Search results for: piano lesson frenzy
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 271

Search results for: piano lesson frenzy

271 Beneath the Leisurely Surface: An Analysis of the Piano Lesson Frenzy among Chinese Middle-Class Parents

Authors: Yijie Wang, Tianyue Wang

Abstract:

In the past two decades, there has been a great ‘piano lesson frenzy’ among Chinese middle-class families, with a large number of parents adding piano training to children’s extra-curriculum lists. Superficially, the frenzy reflects a rather ‘leisurely’ attitude: parents typically claim that pianos lessons are ‘just for fun’ and will hopefully render children’s life more exciting. However, a closer scrutiny reveals that there is great social-status anxiety hidden beneath this ‘leisurely’ surface. Based on pre-interviews of six Chinese middle-class parents who have enthusiastically signed their children up for piano lessons, several tentative analysis are made: 1. Owing to a series of historical and social factors, the Chinese middle-class have yet to establish their cultural norms in the past few decades, resulting in great confusion concerning how to cultivate cultural tastes in their offspring. And partly due to the fact that the middle-class status of the past Chinese generation is mostly self-acquired rather than inherited, parents are much less confident about their cultural resources—which require long-time accumulation—than material ones. Both factors combine to lead to a sort of blind, overcompensating enthusiasm in culture-related education, and the piano frenzy is but a demonstration. 2. The piano has been chosen to be the object of the frenzy partly because of its inherent characteristics as well as socially-constructed ones. Costly, large in size, imported from another culture and so forth, the piano has acquired the meaning of being exclusive, high-end and exotic, which renders it a token of top-tier status among Chinese people, and piano lessons for offspring have therefore become parents’ paths towards a kind of ‘symbolic elevation’. A child playing piano is an exhibition as well as psychological assurance of the families’ middle-class status. 3. A closer look at children’s piano training process reveals that there is much more anxiety than leisurely elements involved. Despite parents’ claim that ‘piano is mainly for kids to have fun,’ the whole process is evidently of a rather ‘ascetic’ nature, with the demands of diligence and senses of time urgency throughout, and techniques rather than flair or styles are emphasized. This either means that the apparent ‘piano-for-fun’ stance is unauthentic and is only other motives in disguise, or that the Chinese middle-class parents are not yet capable of shaking off the sense of anxiety even if they sincerely intend to. 4. When viewed in relation to Chinese formal school system as well as the job market at large, it can be said that by signing children up for piano lessons, parents are consciously or unconsciously seeking to prepare for, or reduce the risks of, their children’s future social mobility. In face of possible failures in the highly-crucial, highly-competitive formal school system, piano-playing as an extra-curriculum activity may be conveniently transferred into an alternative career path. Besides, in contemporary China, as the occupational structure goes through change, and the school-related certificates decline in value, aspects such as a person’s overall deportment, which can be gained or proved by piano-learning, have been gaining in significance.

Keywords: extra-curriculum activities, middle class, piano lesson frenzy, status anxiety

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270 Performance Practices in Classic Piano Music

Authors: Mahdi Kazemi

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Today's performances on Piano Forte or Fortepiano are cheerful, musical, expressive, and at the same time informative. AlterMuskie is an exciting and richly drawn magazine that is unmatched in its field. First published in 1973, it is a magazine for anyone interested in early music and its contemporary interpretation. Alexander Scriabin's (1871_1915) work has traditionally focused on his music in the mid and late 1902s. The discussion of his personal philosophy and his influence on music also focuses on these two periods. Over the last few decades, the repertoire of British classical solo pianos has received increasing interest from researchers. From the piano rolls of the early 20th century, much can be inferred about the practice of romantic piano playing. Summary Haydn's most important piano works are the sonatas, which generally represent Haydn's development as a composer from the early to the last three sonata dates, 1794.

Keywords: piano, classic piano, performance, music

Procedia PDF Downloads 153
269 A High Performance Piano Note Recognition Scheme via Precise Onset Detection and Segmented Short-Time Fourier Transform

Authors: Sonali Banrjee, Swarup Kumar Mitra, Aritra Acharyya

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A piano note recognition method has been proposed by the authors in this paper. The authors have used a comprehensive method for onset detection of each note present in a piano piece followed by segmented short-time Fourier transform (STFT) for the identification of piano notes. The performance evaluation of the proposed method has been carried out in different harsh noisy environments by adding different levels of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) having different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the original signal and evaluating the note detection error rate (NDER) of different piano pieces consisting of different number of notes at different SNR levels. The NDER is found to be remained within 15% for all piano pieces under consideration when the SNR is kept above 8 dB.

Keywords: AWGN, onset detection, piano note, STFT

Procedia PDF Downloads 140
268 Performance Evaluation of a Piano Key Weir

Authors: M. Shaheer Ali, Talib Mansoor

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The Piano Key Weir (PKW) is a particular shape of labyrinth weir, using up- and/or downstream overhangs. The horizontal rectangular labyrinth shape allows to multiply the crest length for a given weir width. With the increasing demand of power, it is becoming greatly essential to increase the storage capacity of existing dams without neglecting their safety. The present aims at comparing the performance of piano key weirs in respect to the normal sharp-crested weirs. The discharge v/s head data for the piano key weir and normal sharp-crested weir obtained from the experimental study were compared and analysed using regression analysis. Piano key weir was found to perform doubly w.r.t a normal weir. The flow profiles show the parabolic nature of flow and the nappe interference in the inlet keys.

