounds itself in the pragmatic criterion which attends

to the importance of “making a difference” in its application. In explaining this, he says

the following:

Basic to the idea of pragmatism is that value and meaning are seen in the actual

(or at least potential) difference made when whatever is at stake is actually put to

use – for example, a thing, idea, theory, hypothesis, claim or supposition.

(Regelski, 2005, p. 7)

In proposing such an outlook, the long-established premise that the classical

music tradition is superior to that of pop music is questioned by Regelski. He insists

that “distinguishing „musicians‟ as trained professionals from „amateur‟ enthusiasts as

dilettantes or dabblers will no longer do” (Regelski, 2007, p. 26). Here, Regelski is

stressing the importance of giving credence to the value and meaning found solely

through the activity of music-making itself. This view acknowledges the validity of the

musical process and experience as being of value and meaning to whomever engages

with music. As such, he aims to restore an equal standing to the activity of music

making by placing the amateur musician on the same level as the professional music

performer. Thus, in eliminating the distinction between the amateur and professional

musician, Regelski is exhibiting an inclusive approach in his ideals about music

performance. Therefore, the ideals espoused by distinguished scholars of music

2 The similarities and differences to Elliott‟s perspectives of praxis will not be covered in this

thesis but can be found in a discussion by Goble (2003).

40

education appear to be at variance to the ideals of a competition driven music culture of

MPE, which tends to promote an exclusive outlook.

Efforts made by ethnomusicologists to restore the division between Art music

and Folk music is another example of an inclusive ideal found echoing as far back as

nearly half a century ago (Jones, 1962). In a short article advocating a multicultural

approach to music education, Dodds (1983) makes the point that “[although] music is

not an international language, it is a universal medium of expression for the deepest

feelings and aspirations that belong to all humanity.” He concludes his article by saying

that “music is not just an art to be practised within the education of a multicultural

society. It is in itself, a truly multicultural education” (p.33-34). Once again,

importance is placed on promoting a musical ideal that is inclusive, as opposed to

exclusive. Such inclusivity is still evident today from Stobart‟s (2008) collection of

essays on ethnomusicology. For example, in Chapter 2, Cook (2008) continues to call

for a blending of historical musicology and ethnomusicology (p.61) thus emphasizing a

more interdisciplinary approach. In Chapter 5, the title chosen by Baily (2008),

Ethnomusicology, Intermusalibity, Performance Practice showcases the coming

together of scholarship and music performance, highlighting the importance of the

integration between these two areas in ethnomusicology. Also, the emphasis to connect

with e-fieldwork by Wood (2008) in Chapter 7 demonstrates the inclusion of current

technological advancement into the discipline of ethnomusicology. Thus, it is evident

that the contemporary views of ethnomusicology seen through the collection of essays

by Stobart (2008) show a continued emphasis on a broadening of the discipline to

include rather than exclude other areas of study. Thus, the sentiment of inclusivity

echoed from the previous generation of ethnomusicologists continues into the present

century. Such inclusive ideals also continue to be fostered through international music

bodies such the International Society for Music Education, where its vision and mission

41

statement aims to be all-embracive in relation to the music community of educators and

participants (International Society for Music Education, 2010). Therefore, the ideals

held by eminent scholars of music tend to be inclusive by nature as opposed to the

current practices of MPE, which encourage music to be perceived as being exclusively

seated within the grasp of the talented few. Furthermore, researchers in the area of

giftedness and talent are gradually discrediting such a notion.

The notion of giftedness and talent is often associated with performers of music.

According to Haroutounian (2002), “prodigies occur most often in the field of music,

exceeding the total of all other fields combined” (p.86). However, counter-arguments

for talents have been demonstrated by Howe, Davidson & Sloboda (1998) suggesting

that the real determinants of giftedness and talent result from various elements such as

habits, training, practice, differences in early experiences and opportunities. This is

further reinforced by the analysis of expert performance, which attributes the role of

deliberate practice based on a minimum of 10,000 hours (over an approximately 10 year

period) to be the contributing factor to the presence of talent (Ericsson, 2006; Ericsson,

Krampe, & Tesch-Romer, 1993; Ericsson & Lehmann, 1996). Therefore, researchers in

the field of music performance have already begun building an argument toward

demystifying the role of talent in music. However, within Australia, the current

perception of music as being reserved for the gifted and talented still persists. A range

of responses gathered from the stakeholders of music in the recent National Review of

Australian School Music Education (Pascoe et al., 2007) found that, “…music is still

not seen and considered as a core part of the curriculum, but instead a „frill‟; some see it

as extracurricular or non-essential or only for those with gifts and talents in music”

(p.107). Therefore, a disparity is apparent between the ideals of music education and

the current practices of MPE.

42

In summary, the first part of this literature review considered the values resulting

from a competition driven mindset evidenced through the current practices of MPE.

Issues of performance assessment and creativity were also considered. The review

noted the various inconsistencies and ambiguity underlying the music assessment

process. Major benefits such as excellence and added motivation as a result of

competitive structures, were also discussed. It was posited that these claimed benefits

made by music educators who support the notion of competition in music, may well

have been wrongly perceived. The importance of understanding how performance

related injuries are linked to competition was also examined. The chapter concludes by

showing how the current competitive culture of MPE is mismatched with the main

philosophies of music education and the ideals held by distinguished scholars and

educators of music.

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CHAPTER 3

A REVIEW OF THE RELEVANT LITERATURE (PART 2)

This chapter provides the second part of a review of literature that is relevant to

this study. The areas considered are as follows: A review of the literature on affective

education and relevant literature on Einstein‟s humanistic and philosophical thoughts

based on his non-scientific writings.

Literature on Affective Education

Affective education has been subjected to hostile debates in the past (Armer,

Yeargan, & Hannah, 1977). Even when educators were supportive of the inclusion of

such an approach into education, the lack of clarity in terms of a definition as to what an

affective education means, resulted in a less than warm reception (Heath, 1972).

However, educators in favour of such an approach believed that affective education

forms an important part of the child‟s overall education in terms of offering a more

complete and holistic approach to the learning experience (J. P. Miller, 1976).

Literature on affective education from the 1980s and the 1990s (Combs, 1982;

Cove & Love, 1995; Elias et al., 1997; Newberg & Loue, 1982) has generally taken the

perspective that affective education is important. In the present decade, affective

education is not only considered important, but essential to the education of the whole

child (Cohen, 2006; Devaney, O'Brien, Tavegia, & Resnik, 2005; Ragozzino, Resnik,

Utne-O' Brien, & Weissberg, 2003; Weare, 1999). In addition, positive findings from

an expanding body of research literature in the area of affective education reinforce the

important role affective education plays in our schools today (Payton et al., 2008; Zins

& Elias, 2006; Zins, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004).

44

What is Affective Education?

Affective education is often referred to in the literature as “social and emotional

learning.” In the forward to the monograph published in partnership with the

Association of Teacher Educators3, the Affective Education Commission Resolution of

February 2006 states that, “affective education seeks to enhance students‟ growth in

attitudes, interests, character, values and other areas within the social-emotional

domain” (LeBlanc & Gallavan, 2009). In contrast to how affective education is

generally practised through programs such as moral education, character education,

conflict resolution, social skills development or self-awareness, the mandate provides a

list of six statements in terms of how affection education needs to be practised. These

have been assembled and reproduced in Table 1.

Table 1

Affective Education Statements by the Affective Education Commission

1. We believe that teacher education programs should impart the knowledge, skills,

and dispositions that all educators need for affective education, in support of state

and national standards.

2. We believe that development of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions is a process

that requires support at all levels within the cultural milieu.

3. We believe that modeling the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of affective

education must be provided by teacher educators who demonstrate a high

commitment to the education of the whole person, in the cognitive, affective, and

psychomotor domains.

4. We believe that affective education is manifested through formal and informal

actions and interactions evident in all content, process, and contexts essential for

teaching the whole child.

5. We believe that through attentive practice and reflection, educators should employ

prosocial affective characteristics and curriculum, including but not limited to:

respect, responsibility, flexibility, resiliency, collaboration, commitment, self-

awareness, and self-efficacy.

6. We believe that quantitative and qualitative assessment of affective knowledge,

dispositions, and skills must occur in real world settings.

(Adapted from Affective teacher education p. xii, by P.R. Le Blanc & N. P. Gallavan,

2009, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.)

3 An individual membership organization, whose interests primarily centre on improvement of

teacher education at the secondary as well as tertiary levels in the United States.

45

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations of the

Australian Government (2005) has put forth the Stage 2 Final Report on the Values

Education Good Practice Schools Project, where ten principles of good practice were

identified. These have been assembled and reproduced in Table 2.

Table 2

Values Education Good Practice Schools Project, Stage 2 Final Report - Ten

Principles of Good Practice.

1. Establish and consistently use a common and shared values language across the

school.

2. Use pedagogies that are values-focused and student-centred within all

curriculum.

3. Develop values education as an integrated curriculum concept, rather than as a

program, an event or an addition to the curriculum.

4. Explicitly teach values so that students know what the values mean and how the

values are lived.

5. Implicitly model values and explicitly foster the modelling of values.

6. Develop relevant and engaging values approaches connected to local and global

contexts and which offer real opportunity for student agency.

7. Use values education to consciously foster intercultural understanding, social

cohesion and social inclusion.

8. Provide teachers with informed, sustained and targeted professional learning and

foster their professional collaborations.

9. Encourage teachers to take risks in their approaches to values education.

10. Gather and monitor data for continuous improvement in values education.

(Adapted from Australian Government, 2005)

Based on these two sets of statements proposed by the Affective Education

Commission and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

of the Australian Government respectively, there is a sense that affective education has

made a transition from being a values based education to be inculcated into the student,

to an education that calls for a deeper involvement of the self where such values can be

introduced and effected on a practical level. However, ways in which how such values

may be made more practical are often not considered or discussed. This study offers a

46

possible practical approach to how affective values based on Einstein‟s humanistic and

philosophical thinking into MPE may be used by the teacher and student.

As is well known, Maslow‟s (1970) hierarchy has contributed to the knowledge

and importance of how our development as a person constantly requires paying

attention to our affective self. Also, studies in the area of cognitive neuroscience have

begun establishing links between the two domains of cognition and emotion. According

to Phelps (2006), investigations into the neural systems demonstrate how the

“…mechanisms of emotion and cognition are intertwined from early perception to

reasoning…” suggesting that “…the classic division between the study of emotion and

cognition may be unrealistic and that an understanding of human cognition requires the

consideration of emotion” (p. 27).

Although much theoretical and research literature exists in the educational

domain which supports the notion that affective education is integral to the development

of the child, a search of the relevant databases show that no research has been conducted

to inquire into how affective variables, based on the perspective of this thesis, might

impact on high school music performance students. Therefore, it is hoped that the aim

of this research to investigate into how affective variables can be integrated into music

performance at the secondary school level, will be useful.

Literature on Affective Aspects in Music

There exists a body of literature on how music affects human emotions. This

area of study is known as “music and emotion” based on the seminal work of Leonard

Meyer in the 50s entitled Emotion and Meaning in Music (Meyer, 1956). This area of

study continues to develop significantly, led by researchers such as Juslin and Sloboda

who recently published A Handbook on Music and Emotion (2010). In addition, the

Special Interest Research Group of the National Association for Music Education has

dedicated a section to Affective Response, in recognition of its relevance to music

47

education (The National Association for Music Education, 2011). All of these suggest

that literature involving affective aspects in relation to music forms an important corpus

in music education. However, although affective aspects are considered to be

important, affective studies are less prominent, when compared to the literature on

cognitive-behavioural aspects in music education. This was noted in the National

Association for Music Education MENC Handbook of Musical Cognition and

Development which states how “emotions in general (or, more broadly, affective

response) are difficult to study and much less emotion research has been done than

cognition research” (Colwell, 2006, p. 23).

The research literature in the area of music performance reflects a similar result

where affective studies are less prominent than research involving cognitive aspects.

Early in the new millennium, Gabrielsson (2003) took on the task of reviewing

approximately 200 papers between the years 1995-2002 on research that was conducted

in the area of music performance. The organizational structure of the review comprised

ten different areas. These areas are as follows: Performance planning, sight-reading,

improvisation, feedback in performance, motor processes in performance,

measurements of performance, models of music performance, physical factors in music

performance, psychology of music performance and social factors of music

performance. In this review, Gabrielsson (2003) states that “measurement of

performance has dominated performance research” (p. 225). An earlier review

conducted by Palmer (1997) in relation to music performance research, concurred with

Gabrielsson in relation to the dominance of measurement in music performance

research. In his review, Gabrielsson outlines a possible connection of such dominance

stemming from the research interests of Carl Seashore (1927) in the 20s and 30s.

However, interest in measuring various parameters of music, although familiar to

researchers, is not necessarily known or easily understood by music educators. Further

48

search of the relevant databases between 2000-2010 identified a continuation of similar

research trends in the ten areas of music performance research as suggested by

Gabrielsson‟s (2003) review, apart from the growing interest in connection to

neuroscience, where investigations to do with understanding how the brain functions in

order to process music are becoming more evident (Meister et al., 2004; Parsons, 2001;

Peretz & Zatorre, 2005).

According to Gabrielsson (2003), the second highest area of research related to

music, next to measurement in music performance, is in the areas of psychology and

social factors. The review showed that 50% of research from these categories is

devoted to the area of music performance anxiety. A systematic review conducted by

Kenny (2005) in the research for treatments of music performance anxiety showed how

the dimensions in which the treatment was conducted were categorized into two broad

areas of psychological and pharmacological treatments. The psychological treatments

were contained within the behavioural, cognitive and cognitive-behavioural, combined

treatments and other therapies. However, according to Kenny (2005) the effectiveness

of these various treatments were found to be “fragmented, inconsistent and

methodologically weak” (p. 206). This reinforces an earlier critical review of current

research on music performance anxiety by Brodsky (1996). A more recent review of

the literature by Taborsky (2007) confirms that research within this area still lies

predominantly within the cognitive and behavioural aspects.

Thus, it appears that the literature in the two major areas of music performance

research demonstrate a predominance of studies being conducted on the cognitive and

behavioural aspects, with minimal consideration being given to affective variables. A

possible reason why research into the area of music performance anxiety has yet to

arrive at a satisfactory solution in addressing the issue of music performance anxiety

may be due to the fact that in dealing with the issue of performance anxiety,

49

considerations need to be placed beyond that of cognitive or behavioural aspects toward

the realm of affective variables.

As the importance of affect appears to be gaining recognition in the field of

psychology through various studies that demonstrate how affective techniques are more

potent and beneficial in facilitating changes than those geared at the cognitive level

alone (Goldfried, Castonguay, Hayes, Drozd, & Shapiro, 1997; Watson & Bedard,

2006; Watson & Rennie, 1994), it is possible that affective variables may also hold new

possibilities for further discoveries in the related areas of music performance research.

An overview of the theory and research within the three parameters of

expression, perception and induction of music and emotion, completed by Juslin &

Laukka (2004), found that studies in the area of music and emotion have been

considered primarily from the perspective of the musician within the controlled setting

of a laboratory and argued that emotional responses to music can be better understood

from a social context of the everyday listener. Thus, the literature on research into the

affective domain in the field of music and emotion investigates the effects of music on

the consumer of music, whether listener or performer. This differs significantly from

the goals of this research, which seeks to determine how affective variables may be used

as an intervention to assist the musician in their interaction with music. In other words,

the current trends of research in the field of music and emotion seeks to understand how

the consumer of music is affected by the music unlike this study, which seeks to

understand how affective variables may be used to assist in engaging the consumer of

music with the music, as a way to enhance their musical experience.

Affective Learning in Education

At the start of the new millennium, prominent educators such as Gardner (2000)

proposed an educational model calling on parents, educators and the general public to

look beyond standardized testing. Gardner (2000) believed that by encompassing an

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education that is based on a deep and meaningful understanding of the three principles

of “truth, beauty and goodness”, a more “humane” education could result. Examples of

how such an education might be realized were proposed, for example, through teaching

students three subjects revolving around the theory of evolution, music and through the

lessons of the Holocaust. These examples of how students might be educated aimed at

educating students to engage with deep and meaningful events.

Similarly, in the subject of Mathematics, educators have also considered a

humanistic approach as a means of engaging student with the subject in a more

meaningful manner. An application of a humanistic approach to teaching Mathematics,

as proposed by White (1993), was used by Haglund (2004) as a means of counteracting

the negative perceptions held by students of Mathematics. The study found such an

approach to effect student learning in a positive manner and suggests that, “perhaps if

humanistic methods were used throughout a child‟s Math education, fewer students

would leave school disliking Math or feeling that they „can‟t do Math‟ ” (p.14).

Therefore, the results of the research suggest that the application of the humanistic

approach to Mathematics was able to change students‟ attitude and perspective of the

subject in a positive way.

Exploration into the subject of spirituality in relation to music education is also

gaining interest as demonstrated in the writings of distinguished scholars such as

McCarthy (2009), Yob (2008), Boyce-Tillman (2006), Palmer (2004, 2006) and

Jorgensen (2003). In music performance, attempts to introduce affective concepts were

evidenced in Gordon‟s (2006) book entitled Mastering the Art of Performance in which

an aspect of a spiritual life is brought to the musician‟s attention. However, the

significance of such a concept is only hinted at intermittently throughout the book with

further consideration given as a postlude in his book. This gives a sense that such an

idea is still a novel consideration in the area of music performance.

51

Affective Variables in Moral Education versus the Einsteinian Approach

This thesis employs three affective variables of gratitude, humility and wonder.

The definition of the first two variables of gratitude and humility are values generally

associated at some level with the domain of morality. Whilst this thesis adopts these

affective values as part of the Einsteinian approach, the manner in which this research

utilizes these concepts is distinctly different to how one would expect a moral education

class to teach these concepts. Firstly, as will be shown in the findings, a successful

application of the Einsteinian approach requires that no mention of these values be

made to the student. Instead, students are to be guided to arrive at these concepts

through self-discovery. This is unlike the expectations of a moral education class,

where values are often inculcated into students. Secondly, in this research, these

concepts serve to function as tools to facilitate students‟ ability to engage with a mental

presence that allow them to enhance their learning experience as a music performance

student. Therefore, these affective states are considered as actions. A detailed

description of how these concepts were used in the music classroom will be provided in

subsequent chapters.

Einstein’s Humanistic Thoughts

The idea to apply Einstein‟s humanistic and philosophical thoughts to MPE

originated from the reading of a collection of essays by Einstein entitled The World As I

See It (Einstein, 1956). Here, Einstein touches on several affective concepts, for

example, “peace” (p.43), “truth” (p.31) or his reference to “a cosmic religious feeling”

(p. 26-27) in relation to science and religion.

As mentioned, the three affective concepts chosen for application in this study are

gratitude, humility and wonder. These concepts were chosen as they were found to

occur repeatedly in his non-scientific writings. The concepts of humility and wonder

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were often mentioned through a direct usage of the exact words, unlike the notion of

gratitude, which was only implied in his descriptive thoughts.

An understanding of how Einstein perceived these concepts were gained through

repeated readings and ruminations as Einstein did not provide any definition to these

concepts, and dictionary definitions were felt to be insufficient in explaining his

perception of these concepts. Over time, the accumulation of personal experiences

through practical applications of these concepts provided the researcher with further

understanding, which resulted in the formulation of an Einsteinian approach. The next

section will provide quotes on the three concepts found in Einstein‟s humanistic and

philosophical writings.

Gratitude

Passages such as these were interpreted as a demonstration of the notion of

gratitude contained within Einstein‟s thinking:

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend

on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order

to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. (Einstein,

1956, p. 1)

In such a passage, Einstein demonstrates a deep sense of gratitude. Another

example of the concept of gratitude is found in an address given to schoolchildren:

Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work of

many generations, produced by enthusiastic effort and infinite labour in every

country of the world. All this is put into your hands as your inheritance in order

that you may receive it, honour it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to

your children. Thus do we mortals achieve immortality in the permanent things

which we create in common.

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If you always keep this in mind you will find a meaning in life and work

and acquire the right attitude toward other nations and ages. (Einstein, 1956, p.

23)

The New Oxford American dictionary defines the term gratitude as “the quality of

being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” Based on

this definition, it implies that two parties are involved - a giver and a receiver.

According to the dictionary definition, the notion of gratitude arises when an act

performed by the giver generates feelings of thankfulness in the receiver. Thankfulness

then results in the receiver expressing his appreciation in some form.

Typically, when students are asked to share their understanding of what the term

gratitude means to them, they would often say, “You have gratitude for a person when

they give you something, like a present.” Whilst students are not entirely wrong in their

perception of the concept, their understanding seems to be limited to the idea of

gratitude as receiving. Students‟ replies also suggest that their perception of gratitude

lies in the item received. Therefore, the item, being a gesture of appreciation for the

kindness received, becomes the point of gratitude for the student. The readings suggest,

however, that Einstein‟s notion of gratitude has to do with how it might be possible to

give back in return for having received, thus placing emphasis on the act of giving

instead of receiving. In other words, Einstein perceives the concept of gratitude as

repaying back, instead of being repaid.

The second difference between students‟ view of the notion of gratitude and that

of Einstein‟s lies in how gratitude is experienced. For example, it was observed that

students‟ ability to experience gratitude is based on an event that is directly related in

the present moment, prompting the student to feel gratitude, for example, “…when they

give you something, like a present.” However, for Einstein, a sense of gratitude

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emerges when he considers how his life is dependent on “the labours of other men” and

through such a realization, feels gratitude, and looks to build upon what is already there.

In other words, Einstein‟s concept of gratitude is based on a lineal succession of past

events, and is not dependent on an act in the present moment.

Therefore, gratitude as experienced by students requires an event to occur in order

that they can be prompted to be in a state of gratitude. However, the writings of

Einstein suggest that for Einstein, gratitude is generated through deep reflection and

takes place from within the self. There is, thus, a significant difference between

Einstein‟s concept of gratitude and that of students in general.

Being in such a state of gratitude as perceived by Einstein requires that one sees

one‟s self as part of the whole. In seeing one‟s self as part of the whole, one becomes

aware of the interdependence that takes place in humanity and the important role played

by one and all. In gaining an understanding for the concept in such a manner, it is likely

for the importance of self to become less accentuated. As the importance of self

diminishes, the possibility for qualities associated with humbleness is more likely to

increase. Therefore, gratitude as perceived by Einstein was also felt to bear some

connection with the concept of humility at some level; a connection not typically

touched upon in dictionary definitions of the term.

Humility

An example of the concept of humility was found in a response to a letter from a

child in their sixth grade written on the 19th

January, 1936, asking whether scientists

pray and if so, what do they pray for, to which Einstein replied:

I have tried to respond to your question as simply as I could. Here is my answer.

Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is

determined by the laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the actions of

people. For this reason, a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe the

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events could be influenced by a prayer, i.e. by a wish addressed to a supernatural

Being.

However, it must be admitted that our actual knowledge of these laws is

only imperfect and fragmentary, so that, actually, the belief in the existence of

basic all-embracing laws in Nature also rests on a sort of faith. All the same this

faith has been largely justified so far by the success of scientific research.

But, on the other hand, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of

science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe - a

spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our

modest powers must feel humble. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a

religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the

religiosity of someone more naïve. (Einstein, et al., 1979, pp. 32-33)

Below are two further examples of the concept of humility quoted from Einstein‟s

non-scientific writings:

What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very

imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility.

(Einstein, et al., 1979, p. 39)

My religiosity consists of a humble admiration for the infinitely superior

spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory

understanding, can comprehend of reality. (Einstein, et al., 1979, p. 66)

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines the term humility as “a modest or

low view of one‟s own importance.” While such a sentiment can be detected through

Einstein‟s writings, more importantly, it was felt that Einstein‟s understanding of

humility demonstrated a thinking that projected a sense of respect and an openness to

the possibilities that exists beyond his current comprehension of the universe that we

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live in. Therefore, Einstein‟s concept of humility extends beyond that of simply

viewing oneself in a modest light. Instead, Einstein‟s concept of humility extends

toward encompassing a sense of deep reverence.

Wonder

Wonder was a concept that was often found present within Einstein‟s

thinking along with that of “awe” and a sense of “mystery.” Below are some examples

of such thinking.

The religious feeling engendered by experiencing a logical comprehensibility of

profound interrelations is often a somewhat different sort from the feeling that

one usually calls religious. It is more a feeling of awe in a scheme that is

manifested in the material universe. (Einstein, et al., 1979)

A letter written by Einstein to his friend, Dr. Otto Juliusburger, on 29 September

1947, captures the concept of “mystery.”

I hear from several friends that these days you are celebrating - I can hardly

believe it possible! - your eightieth birthday. People like you and me, though

mortal, of course, like everyone else, do not grow old no matter how long we live.

What I mean is that we never cease to stand like curious children before the great

Mystery into which we are born. This interposes a distance between us and all

that is unsatisfactory in the human sphere - and this is no small matter. (Einstein,

et al., 1979, p. 82)

Further quotes on the notion of wonder were found in Calaprice‟s (2000) The

Expanded Quotable Einstein. The first two examples below reveal a sense of wonder,

which was found to have often occupied Einstein‟s thoughts:

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The development of that mental world (Gedankenwelt) is a continual flight from

“wonder.” I experienced such a wonder when my father showed me a compass

and the age of four or five. (p.21)

The ordinary adult never gives a thought to space-time problems… I, on the

contrary, developed so slowly that I did not begin to wonder about space and time

until I was an adult. I then delved more deeply into the problem than any other

adult or child would have done. (p.21)

In engaging with the activity of imagination, a sense of wonder is often involved.

In the following quote, Einstein talks about how important imagination was to him:

When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come close to the

conclusion that the gift of my imagination has meant more to me than my talent

for absorbing absolute knowledge. (Calaprice, 2000, p. 21)

Einstein‟s constant questioning and conjecturing about the universe is another

way in which a sense of wonder is projected:

What really interests me is whether God could have created the world any

differently; in other words, whether the demand for logical simplicity leaves any

freedom at all. (Calaprice, 2000, p. 221)

Curiosity was interpreted as being a variation to the concept of wonder. Below is

a quote of Einstein, which again demonstrates a sense of wonder:

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for

existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of

eternity, of life, of the marvellous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries to

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comprehend only a little of this mystery every day. (Calaprice, 2000, pp. 280-

281)

Here is another reference to the notion of wonder, demonstrating how strongly he

felt about the importance of the concept of wonder:

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental

emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who does not

know it and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead,

a snuffed-out candle. (Calaprice, 2000, p. 295)

A final example of the concept of wonder taken from the autobiographical notes

in Schilpp‟s (1949) Albert Einstein, Philosopher-Scientist:

I have no doubt that our thinking goes on for the most part without the use of

signs (words), and, furthermore, largely unconsciously. For how, otherwise,

should it happen that sometimes we wonder quite spontaneously about some

experience? This wondering appears to occur when an experience comes into

conflict with a world of concepts effect these already sufficiently fixed within

us… The development of the world of thinking is in effect a continual flight from

wonder. (p. 302)

The various sources from which the above quotes were obtained, were gathered

from many different stages of Einstein‟s life. As these concepts were found to be

present in his thinking at various times of his life, this suggests that concepts such as

gratitude, humility and wonder were an innate part of Einstein‟s thinking.

