Traditional Learning, Cooperative Learning, and Recorder

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether cooperative learning strategies or traditional direct instruction would more positively affect the performance achievement of fourth- and fifth-grade recorder students. It was hypothesized that students participating in cooperative learning activities might perform differently in the areas of pitch accuracy, rhythm accuracy, and tone production than students who participated in traditional instruction. Many studies have indicated that cooperative learning positively affects achievement in the general education classroom because it addresses factors that impact student learning such as motivation, participation, practice, and self-efficacy. Because achievement in music, like achievement in the general classroom, was affected by these factors, it was possible that cooperative learning combined with direct instruction might suggest different results in the area of recorder performance than direct instruction alone. This study was initiated in a public school in Kansas and included 61 students (N=61). There were two fourth-grade classes and two fifth-grade classes, with one class in each grade randomly assigned to the control (n=30 ) or experimental group (n= 31). Students met for six class periods of 45 minutes each over a three-week period of time. The control group participated in direct instruction followed by Kagan Cooperative Learning activities, and the experimental group participated in direct instruction followed by teacher-led, whole group practice. Identical written and performance pre- and post-tests were administered to individuals before and after the study was conducted. An analysis of co-variance determined statistical differences between control and experimental groups in the areas of overall score, pitch accuracy, and tone production, but not in the area of rhythmic accuracy.