Keywords: crest length, flow profile, labyrinth weir, normal weir, nappe interference, overhangs, piano key weir

Procedia PDF Downloads 268
267 The Effectiveness of Lesson Study via Learning Communities in Increasing Instructional Self-Efficacy of Beginning Special Educators

Authors: David D. Hampton

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Lesson study is used as an instructional technique to promote both student and faculty learning. However, little is known about the usefulness of learning communities in supporting results of lesson study on the self-efficacy and development for tenure-track faculty. This study investigated the impact of participation in a lesson study learning community on 34 new faculty members at a mid-size Midwestern University, specifically regarding implementing lesson study evaluations by new faculty on their reported self-efficacy. Results indicate that participation in a lesson study learning community significantly increased faculty members’ lesson study self-efficacy as well as grant and manuscript production over one academic year. Suggestions for future lesson study around faculty learning communities are discussed.

Keywords: lesson study, learning community, lesson study self-efficacy, new faculty

Procedia PDF Downloads 125
266 Three Memorizing Strategies Reflective of Individual Students' Learning Modalities Applied to Piano Education

Authors: Olga Guseynova

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Being an individual activity, the memorizing process is affected to a greater degree by the individual variables; therefore, one of the decisive factors influencing the memorization is students’ individual characteristics. Based on an extensive literature study in the domains of piano education, psychology, and neuroscience, this comprehensive research was designed in order to develop three memorizing strategies that are reflective of individual students’ learning modalities (visual, kinesthetic and auditory) applied to the piano education. The design of the study required an interdisciplinary approach which incorporated the outcome of neuropsychological and pedagogic experiments. The objectives were to determine the interaction between the process of perception and the process of memorizing music; to systematize the methods of memorizing piano sheet music in accordance with the specifics of perception types; to develop Piano Memorization Inventory (PMI) and the Three Memorizing Strategies (TMS). The following research methods were applied: a method of interdisciplinary analysis and synthesis, a method of non-participant observation. As a result of literature analysis, the following conclusions were made: the majority of piano teachers and piano students participated in the surveys, had not used and usually had not known any memorizing strategy regarding learning styles. As a result, they had used drilling as the main strategy of memorizing. The Piano Memorization Inventory and Three Memorizing Strategies developed by the author of the research were based on the observation and findings of the previous researches and considered the experience of pedagogical and neuropsychological studies.

Keywords: interdisciplinary approach, memorizing strategies, perceptual learning styles, piano memorization inventory

Procedia PDF Downloads 277
265 The Influence of Japanese Poetry in Spanish Piano Music: Benet Casablancas and Mercedes Zavala’s Haikus

Authors: Isabel Pérez Dobarro

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In the mid-twentieth century, Spanish composers started looking beyond the national folkloric tradition (adopted by Albéniz, Granados, and Falla) and Rodrigo’s neoclassicism, and searched for other sources of inspiration. Japanese Haikus fascinated Spanish musicians, who found in their brevity and imagination a new avenue to develop their creativity. The goal of this research is to study how two renowned Spanish authors, Benet Casablancas and Mercedes Zavala, incorporated Haikus into their piano works. Based on Bruhn’s methodology on text and instrumental music relations, and developing a score and text analysis complemented by interviews with both composers, this study has revealed three possible interactions between the Haikus and these composers’ piano writing: inspiration, transmedialization, and mimesis. Findings also include specific technical gestures to support each of these approaches. Commonalities between their pieces and those by other non-Spanish composers such as Jonathan Harvey, John Cage, and Michael Berkeley have also been explored. According to the author's knowledge, this is the first study on the Japanese influence in Spanish piano music. Thus, it opens a new path for understanding musical exchanges between both countries as well as contemporary piano tools that support the interaction between text and music.

Keywords: Haiku, Spanish piano music, Benet Casablancas, Mercedes Zavala

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264 Exploring How Online Applications Help Students to Learn Music Virtually: A Study in an Australian Music Academy

Authors: Ali Shah

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This paper outlines the case study experience of using a variety of online strategies in an Australian music academy context during covid times. The study aimed at exploring how online applications help students to learn music, specifically playing musical instruments, composing songs, and performing virtually. To explore this, music teachers’ perceptions and experiences regarding online learning, the teaching strategies they implemented, and the challenges they faced were examined. For the purpose of this study, a qualitative research structure was adopted through the use of three data collection tools. These methods included pre- and post-research individual interviews of teachers and students, analysis of their lesson plans, virtual classroom observations of the teachers followed by the researcher’sown reflections, post-observation discussions, and teachers’ reflective journals. The findings revealed that teachers had a theoretical understanding of virtual learning and recent musical application such as Flowkey, Skoove, and Piano marvel, which are benefits of e-learning. While teachers faced challenges in implementing strategies to teach keyboard/piano online, overall, both students and teachers felt the positive impact of online applications and strategies on their learning and felt that modern technology made it possible for anyone to take music lessons at home.