As explained, the concepts of gratitude and humility as perceived by Einstein,

invite the view that one is part of the continuum of a whole, thus tending toward

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diminishing the importance of self. In competition, the opposite occurs where the self

becomes important, as in aiming to win, the importance in standing out and being

different to others is accentuated. Therefore, the integration of these affective concepts

may be useful in trying to rebalance the competitive mindset of high school music

performance students.

Of the three affective concepts highlighted in this literature review, gratitude has

captured the attention of contemporary scholars (Emmons & McCullough, 2004) where

the many dimensions of the concept have been theorised and discussed. Also, the

exploration of the effects of gratitude on the social development of the adolescent by

Froh, Bono and Emmons (2010) shows how gratitude can be a powerful agent in

promoting positive outcomes. Studies in the physiology of emotions (Arguelles,

McCraty, & Rees, 2003; McCraty & Childre, 2002) conducted in conjunction with the

HeartMath Research Centre, also demonstrate another instance of the positive effects

gained from the application of gratitude. In addition, the June issue of the Oxford

Review of Education (2009) published as a special edition, featured a range of

discussion topics related to the affective domain in education. Therefore, the

developing contemporary interest in affective concepts warrants the attention of music

performance educators to further examine how affective concepts can be integrated into

music performance education, which is the aim of this thesis.

The last two chapters reviewed literature relevant to this thesis. Chapter 2

considered literature in relation to competition in music and the various key issues

associated to competition such as performance assessments, performance related

injuries and the philosophy and ideals of music education. Chapter 3 considered

literature in relation to Einstein‟s humanistic and philosophical approaches to thinking

based on his non-scientific writings that pertain to the Einsteinian approach. Affective

education and values education in general were also reviewed in Chapter 3. The next

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chapter provides the method used in this research, sources of data collection along with

the analytical process used in the research.

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CHAPTER 4

METHOD

This thesis is a qualitative piece of research based on the method of action

research from the perspective of a teacher-researcher. This chapter begins with a brief

overview of action research. Secondly, action research will be considered in relation to

music education research. Following this, the suitability in adopting action research as

a method in relation to this piece of research will be discussed. Sources of data

collection will be described and issues of ethics addressed. Finally, the data collection

procedure along with the analytical process used in the research will be outlined.

Overview of Action Research

The origin of the term action research is generally accredited to the seminal

work of the German-American social psychologist, Kurt Lewin in the 1940s. The

historical background to this is well documented (Adelman, 1993) with

acknowledgment of Lewin‟s influence being found in current publications of action

research (Barton, Stephens, & Haslett, 2009; David, 2008).

In general, action research as a research approach is showing renewed

popularity. In education, publications on action research continue to expand

(Greenwood & Levin, 2007; Hendricks, 2009; Kemmis, 2009; McNiff & Whitehead,

2009; Mertler, 2008; Schmuck, 2008; Somekh & Zeichner, 2009; Stringer, 2007;

Stringer, Christensen, & Baldwin, 2010; Tomal, 2010). A complete chapter was also

devoted to the various aspects of action research (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2005) in the

third edition of the Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research by Denzin & Lincoln

(2005). Furthermore, publications of action research from the perspective of a teacher-

researcher appear to have transitioned from a literature base that centred in justifying

the appropriateness of such a method in educational research (Cochran-Smith, 1990;

Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999, 1993) to that of reference materials in the form of

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guidebooks (Altrichter, Feldman, Posch, & Somekh, 2008; G. L. Anderson, Herr, &

Nihlen, 2007; Herr & Anderson, 2005; Lankshear & Knobel, 2007; Mertler, 2008;

Reason & Bradbury, 2008; Taber, 2007) suggesting a growing usage and acceptance of

such a method among educators.

Within the tertiary sector, action research programs and networks continue to

broaden. The widening circle of influence in this area is reflected in the emergence of

centres such as the Collaborative Action Research Network in the UK, University of

Bath Centre for Action Research in Professional Practice, Cornell Participatory Action

Research Network, Deakin University School and the New Zealand Action Research

Network. These activities point toward an increasing acceptance and usage of action

research as a research method across a wide array of disciplines.

Action research exists in many forms. In a journal series launched in 2003

entitled Action Research, Dick (2004) provides a review on the various emerging trends

and themes that can be found within action research while Somekh & Zeichner (2009)

offer a more global perspective of the variety of ways in which action research is being

practised. Cassell & Johnson (2006) take on the challenge of explaining how the

variety of practices found within action research needs to be understood and argue that

such diversity is “not haphazard” but is instead, “an outcome of the varying knowledge

constituting assumptions which legitimize distinctive perspectives and action research

agendas” (p.808). However, despite the many forms that exist in action research, these

variations essentially revolve around a common theme involving the elements of

planning, action, observation and reflection, occurring in an iterative fashion. Figure 3

is a diagrammatical representation of the action research cycles as illustrated by

Coghlan and Brannick (2010).

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Figure 3 Action Research Cycles

Adapted from Coghlan and Brannick (2010) p.10

Despite the evidence of progress in action research as a movement, tension

between the concepts of action versus research within the backdrop of a positivistic

research paradigm is evident. In particular, the issues of validity and generalizability of

knowledge are often subjected to much contention (Checkland & Holwell, 2007;

Feldman, 2007; Schwalbach, 2003; Winter, 2002). However, in music education, Cain

(2010) points to the importance of acknowledging the possibility and potential that

exists within action research in generating knowledge that is capable of being

generalized. Ultimately, such debates and discussions allow for a critical engagement

with action research as a method thus demonstrating a growing strength of the method

within the community of action research scholars.

Music Education Research and Action Research

A review of music education research conducted within Australia at the start of

the millennium by Stevens (2000) points out that one of the common themes surfacing

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from music education research in Australia is for “the need of research to inform

practice” (p.64). Concerns for the lack of applicability of research findings to the daily

practice of music teaching, along with issues relating to the implementation of research

findings in the music profession have been echoed repeatedly by several music

educators from as far back as the early 1990s. For example, Asmus (1992) makes this

clear when he says that “Research fails, or has failed, to make contact with the day-to-

day work of the teacher” (p.33). In another article entitled Going from Incredible to

Credible, Edwards (1992) points out how “Research in music simply hasn‟t produced

enough useful information to merit the attention of practitioners” (pp.5-6). Therefore, it

appears that attention to usefulness in terms of the generation of information that is

applicable on a practical level to the music teaching profession has been an issue from

nearly two decades ago. Similarly, Australian music scholars have long voiced a

similar need in engaging teachers in classroom based-research in view of the knowledge

they hold of the real day-to-day issues that surround their teaching profession (van

Ernst, 1994).

A systematic review of the literature by Hemsley-Brown (2003) on the impact of

research within professional practice found that teachers scarcely use research findings

to inform their teaching profession. The review concludes that “teachers perceive

educational research to be quantitative in nature and frequently challenge the validity of

the research, arguing that their unique situations invalidate the application of its

findings” (Hemsley-Brown, 2003, p. 460). Such issues continue to persist into the

present times, as studies by music educators in several areas within the discipline

continue to emphasize the need and importance of the integration between theory and

practice (Ballantyne, 2007; Parsonage, Fadness, & Taylor, 2007; Rust, 2009).

Although no universal definition of action research has been reached, the

introductory chapter to the Handbook of Action Research by Reason and Bradbury

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(2001), provides a working definition of action research. Here, action research is

defined as bringing together “…action and reflection, theory and practice, in

participation with others, in the precedent of practical solutions to issues of pressing

concern to people, and more generally the flourishing of individual persons and the

communities” (p.1). Based on this definition, it would appear that action research as a

method can provide a possible platform through which concerns for the rift that exists

between research findings and the implementation of the findings, as expressed by

music scholars and educators, can be addressed. However, despite the growing

attention that action research is now receiving, a content analysis of qualitative research

dissertations in music education between the years 1998 – 2002 conducted by Kantorski

and Stegman (2006), listed only four studies that utilized action research out of the 148

dissertations that were analysed. Similarly, a review of literature by Hartwig (2004)

located only three published papers of action research projects that were conducted

within the music classroom. A further search (as of March 27, 2011) of the following

relevant databases, namely Pro Quest Dissertations and Theses and Trove, using

keywords – action research and music classroom, found six other action research studies

which were conducted within the music classroom (Bernard, 2005; Campbell, 2005;

Djordjevic, 2007; Dudley, 2007; Hasty, 2009; Stone, 2009). It is hoped that the present

piece of action research will contribute positively in addressing the apparent imbalance

that is present and that the findings of this research, conducted within the context and

reality of day-to-day music classroom activities, can be useful to music educators who

may be considering the possibility of integrating affective approaches within MPE.

Relevance of Action Research to this Thesis

The selection of a method should ultimately reflect the need of the research

question. In other words, the function of a method is to serve that of the research

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question. Therefore, in deciding to employ action research as a method, careful

consideration was given to the goal of the central research question of this thesis.

In an overview of qualitative research approaches to music education, Bresler

(1995) writes that “If the central point of ethnography is culture and the central point of

phenomenology is lived experience, [then the central point of] action research is based

on the close interaction between practice, theory and change" (p.16). The central

question of this thesis was then considered in light of the three components of practice,

theory and change as highlighted by Bresler.

As mentioned, the central question of this thesis is:

How can an Einsteinian approach be incorporated into a competitively driven

music performance education culture at the secondary school level?

Practice

To question is to seek for an answer to something. The three customary ways in

which questions can be framed are by asking “what”, “why” or “how.” As such, each

of these modes of questioning carries with it an implication toward a particular

outcome. A question that seeks to ask why is ultimately looking for an explanation in

view of establishing a possible causal relationship, while a question that seeks to ask

what, is more conducive to producing explanatory or descriptive outcomes and a

question that seeks to ask how, carries with it implications of a process based procedural

outcome. In other words, the framing of the research question inquiring into how

something can be done requires a practical approach. Thus, the constant monitoring of

desired outcomes occurring through action and reflection becomes an important

component in the process of answering how questions. Through this process, the

application of an idea through practice is engendered.

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Theory

A relationship exists between question-types of what, why and how. What and

why questions are questions grounded in facts based on past or present events. For

example, when a what or why question is put forth, the outcome to these questions is

based on events past or present. The potential outcomes of these questions are based on

factual events that have already occurred, or are currently present. However, how

questions imply a procedural outcome contained within the notion of possibility, which

has no association to a past or present. In trying to establish an outcome to how

questions, the integration of what and why questions needs to take place. For example,

consider the activity of learning how to cook a new dish. By asking how of the cooking

process, one will inadvertently be also asking what questions at some point. For

example, a typical question might be, “What ingredients would I need in order to cook

this dish?” Further along the way, one might get curious and perhaps extend their

knowledge to learning why certain ingredients are needed in such exacting proportions.

Therefore, what and why questions are often subsets of how questions and are necessary

components in the answering of how questions.

Due to the nature of what and why questions revolving around predetermined

facts, it follows that in order to answer what or why questions, reflection is needed, as

the act of reflection is associated with an activity of pondering deeply on an event that

has already occurred. As what and why questions are subsets of how questions, the

process of reflection also plays an important role when how questions are being asked.

What and why questions also serve another important role once the how

questions have been established. Upon establishing the outcome to how questions, it is

then necessary to return once again to what and why questions in order to verify the

outcomes of the how question. Thus, the cyclical process takes place until a desired

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outcome to the how questions produce results. Therefore, this means that an iterative

process is built into how questions prior to arriving at an outcome.

Change

Because the central question of this thesis is a how question and based on the

premise that how questions are procedural, it follows that the framing of a how question

seeks to progress from point A to point B in order to effect change along the way.

Within the context of this research, the central research question seeks to create change

in relation to the issues that are occurring within MPE by developing an approach based

on Einstein‟s philosophical and humanistic thoughts. Therefore, the research question

seeks to create change through a practical approach, based on a series of progressive

cycles constantly referring back to what and why. Through practical applications and

reflections on what and why questions, planning is required, followed by action and

reflection, to effect change based on a possible theory.

To summarize the above discussion, concepts that stand out in answering how

questions are based on components that involve practice, reflection, action and

planning. These are the central features of the action research process. Thus, these

features, and therefore action research, are required in answering the how of the

research question.

Research Setting

This research was conducted within a private all-boys secondary high school

music classroom setting, situated in Perth, Western Australia. The research involved

two preliminary phases followed by two major cycles of actions research. The

preliminary phases of the research were a catalyst in framing the central research

question while the two cycles of actions research that followed were conducted in

search of answers to the research question.

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Preliminary Phases

The first phase of the preliminary study involved four instrumental students on a

one-to-one basis over the course of five weeks. The second phase of the preliminary

study took place within a classroom setting involving a total of 16 students from Years

10 and 11. Information gathered during the second phase of the preliminary study

served as a catalyst toward the formulation of the central research question.

Two Major Action Research Cycles

Upon formulating the central research question during the preliminary phases,

two major action research cycles followed to assist in answering the research question.

Both of the action research cycles took place within the classroom setting involving two

sets of music students at the Year 11 level, with Cycle 1 spanning over the course of

seven weeks involving four students and Cycle 2 held the following year, spanning over

the course of 18 weeks, involving five students.

In each of the preliminary phases as well as that of the two major action research

cycles, the participating student-base for each phase or cycle was drawn from a set of

new students who had no prior knowledge or experience in applying affective concepts

based on the Einsteinian approach within MPE. This was done to ensure that the

findings would accurately reflect the aim of the research question, which was to inquire

into how such an approach can be integrated within the music classroom setting. This

carries with it an in-built assumption that data collected needed to be based on students

who had no prior knowledge of such an approach. Table 3 provides a summary of the

action research setting as described above.

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Table 3

Summary Table of Action Research Setting

PRELIMINARY

(PHASE 1)

PRELIMINARY

(PHASE 2)

CYCLE 1 CYCLE 2

Instrumental

Student Setting

(5 weeks)

Classroom Setting

(4, 5 and 5 weeks

respectively)a

Classroom Setting

(7 weeks)

Classroom Setting

(18 weeks)

One-to-one

instrumental

students (4 students)

Phase 2a

Year 11 (4 students)

Phase 2b Year 10 (8 students)

Phase 2c Year 11 (4 students)

Year 11(4 students)

Year 11(5 students)

Note. aPhase 2a – Year 11 (held over 4 weeks), Phase 2b - Year 10 (held over 5 weeks) and

Phase 2c - Year 11 (held over 5 weeks)

Data Collection

For the action research project itself, there were three main sources of data – 54

in-class worksheets, 9 expanded worksheets, and two transcripts of audio recordings

and 14 DVD transcripts. In addition, three other types of data were collected to provide

added understanding. They were student emails, teacher-researcher journals and

informal observations. These additional sources of data were collected during the

preliminary phases of the research with teacher-researcher journals being maintained

throughout the entire action research. The teacher-researcher journals were re-read at

the end of each year and an annual summary was made of these journals to bring

together the main insights gained during the course of each research cycle.

In-Class Worksheets

In-class worksheets in this instance are instructional documents with questions

and workspace pre-prepared for students to assist them in the reflective process. In-

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class worksheets were an integral part of this research and were used in Cycles 1 and 2.

In-class worksheets were administered at the introduction of a new topic in relation to

the Einsteinian approach. This was done to allow students to explore, through

reflection, their thoughts about particular aspects in relation to the topic that they were

about to study. Typically students were given approximately 10 - 15 minutes of the

allocated class time to complete these in-class worksheets. A discussion would follow

to allow students to share their written responses. Sixteen in-class worksheets were

collected during Cycle 1 and 38 in-class worksheets during Cycle 2.

These in-class worksheets were designed with three main aims: Firstly, to allow

students an opportunity to explore and reflect on their present understanding of the

various topics in relation to the activity of music performance; second, to provide the

researcher a better understanding of students‟ perspectives about a given topic in the

activity of music performance, and third, to give voice to students by eliciting their

thoughts and opinions in relation to the topic being studied.

Expanded Worksheets

Two expanded worksheets were administered in Cycle 2. These worksheets

were structured in the form of journal reflections to be completed over a specified

period. Each worksheet focussed on one aspect of the Einsteinian approach: The first

expanded worksheet focussed on gratitude and the second expanded worksheet focussed

on humility. These expanded worksheets were designed to provide students with an

opportunity to focus their reflection on a particular concept of the Einsteinian approach.

Further details will be provided in Chapter 7.

Transcripts of Audio and DVD Recordings

Audio and video recordings were chosen as a source of data as these allowed

students‟ in-class discussions to be faithfully captured and recalled at any given point in

the analysis process. The ability to repeatedly review and study the data was an added

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advantage. Two audio recordings were collected in Cycle 1 and 14 DVD recordings

were collected in Cycle 2.

In introducing the video recording to the classroom setting, the positioning of

the camera was given careful consideration. Time was spent in locating an optimum

position prior to the start of each session. This entailed finding the most suitable

position in the placement of the video recorder in order to capture the entire classroom

without being too intrusive on the students. This was done in collaboration with the

Performing Arts Technical team.

Classroom sessions that were captured on the video recorder were later

transferred to DVDs. A summary of the main points as well as verbatim transcripts of

each DVD was completed. This was a labour intensive process. However, while

transcribing these sessions, it became possible to relive the classes again as an observer,

but with the added advantage of having knowledge in relation to the subtleties of the

classroom nuances of student behaviours that would easily have gone unnoticed by an

outsider - a central point made by Cochran-Smith (2005) in advocating a teacher-

researcher perspective.

Student Emails

The use of emails to elicit student responses on a particular topic of discussion

was a source of data in the preliminary phases of the study. These responses allowed

students the freedom to express their thoughts regarding particular topics, thus

providing a means of communication on a level considered to be less formal. While

emails were voluntary, students were encouraged to send them on a weekly basis as a

way of sharing their thoughts after having reflected on the topic discussed. It was

reasoned that such data would provide yet another dimension in capturing further

insight into how students were thinking. Student emails were used only in the

preliminary phases.

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Teacher-Researcher Journals

Teacher-researcher journals functioned on two levels. Firstly, they were used as

a means of recording observations of student attitudes and behaviours at the end of

classroom sessions. Secondly, these journal entries also served as a tool for reflection.

The stream-of-consciousness writing technique discovered through Cameron‟s (1995)

book entitled The Artist’s Way was adopted, and formed part of the entries as a means

of exploring further ideas for future classroom sessions. Two handwritten journals were

collected during the course of the preliminary phases of the study where weekly entries

were made. Subsequently, in Cycles 1 and 2, electronic entries were made at the end of

each session. An annual summary was compiled at the end of each of the major cycles

after repeated readings of these journals.

Ethics Consent

This study was granted ethics consent by the Human Research Ethics Office of the

University of Western Australia (Reference No. RA/4/1/1471). Written permission was

sought from the Headmaster of the participating school and also from parents and

students involved in the study. An outline of the proposed study, and an assurance of

confidentiality and anonymity were provided to all participants in a written document.

Research data remained confidential and participants were free to withdraw from the

study at any time. For secure storage, the data were encoded with passwords for

protection. University regulation dictates that research data be archived for a period of

five years. Therefore, all data will be destroyed upon completion of the research after

the stated period.

Data Analysis

Analysis was conducted at the end of each of the two phases of the preliminary

study and each of the two major cycles of action research. The following section will

provide an overview of the analysis and a description of the process involved.

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Overview of the Analytical Process

Observations occurred constantly throughout the research by observing student

behaviours in relation to the teacher-led classroom actions that were taken. Potential

links made between observations of student behaviours and teacher-led classroom

actions taken were recorded in the teacher-researcher journal. These potential links

were used as interim findings, which formed the initial stages of the data analysis

process.

Due to the cyclical nature of action research method contained within the

framework of planning, action, observation and reflection, a continuous analysis and re-

analysis of the collected data during each cycle formed an inherent feature of the

analytical process. Therefore, analysis in this piece of research was not confined to the

final stages of the research. Instead, it was dynamic and ongoing, with conclusions

arrived at through a cumulative process. Coding, memoing, interpreting and abstracting

were used at each level of the analysis with further levels of abstraction through

induction employed as the analysis progressed. In the interest of triangulation (Miles &

Huberman, 1994), multiple sources of data were used wherever possible and emerging

findings were cross checked between the sources. Sources used were the teacher-

researcher‟s informal observations, student‟s written work during classroom sessions

and student‟s report of their experiences, both written and verbal, the latter obtained

from the audio and DVD transcripts of the classroom discussions (see Figure 4).

Observations recorded in the teacher-researcher journals were checked against

student verbal responses through the transcripts of audio and DVD recordings together

with student written work from the in-class worksheets. Thus, student verbal responses

provided a confirmation of the observations that were made and students‟ written work

gave further clarification of what they had said in their verbal responses during the

classroom discussions. The expanded worksheets provided a longer term view of the

75

data collected as these expanded worksheets allowed students more freedom to explore

their thoughts over a longer timeframe compared to the in-class worksheets. Therefore,

students‟ thinking patterns could be monitored for consistency over time. The DVD

transcripts allowed the teacher-researcher to revisit and notate nuances captured through

bodily gestures, which expressed students‟ positive and negative behaviours not readily

found in the written work of students.

Figure 4 Triangulation Process

Conceptual Framework for Organizing Data

It became clear early in the preliminary study that an overall conceptual

framework was required for organizing the data collected. The central research

question asks how it might be possible to integrate an Einsteinian approach into the

music classroom. As the report of the preliminary study shows (see Chapter 5), many

of the early teacher-led classroom actions did not work, in terms of developing and

Observations

(Teacher-Researcher

Journals)

Student Verbal

Responses

(Transcripts of Audio and

DVD Recordings)

Student Written Work

(In-Class Worksheets and

Expanded Worksheets)

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integrating the Einsteinian approach. This suggested the use of a simple dichotomous

framework for organizing the data - teacher-led classroom actions that „worked‟ and

teacher-led classroom actions that „did not work.‟ These two concepts - teacher-led

classroom actions that worked and did not work - emerged clearly from the early actions

and analysis, in the context of the central research question of “How can an Einsteinian

approach be incorporated into a competitively driven music performance education

culture at the secondary school level?”

These concepts emerged clearly during the preliminary study, and were then

applied during the main action research project. Here too, most of the data indicators

were quite clear. However, it is not the case that all data fitted clearly into one or the

other category. When a piece of data was ambiguous, it was given less consideration on

the grounds that more can be learned from data indicators that were clear. This is

consistent with the logic of the action research project which centres on how an

Einsteinian approach can be developed.

The next step was to develop a set of empirical indicators – here called

“response indicators” – to “define” these general concepts of “work” and “did not

work” in this particular research context. The response indicators are as follows:

Response Indicators (when teacher-led classroom actions worked)

1. Students are open to exploring content presented in the classroom that targets the

development of the Einsteinian approach.

2. Students find relevance in content presented in the classroom that targets the


3. Students contribute well to the classroom activities that target the development of

the Einsteinian approach.

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Response Indicators (when teacher-led classroom actions did not work)

1. Students are not open to the contents that were presented in class that were

targeted at the development of the Einsteinian approach.

2. Students do not find relevance in the contents that were presented in class that

were targeted at the development of the Einsteinian approach.

3. Students did not contribute well to the classroom activities that target the


Based on these response indicators, data collected were coded into the two categories of

worked and did not work at the completion of each action research cycle. Further

analysis then followed which involved analysing student thought patterns in the

category of did not work. This was done in an attempt to understand the possible causes

as to why certain teacher-led classroom actions had not worked. The analysis of student

thinking patterns produced recurring concepts. These concepts were grouped and

analysed. An analysis of these recurring patterns provided further insight into the

possible elements that were required in terms of how such an approach can be integrated

into the classroom and were used in the planning stages of the following cycle. Figure 5

provides a diagrammatical representation of the overview of the analysis process.

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Figure 5 Overview of Analytical Process

At the completion of the entire action research, which involved two phases of

preliminary study and two major cycles of actions research, further abstraction and

interpretation was carried out on actions that worked and those that did not work, in

view of working toward a general overall principle of an Einsteinian approach. This is

shown in Figure 6.

DATA

RESPONSE INDICATORS

WORKED DID NOT WORK

What were students‟

thought patterns?

Thought patterns

categorised

Findings were fed

into the following

cycle

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Figure 6 Toward A General Principle of an Einsteinian Approach

In summary, an analysis was conducted at the completion of each major research

cycle. Firstly, data were grouped into two categories of worked or did not work based

on a set of response indicators. Following this, data from the category of did not work

were analysed to ascertain students‟ thinking patterns. Over the course of the analysis,

these recurring patterns found in the analysis of students thinking patterns were noted

and categorized. These emergent categories were then analysed further for possible

reasons as to why they occurred. Findings from the analysis of these categories were

then used in the design and planning of the next cycle of the action research. A

comparison was then carried out on teacher-led classroom actions that worked and did

Teacher-led classroom actions taken throughout the

entire action research

Abstraction and Interpretation of the above

actions

Toward a general

principle of an

Einsteinian

approach

Actions that Worked

And

Did Not Work

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not work taken over the entire course of the action research, with the aim to move

toward a general principle of an Einsteinian approach. A detailed analysis is presented

at the end of each of the action research cycles in the following chapters with the

findings reported at the end of each cycle. A suggested general principle of an

Einsteinian approach is also provided.

This chapter has described the method used in this research, including the

overall design, the data collected and the data analysis methods developed. The next

chapter reports the preliminary phases of the research.

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CHAPTER 5

PRELIMINARY STUDY

Overview of Preliminary Study

This chapter reports on the preliminary study conducted where an inquiry was

made into how affective concepts based on Einstein‟s humanistic and philosophical

thinking can be integrated into MPE. The preliminary study comprised of two phases.

Both phases were based on informal observations by the researcher, recorded in detail in

the teacher-researcher journal, and supplemented by emails from students to the

researcher. Preliminary findings of Phase 1 based on four students who made specific

integration of the affective concept of gratitude as part of their music performance

studies produced promising results. This led to Phase 2 where the integration of such an

approach was introduced into the music classroom. However, it was found that

classroom music students did not respond as positively to the integration of such an

approach. This became a catalyst in forming the central research question. How the

Einsteinian approach was conceived and developed along with student experiences and

findings during these two phases will now follow.

