A Systematic Investigation of Listening Activities in the Elementary General Music Classroom

Abstract

This study systematically investigated how and to what extent music listening was initiated by elementary school general music teachers. The specific problems of the study were (a) identification of activities and materials related to music listening and (b) the determination of how and to what extent assigned and assumed music listening was initiated in the selected classrooms. An observation instrument, the Elementary Music Listening Schedule (EMLS), was developed by which 18 elementary general music teachers were observed during 10 lessons. A questionnaire was designed to determine the content validity of the EMLS. Both the EMLS and the questionnaire were found to be internally consistent and accounted for each other in regard to materials, activities, and types of listening that occured in the observed lessons. The researcher concluded the following. 1. Participating teachers tended to think of music listening as a separate activity and not as one that permeated all music instruction. 2. Assigned listening appeared to be utilized mostly in singing or the playing of instruments as well as in traditional music appreciation lessons where students were asked to listen to a recording.