Keywords: music, keyboard, piano, online learning, virtual learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 44
263 Using Lesson-Based Discussion to Improve Teaching Quality: A Case of Chinese Mathematics Teachers

Authors: Jian Wang

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Teachers’ lesson-based discussions presume central to their effective learning to teach. Whether and to what extent such discussions offer opportunities for teachers to learn to teach effectively is worth a careful empirical examination. This study examines this assumption by drawing on lesson-based discussions and relevant curriculum materials from Chinese teachers in three urban schools. Their lesson-based discussions consistently focused on pedagogical content knowledge and offered specific and reasoned suggestions for teachers to refine their teaching practices. The mandated curriculum and their working language-mediated their lesson-based discussions.

Keywords: Chinese teachers, curriculum materials, lesson discussion, mathematics instruction

Procedia PDF Downloads 54
262 Effects of Major and Minor Modes to Emotional Perceptions of 'Happy' and 'Sad' in Piano Music among Students Aged 9-17

Authors: Nurezlin Mohd Azib, Pan Kok Chang

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This quantitative study investigates the effects of major and minor modes, and contributing musical parameter of tempo, to the emotional perceptions of ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ in piano music among subjects aged 9-17 years old. The study was conducted in two phases; survey-questionnaire, and listening activity. Subjects (N=31) were sampled from piano music students’ population in Bangi, Selangor. In the survey-questionnaire, subjects answered 20 questions on demographic characteristics, music listening and preference, and understanding of emotional perception in music. In the listening activity, subjects listened to 20 untitled piano music excerpts and rated the emotion perceived for each excerpt, whether ‘happy’ or ‘sad’. Results from survey-questionnaire show that most percentage of subjects are 11 years old, in Grade 1, of 3 years of learning piano, prefer classical music, always listen to music, prefer both major and minor modes’ music, and find it easy to understand emotion in music, as well as major and minor modes. Results from listening activity show that 60 % of major mode music are perceived as ‘major-happy’, while 60 % too, of minor mode music are perceived as ‘minor-sad’. However, Chi-square test of independence statistical analysis indicates that there are no association and significant relationship between modes (major and minor) and ‘happy’, as well as ‘sad’ perceptions (x2 (1, N = 20) = 0.80, p = 0.371), at the significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Contrastingly, there are association and significant relationship between tempo (fast and slow), and ‘happy’, as well as ‘sad’ perceptions (x2 (1, N = 20) = 9.899, p = 0.005). Therefore, it is concluded that tempo plays an important role in effects of major and minor mode to ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ emotional perceptions in piano music among subjects aged 9 to 17 in this study.

Keywords: effects, emotional perceptions, major and minor modes, piano music

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261 Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in Designing Negotiated English Lesson Plans

Authors: Joko Nurkamto

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A lesson plan is a part of the planning phase in a learning and teaching system framing the scenario of pedagogical activities in the classroom. It informs a decision on what to teach and how to landscape classroom interaction. Regardless of these benefits, the writer has witnessed the fact that lesson plans are viewed merely as a teaching document. Therefore, this paper will explore teachers’ beliefs and practices in designing lesson plans. It focuses primarily on how both teachers and students negotiate lesson plans in which the students are deemed to be the agents of instructional innovations. Additionally, the paper will talk about how such lesson plans are enacted. To investigate these issues, document analysis, in-depth interviews, participant classroom observation, and focus group discussion will be deployed as data collection methods in this explorative case study. The benefits of the paper are to show different roles of lesson plans and to discover different ways to design and enact such plans from a socio-interactional perspective.

Keywords: instructional innovation, learning and teaching system, lesson plan, pedagogical activities, teachers' beliefs and practices

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260 The Genre Narrative in Beethoven's E-Flat Piano Sonata, Op.31/3

Authors: Yan Zou

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Approach to the theory of Musical Narrative, as well as the three criteria of the 'explicit narrative', 'potential narrative' and 'image narrative' which are used to analyze the music, the author put Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Op.31/3, into the context of the music genre and Western music history, and interpreted the programmatic contents that were embodied and hid in the special music genres.

Keywords: analysis, genre, narrative, rhetoric

Procedia PDF Downloads 342
259 Debussy's Piano Music: Style Characteristics in Three Categories

Authors: Rika Uchida

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Claude Debussy's piano works can be divided into three categories in terms of style characteristics. The first category includes works which are strongly impressionistic, evoking a mood or an atmosphere, rather than making a direct, clear statement. These works often depict nature, and they are descriptive and sensitive in their character. Harmonic vocabulary is often complex, and the sense of tonality is often ambiguous in those works. Examples which belong to this category are ‘Clair de lune’ from Suite Bergamasque, Deux Arabesques, and ‘Reflets dans l'eau’ from Images Book 2. The second category shows little or no trace of impressionism. Works are not descriptive; rather, they are classical or absolute. Examples which belong to this category are Pour le Piano, ‘Hommage à Rameau’ and ‘Movement’ from Images Book 1 and Etudes. The third category can be called exotic. Debussy had a great interest in foreign lands such as the Far and Near East, and Spain. He employs pentatonic and quartal harmonies to describe the Orient, occasionally using the effect of the Javanese gamelan, which impressed him at the Paris Exhibition. His compositions in the Spanish style evoke the atmosphere of Spain. Though he borrowed some techniques from Spanish composers whom he knew, the tonal experimentation which occurs in these works sets them apart. Examples which belong to this category are ‘Pagodes’ and ‘la Soiree dans Grenade’ from Estampes, ‘la Puerta del Vino’ from Preludes Book 2.