Toward an Einsteinian Approach

The discovery of an Einsteinian approach was realized through an interest in

Einstein‟s non-scientific writings and familiarity with McNeill‟s theory of A State of

Preparedness (2001). According to McNeill, a relationship exists between students‟

innermost attitude and that of their learning processes. Based on the above, an initial

curiosity as to how Einstein‟s humanistic thoughts such as gratitude and humility might

possibly affect music performance students, led to an exploration of such concepts with

four instrumental music students.

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Preliminary Study Phase 1

The early stages of the development of the Einsteinian approach took place in an

instrumental music lesson setting. This involved four adolescent students on a one-to-

one basis over a period of five weeks, where private piano lessons were held for an hour

each week. Initially, students were slightly unsure as to how such affective concepts

might be of use to them in their music performance studies. However, over the course

of five weeks, it was observed that the integration of these concepts started to

demonstrate positive outcomes in their music performance studies. One student even

reported on how such an approach benefited him in areas other than his music studies.

The actions taken during these one-to-one sessions in Phase 1 of the preliminary study

are now described followed by four examples of student experiences based on such an

approach during this period. These are presented as scenarios, which are descriptive

outlines of student accounts.

During the lessons, affective concepts were explored in the following manner.

The first ten minutes of the hourly instrumental session was spent discussing with the

student the concept of gratitude. Firstly, the concept of what gratitude meant to the

student was ascertained. This was done to gain an understanding of the student‟s

comprehension of the term. Following that, they were asked to provide an example of a

situation where they might have experienced the concept of gratitude. Here is an

example of what a student said: “You feel grateful when someone does something for

you. Like when they give you a present after you do something nice for them.”

Having ascertained their level of understanding of the concept, they were then

asked if they had thought about how it might be possible for them to have gratitude for

their musical instrument. Such a question typically caused students to display a puzzled

look. However, they were encouraged to think about how this might be possible as part

of their task for the week. In the following week, discussions would continue by asking

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them if they had thought of any further ideas from the prior week‟s discussion. It was

observed that students were unable to have gratitude for their musical instrument.

As explained in Chapter 3, typically, students‟ understanding of gratitude was

limited to that of a gesture of thanks associated with a gift received. However, based on

Einstein‟s humanistic and philosophical writings, the notion of gratitude is not

dependent on an exchange associated with gifts. Instead, his concept of gratitude was

one that was engendered from within the self as a result of reflecting on the efforts of

people that have gone before us. An example quoted in Chapter 3 is again provided

here to show Einstein‟s notion of gratitude:

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend

on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order

to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. (Einstein,

1956, p. 1)

In such a passage, Einstein is seen to be demonstrating a deep sense of gratitude

engendered from within the self. Another example of gratitude provided previously in

Chapter 3 by Einstein is as follows:

Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work of

many generations, produced by enthusiastic effort and infinite labour in every

country of the world. All this is put into your hands as your inheritance in order

that you may receive it, honour it, add to it, and one day faithfully hand it on to

your children. Thus do we mortals achieve immortality in the permanent things

which we create in common. “If you always keep this in mind you will find a

meaning in life and work and acquire the right attitude toward other nations and

ages” (Einstein, 1956, p. 23).

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Therefore, students‟ concept of gratitude differed from Einstein‟s who demonstrates

gratitude as an ability that can be exercised from within the self through reflecting on all

the efforts of people, past and present.

In trying to bridge the gap between Einstein‟s display of gratitude and that of

music students‟ understanding of the concept, an exercise was performed. During this

exercise, students were asked to take a moment to reflect on all the efforts that had gone

into the making of their musical instrument, tracing out a possible course of events that

would have transpired from the time of its inception to the present moment. For

example, students were guided to think about what was required in the making of a

piano from its frame to each single key as well as the strings of the piano, its dampers

and all of the other parts of the piano. They were then also asked to consider the efforts

involved in the transportation of the instrument from the factory down to the store

where they had bought their piano. Students were encouraged to reflect in such a

manner prior to each of their practice sessions. It was observed that over time, as

students started to integrate such thinking into their daily practice of their instrument,

positive outcomes would result. The first instance of such a result is shown as Scenario

#1 below. The names of students used are fictitious.

Scenario #1

Frederic (Pianist) – Overcoming social issues and discipline

Frederic, a 13-year old music performance student, was encountering difficulties

both at school as well as at home. He had learned the piano for three years and always

found music note-reading to be a real problem throughout this period. Overall, he

enjoyed the activity of music making through his piano studies, but was experiencing

great difficulty being motivated to practise well.

It was suggested that Frederic actively put gratitude into practice, applying it to

all the difficulties he was facing in his piano studies. This concept was introduced to

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him in an intellectual manner and he was encouraged to put into practice what he had

just intellectualized. His attention perked up to this rather far-fetched concept and it

was observed that bewilderment overcame his entire demeanour. However, he was

encouraged to put gratitude to the test. While no change was evident in the first week,

Frederic reported an interesting experience in the second week. He wrote: “Maths is

pretty hard for Year 8 at first and then I started to practise gratitude for the opportunity

given to me to study Maths and then Maths started to get easier.” Excited at this new

realization, he extended his practice to other areas. He added, “I also started practising

gratitude for my brother because he was very mean to me. After that, he started being

nice to me. Then I also practised gratitude for my parents and they actually started to

praise me for the first time for my piano playing, which they have never done before

and this made me want to do better in my piano practice.” He was perplexed at the

change that was occurring in his life at school as well as at home. The progress in his

musical development was markedly noticeable soon after he incorporated the practice of

gratitude. He found that his level of concentration improved and the speed at which he

was reading music notes increased. Disciplining his practice at the piano was no longer

a problem for him. From then on, Frederic had the joy of experiencing the benefits of

gratitude in his piano studies. As his ability to focus improved, he became more

motivated to maintain his practice to a good level. His piano studies took on a positive

turn and he became intrinsically motivated. This resulted in a major improvement to his

overall achievement level as a piano student.

Curious that such an approach could result in such an outcome led to further

investigations. Therefore, the approach was introduced to another student.

Observations made on Student B demonstrated similarly positive results, as shown in

Scenario #2.

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Scenario #2

Andy (Pianist) - Dissipating frustration and anger

Andy was a talented 17-year old piano performance student who was often

frustrated to the point of anger when he was unable to execute certain passages of

music. Being of a rather reserved nature, he never sought to articulate his frustration.

For two years, his technical improvement at the piano had been minimal. Although

Andy managed to overcome certain technical issues during lessons, he often found it

difficult to apply what he had learnt during lessons whilst in the practice room.

Andy was introduced to the idea of applying gratitude to his instrument. Similar

to Frederic, he was taken through the process of integrating gratitude into his practice

sessions. His initial reaction was similar to Frederic. However, he began to show signs

of improvement in his technical abilities after two weeks. When asked what effected

this positive change, he reported the following: “When I sit at the piano to practise, I get

really impatient and frustrated when I can‟t get things right. I would then get up and

slam the piano lid and walk away. But learning to have gratitude for my instrument has

helped to lessen my frustration and anger. I find that I am able to actually sit and do

some practise.” Clearly, his frustration and anger prevented him from committing an

appropriate amount of practice time at the piano as he never saw this as a legitimate

problem that needed to be addressed in relation to his piano playing. He allowed his

feelings of inadequacy to take over and consequently remained caught in this quandary.

Andy was astonished at how gratitude had enabled him to remove the barrier of

frustration and anger and thus facilitate improvement in his piano practice. He was also

able to grasp more of what was taught after this and remained excited with such a

breakthrough.

As a better understanding of Andy‟s problem was realized, a much deeper level

of communication resulted. The teacher-student relationship started to improve as Andy

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started to open up more about his anger and the negative impact such an attitude had on

his progress during his practice sessions. His reserved nature was soon replaced by a

brighter and more cheerful demeanour. He started to communicate better and his

playing gradually improved. The positive outcome from this experience encouraged a

similar outlook to be applied with another one-on-one private piano student. The next

example shows how the attitude of gratitude brought about a change in a student in the

area of performance anxiety.

Scenario #3

Mandy (Pianist) - Resolves unnecessary nerves

Mandy, a 15-year old piano performance student, had a terrible time controlling

her nerves. Nerves affected her badly. This made her very despondent about her piano

playing. As a result, Mandy did not do as well as she would like to in her music

performances.

Once again, Mandy was taken through the same exercise to help her incorporate

gratitude into her preparation for her upcoming class performance. It was observed that

Mandy was able to adapt to the notion of incorporating gratitude into her performance

routine quite easily. She was due to play in a class performance situation at school a

week after being introduced to this concept. On the day of her performance, Mandy

reported how the integration of gratitude into her performance routine had reduced her

anxiety level by half during the class performance. She was astonished and excited at

her ability to overcome her nerves in such as short time. This allowed her a greater

sense of confidence in her playing overall.

While contemporary research has revealed significant problems encountered by

music performers in the area of performance anxiety, (Arneson, 2010; Randall, 2008;

Taborsky, 2007) most of the issues in this area have sought solutions within techniques

that are based on behavioural and cognitive approaches. Mandy‟s experience suggests

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that the realm of the affective may also provide another possibility as a solution to the

problem of performance anxiety.

Scenario #4

Gary (Cellist) - Heightening a sense of engagement

Gary is a 16-year old cellist who was always complaining about his inability to

focus on the music during performances. He often found that his mind would easily be

distracted whilst performing on stage as well as during his practice sessions.

Instead of the concept of gratitude, Gary was introduced to the concept of

integrating a sense of wonder into his performances. He was encouraged to wonder

deeply about his instrument as part of his daily practice routine. This enabled him to

engage with his instrument at such a level where he became physically attached to his

cello. He was observed to be holding on to his cello for the entire forty-minute period

of class music soon after he was introduced to this aspect of Einstein‟s thinking. He

was very reluctant to let go of his cello and reported how he was longing to engage in

some practise soon after. At the end of this class session, he said, “I wish I can stay on

to practise instead of going to the next class.” He was very clearly demonstrating a

strong engagement to his instrument. Gary‟s heightened sense of engagement with his

instrument suggests that affective concepts may provide students with the ability to

remain motivated in terms of practising their instruments.

The psychologist and researcher Csikszentmihalyi (1991) had used the concept

of “flow” to describe “the process of total involvement with life” (p.xi). Through the

integration of wonder, such a state of engagement became evident in Gary. Clearly

Gary was intrinsically motivated to practise even without any external factor such as a

concert performance or examination to influence him. After a recent concert, Gary

reported how he felt “at one” with the music and commented on how he has found it

easier to concentrate fully on his playing.

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Although these sessions only lasted over a period of five weeks, it was observed

that students were able to sustain the behavioural changes to a satisfactory level beyond

the five-week period and maintained the ability to recall these experiences even after a

year.

Experiences gained by students from Phase 1 of the preliminary study upon

integration of two concepts of the Einsteinian approach into their music performance

studies generated mixed emotions of excitement alongside curiosity and disbelief. A

discussion with the Headmaster was held to relay the experiences of these students.

Upon learning of these experiences, the Headmaster suggested that such an approach be

integrated within the music classroom, as he was keen to promote such a learning

experience. This led to a second phase of the preliminary inquiry.

Preliminary Study Phase 2

The second phase of the preliminary study reports on data collected from three

sets of music classrooms over two years labelled as Phases 2a, 2b and 2c. Each year

comprised a new set of music students.

Preliminary Study Phase 2a – Year 11

The second phase of the preliminary inquiry involved integrating the Einsteinian

approach within music history classes. This was initially explored with the Year 11

music students. Year 11 is the second last year of the secondary level of schooling.

Typically in Western Australia, the number of students studying music in the final two

years of schooling is low, as music is not considered a core subject within the

curriculum. Four students elected to study class music at the Year 11 level this year.

The process of integrating the Einsteinian approach into the music classroom

took place for the first time with this Year 11 class. The concepts behind the

Einsteinian approach were introduced to these students in a similar manner to that of the

one-to-one instrumental students apart from tailoring a formal introduction of these

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concepts into the first session. In intellectualizing these concepts, dictionary definitions

of the concepts of gratitude, humility and wonder were provided to students and

explained in detail. Discussions were also held to ensure that students had a good grasp

of these concepts. Following this, students were then asked to put these concepts to

practise. However, the integration of the Einsteinian approach based on these teacher-

led classroom actions did not produce positive results. Instead, such an approach was

met with gruff resistance. Students were unwilling to participate and were rather hostile

toward such an approach. It was observed that while some students were willing to

listen, these students did in fact have blank looks on their faces upon the introduction of

such an approach into the music classroom.

Classroom music students felt that concepts such as gratitude, humility or

wonder had no place in their music studies and could not see how it could possibly

benefit them in terms of gaining higher marks in their music examinations. As these

were the final two years of their schooling, achievement remained a top priority for

these students who found such an approach to be irrelevant. Furthermore, parents of

these students also started voicing their concerns over the integration of such an

approach to the Headmaster, questioning how such an approach could be of benefit to

their child‟s music education. In view of this, a meeting was held with the Headmaster

regarding the negative reception of the Einsteinian approach. The integration of the

Einsteinian approach in the Year 11 music classroom was discontinued after a period of

four weeks due to the many complaints that were received from both parents and

students.

Perplexed at why classroom music students found the Einsteinian approach to be

unacceptable unlike the positive outcomes of the one-to-one instrumental setting, the

following central research question was formulated: “How can an Einsteinian

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approach be incorporated into a competitively driven music performance education

culture at the secondary school level?”

As will be discussed in the final chapter of this thesis, the typical mode of

instrumental music teaching is the one-to-one setting, where the teaching model

assumes a master-apprentice dynamic. It is in such a setting that the first phase of the

preliminary study was conducted with positive results gained in the initial integration of

the Einsteinian approach. However, within a more formalized classroom where a larger

group of students were present, the approach taken did not work. At this point, it was

noted that possibly the one-to-one instrumental setting may be more conducive to the

integration of the Einsteinian approach than the music classroom setting. However,

although the findings up to this point support such an observation, awareness for certain

biases that exist within the one-to-one setting were considered.

In the one-to-one setting, it is easier for the student to be influenced by the

teacher as an imbalance of power is more apparent within such a dynamic than in a

more formalized classroom situation where students as a group tend to engender a

greater sense of autonomy. Against this master-apprentice model, it is possible for

students to be easily persuaded with the ideas put forth by the teacher without too much

question. Although students in the first phase of the preliminary study were not coerced

into accepting the Einsteinian approach, and were given much flexibility to reflect on

these concepts over an extended period of two weeks, nonetheless, such a bias exists to

unintentionally influence the student.

According to Daniel (2004), the literature in the area of instrumental one-to-one

teaching versus group teaching indicates that the “group model offers a more holistic

learning environment than the one-to-one approach” (p.35). Characteristics cited from

the findings which support a better learning environment within a more formalized

instrumental group model setting, such as critical analysis between peers and

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opportunities for further interaction between students, indicate the possibility of a less

biased environment for the exploration of the integration of the Einsteinian approach.

Therefore, whilst more individualized and undivided attention of the teacher within the

one-to-one setting may be more conducive to the integration of the Einsteinian

approach, the more formalized classroom dynamic, comprising of a larger number of

students, may provide a stronger foundation for the findings of how to integrate the

Einsteinian approach based on a less biased setting.

What Happened When Things Did Not Work

Informal observations regarding how the introduction of the Einsteinian

approach was not received in a positive light by classroom music students led to an

exploration of several approaches in search of how it might be possible to integrate the

Einsteinian approach within the music classroom. As noted, a detailed teacher-

researcher journal – including observations, student comments and reflections – had

been maintained during all of these class sessions and were supplemented by emails

from the students. The teacher-researcher journal, in particular, served as a means of

reflecting on teacher-led classroom actions taken as well as a place where further ideas

were explored in relation to the classroom integration of such an approach.

Teacher-researcher journal entries during this period explored the notion that

central to the three chosen affective concepts of the Einsteinian approach, was that of

reflection. For example, the notion of gratitude in accordance with Einstein‟s thinking

requires that the person be able to reflect on all the efforts of people both past and

present. To wonder requires a person to think as well as reflect about the event or thing.

In order to have humility it is also necessary for one to reflect in order to engage with

such a concept. Having observed how teacher-led classroom actions based on the

intellectualization of affective concepts produced a negative outcome, it seemed that the

act of being reflective may be worthy of further exploration as these affective concepts

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necessarily contain within them the component of reflection. As a result, teacher-led

classroom actions taken in the next phase of the preliminary study (Phase 2b) adopted a

reflective component. Preliminary Phase 2b took place within a Year 10 music history

class.

Preliminary Study Phase 2b – Year 10

Five weeks were spent with the Year 10 classroom music students implementing

the revised approach. Firstly, students were introduced to a stream of consciousness

writing as outlined by Cameron (1995) in her book The Artist’s Way where students

were required to write without a break for approximately ten to fifteen minutes while

focusing on a particular topic. This was used as a means of getting students to reflect.

Two examples from the Year 10 music history class are provided.

Example 1

Year 10 music history class studying the structure of Stravinsky‟s music

Music as a subject at the Year 10 level was offered as an elective, and eight

students were enrolled in the class. The music history course for this class revolved

around 20th

century history of Western music. In order to combine reflection with a

philosophical outlook, a worksheet containing instructions on how to reflect using the

stream of consciousness technique along with the topic for reflection was prepared for

students. As noted, a worksheet is an instructional document with workspace provided

where students are required to complete in class. In this worksheet, two pages were left

blank where students were required to reflect and explore their thoughts.

The aim of the class was to study the score to Stravinsky‟s Rite of Spring in

terms of its structure. A portion of the music that was to be studied was firstly played to

students from a CD recording. During this time students would follow the music score.

At the end of this activity, students were then required to write using the stream of

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consciousness technique for 15 minutes, without a break, on the given worksheet,

noting any thoughts that came to their mind regarding the music that they had just

heard. At the end of this time, students were then asked to read what they had written

and to select what they would consider to be main points of interest. A discussion

followed based on this portion of Stravinsky‟s music. Every student had something to

say about the music being studied. For example, one student noted how the structure of

Stravinsky‟s music was block-like while another student noticed Stravinsky‟s use of

ostinato being referenced continuously in the passage. Another student commented on

aspects of the composer‟s rhythmic structure while another made comments on the

dissonant harmonies that they had heard. Such discussions would end up providing

students with the knowledge of what they were required to learn of Stravinsky‟s music.

Such an approach created much more enthusiasm in the student‟s learning process than

the traditional approaches where students were provided with the knowledge through an

assigned reading from a music textbook. Instead, by allowing such knowledge to be

discovered through students‟ own reflections, students were exhibiting much more

enthusiasm and depth of understanding of the music during the learning process. An

entry from the teacher-researcher journal during this time noted a student comment

saying the following, “… in other classes, teachers always get you to write what they

want, not what you think.” Furthermore, it was observed that students who were not

usually as interested in the music history class found that they also had something to

contribute during these discussions, which allowed them to feel positive about their

learning. Thus, the level of engagement exhibited by students was encouraging to

observe. This approach was again used in another session with similar results.

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Example 2

Learning about Mendelssohn‟s life as a composer

Another example involved studying Mendelssohn‟s life as a composer. In

studying about the history of a composer‟s life, a certain amount of reading from a

given text is required. Prior to being assigned such a task, students were first asked to

think about life in general. They were then asked to represent how they saw their lives

using lines. Most students drew a wavy line while one student drew concentric circles

to represent their view of how they saw life to be. They were then asked to explain

what those lines meant to them. The general consensus after a period of discussion was

that life essentially involved a series of ups and downs, which seemed inevitable. With

this understanding, they were then asked to locate in their assigned reading task, the

high and low points of the composer‟s life. They were then asked to draw on

experiences of the high and low points from their own lives and to reflect on them. A

discussion involving a comparison between the composer‟s high and low points in their

life and students‟ own experiences of the high and low points in their own lives was

initiated. Reflecting in such a manner allowed students to connect with their learning at

a level which enabled them to perceive the composer‟s life in a more meaningful

fashion instead of accumulating knowledge through reading alone. It was observed,

once again, that students were engaging in their learning with much interest. At the end

of this session, a student remarked on how he felt this to be an interesting way to study

music history, while another commented on how he felt that for the first time, these

composers “were like real people and not just another composer from a history book.”

He also added how such an approach made him feel more confident in his ability to

recall facts learnt from his reading about the composer. In the past, students have often

found learning about a composer‟s life to be tiresome and dull, but would persevere for

the purposes of passing an examination. However, the above process allowed students

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to connect with the learning process at a level that generated much interest and meaning

for the student.

In the above examples, teacher-led classroom actions that took place involved

two components: Reflection and allowing students to be heard. In Example 1, it was

observed that allowing students the opportunity to explore their own thinking through

the process of reflection resulted in students exhibiting positive learning behaviours

such an increased level of interest in what was being taught. Also, comments such as,

“… in other classes, teachers always get you to write what they want, not what you

think,” suggest that students value the opportunity to explore their own thoughts and

allowing their thoughts to be heard. In Example 2, students were again allowed to

reflect but in this instance, the reflective process was linked to students‟ own life

experiences. This also exhibited positive learning outcomes such as students feeling

more confident in their ability to retain knowledge as well as feeling more connected to

what they are learning, based on comments such as how they now felt composers “were

like real people and not just another composer from a history book.”

Preliminary Study Phase 2c – Year 11

The approach taken in Phase 2b with the Year 10 group of students was again

repeated in Phase 2c with a new set of Year 11 class the following year. Phase 2c took

place over a period of five weeks involving four students. The general theme of

reflection combined with allowing students the opportunity to discover knowledge on

their own and listening to what they had to say, was again employed. These sessions

took place at the start of the schooling year.

In the introductory music history class lesson, a question was posed to students

as to why composers that they had learnt about were often referred to as being great.

From this, the notion of great within the context of classical composers in history of

Western music was then explored further. A student said, “for a composer to be great,

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he would need to have made a discovery about something in music that was

recognizable by everyone.” Another student used the word universal to reiterate this

concept. The group was then asked to consider how these concepts might be found to

replicate events outside of music performance. Thus, such discussions often resulted in

these sessions being framed within a philosophical outlook allowing students to gain a

broader perspective on the history of the composer‟s life.

In trying to get students to think deeply, students were encouraged to be honest

and open to the learning process by exploring their own thinking and views about

music. A phrase called “Honest Learning” was adopted as part of the in-class language

used by students when engaging in this line of thinking. Based on such an approach,

students were encouraged to reflect deeply on matters in relation to music as well their

values and life in general. Student emails that were received during this session suggest

that some students were starting to be more open in adopting a new perspective into

their thinking. These preliminary findings provided further ideas of how an Einsteinian

approach could be directly integrated into the music classroom. The following section

shows the analysis process and the subsequent initial findings of this phase of the

preliminary study. Four examples are provided. Again, the names of students used are

fictitious.

Example 1

Email sent by Simon:

Dear Miss Chan,

With the use of "Honest Learning," I'm coming to see a whole new perspective

into how we listen to music, and much deeper philosophical questions. Using the

Stream of Consciousness writing technique, I am almost "Stepping back" from

what I am writing, and asking..."Why am I writing?"

In traditional music teaching, we analyse music in its structure and in the

way the sounds are sorted, but in this new way of thinking, we ask the inevitable

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question of "What is Music?” It is obviously impossible to give an exact and

infallible definition or answer to this question, and so the best I can do to answer

it, is to ask more questions. I find that I learn more from the questions than I

might from an answer. Wasn't this the view Socrates took?

I believe strongly in the philosophy of your teaching method, your

"Honest Learning", for unlike the attitude reflected in Ainsley, [I] hold the view

that we are at school to learn, not just to pass the grades! Mind you, I can see the

direction in which Ainsley is coming from, where he wants musical education in

a box with a certificate saying that "The bearer of this certificate is a certified

musician", but surely that is not the point.

We study music to learn more about it and to understand it, whether or

not we get a piece of paper at the end of it. How can you judge someone's

musical capabilities from a piece of paper?

Personally, I think that music education should be tied closely into a

philosophy course in order to look into a deeper level of understanding.

When we asked those first questions: "What do you mean by Great?" it

became apparent what a strange label Great is in this context. Is there really

some force that lurks inside certain people, giving them the power to write music

in a "higher state" than others? We already know that some people have a lot of

talent, but what if this is taken to a higher level of understanding of what they

are doing, not just how they are doing it.

Regards, and see you tomorrow to discuss,

Simon

Each sentence was analysed to identify and conceptualize the particular thought

pattern that the student was starting to exhibit. Table 4 shows this analysis of the email

from Simon.

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Table 4

Analysis of Simon’s Thinking Pattern

Sentence

Number

Sentence Simon’s Thinking

Pattern

1 With the use of “Honest Learning,” I‟m coming to see a whole

new perspective into how we listen to music, and much deeper

philosophical questions.

New Perspective

forming

2 Using the stream of consciousness writing technique, I‟m

almost “stepping back” from what I‟m writing, and asking…

“Why am I writing?”

Questioning

3 In traditional music teaching, we analyze music in its structure

and in the way the sounds are sorted, but in this new way of

thinking, we ask the inevitable question of

“What its Music?”

Questioning

4 It‟s obviously impossible to give an exact and infallible

definition or answer to this question, and so the best I can do to

answer it, is to ask more questions.

Questioning

5 Wasn‟t this the view Socrates took? Questioning

6 I believe strongly in the philosophy of human teaching method,

your honest learning, unlike the attitude reflected in Ainsley,

holding the view that we are at school to learn, not just past the

grades!

New perspective

forming

7 Mind you, I can see the direction in which Ainsley is coming

from, where he once musical education in a box with a

certificate saying that “the bearer of this certificate is a certified

musician”, but surely that is not the point.

New perspective

forming

8 We study music to learn more about and to understand, whether

or not we get a piece of paper at the end of it.

New perspective

forming

9 How can you judge someone‟s musical capabilities from a piece

of paper?

New perspective

forming

10 Personally, I think that music education should be tied closely

into a philosophy course in order to compete with a deeper level

of understanding.

New perspective

accepted

11 When we asked those first questions:

“What do you mean by Great?” it became apparent what a

strange label Great is in this context.

Wonder

12 Is there really some force that lurks inside certain people, giving

them the power to write music in a “higher state” than others?

Wonder

13 We already know that some people have a lot of talent, but what

if this is taken to a higher level of understanding of what they

are doing not just how they are doing it.

Wonder

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One main thought pattern noted was that of questioning. In sentences number 8

and 9, the questioning thought pattern seem to foster in this student a re-evaluation of

his perspectives about music learning. Simon starts to be critical about his values and

the expectations placed on the study of music based on the current goal-oriented

approaches found within the study of music. This led him to the possibility of adopting

a broader view of music in sentences 11, 12 and 13 through the concept of wonder.

