The Development of a Model and Assessment Instrument of Choral Music Teaching Styles

Abstract

Basing this study on teachers' perceptions of their own teaching, I identified teaching styles in secondary choral music and developed a self-report scale to assess choral music teaching style. Ten dimensions of choral music teaching style were identified through common factor analysis of 134 teaching behaviors. Eight of these dimensions were validated through confirmatory factor analysis. The dimensions were labeled Student Independence, Teacher Authority, Positive Learning Environment, Aesthetic Music Performance, Nonverbal Motivation, Time Efficiency, Group Dynamics, and Music Concept Learning. Test-retest reliability of the subscales that were used to assess the eight validated dimensions indicated acceptable consistency over time. Eleven choral music teaching styles were identified through k-means cluster analysis of directors, based on their scores on the dimensions. Clusters of directors from two samples were cross-validated with discriminant analysis. The teaching styles were labeled Student-Centered Comprehensive Musicianship Oriented, Teacher-Controlled Comprehensive Musicianship Oriented, Student/Subject Matter Interaction Oriented, Task Oriented, Music Performance Oriented, Cooperative Learning Oriented, Concept Presentation Oriented, Content Oriented, Low Teacher Involvement Oriented, Discovery Oriented, and Nonfocused Low-Interaction Oriented.