Keywords: music, piano, Debussy, style

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258 Implementing Lesson Study in Qatari Mathematics Classroom: A Case Study of a New Experience for Teachers through IMPULS-QU Lesson Study Program

Authors: Areej Isam Barham

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The implementation of Japanese lesson study approach in the mathematics classroom has been grown worldwide as a model of professional development for teachers. In Qatar, the implementation of IMPULS-QU lesson study program aimed to establish a robust organizational improvement model of professional development for mathematics teachers in Qatar schools. This study describes the implementation of a lesson study model at Al-Markhyia Independent Primary School through different stages; and discusses how the planning process, the research lesson, and the post discussion participates in providing teachers and researchers with a successful research lesson for teacher professional development. The research followed a case study approach in one mathematics classroom. Two teachers and one professional development specialist participated the planning process. One teacher conducted the research lesson study by introducing a problem solving related to the concept of the ‘Mean’ in a mathematics class, 21 students in grade 6 participated in solving the mathematic problem, 11 teachers, 4 professional development specialists, and 4 mathematics professors observed the research lesson. All previous participants except the students participated in a pre and post-lesson discussion within this research. This study followed a qualitative research approach by analyzing the collected data through different stages in the research lesson study. Observation, field notes, and semi-structured interviews conducted to collect data to achieve the research aims. One feature of this lesson study research is that this research describes the implementation for a lesson study as a new experience for one mathematics teacher and 21 students after 3 years of conducting IMPULS-QU project in Al-Markhyia school. The research describes various stages through the implementation of this lesson study model starting from the planning process and ending by the post discussion process. Findings of the study also address the impact of lesson study approach in teaching mathematics for the development of teachers from their point views. Results of the study show the benefits of using lesson study from the point views of participated teachers, theory perceptions about the essential features of lesson study, and their needs for future development. The discussion of the study addresses different features and issues related to the implementation of IMPULS-QU lesson study model in the mathematics classroom. In the light of the study, the research presents recommendations and suggestions for future professional development.

Keywords: lesson study, mathematics education, mathematics teaching experience, teacher professional development

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257 DPED Trainee Teachers' Views and Practice on Mathematics Lesson Study in Bangladesh

Authors: Mihir Halder

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The main aim and objective of the eighteen-month long Diploma in Primary Education (DPED) teacher education training course for in-service primary teachers in Bangladesh is to acquire professional knowledge as well as make them proficient in professional practice. The training, therefore, introduces a variety of theoretical and practical approaches as well as some professional development activities—lesson study being one of them. But, in the field of mathematics teaching, even after implementing the lesson study method, the desired practical teaching skills of the teachers have not been developed. In addition, elementary students also remain quite raw in mathematics. Although there have been various studies to solve the problem, the need for the teachers' views on mathematical ideas has not been taken into consideration. The researcher conducted the research to find out the cause of the discussed problem. In this case, two teams of nine DPED trainee teachers and two instructors conducted two lesson studies in two schools located in the city and town of Khulna Province, Bangladesh. The researcher observed group lesson planning by trainee teachers, followed by a trainee teacher teaching the planned lesson plan to an actual mathematics classroom, and finally, post-teaching reflective discussion in each lesson study. Two DPED instructors acted as mentors in the lesson study. DPED trainee teachers and instructors were asked about mathematical concepts and classroom practices through questionnaires as well as videotaped mathematics classroom teaching. For this study, the DPED mathematics course, curriculum, and assessment activities were analyzed. In addition, the mathematics lesson plans prepared by the trainee teachers for the lesson study and their pre-teaching and post-teaching reflective discussions were analyzed by some analysis categories and rubrics. As a result, it was found that the trainee teachers' views of mathematics are not mature, and therefore, their mathematics teaching practice is not appropriate. Therefore, in order to improve teachers' mathematics teaching, the researcher recommended including some action-oriented aspects in each phase of mathematics lesson study in DPED—for example, emphasizing mathematics concepts of the trainee teachers, preparing appropriate teaching materials, presenting lessons using the problem-solving method, using revised rubrics for assessing mathematics lesson study, etc.

Keywords: mathematics lesson study, knowledge of mathematics, knowledge of teaching mathematics, teachers' views

Procedia PDF Downloads 40
256 Development and Validation for Center-Based Learning in Teaching Science

Authors: Julie Berame

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The study probed that out of eight (8) lessons in Science Six have been validated, lessons 1-3 got the descriptive rating of very satisfactory and lessons 4-8 got the descriptive rating of outstanding based on the content analysis of the prepared CBL lesson plans. The evaluation of the lesson plans focused on the three main features such as statements of the lesson objectives, lesson content, and organization and effectiveness. The study used developmental research procedure that contained three phases, namely: Development phase consists of determining the learning unit, lesson plans, creation of the table of specifications, exercises/quizzes, and revision of the materials; Evaluation phase consists of the development of experts’ assessment checklist, presentation of checklist to the adviser, comments and suggestions, and final validation of the materials; and try-out phase consists of identification of the subject, try-out of the materials using CBL strategy, administering science attitude questionnaire, and statistical analysis to obtain the data. The findings of the study revealed that the relevance and usability of CBL lessons 1 and 2 in terms of lesson objective, lesson content, and organization and effectiveness got the rating of very satisfactory (4.4) and lessons 3-8 got the rating of outstanding (4.7). The lessons 1-8 got the grand rating of outstanding (4.6). Additionally, results showed that CBL strategy helped foster positive attitude among students and achieved effectiveness in psychomotor learning objectives.