Subsequent emails from other students also started to show a similar thought

pattern with such patterns resulting in the integration of the concept of wonder into their

thinking.

Example 2

Email sent by George after a session discussing Bach‟s music.

Hi,

http://www.bachfaq.org/ This is a good site for general details about Bach,

including some interesting extras. It also has a quiz to test your general

knowledge about Bach, which is an interesting idea.

Who really is Bach? In reality, we only know about where he lived and

what he wrote. In essence, we don‟t really know a single thing about his

character. We can try and deduce a few things (e.g. the fact that he wrote many

cantatas implies that he was fairly familiar with the church ways and may have

been a devoted Christian). But in reality, we know very little about the person

Bach was.

His playing and writing at the time was highly influenced by Georg

Böhm, the French inspired organist and Johan Adam Reinken, the Dutch

organist. A story was told that Bach walked the nearly 30 miles (48 km) to

Hamburg just to hear Reinken playing the summer of 1701. Information above

found in http://midiworld.com/bach1.htm

See you tomorrow,

George

http://www.bachfaq.org/

http://midiworld.com/bach1.htm

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Once again, each sentence was analysed to identify George‟s main thinking

pattern as shown in Table 5.

Table 5

Analysis of George’s Thinking Pattern

Sentence

Number

Sentence George’s Thinking Pattern

1-2

This is a good site for general details about

Bach, including some interesting extras. It

also has a quiz to test your general

knowledge about Bach, which is an

interesting idea.

Initiating interest in learning

more about Bach.

3-5

Who really is Bach? In reality, we only

know about where he lived and what he

wrote. In essence, we don‟t really know a

single thing about his character.

Wondering about Bach at a

deeper level.

6-7

We can try and deduce a few things (e.g. the

fact that he wrote many cantatas implies that

he was fairly familiar with the church ways

and may have been a devoted Christian). But

in reality, we know very little about the

person Bach was.

Wondering about Bach at a

deeper level.

8

His playing and writing at the time was

highly influenced by Georg Böhm, the

French inspired organist and Johan Adam

Reinken, the Dutch organist.

Showing an awareness of

wanting to learn more about

Bach at a deeper and more

personal level.

9

A story was told that Bach walked the nearly

30 miles (48 km) to Hamburg just to hear

Reinken playing the summer of 1701.

Interest in the details of

Bach‟s life.

The above email from George shows his keen interest in learning more about

Bach as a real person as opposed to merely accumulating more factual knowledge about

the composer. George was also starting to show signs of incorporating wonder into his

learning processes. This sense of wonder led George to continue thinking more about

Bach‟s music alongside other composers. This can also be seen in a subsequent email.

102

Example 3

Email 2 sent by George

Why are we so removed from Bach (as opposed to Mozart, Beethoven or

Chopin?)

Bach‟s music is not simple. It is the combination of different themes that

weave in and out of each other, to combine to form a unifying melody. Yet, each

„voice‟ is a complete melody line in itself.

Mozart‟s music is musically simple. It is a simple melody line with a

„chordal‟ base. Its main appeal lies in the fact that the music is simple. It is easy

to remember, with short memorable phrases.

Beethoven‟s music is powerful and touches an unknown the inside. His

music is full of power, with a system of energy and whirlwind of emotions. This

appeals to many people because his music presented the view of changing from

the romantic and 20th

-century. His music was the bridge, and the „bridging

music‟ that encompassed both the romantic touch in the 20th

century fire has

combined to form some of the greatest pieces of all time.

Chopin‟s music, 99.9% of it for the piano, is of the full emotional. His

works touch the human core of a human, and as humans, we respond by

accepting the music which touches out inside.

In general, Bach‟s music is so far removed from the rest of the classical

music because it is (on a simple level) far more complex than other composers.

It is a piece that can be „read‟ at many different levels, and not simply just

listened to (in general).

George

Once again, each sentence was analysed to identify the particular thinking

pattern that George was exhibiting. This is shown in Table 6.

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Table 6


Sentence

Number


1

Why are we so removed from Bach (as opposed

to Mozart, Beethoven or Chopin?)

Wonder

2-4

Bach‟s music is not simple. It is the combination

of different themes that weave in and out of each

other, to combine to form a unifying melody.

Yet, each „voice‟ is a complete melody line in

itself.

Starts engaging his thoughts

with Bach‟s music

5-8 Mozart‟s music is musically simple. It is a

simple melody line with a „chordal‟ base. Its

main appeal lies in the fact that the music is

simple. It is easy to remember, with short

memorable phrases.


with Mozart‟s music.

9 -12

Beethoven‟s music is powerful and touches an

unknown the inside. His music is full of power,

with a system of energy and whirlwind of

emotions. This appeals to many people because

his music presented the view of changing from

the romantic and 20th-century. His music was the

bridge, and the „bridging music‟ that

encompassed both the romantic touch in the 20th

century fire has combined to form some of the

greatest pieces of all time.


with Beethoven‟s music. [The

error on his understanding

regarding bridging between

the two periods of music was

corrected in a reply to this

email.]

13-14

Chopin‟s music, 99.9% of it for the piano, is of

the full emotional. His works touch the human

core of a human, and as humans, we respond by

accepting the music which touches out inside.


with Chopin‟s music.

15

In general, Bach‟s music is so far removed from

the rest of the classical music because it is (on a

simple level) far more complex than other

composers. It is a piece that can be „read‟ at

many different levels, and not simply just

listened to (in general).

Exploring his thinking about

the composer.

The analysis in Table 6 shows that George is seen to be taking a genuine interest

in connecting with his understanding of musical styles through the questions that he is

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asking based on his ability to incorporate wonder into his learning process. However,

these sessions suggest how the concept of wonder was accessed through the process of

reflection.

Overall, students were starting to show a positive outcome in their learning as

well as acknowledging their acceptance of such an approach as part of their learning

process. Below is an email, which demonstrates how George felt positively about this

learning approach after two sessions.

Example 4

Email 3 sent by George

Hi ☺(smiley face inserted by student)

This kind of thinking in class is what I have been looking for, ever since I started

year 8. Like you said, it involves a different way of thinking, a much deeper and

overall more beneficial way. I personally think that this style should have been

implemented much sooner, but it‟s no point going over unchangeable things.

It was very interesting to discuss our different views on „greatness‟ and

of Great composers. I still personally adhere to the old view of thinking that

there are great composes, but I already previously acknowledged the fact that it

is also a formal or one‟s mental ability to make the music come to life.

Digressing a bit, my personal top five are JS Bach at number 1,

Beethoven anchoring the number 2 spot, Mozart has number three and tied for

fourth at Chopin and Haydn (this is probably due to the instruments I play,

Chopin being Mr. Piano and Haydn churning out much string music)

See you soon,

George

The analysis of the third email from George is shown in Table 7.

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Table 7


Sentence

Number


1-3

This kind of thinking in class is what I have been

looking for, ever since I started year 8. Like you

said, it involves a different way of thinking, a

much deeper and overall more beneficial way. I

personally think that this style should have been

implemented much sooner, but it‟s no point

going over unchangeable things.

Relevance to student

4-5

It was very interesting to discuss our different

views on „greatness‟ and of Great composers. I

still personally adhere to the old view of

thinking that there are great composes, but I

already previously acknowledged the fact that it

is also a formal or one‟s mental ability to make

the music come to life.

Openness to discussing new

ideas

6

Digressing a bit, my personal top five are JS

Bach at number 1, Beethoven anchoring the

number 2 spot, Mozart has number three and

tied for fourth at Chopin and Haydn (this is

probably due to the instruments I play, Chopin

being Mr. Piano and Haydn churning out much

string music)

Shares his thoughts

These examples demonstrate that when students are provided with the

opportunity to reflect and explore their own thoughts, they tend to show signs of interest

in their learning. For example, Table 6 shows how through the process of reflection and

allowing students to explore their own thoughts, George started exhibiting signs of

interest in making connections with various musical styles that he had learnt in the past.

Another feature that was noted in allowing students the opportunity to reflect

and to explore their own thinking was that students started exhibiting signs of engaging

with the affective concept of wonder without any formal introduction to the concept or

the need to intellectualize the concept.

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Summary – Preliminary Study Phases 1 and 2

Phase 1 of the preliminary study was based on integrating the Einsteinian

approach within the one-to-one instrumental music setting involving four instrumental

students over the course of five weeks. It was observed that the integration of affective

concepts during this period demonstrated positive results. Four descriptive scenarios

were presented to outline the processes and outcomes evidenced during this phase.

Discussions held with the Headmaster regarding these positive outcomes prompted him

to suggest integrating such an approach within the music classroom setting.

Phase 2 contained three sub-phases. The first sub-phase, Phase 2a, involved

integrating the Einsteinian approach within the music classroom setting based on

teacher-led classroom actions of reflection and intellectualizing the affective concepts.

Whilst students were able to understand these concepts logically, they were unable to

make sense of how such an approach could benefit them in their music studies. Overall,

it was found that students responded negatively. As a result, the inquiry was

discontinued after four weeks due to complaints received from parents as well as

students. However, this served as a catalyst in the formulation of the central research

question, “How can an Einsteinian approach be incorporated within music performance

education at the secondary school level within the classroom setting?”

The discouraging results of Phase 2a prompted several exploratory approaches

in Phases 2b and 2c. The process of reflection was thought to be central to the affective

concepts found within Einstein‟s non-scientific writings. Thus, this feature was

retained. In conjunction with reflection, allowing students to voice their thoughts and to

discover knowledge for themselves was adopted during the class sessions in Phases 2b

and 2c of the preliminary study. Two descriptive accounts of class sessions adopting

these exploratory approaches were reported in Phase 2b. The positive outcomes

observed during these phases of the preliminary study allowed some initial insights to

107

be gathered in relation to how it might be possible to integrate the Einsteinian approach

within the music classroom setting.

In getting students to engage in reflection and allowing students the opportunity

to discover knowledge for themselves, it seemed that the concept of wonder would start

to occupy students‟ thinking. Therefore, the activity of reflection was considered to be

a central component in the process of the integration of the Einsteinian approach as

students were observed to be absorbed in the learning process as well as engaging in the

affective concept of wonder when these components were present.

Therefore, the initial insight gained at the end of the two preliminary phases

found that fundamental to the integration of the Einsteinian approach within the music

classroom is the act of reflection and guiding students to discover for themselves the

affective concepts. In other words, teacher-led classroom actions that promoted self-

discovery through reflection were found to work while the process of intellectualizing

the affective concepts was found to not work. Table 8 provides a summary of the

insights gained in preliminary Phases 1 and 2.

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Table 8

Summary of Insights Gained in Preliminary Phases 1 and 2

INSIGHTS GAINED

Preliminary Study

Phase 1 One-To-On

Introducing affective concepts on a one-to-one level appeared

to produce positive outcomes.

Preliminary Study

Phase 2a Year 11

class

Intellectualizing affective concepts did not work well.

Students were not able to see how this related to their music

learning.

Preliminary Study

Phase 2b Year 10

class

Students valued the opportunity to reflect and explore their

own thoughts.

Students appreciated being given voice and heard.

Relating students‟ lived experience to what they are learning

appeared to allow them to engage with the learning process in a

positive manner.

Preliminary Study

Phase 2c Year 11

class

Reflection may trigger students to engage with the affective

concept of wonder.

When students engage with wonder, they appear to retain an

ability to have interest in what they are doing.

Preliminary

Findings

Reflection as an activity appears to produce positive outcomes.

Intellectualizing affective concepts appears not to produce any

positive outcomes.

Giving voice to students appears to produce positive outcomes.

Affective concepts may work better one-to-one.

Preliminary

Summary

Work

Reflection

Giving voice to students

Student self-discovery

Did Not Work

Intellectualizing affective concepts

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The four main teacher-led classroom actions employed during the two phases of

the preliminary study were:

(a) Reflection

(b) Intellectualizing affective concepts

(c) Giving voice to students

(d) Allowing student the opportunity to discover

It was found that while the component of reflection was considered to have

worked throughout the two phases of the preliminary study, teacher-led classroom

actions involving the intellectualizing of affective concepts did not work. A summary

of teacher-led classroom actions taken during the two phases of the preliminary study is

provided in the Table 9.

Table 9

Summary of Findings for Preliminary Study Phases 1 and 2

Research Cycle Teacher-led Classroom Actions Work (W)/

Did Not Work

(DNW)

Preliminary Phase 1

(One-To-One)

Reflection

W

Preliminary Phase 2a

(Year 11)

Reflection

and

Intellectualization of Einsteinian

concepts

DNW

Preliminary Phase 2b

(Year 10)

Reflection

and


and


W

Preliminary Phase 2c

(Year 11)

Reflection

and


and


W

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Events leading up to Action Research Cycle 1

The year leading up to the implementation of action research Cycle 1 coincided

with a change of administration within the music department as well as at the school

level. The appointment of a new Director of Music and Headmaster of the school

allowed for much restructuring to occur within the department. The implementation of

new music programs was very much encouraged. Innovation was a feature that was

given high priority in line with the general culture adopted by the school. As such,

much support was given to teachers who were keen to adopt and implement new ideas

into their teaching programme. This was an ideal site for the purposes of this

investigation, which concurred with the values of the department as well as that of the

school. The next chapter provides the background to the events leading up to action

research Cycle 1.

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CHAPTER 6

ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE 1

Background

The appointment of a new Headmaster coincided with the start of Cycle 1 action

research. A meeting was held at the start of Term 2 with the newly appointed

Headmaster with the intention of informing him regarding the possibility of introducing

the Einsteinian approach to the Year 11 music students. Findings from the two phases

of the preliminary study were presented during this meeting. The newly appointed

Headmaster exhibited enthusiasm and support upon learning of the Einsteinian

approach.

Following this, a meeting was also held with the newly appointed Director of

Music to discuss the possibility of officially incorporating a music performance class as

part of the music curriculum within the current departmental timetable due to the

difficulties encountered in the previous year in trying to schedule these sessions outside

of school times. A proposed course outline was prepared prior to the meeting, detailing

what would be involved in these sessions. The content of the course was discussed

during this meeting. The outcome of this meeting resulted in a firm decision to

officially introduce the Einsteinian approach to a new set of Year 11 music performance

students at the start of the following term, with weekly lessons lasting 40 minutes being

officially scheduled into the music department timetable.

Year 11 students were chosen as the site for integration of the Einsteinian

approach for the following reasons:

(a) Year 11 is the start of the final two years of music study at the school level.

Much importance is placed on the examinations held at the end of this two-year

period as marks gained by students will determine their outcome in tertiary

112

placement. As such, students in their final two years of school place great

emphasis on marks and achievement. Therefore, this site was appropriate in

seeking to integrate the Einsteinian approach in the hope of creating a balance

between a competitive end-gaining approach and a meaningful outcomes-based

approach.

(b) Specialist instrumental tutors were the only source of support for music

performance students at this level of study where instructional tutoring is

provided to the music performance student for an hour on a weekly basis.

However, seeing that the music performance component comprises 50% of the

total mark allocated to the subject of music in the TEE, it was deemed that music

performance students would benefit from a classroom based music performance

course as an addition to the support that students were currently receiving from

their specialist tutors.

The integration of the Einsteinian approach into the music performance classroom

commenced at the start of Term 3. This will be reported as action research Cycle 1. A

total of seven sessions were held during Cycle 1. The Year 11 music performance

classroom consisted of four students. Students enrolling in the final two years of music

study elect to do so by choice. Often these students have already acquired a good grasp

of the subject on the academic front as well as a high level of proficiency in terms of the

practical aspects of music performance.

Purpose of Action Research Cycle 1

The main purpose of action research Cycle 1 was to verify the findings based on

the teacher-led classroom actions taken during the two phases of the preliminary study.

As reported in Chapter 5, the reflective component was constantly employed throughout

the preliminary phases that worked as well as phases that did not work. It was also

noted that students started exhibiting initial signs of engaging with the affective concept

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of wonder, which provided them with an interest in discovering more knowledge for

themselves. This suggests that the affective concept of wonder may be an instigator in

promoting the process of student self-discovery. However, during the second phase of

the preliminary study with the Year 11 class, teacher-led classroom actions based on

reason and logic were found to not work. Therefore, for purposes of verification,

teacher-led classroom actions employed during the seven sessions of Cycle 1 once again

centred on reason and logic as a means of verifying the results found in the second

phase of the preliminary study.

Overview of Classroom Sessions in Cycle 1

Teacher-led classroom actions taken in Phase 2a were again used in Cycle 1.

However, in addition to this, students were also required to re-examine their values in

relation to music performance, such as the notion of what it means to be a successful

musician. Issues surrounding the current competitive practices of MPE were also

discussed.

In trying to reason with students regarding the importance of gaining a deeper

and more meaningful approach to music performance, their current perception and

thinking in relation to music performance were often challenged. For example, the

value placed by students on achieving high marks in a music performance examination

was discussed and questioned. This was done in an attempt to convince students of the

importance in looking toward a deeper appreciation and meaning for the music that they

were performing in tandem with that of achievement.

The use of worksheets as a reflective tool, followed by discussions, formed the

typical structure of the classroom sessions. The Einsteinian affective concepts were

gradually introduced as the sessions progressed. During this time, students were

encouraged to integrate the Einsteinian approach prior to their practice sessions. At the

end of Cycle 1, an open-ended questionnaire was administered to gain feedback from

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students regarding the sessions that have been conducted so far. As will be

demonstrated, student responses indicated that the integration of the Einsteinian

approach based on teacher-led classroom actions of intellectualizing and trying to

convince students of the importance of such an approach, was not successful.

The following section will provide a descriptive summary of the seven

classroom sessions that took place during action research Cycle 1. Once again, all

student names are fictitious.

Session 1

The first session was spent getting students to reflect on what music

performance is all about. Questions such as “What is performing all about?” and “What

are your aims as a performer?” were provided on a worksheet (see Appendix A). The

next part of the worksheet then required students to write a mission statement for

themselves as a performing musician. This was done to allow students to reflect on

their role as a performer. Twenty minutes of class time was allocated to this task while

the rest of the session was spent on getting students to share their thoughts with their

peers about what they had just written.

The next session was then spent discussing the notion of success with students in

relation to the mission statement that they were asked to complete as part of the

worksheet handed out during this session. This was used as an opportunity to allow

students to reason logically through reflection and discussion, the notion of success and

what this means to them within the context of a performing musician. This allowed

students to engage in the act of reasoning based on their perceived values as performing

musicians.

Session 2

Questions aimed at getting students to reason about what they understood of the

term success were considered in the discussion held during this session. For example,

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during the discussion, students were asked how they would evaluate success during a

performance in general. One student said:

Oh, you know…well…it‟s the mark, it‟s precision…from their perspective,

you‟ve done well.

(Audio transcript [A2] - Year 11/ Cycle 1/ Term 3/ Session 2)

As the discussion progressed, students were then made aware of the inaccuracies

that often exist within the assessment structure of a musical performance. This was

done to allow students an opportunity to reassess their values in relation to music

assessments. This was done in the hope that greater awareness for the many

inaccuracies found within a musical assessment might steer students away from a

marks-oriented approach toward considering an alternative approach that can provide

them with greater depth and meaning. However, students held steadfast to the

importance of music assessments and did not seem to be interested in finding more

depth or meaning in their music performance studies. This became evident as during

the course of this session, a student was found to remark, “I think Miss Chan is going

crazy.” (Audio transcript [A2] - Year 11/ Cycle 1/ Term 3/ Session 2)

Therefore, teacher-led classroom actions using reason and logic to convince

students of the importance in gaining a more meaningful approach in their music

performance studies appeared to be unsuccessful.

Session 3

This session was again spent getting students to reflect on the meaning of

success in music performance. However, a different approach was considered. During

this session, students were asked to project certain outcomes to each of four

hypothetical music performance situations provided on a worksheet (see Appendix B).

Students were given the entire period to complete this task.

The progression of each hypothetical situation was designed to allow students to

start reflecting and imagining how they would be feeling as they were climbing the

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ladder of success. Responses for these sessions were analysed to gain further

understanding of the thought processes of students, and it was found that as students

reached the final hypothetical situation, their responses centred on issues of

performance anxiety.

Session 4

In trying to get students to reflect further on the notion of success, another

worksheet was administered at the start of this session, asking students the following

question, “At which point in your life do you think you will feel most comfortable as

you climb the ladder of success in music performance?” (see Appendix C)

Students were then given the rest of the period to reflect on the question above

and to write their responses in the space provided on their worksheet. No discussions

were conducted during this session.

Session 5

This session was spent discussing with students their responses from the

previous two sessions. The hypothetical exercises were revisited prior to having their

responses read anonymously. A particular response from a student was chosen for

further discussion due to a quandary posed by this student from his reflection on the

notion of success. It was felt that this question would extend and challenge students‟

thinking. While the majority of students stated that they anticipated being happy having

gained success as a musician, this particular student presented a different perspective on

his view on how he imagined he would feel when he was finally successful. His

reflection was read out to the class:

…when I was not yet successful, I wanted to be successful and I strived all the

time to be successful. When I became successful… it became worse because

what do I do…all these expectations and I don‟t know what to do, I don‟t know

how to handle that. So what do I do? Should I not aim to be successful? I

really shouldn‟t aim for that but then if I didn‟t aim for that, I‟d be unhappy as

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well because you know I want to get there but when I get there, it‟s not what I

expected.

(Audio transcript [A5] - Year 11/ Cycle 1/ Term 3/ Session 5)

Students were then asked to reflect on how they might be able to resolve such a

dilemma. However, students were unable to provide a satisfactory answer as to how this

could be resolved but did take the time to reflect on this issue. The discussion continued

in trying to reason with students that success may not necessarily be what they perceive it

to be.

The reflections and discussions thus far were aimed at getting students to re-

evaluate their current values in relation to the notion of success in music performance,

as success is often associated with achievement which is commonly found in the

competitive driven mindset of the current practices in MPE. Having reasoned with

students how the perceived benefits of such values may contain within it possible flaws

and limitations, students were then introduced to the affective concept of the Einsteinian

approach as a possible means of countering these flaws and limitations.

Session 6

This session was spent introducing the concept of gratitude to students. This

was done in a similar manner as in preliminary study Phase 2a, as reported in Chapter 5,

where students were introduced to this affective concept in an intellectual manner by

providing them with an explanation of what the concepts meant. They were then asked

to reflect on the efforts of all the people that had gone into the making of their

instruments. It was also explained that such a concept was derived from Einstein‟s

writings.

An in-class worksheet was administered in this session where students were

required to firstly write briefly on the historical background of their instrument followed

by a written reflection on all the efforts that had gone into the making of their

instruments (see Appendix D). Students were required to consider every part of their

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instrument as well as the work involved in the construction of their instrument in as

much detail as possible. These reflections were then analysed to understand the general

thinking patterns of students. Students were then encouraged to apply this reflective

action prior to their practice sessions in the coming week.

Session 7

As this was to be the last session for the term, students were asked to provide

feedback on the Einsteinian approach through an open-ended questionnaire. Although

there were instances where the Einsteinian approach was shown to have provided

students with some positive results, overall, student comments and their behaviour in

the classroom suggested that teacher-led classroom actions taken so far during Cycle 1

did not work. Student responses and an analysis of the feedback questionnaire will be

provided in the analysis section of this chapter.

Data Collection

Chapter 4 provided a detailed description of the data collection process during

the course of the entire research project. Against that background, the data collected

during the seven sessions of Cycle 1 were:

(a) In-class worksheets

During the course of the seven sessions in Cycle 1, in-class worksheets were used

as a reflective tool. In Cycle 1, these in-class worksheets were administered in Sessions

1,3,4 and 6. There were no in-class worksheets handed out during Sessions 2 and 5 as

these sessions were spent in discussion with students. As there were four students in this

class, a total of 16 worksheets were collected during the course of Cycle 1.

As explained in Chapter 4, in-class worksheets are instructional documents with

questions and workspace pre-prepared for students to assist them in the reflective

process. These in-class worksheets typically contain a balance between guided

questions that were structured to ensure that students would reflect within the

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boundaries of the topic to be considered and an opportunity for students to explore their

thoughts in relation to what was being learnt. For example, the first part of the in-class

worksheet administered during Session 6 specifically instructed students to reflect on

the efforts that had gone into the making of their instrument while the second part of the

in-class worksheet provided students with an opportunity to explore their own thoughts

in relation to the first part of the reflection. In-class worksheets were administered and

collected at the end of each session.

(b) Transcripts of audio recordings

An audio recorder was used during the course of Cycle 1 as such an apparatus

allowed in-class discussions to be faithfully captured and recalled for purposes of

analysis as well as reflection. During the seven sessions that were held in Cycle 1,

Sessions 2 and 5 were spent in discussion with students while the rest of the other

sessions were spent in written reflections. Sessions that were spent in written

reflections were not recorded as students were mainly spending time writing during the

session with no discussions taking place. Discussions held during Sessions 2 and 5 in

Cycle 1 were recorded and later transcribed for analysis.

(c) Teacher-researcher journal

A detailed teacher-researcher journal was maintained as a tool for recording

observations, thoughts, and student comments and reactions, in regards to the progress

of the sessions, and also as a means of reflecting and exploring further ideas. Entries

were made at the end of each classroom session.

(d) Open-ended questionnaire

An open-ended questionnaire was administered in Session 7 to gain feedback

from students at the end of Cycle 1. Student feedback from this questionnaire was also

used as material for analysis.

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The analysis will be reported in two sections. The first section reports on the

observational data collected during the cycle and the second section reports on the

analysis that was conducted on the worksheets, audio transcripts and questionnaire. As

noted, information gathered through observations was recorded at the end of each

session in the teacher-researcher journal entries. These observations allowed initial

links to be established between teacher-led classroom actions and student responses.

Information gathered during these observations served as interim findings, which

formed the beginnings of the analysis that followed.

As described in Chapter 4, data were firstly categorized as „worked‟ or „did not

work‟ according to the response indicators used in the preliminary study of the research.

However, two additional indicators (nos. 4 & 5) were added to the coding process in

this cycle. These two indicators were not included in the preliminary phases of the

study as the research question was only formulated late in the preliminary phases in

Cycle 1, which made monitoring for potential integration of the Einsteinian approach

more appropriate starting from Cycle 1 than in the preliminary phases of the study.

Thus the response indicators used for Cycle 1 were:




2. Students find the content presented in the classroom that targets the development

of the Einsteinian approach to be relevant.



4. Students were able to integrate the concepts of the Einsteinian approach to their

music performance studies successfully.

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5. Students report that they found the Einsteinian approach made a positive

difference to their music performance studies.


1. Students are not open to exploring content presented in the classroom that targets

the development of the Einsteinian approach.


of the Einsteinian approach to be irrelevant.



4. Students were unable to integrate the concepts of the Einsteinian approach to their


5. Students report that they found the Einsteinian approach made no difference to

their music performance studies.

