Jessica Napoles

Relationships among Instructor, Peer, and Self-Evaluations of Undergraduate Music Education Majors' Micro-Teaching Experiences.

The author investigates relationships between instructor, peer, and self-evaluations. Undergraduate music education students each taught three micro-teaching segments. Immediately after teaching, they filled out an evaluation for themselves indicating four things they did well, one suggestion for improvement, and an effectiveness score from 1 to 10. All students in the class also completed this task, as did the instructor. Ratings were compared and correlated, and comments were analyzed to determine whether self-comments were the same as peer comments, instructor comments, both, or none. One week after the fact, students were asked to recall every comment that had been made after their teaching. Results indicate that (a) peer ratings were consistently the lowest, (b) self-comments made immediately after teaching were most similar to peer comments or comments made by neither instructor nor peers, and (c) most comments recalled 1 week later were those made by peers or by both instructor and peers.

The influences of presentation modes and conducting gestures on the perceptions of expressive choral performance of high school musicians attending a summer choral camp

The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of presentation modes (audio and visual) on perceptions of expressive choral performance. The stimulus recording included four choral selections, each conducted by a different conductor in two ways: using expressive conducting gestures and using strict conducting gestures. Three groups of participants: (1) listened to the eight audio excerpts; or (2) listened and viewed the conductor from the rear; or (3) listened and viewed the conductor from the front. They then answered questions regarding expressivity, tone quality, and overall impression of the choral performance. Results indicate significant differences between presentation modes and conducting style. Participants rated performances conducted with an expressive gesture higher than performances conducted with a strict gesture in all three presentation modes.

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Effectiveness During Teaching Episodes With Positive and Negative Feedback

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice teachers’ perceptions of teaching effectiveness when viewing teaching episodes with positive and negative feedback. A secondary purpose of the study was to examine several independent variables to determine whether they predicted perceptions of overall teacher effectiveness. Participants watched short teaching clips of eight experienced teachers in an applied teaching setting and rated them for overall teaching effectiveness, subject matter competence, modeling, appropriate feedback, teacher delivery, and teacher demeanor. Teacher videos included four high positive teaching episodes and four high negative teaching episodes and were counterbalanced for gender and instrument (trumpet, piano, voice, and violin). Participants rated positive teachers higher than negative teachers and females higher than males. Teacher delivery was the best predictor of perceptions of teaching effectiveness.

The Influences of Teacher Delivery and Student Progress on Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching Effectiveness

The purpose of this study was to examine how teacher delivery and student progress influenced preservice teachers’ perceptions of overall teaching effectiveness. Experienced teachers (n = 6) were videotaped teaching mini applied lessons under four conditions: (a) high teacher delivery and more student progress, (b) high teacher delivery and less student progress, (c) low teacher delivery and more student progress, and (d) low teacher delivery and less student progress. Preservice teachers (n = 75) viewed these teaching excerpts and rated each for teacher delivery, student progress, student musicianship, teacher knowledge of subject matter, and overall teaching effectiveness. Participants rated teachers with high delivery as more effective than teachers with low delivery, irrespective of student progress. There was a moderate positive correlation (r = .53) between perceptions of teacher delivery and student progress. Results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that teacher delivery was the best predictor of perceptions of overall teaching effectiveness, followed closely by student progress.

Perception of melodic intonation in performances with and without vibrato

We compared perception of mistuned intervals in unaccompanied melodies performed by trumpet, violin, and voice, and examined whether there were differences between the three timbres in performances with and without vibrato. Participants were 144 university music students. Listeners heard the three unaccompanied solo performers in two vibrato conditions (with and without vibrato), and three intonation conditions (selected melodic intervals were in tune, sharp 25 cents, or flat 25 cents relative to equal temperament). All three stimuli were perceived as more out of tune when there was no vibrato compared to vibrato. In performances without vibrato, violin was judged as more out of tune than voice and trumpet across all three tuning conditions. Melodies performed with vibrato were judged differently: Violin was judged as least in tune for intervals mistuned in the flat direction, trumpet was heard as least in tune for intervals mistuned sharp, and voice was judged least in tune when intervals were in tune (relative to equal temperament). Differences in perception between timbres may be influenced by characteristics of the vibrato itself such as modulation width, rate, and type.