Keywords: development, validation, center-based learning, science

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255 Variations and Fugue on an Ancient Taiwanese Music: The Art of Combining Taiwanese Traditional Music and Western Composition in Kuo Chih-Yuan's Piano Repertoire

Authors: Sheng-Wei Hsu

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Taiwanese composer Kuo Chih-Yuan (1921-2013) studied composition at Tokyo University of the Arts and was influenced by the musical nationalism prevailing in Japan at the time. Determined to create world-class contemporary works to represent Taiwan, he created music with elements of traditional Taiwanese music in ways that had not been done before. The aims of this study were to examine the traditional elements used in Kuo Chih-Yuan’s Variations and Fugue on an Ancient Taiwanese Music (1972), and how an understanding of these elements might guide pianists to interpret a more proper performance of his work was also presented in this study.

Keywords: Taiwanese traditional music, piano performance research, Kuo Chih-Yuan, fugue, variations

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254 Music Education in Aged Care: Positive Ageing through Instrumental Music Learning

Authors: Ellina Zipman

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This research investigates the place of music education in aged care facilities through the implementation of a program of regular piano lessons for residents. Using a qualitative case study methodology, the research explores aged care residents’ experiences in learning to play the piano. Since the aged care homes are unlikely places for formal learning and since older adults, especially in residential care, are not considered likely candidates for learning, this research opens the door for innovative and transformative thinking about where and to whom educational programs can be delivered. By addressing the educational needs of residents in aged care facilities, this research fills the gap in the literature. The research took place in Australia in two of Melbourne’s residential aged care facilities, engaging two residents (a nonagenarian female and an octogenarian male) to participate in 12-months weekly individual piano lessons. The data was collected through video recording of lessons, observations, interviews, emails, and a reflective journal. Data analysis was done using Nvivo and hard copy analysis with identifications of themes. The case studies revealed that passion for music was a major driver in participants’ motivation to engage in a long-term piano lessons program. This participation led to experiences of positive emotions, positive attitude, successes and challenges, the exercise of control, maintaining and building new relationships, improved self-confidence through autonomy and independent skills development, and discovering new identities through finding a new purpose and new roles in life. Speaking through participants’ voices, this research project demonstrates the importance of music education for older adults and hopes to influence transformation in the residential aged care sector.

Keywords: adult music education, quality of life, passion, positive ageing, wellbeing

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253 Ariettes Oublieés of Claude Debussy: An Interpretive Approach of Two Songs of the Composer’s Compilation through a Comparative Study of Four Contemporary Recordings

Authors: Giannaki Natalia

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This study examines the songs compilation of Claude Debussy Ariettes Oublieés for voice and piano and especially the songs C’est l’extase langoureuse and Chevaux des bois of the compilation in order to present some interpretational suggestions for the singer and the piano accompanist for a more complete knowledge of the style of French singing of this period. First, the historical frame of the French song (in which this compilation is integrated) is introduced, as well as the historical frame of this work, and then, the most predominant interpretational parameters of the impressionistic French song are presented from testimonies of Claude Debussy and his contemporaries. Moreover, a brief analysis of the verses that turned into music by Debussy from the collection of poems by the famous French poet Paul Verlaine for subsequent interpretative suggestions is integrated into the research. The purpose of this work is not to elucidate the work from a harmonic or morphological point of view. Instead, this research primarily attempts to delve into performance issues through a comparison of four contemporary recordings of the work, from which it will be proved whether the principles of impressionism that were established are respected and how they affect these songs, as well as how much the personal viewpoint of each interpreter intervenes. The latter intends to fill the research gap in the interpretation of Debussy's songs and to guide the performers. To conclude, it will be discovered whether there is any recording closest to a French song’s interpretation principles and how a complete interpretation of a French song should be.

Keywords: Ariettes Oublieés, Claude Debussy, comparison, French song, impressionism, interpretation, performance practice, music performance, piano, recordings, singing, voice

Procedia PDF Downloads 50
252 Efficacy of Teachers' Cluster Meetings on Teachers' Lesson Note Preparation and Teaching Performance in Oyo State, Nigeria

Authors: Olusola Joseph Adesina, Sunmaila Oyetunji Raimi, Olufemi Akinloye Bolaji, Abiodun Ezekiel Adesina

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The quality of education and the standard of a nation cannot rise above the quality of the teacher (NPE, 2004). Efforts at improving the falling standard of education in the country call for the need-based assessment of the primary tier of education in Nigeria. It was revealed that the teachers’ standard of performance and pupils’ achievement was below average. Teachers’ cluster meeting intervention was therefore recommended as a step towards enhancing the teachers’ professional competency, efficient and effective proactive and interactive lesson presentation. The study thus determined the impact of the intervention on teachers’ professional performance (lesson note preparation and teaching performance) in Oyo State, Nigeria. The main and interaction effects of the gender of the teachers as moderator variable were also determined. Three null hypotheses guided the study. Pre-test, posttest control group quazi experimental design was adopted for the study. Three hundred intact classes from three hundred different schools were randomly selected into treatment and control groups. Two response instruments-Classroom Lesson Note Preparation Checklist (CLNPC; r = 0.89) Cluster Lesson Observation Checklist (CLOC; r = 0.86) were used for data collection. Mean, Standard deviation and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyse the collected data. The results showed that the teachers’ cluster meeting have significant impact on teachers’ lesson note preparation (F(1,295) = 31.607; p < 0.05; η2 = .097) and teaching performance (F(1,295) = 20.849; p < 0.05; η2 = .066) in the core subjects of primary schools in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study therefore recommended among others that teachers’ cluster meeting should be sustained for teachers’ professional development in the State.

