Antonia Ivaldi

Adolescents' Musical Role Models: Whom Do They Admire and Why?.

Despite the wealth of research into adolescent role models, few studies have concentrated solely on the musical figures identified by adolescents and the reasons why. Using mixed methods, 381 adolescents (aged 13—14) completed a questionnaire about the musicians they admired and the reasons why. Focus groups were also conducted where adolescents discussed the most important and least important reasons for admiring a musical role model. Nineteen picture cards of famous popular and classical musicians were also presented to elicit discussion. Results indicated that the majority of adolescents identified famous figures as role models, most of whom were male and singers of popular musical styles. The three main reasons for admiring a role model were: (1) dedication; (2) popular image; and (3) ability. Focus group findings suggest that whether or not the role model plays a musical instrument is of little importance when it comes to identifying a famous figure.

Students’ and teachers’ orientation to learning and performing in music conservatoire lesson interactions

Research on interactions between teachers and students in music lessons has documented a complex interplay of talk, vocalizations and visual demonstrations. This study employed conversation analysis to explore these multimodal features in order to identify some of the pedagogical practices evident within lesson interaction. Specifically, the aim was to examine how conservatoire students and teachers orientate to both learning and performing within the lesson. Video recordings of 18 one-to-one lessons lasting between 50 mins and 2 hours were analysed. Findings suggest that students demonstrate when they are doing learning versus doing performing through the use of restarts, pauses and apologies in their talk and playing, thus indicating to the teacher which version they would like the teacher to hear for assessment and feedback, and which to ignore. The study highlights how conversation analysis, firstly, enables educators to understand how music performance itself is played out like conversation, mapping key speech devices found in talk onto the multimodal features that are evident in playing. Secondly, how talk and embodied actions inform the study of pedagogical music interaction, demonstrating that, in order to understand and interpret the instruction meaningfully, each component must be studied in context with each other, rather than in isolation.

A qualitative approach to understanding the role of lecture capture in student learning experiences

Abstract Lectures continue to be the dominant form of university teaching, and lecture capture technologies are tentatively taken up to support this form of delivery, rather than being used as a viable alternative. Much of the previous research, however, has been self-reports or survey-based, with far less attention given to qualitative explorations. This study aims to bridge this gap by using qualitative methods in order to examine students’ experiences of lecture capture provisions within the context of their own learning by utilising six focus groups to generate data. Thematic analysis was used to understand group opinions and experiences of lecture capture within university teaching. Two conceptual themes emerged: enhancing the learning environment and working and learning strategically. Results show that the value of lecture capture provisions could not be fully evaluated by students without considering their current learning environments. The main positive function of lecture capturing was to alleviate negative perceptions of lectures as a learning event, but it also provided students an opportunity to learn strategically. The extent to which lecture capturing develops and enhances the learning experience is discussed. Recommendations for how universities could utilise lecture capturing are proposed.