The analysis showed that teacher-led classroom actions based on reason and logic

during Cycle 1, did not work. Further analysis was then conducted on data which

indicated the approach did not work to inquire into why such actions were not

conducive to the integration of the Einsteinian approach. In particular, an analysis was

made of the general thinking patterns of students. It was reasoned that in gaining

further understanding of the thinking patterns of students, which resulted from teacher-

led classroom actions that did not work, the teacher would be better equipped to adopt

teacher-led classroom actions that would work in the integration of the Einsteinian

approach in the following cycle.

Observations during Cycle 1

As indicated, observations made of student behaviours recorded in the teacher-

researcher journal during Cycle 1 indicated that teacher-led classroom actions based on

reason and logic did not work. This was based on observations of student behaviours

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where students were found to repeatedly exhibit a lack of responsiveness during the

sessions. For example, student behaviours such as a disruptive attitude displayed during

the discussion sessions, low levels of concentration as well as their general demeanour

adopted during these classroom sessions, suggested indifference and resistance to such

an approach. The discussion sessions often indicated much doubt that such affective

concepts could possibly be useful to students in their music performance studies. In

other words, the data strongly suggested that students were unable to find any relevance

for these affective concepts in their music performance studies.

Apart from introducing affective concepts through a logical and reasoned

approach, the importance of integrating affective concepts within MPE was also

discussed with students. These discussions were often held at length, trying to reason

with students the importance of integrating a deep and meaningful approach to create a

better balance in relation to the current competitive practices of MPE. It was observed

that students were not interested in what was being said, as they were often found to

hold personal conversations that were not directly related to the topic being considered

for the session amongst their peers thus, showing a distinct disinterest to what was being

discussed. Clearly, convincing students of the importance of the Einsteinian approach

through an intellectualized approach did not work.

Teacher-researcher journals during this period reflected frustration as shown by

these two extracts during this cycle. The first extract written is as follows:

This time, students were not so willing to listen to my suggestions (refer to

written accounts and audio material) and were feeling as if this was a waste of

their time. It was quite trying for me.

(Teacher-researcher, annual summary - Cycle 1)

The second extract is as follows:

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I was excited at the fact that there will be more students this time around.

However, it didn‟t work out quite as neatly as I thought it would. Instead,

students were disruptive. They felt that what I had to say was wasting their time

and that my effort was not worth the while. I was rather dismayed at this.

(Teacher-researcher, annual summary - Cycle 1)

In summary, as in the preliminary study phases that did not work, observations

during Cycle 1 indicate that students again responded in a negative fashion when

affective concepts were introduced based on an intellectualized approach involving

reason and logic. Also, that in trying to convince students of the importance of

incorporating the Einsteinian approach within MPE based on reason and logic, students

became even more defensive to the integration of such an approach.

Analysis of In-Class Worksheets, Audio Transcripts and Questionnaire - Cycle 1

Next, the 16 student worksheets, the two audio recordings and responses to the

questionnaire were analysed. As already described, this analysis had two main steps.

The first was to code all the data into the two main categories of work and did not work

based on a set of five response indicators. The second was to analyse and abstract the

thinking patterns of students which seemed to be behind their written responses, in order

to gain understanding and insight into why teacher-led classroom actions taken during

Cycle 1 did not work.

In-Class Worksheets

In Cycle 1, the coding of in-class worksheet data into these two categories of

worked and did not work resulted in an imbalance within these two categories with the

majority of data coded into the category of did not work. Table 10 shows the analysis

that was conducted on the in-class worksheet data during Cycle 1.

Coloured markers were used to highlight sections of the worksheet that related

to the response indicators. An Excel spreadsheet was used to assist in the analysis

where the letters NP for “Not Present” or P for “Present” were used to denote if the

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worksheet showed or did not show that particular indicator. The letters NR, which

stood for “Not Relevant” was used when the indicator was not relevant to the data. For

example, response indicator Nos.4 and 5, which relates to the integration of the

Einsteinian approach and its benefits, was not relevant to the first three worksheet data

and so the letters NR would appear under indicator Nos. 4 and 5 in this analysis.

Table 10

Analysis of In-Class Worksheet Data (Cycle 1)

Term Session Worksheet No. Name

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

3 1 1 John P P P NR NR NP NP NP NR NR

1 Barry P NP P NR NR NP P NP NR NR

1 Jonah P P P NR NR NP NP NP NR NR

1 Terry NP NP NP NR NR P P P NR NR

3 3 2 John P P NP NR NR NP NP P NR NR

2 Barry P NP NP NR NR NP P P NR NR

2 Jonah P NP NP NR NR NP P P NR NR

2 Terry P NP NP NR NR NP P P NR NR

3 4 3 John NP NP NP NR NR P P P NR NR

3 Barry NP NP NP NR NR P P P NR NR

3 Jonah NP NP NP NR NR P P P NR NR

3 Terry NP NP NP NR NR P P P NR NR

3 6 4 John NP NP NP NP NP P P P P P

4 Barry NP NP NP NP NP P P P P P

4 Jonah NP NP NP NP NP P P P P P

4 Terry NP NP NP NP NP P P P P P

Response Indicators (Work) Response Indicators (Did Not Work )

Note. P = Present – meaning indicator was evident in the data; NP = Not Present – meaning indicator was

not evident in the data; NR = Not Relevant – meaning indicator was not relevant to the data.

This analysis shows that the majority of students were open to exploring the

content presented with some students finding the content to be relevant. However, from

the third session onward, all students were no longer open to exploring the content and

also found the content to be irrelevant. The analysis also shows that students were

unable to successfully integrate the concepts of the Einsteinian approach to their music

performance studies as the cycle progressed.

In one way, this was unfortunate and it of course reflected the observations and

other data as recorded in the teacher-researcher journal, as shown previously. However,

in another way, it was important, since data and thinking patterns showing that the

approach used did not work can offer greater diagnostic value in learning to understand

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and how to develop and integrate the Einsteinian approach in a competitive classroom

environment. In other words, understanding why teacher-led classroom actions used in

Cycle 1 did not work can be an important step towards answering the central research

question:

How can an Einsteinian approach be incorporated into a competitively driven music

performance education culture at the secondary school level?

Therefore, the analysis for Cycle 1 focused on data that was coded as did not work.

After the coding, the second step was to analyse the thinking patterns behind

student responses. At this point, the analysis of students‟ thinking patterns posed

several issues for the researcher. The first difficulty involved students‟ written work that

was incomplete. For example, there were times where students did not provide enough

information in the worksheets as they were either unable to understand what to do or

were unwilling to participate as they could not see the point in doing such an exercise.

Such worksheets were often left blank. Secondly, there were worksheets that contained

responses that were vague or were not relevant to the task required of the student.

Figure 7 shows a scanned copy of an example of a student‟s reply that was vague and

irrelevant. This worksheet was administered in Session 1 of this cycle where students

were asked to write a mission statement as a performing musician.

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Figure 7 Example Worksheet Data

The last sentence where this student refers to a yellow pen is completely

irrelevant to what he was required to write about. In-class worksheet data that were

along the same lines as the example shown in Figure 7 became problematic during the

analysis. Although all of these issues encountered in students‟ written work during this

cycle reinforced the fact that teacher-led classroom actions taken during this cycle did

not work, it did not provide any means to proceed in the planning of the next cycle as

there was no way by which more could be learned about students‟ thinking patterns

from some of the in-class worksheet data that had been collected.

127

In view of this, the researcher decided to focus on worksheets that contained the

most negative comments and reactions in order to learn more about why teacher-led

classroom actions did not work during this cycle. Worksheet data collected in Session 6

of this cycle from a student by the name of John contained the most negative comments

and reactions. This worksheet was used to analyse for the general thinking pattern of

the student. This is reported in subsequent sections of this chapter.

This part of the analysis did produce recurring patterns in the thinking of

students. These recurring patterns were analysed and an interpretation was made. This

provided some insight into teacher-led classroom actions that might be potentially

workable. These are reported in subsequent sections. These findings were used in the

planning of the next cycle.

Audio transcripts

As reported, two of the seven Cycle 1 sessions were recorded. After

transcribing the audio recordings, the transcripts were assigned a letter and a number.

The letter A was used to designate the category of audio followed by a number to

identify the series of recordings that were collected during the course of the research.

The researcher then listened again to the recording and read along with the transcript to

ensure that the discussions had been accurately transcribed. Following this, the

transcript was read twice, a summary was written and coding was done. Student

comments were cross checked against the five response indictors. Coloured markers

were used to highlight sections of the transcript that related to the response indicators.

An Excel spreadsheet was used to assist in the analysis where the letter NP for “Not

Present” or P for “Present” were used to denote if the transcript showed or did not show

that particular indicator. The letters NR, which stood for „Not Relevant‟ was used when

the indicator was not relevant to the data.

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For each transcript, the presence of the indicator in each category of worked and

did not work was then compared. In both cases as shown in Table 11, the data clearly

indicates that teacher-led classroom actions did not work. Indeed, Table 11 shows there

were no response indicators showing that teacher-led classroom actions taken during

Cycle 1 had worked.

Analysis of worksheet data and audio transcripts in Cycle 1 show that indicator

Nos. 4 and 5, which apply to the application of the Einsteinian approach, were coded as

NR indicating that these indicators were not relevant to the analysis. As students were

not able to see the relevance of such an approach through the course of the cycle, which

resulted in them becoming less open to exploring content presented in the classroom

that targets the development of the Einsteinian approach, it was therefore, not feasible to

apply the Einsteinian approach.

Table 11

Analysis of Audio Transcripts (Cycle 1)

Cycle Year Term Session Transcript

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

1 11 3 2 A1 NP NP NP NR NR P P P NR NR

1 11 3 5 A2 NP NP NP NR NR P P P NR NR




The analysis of the audio transcripts in Table 11 indicate that students were not

open to exploring content presented in the classroom and also found the content to be

irrelevant to their music performance studies. As a result, students did not contribute

well to the classroom activities which made it impossible to integrate the Einsteinian

approach into the music classroom.

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Worksheet Administered during Session 6 of Cycle 1. As noted, the most

negative comments and responses received were from John during Cycle 1. As

described earlier, the second part to the in-class worksheet administered in Session 6 of

Cycle 1 required students to reflect on the efforts that had gone into the making of their

instrument. John‟s reflection is as follows:

I really don‟t know why we are doing this. Miss Chan must think that if we

value how much effort has gone into the production of our instrument then we

will play better in performance because we think that we are doing a discredit to

the real value of our instruments if we don‟t. There are so many books on the

production of the guitar that it is completely useless for me to think about this.

Yes, I understand that lots of effort has gone into the making of my instrument,

but 1) lots of effort goes into the making of almost anything, and 2) it‟s not

going to help me play better if I know my instruments worth, thus defeating the

whole point of this exercise.

Anyway… I‟m not entirely sure about the origin of my strings, but I‟m

sure they came from a line of production and I‟m thankful for the chance to use

them. I‟ll probably find out the exact origin one day, but for now, who cares. I

also have several knobs and switches etc. on my guitar made out of plastic. But,

under the frame are complex electric circuits, I think. Wow, imagined the work

done to make them! I‟m going to play joy now.

Paint, to, circuits, at stake, would, strings, mental, material, production,

factory, trees, chemicals, workers, meat on the table, piano would be costly, no

wonder our instruments cost so much, idiocy, pointless (?), could work, not sure,

time, recess, recess, lunch, party, party…

Space cadet…

Prawn…

Jizz….

(John‟s written reflection – Cycle 1/ Term 3/ Session 6)

Next, each sentence was analysed to infer John‟s thinking pattern. This is shown in

Table 12.

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Table 12

Analysis of John’s Thinking Pattern

Sentence

Number

(SN)

Sentence John’s

Thinking

Pattern

1

I really don‟t know why we are doing this.

Confusion

2

Ms Chan must think that if we value how much effort has

gone into the production of our instrument then we will play

better in performance because we think that we are doing

discredit to the real value of our instruments if we don‟t.

Doubt

3

There are so many books on the production of the guitar that

it is completely useless for me to think about this.

Irrelevance

4

Yes, I understand that lots of effort has gone into the making

of my instrument, but 1) lots of effort goes into the making

of almost anything, and 2) it‟s not going to help me play

better if I know my instruments worth, thus defeating the

whole point of this exercise.

Irrelevance

5

Anyway… I‟m not entirely sure about the origin of my

strings, but I‟m sure they came from a line of production and

I‟m thankful for the chance to use them. I‟ll probably find

out the exact origin one day, but for now, who cares.

Irrelevance

6, 7 & 8

I also have several knobs and switches etc. on my guitar

made out of plastic. But, under the frame are complex

electric circuits, I think. Wow, imagined the work done to

make them! I‟m going to play joy now.

Frustration

9

Paint, to, circuits, at stake, would, strings, mental, material,

production, factory, trees, chemicals, workers, meat on the

table, piano would be costly, no wonder our instruments cost

so much, idiocy, pointless (?), could work, not sure, time,

recess, recess, lunch, party, party…

Disinterest

Concluding

comments

Space cadet…

Prawn…

Jizz….

Disinterest

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The analysis in Table 12 shows five categories of thinking patterns. These

categories were confusion, doubt, irrelevance, frustration and disinterest. These

categories themselves were then analysed and interpreted as will be shown in

subsequent sections.

Feedback questionnaire. An open-ended questionnaire containing four

questions was administered in the final session of Cycle 1. The purpose of the

questionnaire was to investigate students‟ general perception of the course up to this

point. The responses were once again analysed to ascertain students‟ thinking patterns.

It was important to keep the questionnaire short as negative reactions from students in

this cycle suggested that a longer questionnaire would be counterproductive. Tables 13

to 16 show the analysis that was conducted on this feedback questionnaire. Names used

as fictitious.

Table 13

Question 1 from Questionnaire

Question 1 Did you reflect on all the effort that has gone into the making of your

instrument prior to your practice sessions last week?

Student Comment Work (W)/

Did Not

Work(DNW)

Student

Thought

Pattern

John

Thought about it after performance class.

W

Reflective

Barry

No, I forgot.

DNW

Disinterest

Jonah

I thought about how much effort would

have gone into the making of it.

W

Reflective

Terry

Nope.

DNW

Disinterest

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Although Jonah did make some effort to apply the Einsteinian concept, other

students did not really make any effort to do so throughout the course.

Table 14


Question 2 If you did take the time to reflect, how did you feel your practice

session went?


Did Not Work

(DNW)

Student

Thought

Pattern

John Tried a bit harder

W Positive

outcome

Barry (no answer provided) DNW N/A

Jonah I was happy with my practice and I

thought my pieces improved a lot.

W Positive

outcome

Terry (no answer provided) DNW N/A

It is clear here that students who did not make any effort to apply the Einsteinian

concepts did not respond as positively as Jonah, who had made some effort.

Table 15


Question 3

If you did not take time to do this, write down why you did not manage to do this.


Did Not Work

(DNW)

Student

Thought

Pattern

John Didn‟t do it directly before I practiced because I

forgot.

DNW Disinterest

Barry I didn‟t manage to do this as in the mornings, I am

more focussed on having a good practice session

and I forgot. I don‟t count on remembering in the

future, as viola is my outlet on forgetting about

school and relaxing. I also told my viola teacher

about this reflection and he laughed and said,

“Well, Barry, that‟s 3 minutes of practise you are

missing out on, no?”

DNW Disinterest

Jonah (no answer provided)

N/A N/A

Terry It seemed irrelevant and I could not see the point

of doing so although I tried.

DNW Irrelevance

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Students who did not make the effort to apply the Einsteinian concept were

either disinterested or found such an approach to be irrelevant to their music

performance studies. Barry reported on how his instrumental teacher felt this might cut

into his practice time, implying that such a concept was irrelevant to his music

performance studies.

Table 16


Question 4

Write down any thoughts that you might have about these sessions so far.

Student Comment W/DNW Student

Thought

Pattern

John While I understand the purpose of these sessions, I am

not completely sure of the practical usage of several

aspects of it. I think that however the reason for this is

that I have come into the class without a clear view of its

objectives, therefore, having a bad attitude, or worse

attitude than I could have towards it. However, I think

that because I do understand that objectives of

performance class that if I put the methods learnt into

practice they may be useful.

DNW Confusion

Barry I told my viola teacher about the reflection and he

laughed and said that it was a waste of time. In a way, I

agree with him and cannot see the point in remembering

about some peasant who watered the tree as he is dead,

and death is the ultimate equalizer, even if you are a

king, you are still judged equally. I don‟t care about the

guy who cut the tree down, as he wouldn‟t care either.

The only person who is important is the person who

crafted my viola with his hands, whoever he is, but he is

still a nonentity who was told to craft a Strad copy, in a

sweat shop.

DNW Irrelevance

Jonah I thought that these sessions are a bit of a waste of time. I

don‟t think that considering the origins of my

instruments will really help me as a performer.

DNW Irrelevance

Terry As the sessions are still at its early stages, it has not

really benefited me in terms of my performing just yet.

DNW No Positive

Outcomes

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Jonah, who originally felt that the application of the Einsteinian concept had

contributed positively to his pieces, now reports that such a concept was irrelevant to his

music performance studies. Terry, on the other hand, reports that such an approach did

not provide him with any benefits so far, but feels that he should continue to give this

approach a try. This was similar to the other issues encountered during the analysis of

worksheet data as mentioned previously where student responses were found to be

vague or unclear. Barry again reports on how his instrumental teacher found such an

approach to be irrelevant.

As the tables show, this analysis of the questionnaire responses replicated four

out of the five categories of students‟ thinking patterns found in the previous analysis of

the worksheet data that contained the most negative comments and responses -

confusion, doubt, irrelevance and disinterest.

Findings for Cycle 1

The analysis carried out during Cycle 1 on three different sources of data -

student worksheets, audio transcripts and feedback questionnaire - indicates clearly that

teacher-led classroom actions taken during Cycle 1 did not work.

As in preliminary Phase 2a, the findings from Cycle 1 confirm that teacher-led

classroom actions based on logic and reason did not produce positive outcomes. An

additional insight gained from Cycle 1 was the importance of not trying to convince

students of the need to gain more appreciation and meaning in their music performance

studies. While students were happy to engage in being reflective, no further positive

outcomes were found to be present during this cycle. Table 17 provides a summary of

the insights gained from Cycle 1.

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Table 17

Summary of Insights Gained in Cycle 1

INSIGHTS GAINED

Action Research Cycle 1

Year 11

Students participated in taking the time to explore their

thinking.

In explaining to students the importance of gaining

more depth and meaning in their music performance

studies, students‟ values and perceptions were

constantly challenged. Students did not respond

positively to this.

Students cannot be convinced of the importance of

finding more meaning and appreciation in their music


Intellectualizing affective concepts did not work well.

Students were again unable to see, through reason and

logic, how affective concepts might be useful to their

music performance studies.

Preliminary Findings

Students are willing to reflect.

Intellectualizing affective concepts does not produce

any positive outcomes.

Cycle 1 Summary

Work

Reflection

Did Not Work Intellectualizing affective concepts

Trying to convince students of the importance of

gaining more meaning in their music performance

studies

Next, Table 18 provides a cumulative summary of findings from the preliminary

phases and Cycle 1.

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Table 18

Cumulative Summary of Findings (Preliminary Phases & Cycle 1)

Research Cycle

Teacher-led classroom actions

Work (W)/

Did Not Work

(DNW)

Preliminary Phase 1

(One-To-One)

Reflection

W


(Year 11)

Reflection

and


concepts

DNW


(Year 10)

Reflection

and


and


W


(Year 11)

Reflection

and


and


W


Reflection

and


concepts

and

Convincing students of the

importance of the Einsteinian

approach

DNW

The most negative worksheet produced the five thinking patterns categories of

confusion, doubt, frustration, disinterest and irrelevance, and four of these were

replicated in the questionnaire data. The next section describes an interpretation of

these five thinking patterns.

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An Interpretation of Students’ General Thinking Patterns

These patterns were examined, in conjunction with a re-reading of the data, in

order to develop questions to guide Cycle 2 of the action research. When this was done,

the most fruitful concept seemed to be that of irrelevance. Doubt suggests students

were uncertain and lacked trust that the process would be beneficial. Confusion

indicates that the presentation of the Einsteinian approach needed to be clearer.

Disinterest and frustration would follow as a reaction to students‟ uncertainty and

doubt. However, consideration of what it meant for students to find the Einsteinian

approach to be irrelevant led to these three questions:

(a) Why were students feeling disconnected with the Einsteinian approach?

(b) How would it be possible to get students to connect with the Einsteinian

approach?

(c) What would be needed to allow such a connection to take place?

With these questions in mind, data were re-examined. Student responses and

comments from the in-class worksheet data and questionnaire data were read through

once again. During this reading, further consideration was given to data that signified

irrelevance - for example, in words such as “useless” and “waste of time.” These

sentiments indicate that a lack of need was present on the part of the student in

employing such affective concepts, as they did not feel such actions to be necessary. In

other words, the disconnection may have occurred as a result of a lack of a “felt-need”

on the part of the student. The term “felt-need” is used here to mean a need that

students felt were important to them in relation to their music performance studies. A

summary of the possible reasons for the five main thinking patterns is provided in Table

19.

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Table 19

A Summary of the Interpretation of Students’ Thinking Patterns

Categories of General

Thought Patterns

Possible Reasons

Doubt

Students were uncertain

Confusion

Delivery of teacher was not sufficiently clear

Disinterest

A reaction to “confusion” and “doubt”

Frustration

A reaction to “confusion” and “doubt”

Irrelevance

Student‟s felt- needs were not being addressed

This resulted in the formation of three further questions, which formed the basis

in planning for Cycle 2. These questions are as follows:

1. What are students‟ felt-needs within the context of music performance?

2. How is it possible to ascertain and understand students‟ felt-needs within the

context of music performance?

3. What impact will this have on the integration of the Einsteinian approach within

the music performance classroom?

These questions were used to guide action research Cycle 2, which is reported in

the next chapter.

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CHAPTER 7

ACTION RESEARCH CYCLE 2

Purpose of Action Research Cycle 2

The purpose of action research Cycle 2 was to put into action the findings from

the previous research cycle. The analysis carried out at the completion of Cycle 1 on

data that did not work suggests the importance of considering students‟ felt-needs in

relation to music performance as a component that may assist in the integration of the

Einsteinian approach. As noted, this led to the following questions, which guided the

planning phase of Cycle 2:

1. What are students‟ felt-needs within the context of music performance?

2. How is it possible to ascertain and understand students‟ felt-needs within the

context of music performance?

3. What impact will this have on the integration of the Einsteinian approach in the

music performance classroom?

Eighteen sessions were planned as part of Cycle 2 with a new set of five Year 11

students. The next section provides an overview of sessions held in Cycle 2 followed

by a descriptive account of the classroom sessions that took place.

Overview of Classroom Sessions

The main teacher-led classroom action taken during Cycle 2 focussed on

ascertaining and understanding students‟ felt-needs in relation to music performance.

The classroom sessions during Cycle 2 were structured in a similar manner to the

previous cycle where students were allowed time to reflect followed by an opportunity

to share their thoughts through discussion. As in the previous cycles, in-class

worksheets containing guided questions were administered as a means of initiating the

reflective process.

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In inquiring into students‟ felt-needs within the context of music performance, a

good starting point seemed to be their problems and issues in relation to music

performance. Thus, Term 1 of Cycle 2 centred on identifying problems and issues

experienced by students in relation to music performance. Drawing on insights gained

from the preliminary phases (see Table 8) and Cycle 1 (see Table 17), teacher-led

classroom actions taken that worked were again employed. Students were encouraged

to reflect and voice their issues and problems that they often encountered within MPE.

Terms 2 and 3 of Cycle 2 involved practical applications of the three affective concepts

- gratitude, humility and wonder.

The following section provides a description of the 18 sessions held with the

new set of five Year 11 students during Cycle 2. This description is given in some

detail in order to show the progression of the researcher‟s understanding of how student

reactions to teacher-led classroom actions could inform the development of the

Einsteinian approach. This happened progressively over a number of sessions. Quotes

from classroom discussions are included to illustrate the process, and summary tables

show the insights developed after Terms 1, 2 and 3.

Term 1

Six sessions were held during Term 1. As before, names used are fictitious.

Session 1

The introductory session to Cycle 2 was spent introducing the aims of this

performance course to students. A question and answer session followed to allow

students the opportunity clarify any questions that they may have in relation to the

course. Using reflection, discussion and dictionary definitions, this session then

concentrated on distinguishing between the concepts of problems and issues. A

worksheet was prepared to assist students in the reflective process (see Appendix E).

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Students concluded that the difference between these concepts centred on the level of

difficulty in relation to a solution, with a problem being easier to resolve than an issue.

Session 2

Having distinguished between the concepts of problems and issues, students

started reflecting on problems and issues that they often encountered as music

performance students. A worksheet was prepared for students to reflect on this (see

Appendix F). As students listed their problems and issues in relation to music

performance, a summary was compiled and placed onto PowerPoint [see Appendix O].

Students also began sharing and elaborating on their experiences in relation to the list of

issues and problems. For example, in talking about stage fright, Matthew relayed his

experience during his earlier years of high school. He said:

In the first or second bar, I hit a wrong note and I just didn‟t know how to go on.

I just couldn‟t go on and so I was standing there. Because I had an

accompaniment as well and so Mr. Vinny had to keep playing. I just left stage.

And a little later:

I just went... (pauses) like I just played like up to the second or third bar and I hit

a wrong note and I was like froze... (pauses again). I just froze and didn‟t know

what to do and just left stage.

(DVD transcript [D1] - Year 11/ Cycle 2/ Term 1/ Session 2 - Lines 648 – 658)

Two other students started to share their experiences in relation to performance anxiety:

Sam: Mine is more like you just start playing and you don‟t really think about

what you are playing or you don‟t really think. All you think about is just the

audience and like if you stuff up and their reaction, which makes you stuff up

because you‟re not concentrating on the music. And then like you dry up in

your mouth and you shake and all sorts of random stuff and you like can feel

your pulse in your shirt because it‟s so tight around your neck and stuff.

(DVD transcript [D1] - Year 11/ Cycle 2/ Term 1/ Session 2 - Lines 696-701)

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Harry: Sometimes when there‟s a difficult passage coming up and you think,

„Oh…that stuff is hard...‟ When you think about stuffing up you stuff it up.

(DVD transcript [D1] - Year 11/ Cycle 2/ Term 1/ Session 2 - Lines 713 – 714)

Matthew continued sharing his stage fright experience saying:

When I had that experience, it never put me off performing on drum kit or like

in groups and it didn‟t even put me off performing keyboard for the exam. But

I‟ve never been able to just go back on stage just some solo. Like I can perform

it, I play it in exams, with percussion ensemble and stuff but I just can‟t play it. I

just can‟t bring myself to go on stage.