Keywords: teachers’ cluster meeting, teacher lesson note preparation, teaching performance, teachers’ gender, primary schools in Oyo state

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251 The Application of Lesson Study Model in Writing Review Text in Junior High School

Authors: Sulastriningsih Djumingin

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This study has some objectives. It aims at describing the ability of the second-grade students to write review text without applying the Lesson Study model at SMPN 18 Makassar. Second, it seeks to describe the ability of the second-grade students to write review text by applying the Lesson Study model at SMPN 18 Makassar. Third, it aims at testing the effectiveness of the Lesson Study model in writing review text at SMPN 18 Makassar. This research was true experimental design with posttest Only group design involving two groups consisting of one class of the control group and one class of the experimental group. The research populations were all the second-grade students at SMPN 18 Makassar amounted to 250 students consisting of 8 classes. The sampling technique was purposive sampling technique. The control class was VIII2 consisting of 30 students, while the experimental class was VIII8 consisting of 30 students. The research instruments were in the form of observation and tests. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques and inferential statistical techniques with t-test types processed using SPSS 21 for windows. The results shows that: (1) of 30 students in control class, there are only 14 (47%) students who get the score more than 7.5, categorized as inadequate; (2) in the experimental class, there are 26 (87%) students who obtain the score of 7.5, categorized as adequate; (3) the Lesson Study models is effective to be applied in writing review text. Based on the comparison of the ability of the control class and experimental class, it indicates that the value of t-count is greater than the value of t-table (2.411> 1.667). It means that the alternative hypothesis (H1) proposed by the researcher is accepted.

Keywords: application, lesson study, review text, writing

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250 Maintaining the Formal Type of West Java's Heritage Language with Sundanese Language Lesson in Senior High School

Authors: Dinda N. Lestari

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Sundanese language is one of heritage language in Indonesia that must be maintained especially the formal type of it because teenagers nowadays do not speak Sundanese language formally in their daily lives. To maintain it, Cultural and Education Ministry of Indonesia has input Sundanese language lesson at senior high school in West Java area. The aim of this study was to observe whether the existence of Sundanese language lesson in senior high school in the big town of Karawang, West Java - Indonesia give the contribution to the formal type of Sundanese language maintenance or not. For gathering the data, the researcher interviewed the senior high school students who have learned Sundanese language to observe their acquisition of it. As a result of the interview, the data was presented in qualitative research by using the interviewing method. Then, the finding indicated that the existence of Sundanese language in Senior High School also the educational program which is related to it, for instance, Kemis Nyunda seemed to do not effective enough in maintaining the formal type of Sundanese language. Therefore, West Java government must revise the learning strategy of it, including the role of the Sundanese language teacher.

Keywords: heritage language, language maintenance and shift, senior high school, Sundanese language, Sundanese language lesson

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249 Identifying the Challenges and Opportunities of Using Lesson Study in English Language Teaching Through the Lenses of In-Service Ecuadorian EFL Teachers

Authors: Cherres Sara, Cajas Diego

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This paper explores how EFL teachers understand the process of Lesson Study in Ecuadorian schools and the challenges and opportunities that it brings to the improvement of their teaching practice. Using a narrative research methodology, this study presents the results of the application of the four steps of Lesson Study carried out by seven teachers in four different schools located in the Southern part of Ecuador during four months. Before starting the implementation of the lesson study, 30 teachers were trained on this model. This training was opened to EFL teachers working in public and private schools without any charge. The criteria to select these teachers were first, to be minimum a one-year in-service teacher, second, to have a b2 level of English, and third, to be able to commit to follow the course guidelines. After the course, seven teachers decided to continue with the implementation of the Lesson Study in their respective institutions. During the implementation of the Lesson Study, data was collected through observations, in-depth interviews and teachers’ planning meetings; and analyzed using a thematic analysis. The results of this study are presented using the lenses of seven EFL teachers that explained the challenges and opportunities that the implementation of Lesson Study conveyed. The challenges identified were the limited capacity of reflection and recognition of the activities that required improvement after the class, limited capacity to provide truthful peer feedback, teachers wrong notions about their performance in their classes, difficulties to follow a collaborative lesson plan; and, the disconnection between class activities and the class content. The opportunities identified were teachers’ predisposition to collaborate, teachers’ disposition to attend professional development courses, their commitment to work extra hours in planning meetings, their openness and their desired to be observed in their classes; and, their willingness to share class materials and knowledge. On the other hand, the results show that there is a disconnection between teachers’ knowledge of ELT and its proper application in class (from theory to practice). There are also, rigid institutional conceptions of teaching that do not allow teaching innovations. The authors concluded that there is a disconnection between teachers’ knowledge of ELT and its proper application in class (from theory to practice). There are also, rigid institutional conceptions of teaching that do not allow teaching innovations for example: excessive institutional paperwork and activities that are not connected to the development of students’ competences.

