August 2003 — Features
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Maintaining the Integrity of a Web-Based Music Course
To receive a Texas elementary teacher certification, all elementary education majors must demonstrate a basic understanding of music and perform minimal musical skills. In addition, students should be able to write and teach music lessons built around the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Music. These Music TEKS are focused on four main areas: perception, creativity, historical and cultural heritage, and response and evaluation. The course West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) uses to develop and demonstrate this musical proficiency is called "General Music For Children." But, in order to address the needs of additional students who are either unable or unwilling to attend a traditional on-campus course, we had to bring the course online.
The initial question for us was: Is it possible to adapt an existing, traditionally delivered music course to an Internet delivery modality? The course we needed to put on the Internet, "General Music for Children," posed several unique challenges. The skills desired and included in the traditional course go way beyond the acquisition of knowledge to the demonstration of basic musical skills. For example, in the traditional course-delivery mode, each student claps and verbalizes rhythms, as well as prepares and teaches a music lesson all under the watchful eye of the professor. In addition, the actual delivery of musical concepts via the new mode posed a challenge. How could we include the traditional on-campus professor demonstrations over the Internet? Would we be able to include the same or similar activities? Could we maintain the high intellectual integrity of the course and deliver it via the Internet?
The Traditional Course
In order to develop an understanding of the challenges that we confronted, first let us briefly look at the traditional on-campus music course. The course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the elements of music. This is accomplished through a basic acquisition of knowledge and a demonstration of certain musical skills. The course covers each of the four basic elements of music: rhythm, melody, harmony and form.
In addition, the course addresses the demonstration of basic musical skills and the development and presentation of music lesson plans. Lesson-plan preparation and lesson delivery are governed by TEKS. Students develop four music lesson plans each, incorporating one of the four main areas covered by TEKS, and teach one of the lessons to fellow classmates.
In the traditional on-campus course, student musical knowledge and skill are evaluated using several formats. The first evaluation format consists of four in-class exams. After a discussion of each musical element, an exam was completed. The exams cover the information discussed during class lectures and presentations.
The second evaluation format involves the music lesson plans developed by the students and the subsequent delivery of a lesson. Students develop four music lesson plans, each incorporating one of the four main areas covered by TEKS. Each completed lesson plan is submitted for evaluation and direct one-on-one feedback. Students teach one music lesson to a group of peers. Each student's lesson demonstration is recorded on video and submitted to the professor for review and critiquing.