Students continued to freely share their problems and issues in relation to music

performance for the rest of this session. In general, students contributed well and were

attentive to what each other had to say. A sense of camaraderie amongst students was

generated as they began to openly share in this way. The session concluded with a

summarized list of problems and issues encountered by these students in relation to

music performance.

Session 3

This session was spent revisiting the PowerPoint summary of the collective class

responses. Students were asked to study the listed responses and to search for any

commonalities between these issues and problems. Students said the following:

Jerry: They are all to do with the performer and not the music. It‟s not the music

that‟s hard, it‟s the performer that‟s got the problem.

And a little later:

Sam: “It‟s all in the mind.”

(DVD transcript [D2] – Year 11/ Cycle 2/ Term 1/ Session 3 – Lines 189 – 191)

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Students were invited to consider how to work on themselves as a way of

resolving these issues. They seemed to interpret working on themselves as getting

themselves to work harder. For example, they suggested increasing their practice

session times or being involved in more performing opportunities in order to overcome

issues such as performance anxiety. However, when asked if such suggestions had

made any real difference to their issue, students admitted that no difference was made,

as performance anxiety was still an issue for them prior to a performance.

Being more aware of how solutions used in the past to resolve their issues, such

as performance anxiety, did not result in any positive changes, students became open to

considering other possibilities. Students also said at this point that they preferred

working on their issues rather than problems, as they felt that their problems were easier

to overcome in comparison to their issues. The introduction to how affective concepts

might hold a possible solution to their issues was proposed. Students appeared keen to

listen to how such an approach could be of use to them. This paved the way toward the

introduction of affective concepts within the music performance classroom.

This was a major turning point in how the Einsteinian approach can be

integrated into MPE as this was the first time when students were able to accommodate

the possibility of integrating affective variables into their music performance studies

without any resistance.

Sessions 4 and 5

These sessions elaborated on affective concepts. The intellectualized approach

through reason and logic was revisited where questions were again put forth to

challenge the thinking processes of students in order to convince them of the importance

of such an approach. Although students were previously willing and open to consider

the possibility that affective concepts may have a part to play in resolving their issues

voiced in Session 2, they once again had difficulty in comprehending how these

144

concepts may be useful. On several instances during Session 5, students reported that

they were confused. Students did not seem as interested in their learning compared to

Session 3. These difficulties showed again that approaching affective concepts from the

perspective of logic and reason did not work. Therefore, the intellectualization of

affective concepts was abandoned.

Session 6

This session returned to students‟ felt-needs where issues voiced by students

during Session 2 were revisited. A worksheet was provided where students were asked

to rank the nine listed issues compiled from Session 2 in the order of importance for

them, where 1 was the most important issue for them and 9 the least important (see

Appendix G). These results were graphed and made available to the class through

PowerPoint (see Appendix P and Q). The issue that yielded the greatest concern for this

set of Year 11 students was preparation for an upcoming performance, followed by

nerves. These two issues were then taken as a point of entry in the integration of

affective concepts.

Students were next reminded of the suggestion made during Session 3 in relation

to the potential that affective concepts may hold in resolving their issues in relation to

music performance. They were still open to such a possibility. The affective concept of

wonder was then introduced to students. The next paragraph describes how Sam was

guided to integrate the concept of wonder in relation to his musical instrument to assist

with his issue of preparation before a music performance.

Sam, a trumpet student, was asked to wonder about the efforts that had gone into

the making of the instrument before playing on his trumpet. He was asked to verbalize

his thoughts as he was going through this process. Although Sam did not know the

people who were directly involved in the making of his instrument, nonetheless, he

started to become aware of the fact that several people were responsible in the making

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of his trumpet. He was guided to retrace step-by-step, a possible journey that his

trumpet would have gone through while it was being made along with the people that

would have been involved in the process. This led Sam to reflect on the person who

was involved in the moulding of the trumpet, the person who was involved in the

packaging process, the delivery man required to have the instrument displayed in a

music store and a storekeeper who had to set up shop in order for the trumpet to be

purchased. Sam then also extended his thought to his parents and their financial support

which made it possible for the purchase of his trumpet. The sum of all efforts involved

in enabling the trumpet to be now poised in his hands ready to be performed was

occupying Sam‟s mind at this point. At first, Sam‟s response was that of guilt where he

felt that he owed all these people something. At this point, he was guided to consider

taking on a more positive perspective instead of feeling guilty. Pausing to think how he

could approach this from a more positive perspective, Sam then said that he could

perhaps think in terms of what he could do in return for all the efforts that had gone into

the making of his instrument. At this point, Sam was engaging with the affective

concept of gratitude without any need for a formal introduction. Sam then remarked

how such a way of thinking made him feel like performing on this trumpet to the best of

his ability as a way of honouring all the efforts of the people that have gone into the

making of this instrument. With such a perspective in place, Sam started playing on his

trumpet. When asked how he felt at the end of it, he replied how much he liked

approaching his instrument from such a perspective. This was the final session for

Term 1.

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Summary of Insights Gained during Cycle 2, Term 1

The aim for Term 1 was to access students‟ felt-needs based on the findings

from the previous cycle where this component was thought to be potentially useful in

allowing students to find more relevance in integrating affective concepts to their music


Felt-needs were investigated by asking students about their issues and problems

in relation to music performance. Students appeared to respond well to such an

approach and were able to engage with the affective concept of gratitude through

wonder showing a possible relationship between these two concepts. It appears that no

formal introduction may be necessary for students to engage with these affective

concepts but instead students need to be guided based on their felt-needs to engage with

these concepts. Table 20 provides a summary of the insights gained in Term 1 of Cycle

2. Once again, using reason and logic to introduce these affective concepts did not

work.

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Table 20

Summary of Insights Gained in Cycle 2 Term 1

INSIGHTS GAINED

Action Research

Cycle 2 Term 1

Students appeared to respond positively when they are given

voice in the classroom.

Students demonstrated an interest in sharing their issues and

problems with their peers.

Students demonstrated openness to exploring other approaches

when they were not confronted.

Students appeared to be able to engage with the affective

concept of gratitude through wonder.

Reflection was still important.

Term 1 Findings

In giving consideration to students‟ felt-needs in relation to their

music performance studies, students appear to respond well.

Giving voice to students appears to produce positive outcomes.

Students enjoy time to reflect.

Gratitude appears to be accessible through wonder.

Term 1 Summary

Work

Reflection

Student felt-need


Did Not Work

Intellectualizing affective concepts

Reason and logic

Convincing students of the importance in gaining more meaning

and appreciation in their music performance studies.

Term 2

Five sessions were held during Term 2.

Session 1

This session was spent revisiting the contents from the final session of Term 1,

which students were able to recall without much difficulty. As the session progressed,

Matthew started to say how much respect he felt for the people who were involved in

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the making of their instrument. Such a feeling arose when he thought about how people

who were involved in the making of the instrument needed to relinquish it in order for

the instrument to make its way to a buyer. Therefore, all the efforts that had gone into

the making of the instrument need to be honoured especially when people who were

involved in the making of the instrument will not be able know whether their efforts

were appreciated. Students shared their thoughts about what they had learnt from last

term and any experiences they had in their own application of the Einsteinian approach.

Session 2

Students were required to bring their instruments into class for this session in

order that they may again be guided to apply the Einsteinian approach. Matthew, who

plays the xylophone, was guided to apply the concept of gratitude through a

consideration of the efforts of people that have gone into the making of his xylophone.

The excerpt from the transcript of this session shows Matthew integrating the

Einsteinian approach.

Matthew: It‟s got metal, the welder would have to weld these two pieces

together. Someone had to mould the tubes. We have wood inside here so we

would have to have someone cut the wood.

Sam: What about the people that had to mine them?

Matthew: Yeah... (surprised that there were so many more people involved in

the making of the xylophone)


Matthew then proceeds to examine every part of the xylophone in detail for the

next ten minutes. After this exercise, Matthew starts to perform a short piece of music

in front of the whole class. At the end of the performance, his peers were about to start

clapping when Matthew interrupted as if unaware of the clapping and said:

That felt good. I felt really confident. Like...(pauses slightly), I felt more

confident, the sound that I made as well. I don‟t know...(slightly perplexed) but

149

I start to appreciate the sound more because a lot of time when I play that song,

like I just show people by playing real fast and I didn‟t really appreciate what it

sounded like, the actual instrument.

He continues to say:

It‟s like every fine note... (starts to play the instrument again and listening).

While I was playing it, I felt it‟s easier to... (pauses), like feeling good once I‟ve

accomplished it. Just like from the word “go.”


In the example above, Matthew was almost enchanted by the music that he had

just produced in his playing. This was the same student that had relayed the negative

experience that he had with nerves when he was in Year 8 which resulted in him

walking off stage and saying how he had never since been able to feel comfortable

playing the xylophone. As Matthew was about to pack his xylophone away, Sam

interrupted to ask Matthew:

Sam: Did you feel like there was no pressure on you?

Matthew: Yeah.

Sam: It‟s like no matter what you did like…the reaction would be pretty good?

Matthew: Yup.

Me: So, that‟s how you felt huh, Sam?

Sam: Yeah.


Sam‟s comments demonstrate a positive outcome in feeling less pressure after

integrating the concept of gratitude while performing. In asking Matthew if he too felt

less pressured while performing, the tone in Sam‟s voice was one of surprise at how

affective concepts could possibly yield such an effect. The rest of the session was spent

taking Harry through the same process of applying the concept of gratitude to his guitar

prior to him performing in front of his peers. A similar positive outcome was produced

in Harry who also found that such an approach allowed him to focus better while

150

performing. His peers also commented on how much better they felt his performance

went the second time through after he had taken the time to reflect on his instrument.

Sessions 3 and 4

These sessions were designed for students to be mindful of balancing the use of

affective concepts with the more traditional learning elements such as managing their

practice time. They were made aware of Ericsson‟s (1993) findings of deliberate

practice in the development of expert performance which concludes that approximately

10,000 hours of accumulated time spent in practice is needed in the acquisition of any

skill. An Excel spreadsheet was prepared to allow students to gauge a sense of the

amount of time needed for them to arrive at such a goal.

Session 5

At the start of this session, the first expanded worksheet (see Appendix M) was

handed out to students to provide them with further opportunities to reflect as well as to

revisit the previous concept of gratitude as expressed in Einstein‟s humanistic and

philosophical writings. In this first expanded worksheet, students were required to

complete ten reflective accounts over the next ten days, of which eight were to be based

on reflecting on their instrument prior to each practice session, with two other

reflections to be applied to events involving their daily lives. Students were also

required to document any changes that they may notice during this time in relation to

how they were thinking or feeling. Having explained the requirements of the expanded

worksheet to the class, the rest of the session was spent introducing the affective

concept of humility.

Drawing on students‟ comments from previous sessions, the issue of

performance nerves was used to introduce humility. An in-class worksheet (see

Appendix H) was provided for students to reflect on what happens to them when they

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are nervous. This topic was then discussed. During the discussion, students said such

things as:

Sam: Shake…mostly like if you are standing up and you are standing up for

performances…um, like stage band or something…um, your legs shake more

than anything else…and then that way it‟s like domino effect up your body and

it goes into your hand. Especially with the white shirts on because they are

tight, you can feel the veins in your neck…it‟s like…boom…boom…boom like

that…um…and in your heart as well…it just like becomes much heavier…like

you can really feel it…become conscious of it. Um, you sweat a bit…I don‟t

really sweat too much…um…err…but your mouth becomes dry as well. And

that‟s pretty bad when you are playing the trumpet.

And,

Barry: Yep…the first one…Yeah…just the hands sweat and stuff…like sort of

shake just tiny bit…yeah…you sort of get cold.


Students were then asked if they could provide reasons why they felt nervous prior to a

performance. Some examples of their responses are:

Sam: The main reason why you get nervous is because someone else is going to

give their opinion about you and it‟s like when you play at home by yourself you

play it fine and you say, „”Yeah, that was good.”


Sam: The thing is like at home, you know you can do it, it‟s like you can nail

it…not every single time… but you know you can do it. Then you come in here

and you get intimidated by the people sitting there, so you like, “Oooo…I

wonder if I can or if I can‟t”...not so much thinking… “I know I can.”


Harry: Like sometimes the mark you get…like indicates their opinion of your

playing. So, like you said before, when you worry about opinions it could make

you nervous.


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This led Sam to question the validity of the assessment process involved during a music

performance examination:

You can‟t say that someone is this good because you‟ve heard them for 15 mins.

It‟s like that‟s what they base the whole thing on…and it‟s like…you do so

many other things and so many other things they don‟t examine…and it can‟t be

marked on the basis of how good you are a player but it‟s going to marked on 15

mins of what you are giving.

(DVD transcript [D7)] - Year 11/ Cycle 2/ Term 2/ Session 5 - Lines 470-474)

Sam concludes by saying:

You lose the reason in why you are playing.

(DVD transcript [D7] - Year 11/ Cycle 2/ Term 2/ Session 5 - Line 497)

At this point in the discussion, the entire class appeared quiet and contemplative.

When asked how important it would be for them to find a more meaningful reason and

purpose in performing music, students were unified in their response, agreeing fully to

the importance of seeking for a more meaningful approach within MPE. This was the

last session for Term 2.

Summary of Insights Gained in Cycle 2, Term 2

As noted earlier, detailed description of sessions held during Cycle 2 are

provided to show the understanding gained over time by the researcher between

students‟ reactions and teacher-led classroom actions taken, which formed the basis in

how the Einsteinian approach was developed.

In Session 2, Matthew‟s experience suggests how wonder enabled him to listen

intently and with interest to the sounds he was producing on his xylophone as if he was

hearing it for the first time. This was similar to the experience reported by Gary the

cellist, earlier in preliminary Phase 1, Scenario #4. Matthew also reported feeling good

while performing. Sam reported feeling less pressured and sought confirmation from

Matthew whether he too had experienced a similar outcome while performing.

153

As discussed in Chapter 3, Einstein‟s perception of gratitude and humility

requires one to see one‟s self as part of the whole. Competitive situations, on the other

hand, tend to promote the notion of a winner which ultimately stands out from the rest.

The latter often causes issues such as performance nerves to arise due to expectations.

For example, Harry‟s reference in Session 5, to the expectation placed on students

during an examination situation tends to create such a division between the student and

the examiner resulting in students feeling nervous while being assessed. In applying

affective concepts based on Einstein‟s perception, students started reporting feelings of

ease, confidence and focus while performing. These positive outcomes make sense, as

the perception of being at one with the other is likely to promote feelings of being

supported which can result in a sense of ease and confidence as reported by students

through their experience. Therefore, Sam‟s question to Matthew in Session 2, asking if

Matthew felt at ease while performing suggests that Sam has managed to gain some

experience of these concepts as perceived by Einstein. This shows that Sam was

starting to integrate the Einsteinian approach with some success.

Students started to show awareness for issues surrounding music assessments

which appear to have prompted them to start reassessing their current values in search

of a more balanced perspective, where meaning and depth may be considered just as

important as achieving high marks. In Cycle 1, efforts made in trying to convince

students of the importance in gaining a more balanced approach were met with much

resistance. In Cycle 2, students are arriving at their own conclusions of such an

importance without any need to be convinced. Table 21 provides a summary of the

insights gained in Cycle 2, Term 2.

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Table 21

Summary of Insights Gained in Cycle 2, Term 2

INSIGHTS GAINED

Action Research

Cycle 2, Term 2

Giving consideration to students‟ felt-needs appeared to produce

positive results in the integration of the Einsteinian approach.

Students appeared to have demonstrated more understanding for

the importance of gaining a deeper and meaningful approach to


Musical outcome – Students reported feeling less pressured while

performing suggesting that affective concepts may be useful to

students in rebalancing the competitive mindset which often

contends with issues such as being judged based on expectations

of others during a performance.

Other benefits – Students report feeling a sense of respect as a

result of applying the Einsteinian approach.

Term 2 Findings

Affective concepts such as gratitude and wonder appear to

contribute to musical outcomes such as listening more attentively

to the tone that one is producing.

Students‟ felt-needs appear to be an important component in the

integration of the Einsteinian approach.

Students do not need to be convinced of the importance in gaining

more meaning in their music performance. It is possible for

students to come to the realization themselves. They just need to

be guided to discover this for themselves.

Term 2 Summary

Work

Reflection


Students‟ felt-needs

Did Not Work

None

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Term 3

Seven sessions were held during Term 3.

Session 1

This session started by revisiting the subject of performance anxiety. How

students responded when they were nervous and possible causes to such reactions were

discussed. As in Session 3 of Term 1, Jerry again noted that the responses tended to

refer to the “self.” However, students were unsure what is it that can be done with the

self to effect a change.

Over time, the integration of the Einsteinian approach started to show a shift in

students‟ understanding of the concept of self where such a concept was now grounded

on a more subjective level. This may have been triggered through students‟ experiences

gained through a change in their perspectives, with such a change tending to take place

internally within them. Thus, the uncertainty expressed by students in reference to the

self at this point was different to Term 1, as students‟ current understanding of the

concept of self is of a more mature level to that previously.

The concept of self paved the way toward introducing the concept of “ego.” It

was proposed that if reasons behind students‟ nervous reactions were associated with

ego, that possibly the very opposite to all the qualities associated with the concept of

ego may hold the key to assisting them in resolving their issue of performance nerves.

Further discussions continued which eventually led students to something quite opposite

to ego - the affective concept of humility.

Thus, an introduction to the concept of humility was made in this session

through the identification of students‟ felt-needs. Students were encouraged to continue

reflecting on the term humility in preparation for the next session.

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Session 2

In this session, students were asked to report on any changes as a result of

integrating affective concepts. Positive benefits were reported by students in

preparation for the Term 2 music performance examination. For example:

Sam: I know I felt more confident in myself. Confident and more comfortable

playing in front of other people.

(DVD transcript [D9] - Year 11/ Cycle 2/ Term 3/ Session 2 - Lines 127- 128)

Sam: I use to go in and use to think I am going to screw everything and I‟ll just

shake uncontrollably, my mouth will be all dry and then it‟ll just be like torture.


Harry also reported feeling confident preparing for the performance examination and

commented on how the reflective process has contributed positively overall for him.

Content from the prior session was again revisited. An in-class worksheet was

administered (see Appendix I). This was a follow-through from the previous session

where students were asked to reflect on their current understanding of the concept of

humility. Three questions were provided to guide students in this reflection. Students‟

responses were discussed.

While not all students had a firm understanding of the concept, they were willing

to explore it further without any resistance. They wrote about what they thought it

meant and during the discussion session, examples of the concept outside of music

performance were also discussed. Students chose the sporting arena to illustrate their

understanding of the term.

Harry: I just thought of an example. Like when you are playing a good game,

obviously you have to acknowledge the opposition. Because, I mean, the

opposition makes the game.


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Sam: Well, like when you are winning and you got the team mate playing in the

middle of something, you deliver the ball to him in the forward line and he goes

and kicks the goal like everyone shouts and praise but then if he comes down

and says, “Oh…good kick”…like “thanks”…that sort of thing. And also like

um…me playing cricket, I am a wicket keeper so if I catch a ball, like it‟s being

nicked off the bowler and everyone shouts at him and praises him but then he

will come down and say, “Nice catch.”


Barry also relayed his understanding of the concept of humility in a similar manner as

his peers with an example in relation to hockey. The session ended asking students to

think about how it might be possible for such a concept to be integrated into their music


Session 3

In this session, an in-class worksheet was administered for students to reflect on

how it may be possible to practically apply the affective concept of humility in a music

performance (see Appendix J). A discussion followed.

As two students were absent from the last session, students who were present

during those sessions were asked to recapitulate their understanding of what they had

learnt from the previous two sessions. A sporting analogy was again used to illustrate

the point followed by a music performance example.

Harry: Well, if you are humble then you acknowledge other people‟s efforts in

what they do and therefore sort of make yourself more, ah how do I explain this,

like for example football match, if you kick the goal, you have to acknowledge

the person who kicked it to you.

(DVD transcript [D10)] - Year 11/ Cycle 2/ Term 3/ Session 3 - Lines 179-182)

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Harry: Yeah. And like in a band, the lead singer has to acknowledge the rest of

the band because obviously they can‟t perform on their own. It isn‟t the same

without the rest of the band.


Questions asked by students who were absent from the prior sessions allowed students

who were present during the previous sessions an opportunity to relay their

understanding of the affective concept of humility. During this time, Matthew and

Jerry, who were absent in the last session, asked how such a concept could possibly be

helpful within the context of music performance, leading to a discussion which shows

how some students were starting to consider the possibilities of how such a concept

could be applied to music performance.

Sam: Acknowledging the people who wrote the music that you are playing.

Matthew: But how does that help you?

Sam: Makes you feel a certain respect. Well, it gives you respect towards the

people who wrote the music. So then you feel like it would be like an honour to

play this.

Jerry: But how does it help you perform?

Sam: It helps you to play to the best of your ability and it gives you like driving

force like um…„what-you-ma-call it‟…motivation!


Students who were absent from the previous session were uncertain how this may be

possible. For example, in response to the excerpt above, Matthew started questioning

Sam by saying:

Matthew: You say like you are honoured to play someone‟s written music but I

don‟t see how you saying that you should be honoured to play this music is

going to help you play nice.


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This discussion between students offer a further demonstration of the difficulty

in assimilating affective concepts based on logic and reason. Students from the

previous session who had arrived at the concept of humility from a felt-need perspective

were trying to explain to their peers in this session how it may be possible to incorporate

such a concept into their music performance studies, by providing examples as a way of

explaining and reasoning with their peers how this may be possible. However, the

response from Matthew shows that he is not able to understand how feeling honoured

could help him “play nice.” Therefore, students‟ efforts in trying to explain, reason and

convince their peers in relation to how it may be possible to integrate the affective

concept of humility, did not work, similar to the teacher-researchers‟ experience in

Cycle 1.

The discussion then returned to the concept of humility and how this can be

integrated on a practical scale in relation to music performance. Sam suggested

acknowledging the audience for their efforts in turning up to the performance as a

means of demonstrating humility. Harry added that this can be demonstrated by

bowing.

The act of bowing with humility was discussed. An exercise was performed

where I bowed to each student. Students were asked to take note of how they felt as I

was doing this. They reported feeling a sense of being acknowledged. Students were

then guided to consider how it might be possible for them to bow with humility before

or after a performance. Here are some examples of what students said:

Sam: Acknowledge the audience is there and giving you the opportunity to

perform in front of them and giving you the respect and courtesy to listen to you.


Barry: Like when you are doing a performance or something, think about the

privilege you have when performing in a place like the auditorium.


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Harry: Like when you bow you acknowledge and respect the audiences‟

attention.

(DVD transcript [D10] - Year 11/ Cycle 2/ Term 3/ Session 3 - Line 642)

The rest of the session was spent getting students to practise bowing while holding on to

the perspectives as suggested by them. Students‟ usage of the term respect started to

become more noticeable in their discussions as the session progressed. A second

expanded worksheet which focused on the concept of humility was administered at the

end of this session (see Appendix N) to provide students with the opportunity to

continue working on this concept outside of the classroom sessions.

Session 4

This session started with Harry asking if affective concepts that were being

discussed in the classroom thus far, were being taught at the tertiary level. He said:

I would like to know if we study this at University. It didn‟t seem very

important at first when we first started at the start of the year because I didn‟t

think it made much difference. But I think now that we‟ve gone more in-depth

like humility and stuff I think it‟s made a big difference.


Students agreed with Harry‟s comment and expressed a similar sentiment. Jerry

reported on how these concepts have also allowed him to be more positive while

performing.

Yeah. At first I didn‟t think it was important but it just seems to make sense

now.


He continues:

Well, I guess it‟s just thinking about trying to get rid of your nerves, I perform

better and basically being humble, it gets you out of the state of worrying about

everything.


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Jerry then went on to illustrate his application of bowing with humility in his recent

performance in the Governors‟ Concert - a major musical event in the school‟s music

calendar.

I thought instead of just bowing because Mr. Baxton tells us to, I am going to

bow with thanks for listening. So, just acknowledging the audience, thanks for

coming, thanks for listening to us....It felt different.


Harry reported how having humility allowed him to reduce his nerves during a

performance:

I felt good like you didn‟t feel nervous because you were...how can I explain

it…sort of felt like…I wasn‟t nervous in the audience even when you make a

mistake.


The rest of the session was spent in discussion about the concert that students had

recently completed.

Session 5

This session was spent discussing students‟ experiences after integrating the

affective concept of humility based on the second expanded worksheet. Students shared

willingly and communicated well. Overall, students were more relaxed and comfortable

communicating and using language involving affective concepts compared to Cycle 1,

where a sense of awkwardness tended to prevail.

Sam shared his experience when applying the affective concept of humility

during the recent Governors‟ Concert, demonstrating how adopting such a concept

allowed him to be more positive resulting in him enjoying being part of the

performance.

At the Governors‟ [Concert], it was a good chance to put some of it into practise

like with humility. It worked quite well.

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He continued:

I used to just go out there and go, “Oh no, what if we stuff this up

blah…blah…blah...all you are going to do is just criticize us for the mistakes

that we make.” I would go out with that sort of attitude and so I didn‟t get any

positives out of it like even if it was a good performance. You would always

pick out the bad things that you did.

And added:

Now, I just go out and enjoy it really, and have respect for the audience because

they have respect for us.


Sam then continued to talk about how the integration of affective concepts has also

allowed him to change his perspective of the audience where he tended to previously

see them as being there to judge and criticize his playing, to one where he feels that the

audience is there to support him. According to Sam, this allowed him to feel more

comfortable and able to perform better.

Session 6

This session was spent revisiting the Einsteinian concept of wonder. An

exercise was planned where students would apply the concept of wonder to tone in

music using their musical instruments. Prior to that, students were taken through a

practical application of the concept of wonder using a flower. Taking students‟

attention away from the context of music was deliberately done to refresh students‟

minds. The direct application to music was considered at the end of this exercise.

The in-class worksheet exercise required students to give their attention to a

flower and to wonder about the flower (see Appendix K). Students were asked to write

down any questions that would arise in their thoughts as they were looking at the

flower. Following this, they were asked to wonder about the concept of tone in music

just as they had done with the flower. A second in-class worksheet (see Appendix L)

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was administered with questions such as, “What is tone?” and to think about the manner

in which tone is being produced on their instrument, describing it in a way that would

require them to engage with the concept of wonder as they did with the flower exercise.

A discussion then followed where students shared what they had written in their

reflections.