Keywords: ELT, lesson study, teachers’ professional development, teachers’ collaboration

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248 Massive Open Online Course about Content Language Integrated Learning: A Methodological Approach for Content Language Integrated Learning Teachers

Authors: M. Zezou

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This paper focuses on the design of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and more specifically about how teachers can use CLIL as an educational approach incorporating technology in their teaching as well. All the four weeks of the MOOC will be presented and a step-by-step analysis of each lesson will be offered. Additionally, the paper includes detailed lesson plans about CLIL lessons with proposed CLIL activities and games in which technology plays a central part. The MOOC is structured based on certain criteria, in order to ensure success, as well as a positive experience that the learners need to have after completing this MOOC. It addresses to all language teachers who would like to implement CLIL into their teaching. In other words, it presents the methodology that needs to be followed so as to successfully carry out a CLIL lesson and achieve the learning objectives set at the beginning of the course. Firstly, in this paper, it is very important to give the definitions of MOOCs and LMOOCs, as well as to explore the difference between a structure-based MOOC (xMOOC) and a connectivist MOOC (cMOOC) and present the criteria of a successful MOOC. Moreover, the notion of CLIL will be explored, as it is necessary to fully understand this concept before moving on to the design of the MOOC. Onwards, the four weeks of the MOOC will be introduced as well as lesson plans will be presented: The type of the activities, the aims of each activity and the methodology that teachers have to follow. Emphasis will be placed on the role of technology in foreign language learning and on the ways in which we can involve technology in teaching a foreign language. Final remarks will be made and a summary of the main points will be offered at the end.

Keywords: CLIL, cMOOC, lesson plan, LMOOC, MOOC criteria, MOOC, technology, xMOOC

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247 Emotional Skills and Musical Performance in the Elementary Music Education in Conservatoires: An Exploratory Study

Authors: Emilia A. Campayo-Munoz, Alberto Cabedo-Mas

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Music students have to face the challenges of musical practice -such as discipline in study, competitiveness, or performance anxiety- that require good emotional management to enable successful performance. However, few rigorous implementations focused on studying the influence of emotional skills in student's musical performance. Responding to this gap in the literature, this study aims to explore the relationship between emotional skills and musical performance in the context of elementary music education in conservatoires. Given the individual nature of the instrumental studies and the difficult availability of teachers to be trained in emotional education, it was decided to conduct a multiple case study in a Spanish music conservatoire. Author 1 carried out the implementation of the research with three 10-year-old students who were selected from her piano class. All of them attended the third year of their piano studies. The research processes consisted of the implementation of a set of specific and cross-sectional activities designed 'ad hoc' to be articulated in the subjects of individual instrument -piano- and ensemble in parallel to the contents of musical nature. The CE-360º questionnaire was used to measure different aspects of the students' emotional skills from a multi-angle perspective, each of the questionnaires being responded by oneself, three teachers and three peers, before and after the implementation. The data from the questionnaire were compared with the grades that the students obtained during the first and last quarter of the school year in the attended subjects. Acknowledging the complexity of emotional development, the results indicate possible relations between emotional skills and musical performance in music education in conservatoires. The results show that for the cases explored; there exists a relationship between emotional skills and musical performance. Although generalizations cannot be made, this study reinforces the need to further explore emotional development in instrumental teaching and suggest the importance of inviting teachers to reflect on the pedagogical practices extended in the conservatoires and to develop and implement those that promote the work of the students' emotions.

Keywords: conservatoires, emotional skills, music education, musical performance

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246 Teachers’ Reactions, Learning, Organizational Support, and Use of Lesson Study for Transformative Assessment

Authors: Melaku Takele Abate, Abbi Lemma Wodajo, Adula Bekele Hunde

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This study aimed at exploring mathematics teachers' reactions, learning, school leaders’ support, and use of the Lesson Study for Transformative Assessment (LSforTA) program ideas in practice. The LSforTA program was new, and therefore, a local and grounded approach was needed to examine teachers’ knowledge and skills acquired using LSforTA. So, a design-based research approach was selected to evaluate and refine the LSforTA approach. The results showed that LSforTA increased teachers' knowledge and use of different levels of mathematics assessment tasks. The program positively affected teachers' practices of transformative assessment and enhanced their knowledge and skills in assessing students in a transformative way. The paper concludes how the LSforTA procedures were adapted in response to this evaluation and provides suggestions for future development and research.

Keywords: classroom assessment, feedback practices, lesson study, mathematics, design-based research

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245 Effect of Acoustical Performance Detection and Evaluation in Music Practice Rooms on Teaching

Authors: Hsu-Hui Cheng, Peng-Chian Chen, Shu-Yuan Chang, Jie-Ying Zhang

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Activities in the music practice rooms range from playing, listening, rehearsing to music performing. The good room acoustics in a music practice room enables a music teacher to teach more effectively subtle concepts such as intonation, articulation, balance, dynamics and tone production. A poor acoustical environment would deeply affect the development of basic musical skills of music students. Practicing in the music practice room is an essential daily activity for music students; consequently, music practice rooms are very important facilities in a music school or department. The purpose of this survey is to measure and analyze the acoustic condition of piano practice rooms at the department of music in Zhaoqing University and accordingly apply a more effective teaching method to music students. The volume of the music practice room is approximately 25 m³, and it has existing curtains and some wood hole sound-absorbing panels. When all small music practice rooms are in constant use for teaching, it was found that the values of the background noise at 45, 46, 42, 46, 45 dB(A) in the small music practice room ( the doors and windows were close), respectively. The noise levels in the small music practice room to higher than standard levels (35dB(A)).