The Effects of Score Use on Musicians’ Ratings of Choral Performances

The purpose of this study was to determine whether viewing a musical score while listening (as opposed to not viewing the score) would affect musicians’ ratings of choral performance excerpts. University musicians (N = 240) listened to four excerpts of choral music (from Vivaldi’s Gloria) and rated them on a 10-point Likert-type scale for overall impression. Some of the participants heard a professional chorus and orchestra recording, and others heard a high school group recording. For both of the recordings, participants were divided into four groups in a counterbalanced design, with one group viewing the score for all four excerpts, another group never viewing the score,and the other two groups viewing the score for two of the excerpts but not the other two. Results of a three-way ANOVA with repeated measures indicated significant differences among groups. The group that never saw the scores gave significantly lower ratings than the group that saw all of the scores.The excerpts performed by the professional group were rated significantly higher than the excerpts performed by the high school group.

Perceptions of Time Spent in Teacher Talk: A Comparison Among Self-Estimates, Peer Estimates, and Actual Time

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare self-estimates, peer estimates, and actual time preservice teachers spent talking in rehearsal. Participants (N = 32) conducted a short choral rehearsal and estimated their teacher talk (expressed as a percentage of total rehearsal time). Their peers also reported estimates, and the researchers took data on actual time. Later, participants observed themselves on video and used stopwatches to compute teacher talk percentages on the same session. Participants then conducted a second rehearsal and again estimated their teacher talk percentage. Results indicated that by the second rehearsal, participants reduced their teacher talk by about half, and their estimates became closer to actual time. Significant differences were discovered between all estimates from the first rehearsal and the second rehearsal. Self-analysis through videotapes appears to be a useful tool for reducing teacher talk and increasing estimation accuracy.

Verbal Instructions and Conducting Gestures Examining Two Modes of Communication

This study sought to examine the relative effectiveness of two forms of communication: verbal instructions and conducting gestures. High school choral students (N = 44) performed “Music Alone Shall Live” in a variety of ways (with and without word stress, and with varied articulations), while watching a video recording of a conductor and reading verbal instructions. Experienced choral teachers (N = 30) listened and rated the articulation and word stress of the students on a 7-point Likert-type scale. Results indicated that (a) experienced teachers perceived more staccato articulation and word stress when singers responded to verbal instructions (vs. conducting gestures) and (b) experienced teachers perceived more staccato and word stress in performances when verbal instructions and conducting gestures were congruent, compared with when these messages were incongruent.

Teacher Talk and Perceived Teacher Effectiveness An Exploratory Study

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of teachers, ensemble members, and outside observers when evaluating the effectiveness of rehearsals conducted with reduced amounts of verbal instruction. Preservice teachers led choral rehearsals employing Archibeque’s “rule of seven,” wherein instructions were delivered in seven words or fewer. Immediately following the teaching session, participants responded to the question: “What was your perception of this assignment and what did you notice about teaching effectiveness?” Outside observers responded to the same prompt. Findings indicated that choral members preferred rehearsals with reduced verbal instruction because they were able to perform more, with fewer interruptions. The preservice teachers favored the opportunity to organize their thoughts and focus instruction, but they expressed frustration with feeling stifled in leading rehearsal. The outside observers approved of the rehearsal pacing but were concerned by the lack of specificity in instruction and feedback.

Effects of Conductor Baton Use on Band and Choral Musicians' Perceptions of Conductor Expressivity and Clarity.

The purpose of this study was to examine participants’ (college band and choral musicians, N = 143) perceptions of conductor clarity and expressivity after viewing band and choral directors conducting with or without a baton. One band and one choral conductor each prepared and conducted two excerpts of Guy Forbes’s O Nata Lux, a piece written in both choral and band idioms, with and without a baton. Participants viewed 10 excerpts (four choral, four band, and two distractors) and rated the conductors’ clarity and expressivity on 10-point Likert-type scales. There were significant main effects for participant ensemble emphasis (choral or band), baton use, and conductor type (choral or band), and a significant interaction between conductor type and baton use. The choral conductor was perceived to be clearer without a baton, whereas the band conductor was perceived to be clearer with a baton. The choral conductor was perceived to be more expressive with a baton, and the band conductor was perceived to be more expressive without a baton.