Although it was planned for students to now apply such a concept to their

instrument, unfortunately, the time allocated for this session ran out. However, just

before the session ended, students were keen to get to their instruments. Barry, who had

been very quiet in most of the sessions so far, asked for permission to retrieve his

instrument from the instrument storage room in order that he could play and listen to it

before going to his next class. Matthew, who already had his xylophone setup at the

start of this class, ran to his instrument and starts playing on it immediately, listening

intently to the sound that was being produced. Although students did not get the

opportunity to play a piece at the end of this exercise due to insufficient classroom time,

students‟ behaviours demonstrated a keen interest in listening to the tone of the

instrument immediately after the exercise on the concept of wonder was completed.

Such behaviours were similar to that of students in Term 2 of Session 2, and of Gary,

the cellist outlined in Scenario #4 of the preliminary study Phase 1, where a heightened

sense of engagement prevailed from applying the concept of wonder.

Session 7

This session returned to the affective concept of humility. A guest speaker was

invited to speak on the topic of humility in this session. During this time, students were

able to interact and discuss as well as revisit their experiences in their application of

such a concept to their music performance studies with the guest speaker. Students

communicated their experiences to the speaker in a manner that demonstrated openness

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to the affective concept of humility. This was also the final session for Term 3 and

concludes Cycle 2 of the action research.

Summary of Insights Gained during Cycle 2, Term 3

As students started integrating the affective concept of humility with some

success, the term “respect” started appearing frequently in their written responses as

well as classroom discussions. In Chapter 3, it was discussed that Einstein‟s non-

scientific writings reveal how his perception of the concept of humility extends beyond

the typical dictionary definition to one that suggests a deep sense of reverence. As

students‟ application of the concept of humility were producing results that appear to

reflect Einstein‟s perspective of the concept of humility, is it likely that students‟

reference to the notion of respect during this cycle show that they have grasped some

understanding of the term as expressed by Einstein in his writings.

In Session 5, Sam reports on how his perception of the role of the audience prior

to integrating the affective concept of gratitude and humility was that of judging and

criticizing him, which led to him to feeling uncomfortable and nervous during a music

performance. Chapter 1 examined the current practices of MPE at the secondary school

level in Western Australia showing how high school music performance students are

continually subjected to being assessed. It is possible that performing experiences that

repeatedly revolve around being assessed may have conditioned Sam to expect that

audiences‟ would typically adopt a judgemental and critical view of his performance.

However, after the integration of affective concepts of gratitude and humility, Sam

started to report feelings of “comfort, ease and joy” while performing, as his perception

of the audience has now shifted from that of being judgemental and critical of his

performance, to one where they are there to support him. As mentioned in the summary

of Term 2, it is likely that such a positive change may be a result of a shift in

perspective where one starts to see one‟s self as part of the whole instead of separate to

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it. Therefore, Sam‟s experience demonstrates how a rebalancing of perspectives

through affective concepts based on the Einsteinian approach may assist in addressing

issues that arise out of a competitive mindset such as performance nerves. In general,

students who were able to successfully integrate affective concepts into their music

performance studies started reporting similar outcomes as Sam in their written work as

well as their discussions during this cycle.

Therefore, the above positive outcomes experienced by students suggest that

teacher-led classroom actions taken in Cycle 2 based on students‟ felt-needs worked and

that the Einsteinian approach may be useful to students to assist them in rebalancing

their competitive mindset. Overall, there was a sense that the integration of affective

concepts started producing positive outcomes as the cycle progressed. Table 22

summarizes the insights gained in Cycle 2.

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Table 22

Summary of Insights Gained in Cycle 2

INSIGHTS GAINED

Action Research Term 3

Students seemed able to access the concept of

gratitude through wonder.

Concept of wonder appeared to allow students

to listen intently to the tone that they are

producing on their instruments.

Inquiring into students‟ felt-needs appeared to

allow students to be more willing to engage

with affective concepts.

Students do not need to be convinced of the

importance in gaining a deeper and more

meaningful approach to their music

performance studies. They can come to

realize this for themselves.

More students started reporting on how they

felt a sense of respect after integrating the

Einsteinian approach.

Term 3 Findings

Student felt-needs is an important element in

the process of integrating affective concepts of


Reflection remains an important tool for

students in integrating the Einsteinian

approach.

Allowing students to discover for themselves

the importance of a meaningful approach

instead of convincing them of it.

Respect can result from the application of

affective concept of gratitude and humility.

Term 3 Summary

Work

Reflection


Students‟ felt-needs

Did Not Work

Logic and Reason

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Data Collection

The data collected during the 18 sessions of Cycle 2 were:

In-class worksheets

In Cycle 2, in-class worksheets were administered in Sessions 1, 2 and 6 of

Term 1, Session 5 of Term 2 and Sessions 2,3 and 6 of Term 3. No in-class worksheets

were handed out in the rest of the other sessions during Cycle 2 as those sessions were

spent entirely in discussion with students. One in-class worksheet was administered in

each session except for Session 6 of Term 3 where students were required to complete

two in-class worksheets. As there were five students in this class with two students

absent during Session 2 of Term 3, worksheets collected during the course of Cycle 2

totalled 38.

In-class worksheets used in Cycle 2 were structured in a similar manner to Cycle

1, where pre-prepared questions on these worksheets would typically contain a balance

between guided questions that were structured to ensure that students would reflect

within the boundaries of the topic to be considered and an opportunity for students to

explore their thoughts in relation to the content of the session. These in-class

worksheets were handed out to students during the session and collected at the end of

the session.

Teacher-researcher journal

As in the preliminary phases and Cycle 1 of the action research, a detailed

teacher-researcher journal was maintained as a tool for recording observations and

thoughts, and student comments and reactions in relation to the progress of the sessions.

This journal was also used as a means of reflecting on teacher-led classroom actions

taken during the session as well as a source for exploring further ideas. In Cycle 2,

these journal entries were maintained electronically and entries were made at the end of

each classroom session.

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Transcripts of DVD recordings

During Cycle 2 a video recorder was used to record the classroom discussion

sessions. It was planned for all sessions in Cycle 2 to be recorded on a video recorder

as all sessions were structured to contain a mixture of written reflection and discussion

or discussion only. However, although 18 sessions were held during Cycle 2, only 14

sessions were recorded. Session 1 of Term 2 was not recorded due to a technical error

on the video recorder, and the recorder was not available for Sessions 1 and 4 of Term 1

and Session 4 of Term 2. Recordings made were then transferred to DVD format and

transcribed.

Expanded Worksheets

These worksheets are lengthier than the ones administered during the in-class

sessions. These expanded worksheets were structured as daily reflective journals where

students were required to apply the affective concepts discussed during the course. Two

expanded worksheets were administered during Cycle 2 - the first in Session 5 of Term

2 and the second in Session 3 of Term 3.

The first expanded worksheet required students to complete ten written

reflections over a period of ten days. Here, students were instructed to focus on

Einstein‟s concept of gratitude. Students had to complete the first eight reflections

focussing specifically on the efforts that have gone into the making of their instrument

with the other two remaining written reflections focussing on their daily life events.

Students were instructed to complete these reflections at the start of their practice

sessions over the next ten days.

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The second expanded worksheet required students to complete eight written

reflections on humility over eight days and to report on any experiences they

encountered as a result. Each reflection was guided by two questions:

1. What did you do today as an activity to practise the above concept (of humility)?

2. What did you experience or notice when you did this?

All five students completed the first expanded worksheet, but one student did not

hand in the second. This made a total of nine expanded worksheets collected during

Cycle 2.


As before, the analysis is reported in two sections - the first reports on the

observational data collected during the cycle and the second reports on the analysis

conducted on the in-class worksheets, DVD transcripts and expanded worksheets. And

as in Cycle 1, data were categorized into teacher-led classroom actions that worked and

did not work. As will be shown, the analysis conducted in Cycle 2 on student in-class

worksheets, DVD transcripts and the expanded worksheets indicated that the teacher-led

classroom actions taken during Cycle 2 worked. Throughout the analysis, the same

response indicators were used (see pp.120-121).

Observations during Cycle 2

Again, observations made during all classroom sessions were noted in the

teacher-researcher journal where these observations allowed initial links to be

established between teacher-led classroom actions and student responses. Information

gathered during these observations served as interim findings, which formed the

beginnings of the analysis that followed.

In Cycle 2, students repeatedly exhibited positive behaviours and were reporting

positive outcomes in their integration of the Einsteinian approach. Positive student

behaviours such as being attentive during the discussion sessions, high levels of

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concentration along with an open mindedness and willingness to apply the affective

concepts to their music performance studies, were repeatedly seen. Furthermore,

students also reported how they found the Einsteinian approach to be relevant to their

music performance studies, saying how such an approach has made a difference to their

music performance studies. Students were also able to demonstrate the ability to grasp

the concepts presented well and did not need to be convinced of the importance of

integrating such concepts into their music performance studies. Instead, it appears that

when students were guided to discover the affective concepts for themselves, they were

able to gain an appreciation for the usefulness of these concepts in relation to their

music performance studies without any resistance. Examples of these with student

comments were given during the descriptive sessions.

Apart from students‟ positive behaviour, positive musical outcomes and other

benefits gained from the integration were also reported. For example, in Session 2 of

Term 3, Sam reported on how he felt more “confident and comfortable” performing in

front of people and in Session 4, Term 3, Jerry comments on how the integration of the

affective concept of humility gets him “out of the state of worrying about anything.”

Such feedback from students suggests that they are starting to be able to integrate the

Einsteinian approach with some success. Also, as Cycle 2 progressed, students often

referred to feeling a sense of respect upon s successful integration of the Einsteinian

approach.

Entries made in the teacher-researcher journal during the course of this cycle

generated a more positive tone overall unlike the previous cycle where frustration and

disappointment were common. Here are two examples of journal entries from the

teacher-researcher journal during Cycle 2.

WOW!!!.... I guess I really felt the connection with the boys today for the first

time. It came together.”

(Teacher-researcher journal reflection entry - Cycle 2/ Term 2/ Session 1)

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Here is another excerpt:

This session was incredible!!! Sam, Matthew and Harry experienced something

extraordinary. They experienced these intangible concepts. I was so excited to

see this and I could see how they were quite amazed by how they felt.

(Teacher-researcher journal reflection entry - Cycle 2/ Term 2/ Session 2)

Overall, the observational and journal data strongly suggested that the approach

through students‟ felt-needs and giving voice to students proved to be effective and was

considered to have worked.

Analysis of in-class worksheets, DVD transcripts and expanded worksheets - Cycle

2

In Cycle 2, 38 in-class worksheets, 14 DVD transcripts and nine expanded

worksheets were analysed. As will be shown, the majority of data collected during

Cycle 2 was coded as worked.

In-Class Worksheets

Each in-class worksheet was coded against the five response indicators. An

Excel spreadsheet was used to assist in the analysis where the term “Present” (P) or

“Not Present” (NP) was used to denote if the worksheet showed or did not show that

particular indicator. However, indicators Nos.4 and 5, which refer to students‟ ability to

successfully integrate the Einsteinian approach with positive results, were not relevant

until the last two worksheets. Where this applied, the term „Not Relevant‟ (NR) is

shown on the table. The letters “AB” were used to denote student absences. Table 23

summarizes the analysis of the worksheets.

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Table 23

Analysis of In-Class Worksheets (Cycle 2)

Term Session Worksheet No. Name

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

1 1 1 Sam P P P NR NR NP NP NP NR NR

1 Matthew P P P NR NR NP NP NP NR NR

1 Harry P P P NR NR NP NP NP NR NR

1 Jerry P P P NR NR NP NP NP NR NR

1 Barry P P P NR NR NP NP NP NR NR

















5 Matthew AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB


5 Jerry AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB



6 Matthew P NP P NR NR NP P NP NR NR




3 6 (Part 1) 7 Sam P P P P P NP NP NP NP NP

7 Matthew P P P P P NP NP NP NP NP

7 Harry P P P P P NP NP NP NP NP

7 Jerry P NP P NP NP NP P NP P P

7 Barry P P P P NP NP NP NP NP P

3 6 (Part 2) 8 Sam P P P P P NP NP NP NP NP

8 Matthew P P P P P NP NP NP NP NP

8 Harry P P P P P NP NP NP NP NP

8 Jerry P P P P P NP NP NP NP NP

8 Barry P P P P P NP NP NP NP NP



not evident in the data; NR = Not Relevant – meaning indicator was not relevant to the data; AB = Absent

from class.

The table shows that students in Cycle 2 were open to exploring affective

concepts and were willing to participate from the start of the cycle, and that most

students were able to successfully integrate the Einsteinian approach with positive

outcomes by the end of the cycle. An exception to this general pattern is the case of

Jerry in Session 6 of Term 3. However, by the end of this cycle, the second expanded

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worksheet from Jerry showed evidence of a successful integration of the Einsteinian

approach.

As Matthew was absent from Session 2 of Term 3, his peers took on the role to

explain the affective concept of humility to him in the following session based on an

intellectual approach. It was found that this caused Matthew a minor setback in terms

of his ability to find relevance of such a concept in relation to his music performance

studies. However, such a result serves to reconfirm the finding that intellectualizing

affective concepts do not work. Therefore, in the instance of the analysis of Matthew‟s

in-class worksheet during Session 3 of Term 3, where the response indicator No. 2 for

“work” in reference to the relevance of such an approach was coded as “Not Present,”

this actually denotes a result that further strengthens the overall findings.

The analysis from the in-class worksheet data clearly showed that overall,

students from Cycle 2 had performed better than students in Cycle 1 indicating that

teacher-led classroom actions taken during Cycle 2, worked.

DVD Transcripts

Each of the 14 DVDs was transcribed and then coded against the five response

indicators. Sections of the transcript that related to the response indicators were then

highlighted and transferred to the Excel spreadsheet. Table 24 summarizes the analysis

of the DVD transcripts.

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Table 24

Analysis of DVD Transcripts (Cycle 2)

Cycle Year Term Session Transcript

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

2 11 1 2 D1 P P P NR NR NP NP NP NR NR


2 11 1 5 D3 P NP NP NR NR NP P P NR NR

2 11 1 6 D4 P P P P P NP NP NP NP NP






2 11 3 3 D10 P P P P P NP P NP P P








Once again, the table shows that students were open to exploring affective

concepts of the Einsteinian approach earlier on in Cycle 2 and were willing to

participate in the discussions that were held. Overall, students found the concepts of the

Einsteinian approach to be relevant earlier on in the cycle. They were also able to

successfully integrate the approach and reported benefits evident at the start of Term 3.

In Session 5 of Term 1, students found the content presented in the classroom to

be irrelevant and did not contribute well to the discussions held as they reported feeling

confused. As explained in the descriptive account of this session, teacher-led classroom

actions based on an intellectual approach were employed during this session. Therefore,

the analysis of Table 24 for this session affirms the finding made previously that

affective approaches cannot be intellectualized.

In Session 3 of Term 3, response indicators Nos. 2,4 and 5 for work and did not

work were present in the transcript. As mentioned, Matthew who was absent in the

previous session found it difficult in this session to comprehend how humility could be

useful to him. While other students were trying to explain to Matthew how the affective

concept of humility can be useful to his music performance studies, in approaching it

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intellectually, Matthew did not appear to be convinced. Thus, the transcript for this

session showed both indicators for work and did not work to be present at the same time

for this reason. An explanation to this was provided previously in terms of how results

of this analysis actually serves to strengthen the overall finding that intellectualizing

affective concepts did not work.

Expanded Worksheet 1

The five first expanded worksheets were coded against the five response

indicators. An Excel spreadsheet was again used to assist in the summary of the

analysis. Table 25 summarizes the analysis of the first expanded worksheet.

Table 25

Analysis of Expanded Worksheet 1 (Cycle 2)



The analysis of the first expanded worksheet shown in Table 25 indicates that

overall, students were open to exploring the Einsteinian concept of gratitude, and found

this to be relevant to their music performance studies. Students also demonstrated the

ability to integrate the Einsteinian approach and reported on how the approach made a

positive to their music performance studies apart from Jerry. However, although Jerry

was unable to successfully integrate the Einsteinian approach, nonetheless, he was open

to learning about the concepts and did find the concept to be relevant to his music

performance studies. Furthermore, as mentioned, Jerry did eventually manage to apply

Expanded Student

Worksheet Name 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

1 Sam P P NR P P NP NP NR NP NP

1 Matthew P P NR P P NP NP NR NP NP

1 Harry P P NR P P NP NP NR NP NP

1 Jerry P P NR NP NP NP NP NR P P

1 Barry P P NR P P NP NP NR NP NP


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affective concepts based on the Einsteinian approach with some success in the second

expanded worksheet at the end of Cycle 2.


The same analysis for the four second expanded worksheets was conducted.

(Barry did not hand in his work.) Table 26 summarizes the analysis of the second

expanded worksheet.

Table 26

Analysis of Expanded Worksheet 2 (Cycle 2)

Expanded Student

Worksheet Name 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

2 Sam P P NR P P NP NP NR NP NP

2 Matthew P P NR P P NP NP NR NP NP

2 Harry P P NR P P NP NP NR NP NP

2 Jerry P P NR P P NP NP NR NP NP




Table 26 shows clearly that all four students in Cycle 2 were able to integrate the

Einsteinian approach and reported gaining benefits from the approach at the end of the

cycle.

Summary of Analysis for in-class worksheets, DVDs and expanded worksheets

The analysis of the 38 in-class worksheets, 14 DVD transcripts and nine

expanded worksheets showed that students consistently demonstrated openness to

learning about affective concepts of the Einsteinian approach and found these concepts

to be relevant to their music performance studies. Students also participated and

contributed well during the in-class activities. Although the levels of success in the

integration of the Einsteinian approach varied between students, overall, students were

able to gain positive experiences from the integration by the end of the cycle.

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Findings for Cycle 2

The analysis of three different sources of data from Cycle 2 - student worksheets,

DVD transcripts and expanded worksheets - indicates that teacher-led classroom actions

taken during Cycle 2 worked. Specifically:

1. As Table 23 of the in-class worksheet analysis , Table 24 of the DVD transcripts,

Table 25 of the first expanded worksheets and Table 26 of the second expanded

worksheets all indicate that overall, response indicators for worked were more

evident to the ones that did not work with very few exceptions.

2. Data coded as “worked” was proportionately larger in comparison to Cycle 1 with

students demonstrating an understanding of the approach in terms of a successful

integration as well as the accumulation of positive outcomes.

3. Data coded as “did not work” was of a different quality to Cycle 1, in that even

when students were unable to gain positive outcomes due to their inability to fully

apply the Einsteinian approach, students did demonstrate perseverance and a

willingness to try.

4. The analysis carried out on the three different sources of data indicated that

students were open and willing to explore the use of affective concepts into their

music performance studies early in the cycle with such an attitude being sustained

right throughout the cycle.

Table 27 now provides the complete summary of teacher-led classroom actions

that worked and did not work bringing together preliminary Phases 1 and 2 and action

research Cycles 1 and 2.

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Table 27

Complete Summary of the Findings of Teacher-Led Classroom Actions

Research Cycle Teacher-led classroom actions Work (W)/

Did Not Work

(DNW)

Preliminary Phase 1

(One-To-One)

Reflection

W


(Year 11)

Reflection

and

Intellectualization of Einsteinian concepts

DNW


(Year 10)

Reflection

and


and


W


(Year 11)

Reflection

and


and


W


(Year 11)

Reflection

and

Intellectualization of Einsteinian affective

concepts

and

Convincing students of the importance of

the Einsteinian approach

DNW


(Year 11)

Reflection

and


and

Addressing students‟ felt-needs

W

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Toward a General Principle of an Einsteinian Approach

Findings at the end of Cycle 2 led to the question of whether a general principle

can be formulated by comparing teacher-led classroom actions that worked and those

that did not work. In essence, teacher-led classroom actions that worked were

reflection, students‟ felt-needs, giving voice to the student and student self-discovery,

and those that did not work were intellectualizing and convincing students.

One common thread that runs through reflection, students‟ felt-needs, student

self-discovery and giving voice to students is the internal aspect of the self. Thus:

Reflection

While reflecting, students are exploring their thoughts, drawing on knowledge

gained based on their past experiences in combination with their imagination. The

process of reflection is essentially introspective.

Students‟ Felt-Needs

Students‟ felt-needs result from their perception of what they feel to be

important to them. This being so, an emotional component is involved. Emotions

function on a personal level and are found within the student.

Students‟ Self-Discovery

Students discover and form an understanding of concepts on their own. Thus,

self-discovery of knowledge takes place within the student.

Giving Voice to Students

Allowing students to talk through what they think and how they feel. This

comes from the internal self of the student.

By contrast, intellectualization and convincing students seem to depend more on

an external sources or events. Thus:

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Intellectualization

The process of intellectualizing involves the ability to reason through knowledge

generally acquired from external sources. For students, these sources may be books or

direct instruction from the teacher.

Convincing Students

The act of convincing involves an attempt to impose knowledge onto students.

This does not require students to be proactive in generating knowledge. Instead, it

requires students to reach a level of acceptance of the knowledge that is being taught.

Here, again, students are being influenced by an external source.

Thus, the internal versus external modalities seemed to be an important

distinguishing characteristic between teacher-led classroom actions that worked and

those that did not work. This in turn suggests the more general categories of

“intrapersonal” and “interpersonal.” Following this line of reasoning, reflection,

students‟ felt-needs, student self-discovery and giving voice to students, which are

based on internal aspects of the self, are intrapersonal, and intellectualizing and

convincing students, which involve an external entity, are interpersonal. This is

summarized in Table 28 which shows that the intrapersonal approach worked in

introducing the integration of affective concepts based on the Einsteinian approach,

whereas the interpersonal approach did not work.

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Table 28

Toward a General Principle of an Einsteinian Approach

Classroom

Action

Characteristic

Student + (X)

Category

W/

DNW

General Principle of

an

Einsteinian

Approach

Reflection

Student exploring

their own thoughts

Student + Own

Thoughts

Internal

W

INTRA-

PERSONAL

Student felt-

needs

Student-based

perspective

Student + Own

Emotions

Internal

W

Student self-

discovery

Student‟s internal

regulation of their

personal

understanding of

concepts learnt

Student + Own

Understanding

Internal

W

Giving voice to

students

Students voicing

what they think and

how they feel

Student +Own

Emotions Internal

W

Intellectualize

Student drawing on

external source of

knowledge

Student +

External Source

External

DNW

INTER-

PERSONAL

Act of

convincing

Student being

influenced by an

external source

Student +

External

Perspective

External

DNW

This suggests that a general principle for a successful integration of the

Einsteinian approach requires intrapersonal elements as these affective concepts appear

to not be directly teachable or logically comprehensible through the process of

intellectualization. Instead, a successful integration of the Einsteinian approach requires

the student to engage with these concepts at an internal level. In other words, the

integration of the Einsteinian approach requires the teacher to act as a guide to assist

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students to look within themselves through reflection, in order that they may gain a

personal understanding of affective concepts through self-discovery.

This chapter has reported on action research Cycle 2. All sessions held were

described and the data collection and analyses were reported. Based on the findings

from the analyses, a general principle of an Einsteinian approach was suggested.

The next chapter is the final chapter of this thesis. A summary will be provided

along with conclusions, a discussion and recommendations.

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CHAPTER 8

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter will provide a summary of the research, its methods and its

findings. It will then draw conclusions and discuss them, highlighting the main themes

relating to the integration of affective approaches within music performance education

(MPE). The final section will include recommendations and concluding comments.

Summary

Summary of Research

The purpose of this research was to investigate how to integrate affective

concepts based on Einstein‟s humanistic and philosophical approaches to thinking into

MPE at the secondary school level as a way to rebalance a competition driven culture

evident in the current practices of MPE.

The background to the current practices of MPE was provided in Chapter 1.

That chapter describes how activities such as music performance examinations,

auditions for music scholarships and bursaries, music auditions for orchestral

placements, annual music eisteddfods and music festivals, form the typical environment

for the high school music performance student in the private and public schooling

sectors in Western Australia. An explanation was provided on how these activities

encouraged students to have a competitive mindset.

When competing, students tend to focus on winning at the expense of

developing a deeper appreciation for the music that they are performing. Issues arising

out of the competitive driven practices of MPE, namely the diminished capacity for high

school music performance students to engage with the music that they were performing

in a deep and meaningful manner, were discussed.

Renewed interest at the start of the millennium in the use of affective variables

in education has the potential to counteract the competitive mindset of the high school

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music student performer. An approach based on Einstein‟s humanistic and

philosophical approach to thinking involving the use of affective variables was

designed.

An extensive review of research literature at the start of the millennium on

music performance by Gabrielsson (2003) has shown how research in the area of music

performance has demonstrated a concentration of effort in the reporting of research

based on cognitive and motor skills. A search of the relevant databases found similar

research trends apart from the growing interest in relation to neuroscience, where

investigations into how the brain functions in relation to the processing of music seem

to be gaining interest. However, studies based on affective variables such as gratitude,

humility and wonder in relation to MPE, were not found. Although research into

emotion and music involves consideration of affective variables, a distinct difference

exists between how affective variables are being considered in this piece of research to

that in the area of emotion and music. This distinction was also explained.

In keeping with the global shift in perspective toward a more meaningful

outcomes-based approach, a practical application based on affective variables was

designed using the method of action research. The central research question was: “How

can an Einsteinian approach be incorporated into a competitively driven music

performance education culture at the secondary school level?” The three concepts of

gratitude, humility and wonder, were chosen and used in introducing an affective-based

approach to MPE at the secondary school level. This is called here an Einsteinian

approach.

Summary of Methods

Action research based on the perspective of a teacher-researcher was used as the

method in answering the research question. A preliminary study, containing two phases

was followed by two major cycles of action research.

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Data collected during these cycles include student in-class worksheets, student

expanded worksheets, audio and DVD transcripts of classroom sessions and a detailed

teacher-researcher journal. In the analysis, data were coded into two categories of

teacher-led classroom actions that worked or did not work in successfully implementing

the Einsteinian approach, based on a set of response indicators. Indicators 1 to 3 were

used in the first and second phases of the preliminary research. Two additional

indicators were added in the two major action research cycles. The five indicators in

each category were:





of the Einsteinian approach to be relevant.



4. Students were able to integrate the concepts of the Einsteinian approach to their


5. Students report that they found the Einsteinian approach made a positive

difference to their music performance studies.


1. Students are not open to exploring content presented in the classroom that targets

the development of the Einsteinian approach.


of the Einsteinian approach to be irrelevant.



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4. Students were unable to integrate the concepts of the Einsteinian approach to their


5. Students report that they found the Einsteinian approach made no difference to


The vast majority of the data in Cycle 1 indicated that teacher-led classroom

actions taken did not work. In order to learn more about how such an approach might

work, data that contained the most negative comments and responses from students

were analysed. Each sentence of the data was analysed to infer the student‟s thinking

patterns. Recurring patterns found were categorized and interpreted. This led to a

modification of the teacher-led classroom actions taken and to other questions, which

assisted in the planning of Cycle 2.