Keywords: acoustical performance, music practice room, noise level, piano room

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244 Bringing Thai Folk Song "Laos Duang Duen" to Teaching in Western Music

Authors: Wongwarit Nipitwittaya

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The objectives of this research is bringing folk song with the teaching of Western music were to examine to investigate, to compare, develop the skill, technique, knowledge of Thai folk song and to preserve folk song of Thailand to be known more widely also learn Thai culture from Thai folk song. Study by bringing Thailand folk song is widely known for learning with Western music in course brass performance. Bringing the melody of Thai folk music and changing patterns to western music notes for appropriate on brass performance. A sample was selected from brass students, using research by assessment of knowledge from test after used Thai folk song lesson. The lesson focus for scales and key signature in western music by divided into two groups, the one study by used research tools and another one used simple lesson and a collection of research until testing. The results of the study were as follows: 1. There are good development skill form research method 2. Sound recognition can be even better. The study was a qualitative research and data collection by observation.

Keywords: Thai folk song, brass instrument, key signature, western music

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243 Students’ Perceptions and Attitudes for Integrating ICube Technology in the Solar System Lesson

Authors: Noran Adel Emara, Elham Ghazi Mohammad

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Qatar University is engaged in a systemic education reform that includes integrating the latest and most effective technologies for teaching and learning. ICube is high-immersive virtual reality technology is used to teach educational scenarios that are difficult to teach in real situations. The trends toward delivering science education via virtual reality applications have accelerated in recent years. However, research on students perceptions of integrating virtual reality especially ICube technology is somehow limited. Students often have difficulties focusing attention on learning science topics that require imagination and easily lose attention and interest during the lesson. The aim of this study was to examine students’ perception of integrating ICube technology in the solar system lesson. Moreover, to explore how ICube could engage students in learning scientific concept of the solar system. The research framework included the following quantitative research design with data collection and analysis from questionnaire results. The solar system lesson was conducted by teacher candidates (Diploma students) who taught in the ICube virtual lab in Qatar University. A group of 30 students from eighth grade were randomly selected to participate in the study. Results showed that the students were extremely engaged in learning the solar system and responded positively to integrating ICube in teaching. Moreover, the students showed interest in learning more lessons through ICube as it provided them with valuable learning experience about complex situations.

Keywords: ICube, integrating technology, science education, virtual reality

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242 Application of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy to Integrated Instructional Model of In-Service Teachers of Schools under the Project Initiated by H.R.H Princess in Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Nakhonnayok Educational Service Area Office

Authors: Kathaleeya Chanda

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The schools under the Project Initiated by H.R.H Princess in Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in Nakhonnayok Educational Service Area Office are the small schools, situated in a remote and undeveloped area.Thus, the school-age youth didn’t have or have fewer opportunities to study at the higher education level which can lead to many social and economic problems. This study aims to solve these educational issues of the schools, under The Project Initiated by H.R.H Princess in Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Nakhonnayok Educational Service Area Office, by the development of teachers, so that teachers could develop teaching and learning system with the ultimate goal to increase students’ academic achievement, increase the educational opportunities for the youth in the area, and help them learn happily. 154 in-service teachers from 22 schools and 4 different districts in Nakhonnayok participated in this teacher training. Most teachers were satisfied with the training content and the trainer. Thereafter, the teachers were given the test to assess the skills and knowledge after training. Most of the teachers earned a score higher than 75%. Accordingly, it can be concluded that after attending the training, teachers have a clear understanding of the contents. After the training session, the teachers have to write a lesson plan that is integrated or adapted to the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy. The teachers can either adopt intradisciplinary or interdisciplinary integration according to their actual teaching conditions in the school. Two weeks after training session, the researchers went to the schools to discuss with the teachers and follow up the assigned integrated lesson plan. It was revealed that the progress of integrated lesson plan could be divided into 3 groups: 1) the teachers who have completed the integrated lesson plan, but are concerned about the accuracy and consistency, 2) teachers who almost complete the lesson plan or made a great progress but are still concerned, confused in some aspects and not fill in the details of the plan, and 3), the teachers who made few progress, are uncertain and confused in many aspects, and may had overloaded tasks from their school. However, a follow-up procedure led to the commitment of teachers to complete the lesson plan. Regarding student learning assessment, from an experiment teaching, most of the students earned a score higher than 50 %. The rate is higher than the one from actual teaching. In addition, the teacher have assessed that the student is happy, enjoys learning, and providing a good cooperates in teaching activities. The students’ interview about the new lesson plan shows that they are happy with it, willing to learn, and able to apply such knowledge in daily life. Integrated lesson plan can increases the educational opportunities for youth in the area.

Keywords: sufficiency, economy, philosophy, integrated education syllabus

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