The data from Cycle 2 showed clearly that the modifications worked. Students

were open to the content presented in the classroom and found it to be relevant. The

data also showed that students participated well in the classroom activities. For each of

the in-class worksheets, DVDs and expanded worksheets, the tables that summarized

the analyses also showed that students were generally able to integrate the Einsteinian

approach successfully and reported positive benefits from the integration with an

exception of one student. However, this student did manage to integrate the Einsteinian

approach with some success by the end of Cycle 2.

Summary of Research Findings

The main findings from the two cycles of action research were:

1. The analysis of in-class worksheet data (see Table 23), DVD transcripts (see

Table 24), first expanded worksheet (see Table 25) and second expanded

worksheet (see Table 26) all indicate that overall, the data were dominated by

response indicators which showed that teacher-led classroom actions taken during

Cycle 2 worked.

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2. Teacher-led classroom actions taken during Cycle 1 did not work based on the

analysis of data from the three sources of in-class worksheets (see Table 10),

audio transcripts (Table 11) and questionnaire (Tables 13-16).

3. Reflection is an important component in the integration of the Einsteinian

approach.

4. Affective concepts do not fit well with the process of reasoning or

intellectualizing.

5. In giving voice to students and their felt-needs, students become better able to

remain open to the integration of these affective concepts.

6. Students need to be guided to arrive at these affective concepts through their own

discovery.

Analysis of these findings suggested a possible general principle:

Teacher-led classroom actions that “worked” in the integration of the Einsteinian

approach demonstrated a connection between the student and their inner self.

(This was described as “intrapersonal.”)

Teacher-led classroom actions that “did not work” in the integration of the

Einsteinian approach demonstrated a connection between the student and an

external factor. (This was described as “interpersonal.”)

Conclusions

The aim of this thesis has been to inquire into how three affective concepts based

on Einstein‟s philosophical and humanistic approach to thinking – gratitude, humility

and wonder - can be integrated into MPE at the secondary classroom level. The

findings suggest four main conclusions:

1. Successful integration of the Einsteinian approach based on affective concepts

requires students to take on an introspective outlook and an ability to reflect

deeply as music student performers.

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2. Affective concepts cannot be taught based on traditional learning approaches

which seek to use knowledge from an external source, for example, through

reading or direct instruction. Instead, students need to gain an understanding of

these concepts through self-discovery.

3. The role of the teacher is to guide students toward self-discovery of affective

concepts instead of convincing students of the importance of integrating such an

approach.

4. Giving voice to students and learning about their felt-needs, through the issues

and problems that they are currently encountering as high school student music

performers, is pivotal to the integration of the Einsteinian approach.

Discussion

While there are many aspects that can be discussed, six main points will be

considered: The typical teaching approach in music performance, the mismatch

between MPE and music education philosophies and its ideals, the lack of affective

teaching approaches in MPE, education as therapy, classroom size and recognizing the

importance of looking within the „self‟ in relation to the integration of the Einsteinian

approach.

Teaching Approach in Music Performance

Although music education embraces a variety of teaching approaches, with the

most prominent being those of Kodály, Orff, Suzuki and Dalcroze, music performance

which lies at the heart of music education continues to maintain a more traditional

approach of a master-apprentice model, where the performance student assumes the

latter role. Based on the current practices of MPE, where emphasis is placed on

achievement as outlined in Chapter 2, the focus of music performance students is on

winning and achieving high marks. In placing emphasis on achievement, students tend

to adhere strictly to the instructions handed down by their teacher, as this is often

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construed to be the shortest route to success. As a result, opportunities to discover a

deeper and more meaningful reason for studying to be a music performer are often

neglected. Unfortunately, students are likely to accept such a learning model without

questioning, as an accent on achievement is strongly etched into the psyche of

adolescent music students due to the current competition driven culture of MPE. There

are no grounds to believe that the competitive culture of MPE is changing.

Furthermore, the reality of competition is unlikely to diminish. In fact, it is possible

that the competitive culture of MPE may be augmented as a result of the movement

toward a teacher merit pay system in Australia (Ingvarson, Kleinhenz, & Wilkinson,

2008, p. 106).

Whilst the master-apprentice model of teaching may remain the preferred mode,

the findings of this research demonstrate that allowing students the opportunity to

reflect and to voice their thoughts and concerns as a music performer can also prove to

be rewarding. In a similar vein, Cook-Sather (2002) argues strongly for what she terms

the “authorization of student perspective” as being a vital component in the shaping of

an educational reform. She says:

Because of who they are, what they know, and how they are positioned, students

must be recognized as having knowledge essential to the development of sound

educational policies and practices. Because of who we are, what we know, and

how we are positioned, we need to authorize students‟ perspectives by changing

the participant structures as well as the participants in policymaking and practice-

shaping conversations about education. (p.12)

The integration of an Einsteinian approach was not intended to replace the current

practices or any other mainstream teaching approaches of MPE. Instead, as suggested

by the usage of the term “integration,” the Einsteinian approach was developed to

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complement the current practices of MPE in order to provide a better balance. The

findings suggest that affective concepts based on the Einsteinian approach have the

potential to assist in countering the negative effects caused by a competitive mindset of

adolescent music performance students. Integrating the Einsteinian approach may

provide these students with an opportunity to search for a deeper and more meaningful

way to engage with the activity of music performance, thus providing a more holistic

approach overall.

Mismatch between Music Education Philosophies and Ideals, and MPE

Establishing meaning in music has often been the domain of music education

philosophers. As MPE is a major part of music education in general, it would make

sense for the philosophical perspectives of music education to serve as a guide in

steering the current practices of MPE. It is also reasonable to assume that, within any

given area of study, the current practices within that area will align with its

philosophical underpinnings. However, as outlined in Chapter 2, a disparity exists

between music education philosophies and its ideals, and the current practices of MPE,

where the former aims for inclusivity, as opposed to the latter, which promotes

exclusivity.

If the grounds that are used to construct meaning and its accompanying ideals

are found to be in conflict with its practical applications, a major discrepancy between

intent and action inevitably results. Such a situation may present an opportunity for

criticisms to arise, as in saying one thing and doing another, an incongruence in the

overall objective of music education becomes apparent.

As the competitive mindset is still present within the current practices of MPE, it

is reasonable to assume that such a mismatch may have gone unidentified by the

majority of stakeholders. However, such a mismatch needs to be resolved if MPE is to

provide a deep and meaningful education for the music student performer. Therefore, it

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is hoped that practical integration of affective variables through the Einsteinian

approach will serve to bridge such a gap.

The Lack of Affective Approaches within MPE

As mentioned, a search of the relevant databases was unable to find studies

being conducted in MPE using affective concepts such as gratitude, humility or wonder.

A possible reason for this may be due to the lack of association between these affective

concepts and MPE.

Links between MPE and affective concepts such as gratitude and humility are

not easily made as these concepts are not often seen as belonging to the domain of

music. In other words, these affective concepts do not have a direct relationship with

MPE. Therefore, the lack of research into such affective concepts within MPE is to be

expected.

The findings of this research suggest that affective concepts may be useful to

MPE. High school music performance students participating in this research have

reported on how the integration of these affective concepts has assisted them in

resolving their issues in relation to music performance. Given that potential

connections may be present between affective concepts and MPE, it would seem that

research into affective concepts in relation to MPE warrants further consideration. It is

hoped that findings of this research will encourage further development into the area.

Education as Therapy

As the title of the book suggests, Ecclestone and Hayes‟(2009) publication entitled, The

dangerous rise of therapeutic education cautions educators regarding possible issues

that may arise when education co-mingles with the management of students‟ emotional

well-being. Although it would pay for educators to be aware of the issues targeted by

these authors, Mintz‟s (2009) review of the above material argues for a more balanced

perspective. Underlying the various reasons put forth by Ecclestone and Hayes (2009)

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against emotional learning, is the fear that education of the heart may replace education

of the mind. This was certainly a concern voiced by parents during the initial stages of

the integration of the Einsteinian approach. However, findings over the course of the

entire action research indicate that through maintaining relevance and giving

consideration to students‟ felt-needs during the process of integration of affective

concepts, students were able to gain benefits while still being educated, achieving a

more meaningful outcome in their subject content.

Classroom Size

Being a small scale study, no definitive statements are made in the

generalizability of its findings. However, advantages are present within the smaller

numbers of participants. The smaller numbers within the classroom presented students

with the opportunity to get to know each other thus, creating stronger bonds with one

another. Such bonding between peers inevitably provides a safe learning environment

where honest exchanges between students are possible. In other words, within these

smaller numbers, students were more likely to be open to sharing their deepest fears and

concerns without worrying about feeling intimidated, as may be the case with a larger

sized classroom. Therefore, the smaller group of students has possibly contributed to

providing data that was richer and more authentic overall.

From the perspective of the teacher-researcher, the smaller numbers allowed for

deeper understanding of how each student thought and learnt, thus making it possible to

acquire a better grasp of their thinking – an element which would have been difficult to

gain in a larger group which tends to generate a more impersonal classroom dynamic.

In looking to analyse students‟ thinking patterns, this led to a more focused analysis of

data.

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Recognizing the Importance of Looking Within the ‘Self’

A significant finding of this research is the importance of getting students to a

position where they are able to engage with affective concepts of the Einsteinian

approach from within themselves. Such a perspective runs contrary to what is typically

perceived as a way of learning in music classrooms as often music students gain

knowledge through direct instruction. However, the findings suggest that successful

integration of the Einsteinian approach is more likely to occur when students are able to

engage with these affective concepts by arriving at an understanding of these concepts

on their own.

The above finding is in line with McNeill‟s (2001) theory of A State of

Preparedness where she concludes the following:

One of the characteristics of a deep approach to learning is that only when the

task related to the students‟ world or personal experiences, as distinct from the

experience of the task as an end in itself, is it possible for high quality learning

to occur. (p. 208)

She continues to argue for this position by saying:

...students‟ experiences of their learning process can be both barren and perhaps

even unauthentic if they are not encouraged to articulate what is important to

them in their academic studies and if they are not encouraged to do so at the

level of “personal resonance.” (p. 209)

“Personal resonance” can be effected by listening to students and allowing them

to voice their own personal issues and problems related to their journey as developing

musicians. This was also another feature found to be central in the successful

integration of the Einsteinian approach. From this, a new role of the teacher as a guide

instead of an instructor, becomes necessary. The focus is now placed on students and

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the ownership of their learning experience, which essentially stems from within the

student‟s inner „self.‟ This may be a challenging aspect to implement in the integration

of the Einsteinian approach but nonetheless necessary.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Practice

1. High school music performance students often study under the tutelage of an

instrumental specialist either within the school, whereby an allocated time

separate to the classroom music is provided on an individual basis or with a

private specialist tutor selected outside of school. During this time, students often

concentrate on the technical and musical aspects of their performance studies.

Music classes offered by the school as part of the curriculum often neglect to

provide student performers with any further support in relation to music

performance. As it is often difficult for instrumental specialist teachers to address

issues beyond the technical and musical aspects of students‟ music performance

studies during their instrumental teaching time, the incorporation of a music

performance class where music students are allocated time to reflect and discover

for themselves the positive results that can be gained through the integration of the

Einsteinian approach is recommended.

2. Music educators need to be made aware of the potential that the Einsteinian

approach holds in terms of its ability to enhance the learning experience of music

performance students. Pre-service teachers would also benefit from gaining an

understanding of how to integrate such an approach into their teaching during

their pre-service teaching years. Similarly, assisting parents to gain better

awareness of the benefits that can result from such an approach is also important

in order that they too may support their child toward gaining a more meaningful

education as a music performer.

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3. It is essential that teachers themselves gain some personal experience through

self-discovery of how affective concepts function prior to integrating the

Einsteinian approach into their teaching, as this will allow them to have a better

understanding of how to guide their students toward self-discovery of these

concepts.

4. As with the generous support provided by the departmental and administrative

staff of the school in which this research was conducted, schools considering the

integration of such an approach need to adopt a similar stance in terms of

providing generous support to teachers who are interested in integrating such an

approach.

5. Structuring a set time within the school timetable for the establishment of such an

approach is an important part of the integrative process. As the Einsteinian

approach is not considered a mainstream teaching method, a structured time

within the school timetable provides students with the confidence that such an

approach is endorsed by the school and is considered essential. This will impact

positively on students‟ perceptions of such an approach.

6. Holding weekend retreats to reinforce the use of the Einsteinian approach over a

concentrated period of time, as a refresher course, can also be beneficial for

students. A weekend retreat was in fact held with the same four students from

Cycle 2 in the following year, where these students spent a weekend integrating

affective concepts based on the Einsteinian approach to assist in their preparation

for the upcoming music performance examination. A concert performance

concluded the weekend retreat where parents were invited to be part of the

audience. During this time, students again reported positive benefits such as

improved concentration and focus in the practice sessions during the retreat as

well as feeling comfortable while performing at the concert held at the end of the

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retreat. The following week, an unsolicited letter from the instrumental teacher of

a student who participated in the retreat was sent to the Director of Music, in

which this instrumental teacher notes the progress made by his student, which

were very encouraging overall [see Appendix S].

Recommendations for Further Research

1. While the direction of the findings of this research seem to be quite clear, this

study makes no definitive statements in the generalizability of its findings, as this

is a small scale exploratory study. Therefore, future research needs to consider

further work within this topic on a larger scale to replicate the same findings.

Sampling a wider range of situations such as types of students, types of school

environments or wider range of teachers, should be considered.

2. Based on the well known aptitude-treatment interaction effect in educational

research (Cronbach & Snow, 1977), there remains the question of the extent to

which the approach used here would work for other types of students. The

students in this study were from an elite, all-boys private high school. Therefore,

this would raise the question as to the extent in which the approach described as

working in this study, may or may not work with other types of students such as

female or co-educational students and lower secondary or primary school

students. Future research should investigate these areas.

3. There was awareness that the personality of the teacher may have an influence on

the classroom behaviour of students which in turn may influence the research

findings. However, in the case of this research, the collected data demonstrate

that student behaviours, both positive and negative, were found to be consistent

with the teacher-led classroom actions that were taken over an extended period of

time. This also occurred over the course of the action research cycles involving

different sets of students. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that whilst teacher

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personality could possibly have an effect on the outcome of student behaviours,

the consistent behaviours demonstrated by students against the teacher-led

classroom actions over an extended period of time throughout the two cycles of

the research, suggest that students‟ behaviours were likely to be caused by the

teacher-led classroom actions that were taken, and that teacher personality did not

have a significant impact in the overall outcome of the findings. However, future

research should also inquire into the dimension of teacher personality in relation

to the integration of such an approach by sampling a wider range of teachers and

their efforts during the integration of such an approach.

4. Does the Einsteinian approach make any difference to students‟ quality of music

learning? While this study has shown that overall, there is a general sense that

over time, students‟ quality of learning did improve having successfully integrated

the Einsteinian approach, such findings are only indicative. As such, we have to

place caution in generalizing these findings. Although it has been beyond the

scope of this study to investigate the effects of the Einsteinian approach on

students‟ quality of music learning, it is nonetheless an important question which

should be considered in future studies. In particular, further research might

consider the use of more controlled experimental designs where students exposed

to the Einsteinian approach may be compared in their learning and performance

with equivalent students not exposed to such an approach. Alternatively (or in

addition), longitudinal studies could be planned, which collected performance data

over time for students exposed to the Einsteinian approach.

5. Time allocated to each of the cycles was unequal. It may be questioned if the

shorter time allocated to Cycle 1 may have contributed to it not working. Firstly,

it was not planned for Cycle 1 to only contain seven sessions. The short time span

of Cycle 1 was a result of teacher-led classroom actions that did not work, which

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made it unwise to continue with the sessions as overall, students were displaying a

negative attitude thus causing much difficulty for the approach to be continued.

Secondly, the analyses for Cycle 2 on all data collected showed that students

started responding positively from early on in Cycle 2. Therefore, time span did

not make any difference in the integration of the Einsteinian approach. However,

further research should also consider the optimum time needed to consolidate

students‟ understanding of such an approach.

Concluding Comments

This study has resulted in many meaningful outcomes on both the professional

and personal levels of the teacher-researcher. The exploratory journey of integrating

affective concepts within MPE has brought many new discoveries in informing and

transforming the teaching and learning of both teacher and students into deep and

meaningful events. However, the most influential finding came from Cycle 2 when a

general principle of an Einsteinian approach was realized. Experiences and insight

gained through this study of the transformative qualities of deep reflection from within

the self in relation to these affective concepts, have grounded the teacher-researcher‟s

understanding of the importance of looking within in all aspects of teaching and

everyday life. Inspirational works by the likes of Parker Palmer (1998) provide further

encouragement of such understanding.

In closing, research in the area of adolescent development has always pointed to

the importance and significance in the development of any child during their adolescent

years (Crockett & Crouter, 1995). The Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development

made a point 22 years ago that has caught the attention of many writers today, who

often quote the following passage when discussing issues in relation to adolescent

development, suggesting the continuing relevance of such a matter:

Young adolescents face significant turning points. For many youth 10 to 15 years

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old, early adolescence offers opportunities to choose a path toward a productive

and fulfilling life. For many others, it represents their last best chance to avoid a

diminished future. (Carnegie Council for Adolescent Development, 1989, p. 8)

Given the importance that the period of adolescence holds, our responsibility as

high school educators is enormous. It has been found that when one engages with the

act of being appreciative, a positive feeling often results which “enhances the well-

being and life satisfaction, as well as feelings of connection to what we have, to what

we experience, and to life itself” (Adler & Fagley, 2005). Therefore, in educating high

school music students to gain a deeper appreciation for the music that they are

performing, apart from rebalancing the competitive driven mindset of these students, it

would appear that the ability to appreciate deeply can also enrich and rehumanize their

learning experience.

It is hoped that the Einsteinian approach can serve to provide high school music

performance students a way to learn and pursue an education in music, marked by

achievements that are based on deep and profound experiences. As in doing so, future

student music performers will not only be learning how to gain an edge to become

better musicians - they will also be learning how to gain an edge to “win” overall as a

human being.

200

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APPENDICES

221

APPENDIX A

Worksheet Administered in Cycle 1 (Term 3, Session 1)

NAME: _________________________________________

YEAR 11 PERFORMANCE CLASS, TERM 3

SESSION 1 PERFORMING MUSIC

Welcome to Performance Class!

These classes will always centre on these activities - discussion, reflection and action.

Let‟s begin.

This week you will write a mission statement for yourself as a performer.

Here are some questions that will help you along the way:

1. What is performing all about?

2. [a] Name me a performer that you are in awe of?

[b] What are the qualities that you admire about this person as a performer?

3. What are your aims as a performer? State this briefly.

4. What is stopping you from achieving this?

5. Think of some steps that you will need to put in place to achieve this. List three

below.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

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TASK 2

NAME: ____________________________

YEAR: ____________________________

DATE: ________________

Write down your mission statement as a performing musician.

Your statement will evolve as you start to think more about you as a performer. This is

just a starting point for you. As you participate in this course, you may want to change

your statement.

Your statement may be as long or as short as you like.

223

APPENDIX B


NAME: _________________________________


SESSION 3 SUCCESS IN MUSIC

Hypothetical 1

A peer of yours who left school two years ago has managed to make a name for himself

performing all over the world (while you are still here trying to complete your TEE -

where is the sense in all of this you ask?)

Anyway he will be here next week to perform at the school Music and Drama Centre.

You will be present at this recital as part of the audience. Write an account for:

1. What is running through your mind as you sit there poised to listen to a play?

2. What would you be listening for during the performance?

[By the way, this friend of yours plays the same instrument as you.]

Hypothetical 2

You finally complete your TEE and start to work toward becoming a music performer

in the real world. You have been playing in several music competitions and finally won

a major international competition. As a result of this, your manager has been able to

secure a booking for you to perform at Carnegie Hall next month. What do you expect

your audience will be looking for when they are attending your recital? List at least 5

expectations.

Hypothetical 3

You have completed the concert above and gave your best performance so far. List five

elements that you think have contributed in making this a successful performance for

you.

Hypothetical 4

Your last performance was so successful that it has really become a defining moment in

your performing career. As a result of this, you have been invited to perform at the

Royal Albert Hall. The Queen has heard about how good you are and decides to be

present at this concert. Your reputation is really gaining momentum now. Success is

yours for the taking however, it will depend largely on how you perform in this concert

coming up. How do you imagine you will feel as you prepare for this concert?

224

APPENDIX C


NAME: ____________________________


SESSION 4 SUCCESS IN MUSIC

Following from the hypothetical situations that you completed in the previous

worksheet, reflect on the following question:

QUESTION

At which point in your life do you think you will feel most comfortable as you climb the

ladder of success in music performance?

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

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_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

225

APPENDIX D


NAME: ___________________________


SESSION 6 MY INSTRUMENT

TASK 1

My instrument is:

Do you know anything about the historical background of your instrument? Write

about it briefly below.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

TASK 2

Now, think about the possible historical background of your instrument in terms of all

the efforts that would have gone into the making of your instrument.

In other words, trace as far back as your imagination will allow you to venture, in as

realistic a manner as you can about the construction of your instrument. For singers, you

will want to think about the human anatomy and the intricate construction of nature.

Reflect on your instrument and write about it here.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

226

APPENDIX E

Worksheet Administered in Cycle 2 (Term 1 Session 1)

NAME: ____________________________


SESSION 1 ISSUES AND PROBLEMS

Welcome to Performance Class!

This class will always centre on these activities - discussion, reflection and action. Let‟s

begin.

What is the difference between an issue and a problem?

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

227

APPENDIX F


NAME: ____________________________


SESSION 2 ISSUES AND PROBLEMS

Reflect on all the issues and problems you often encounter as a performer.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

228

APPENDIX G


NAME: ______________________________


SESSION 6 RANKING YOUR ISSUES AND PROBLEMS

Please rank these issues and problems in order or importance.

1 - Most important problem or issue

9 - Least important problem or issue

ISSUES AND PROBLEMS

RANKING ORDER

Nerves

Stage Fright

Preparation

Adapting to a different Instrument

Silence in the audience prior to a performance

What does it mean to get into your music?

What does it mean to play in a meaningful fashion?

What does it mean to play musically?

What does it mean to apply tone colour to music?

229

APPENDIX H

Worksheet Administered in Cycle 2 (Term, 2 Session 5)

NAME: __________________________


SESSION 5 NERVES

1. What happens to you when you get nervous?

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

2. Why do you think this happens?

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

3. Provide some suggestions on what you need to do to work on this issue.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

230

APPENDIX I


NAME: ______________________________


SESSION 2 HUMILITY

1. What is your understanding of the term “HUMILITY?”

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

2. Write a HYPOTHETICAL incident which will illustrate what you mean in the

definition you have provided above.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

3. Provide a real-life incident when someone showed you some humility. Write

down how that made you feel. If you don‟t think you have experienced this

before, then just note that you have never experienced that before.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

231

APPENDIX J


NAME: ________________________________


SESSION 3 HUMILITY

Here are three suggestions as to how I can concretely put the concept of “humility” into

work.

Suggestion 1

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Suggestion 2

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Suggestion 3

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

232

APPENDIX K

Worksheet Administered in Cycle 2 (Term 3, Session 6/1)4

NAME: ______________________________


SESSION 6 WONDER

PART 1

Take a look at the flower that is in front of you. Look at it continuously for a period of

time. Do not take your eyes off it. Look with a calm mind.

Write down any QUESTIONS that start to arise in your thoughts as you keep staring at

the flower.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Now let‟s turn your attention to TONE in the next worksheet.

4 In this session, the exercise to contemplate on a flower was inspired by the teachings of the spiritual

organization known as Sukyo Mahikari.

233

APPENDIX L

Worksheet Administered in Cycle 2 (Term 3, Session 6/2)

NAME: ___________________________


SESSION 6 THE WONDER OF TONE

PART 2 TONE IN MUSIC

What is tone?

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Think about the manner in which your instrument produces tone and describe how tone

is produced on your instrument.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Next, continue to think about the tone your instrument produces. However, this time

describe it in a manner which will inspire a sense of wonder about the phenomenon of

tone in your thinking.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

234

EXERCISE:

1. Pick up your instrument and play a tone continuously for a period of about 1

continuous minute. (If you are a singer, then pause to take some breath and then

continue.) During this time, listen to the sound that you are producing with

wonder for the tone produced.

2. Play a passage (approx 5mins) and focus your attention on the quality of tone that

you are producing.

What did you experience or notice about your playing? Briefly describe your

experience below:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

235

APPENDIX M


NAME: _________________________

YEAR 11

PERFORMANCE CLASS – EXPANDED WORKSHEET 1

CONCEPT: PERFORMER AND INSTRUMENT

TASK:

You will be required to complete ten journal reflections based on the efforts of

humankind that have gone before us. As a music student, you will conduct eight of

these reflections on your instrument before each practice session and two other

reflections to be applied to your daily living.

It is important that you document your thoughts on how you reflected and any changes

that took place.

(Ten blank pages followed from this page with the following text inserted at the start of

each page)

JOURNAL REFLECTION 1

Date:

Today I worked on:

236

APPENDIX N


NAME: _____________________________

YEAR 11

PERFORMANCE CLASS – EXPANDED WORKSHEET 2

CONCEPT: HUMILITY

This project will focus on your experiences having practised the concept of „Humility.‟

Reflection 1

What did you do today as an activity to practise the above concept?

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

What did you experience or noticed when you did this?

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

[Seven other pages similar to this followed, which are omitted here.]

237

APPENDIX O

PowerPoint Summary of Student Problems and Issues

Student Problems and Issues in Music

Performance Education Problems Adapting to a different type of

instrument (pianist)

Silence in the audience prior to a

performance

Preparation

Issues Nerves

Stage Fright

What does it mean to get more into

your music?

What does it mean to play it in a

more meaningful fashion?

What does it mean to play musically?

What does it mean to apply tone

colour to music?

238

APPENDIX P

Data of Student Issues and Problems

Features Totals Matthew Harry Sam John Barry

Nerves 17 4 2 2 7 2

Stage fright 27 3 6 4 8 6

Preparation 11 2 1 1 6 1

Adapting to a different

instrument 32 1 8 9 9 5

Silence in the audience prior

to performance 26 5 9 3 5 4

What does it mean to get into

your music? 22 6 4 5 4 3

What does it mean to play in

a meaningful fashion? 30 7 5 7 3 8

What does it mean to play

musically? 27 8 3 6 1 9

What does it mean to apply

tone colour to music? 33 9 7 8 2 7

239

APPENDIX Q

Graph of Student Issues and Problems

240

APPENDIX R

Unsolicited Letter from an Instrumental Teacher

affective concepts in music performance education · affective concepts in music performance...

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