Middle school students are old enough to be capable of abstract thought and critical thinking while still being playful and joyfully goofy! Through music composition in general music classes, middle school students can be challenged to make musical decisions. Composition can be especially exciting in middle school because they will be motivated to…

The purpose of this narrative action research study was to tell Marcus's story as an ensemble director learning how to teach composition in his middle school orchestra program. Marcus collaborated with Sam, a university professor, and designed a study to examine his teaching in his 49-member advanced orchestra class. As time passed, the focus of…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of the Curriculum Design Coherence Model (CDC Model -- Rata, 2019) on the design practice of two music teachers in a middle school music class in New Zealand. The CDC Model proposes that deep learning first requires deep design coherence. This coherence is generated by three interrelated design…

The purpose of this study was to examine the performance trends of middle school, junior/senior high school, and high school ensembles at District Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA) Jazz Band Music Performance Assessments (MPAs) from 2012 to 2017. More specifically, this study investigated the pieces, composers, and arrangers most frequently…

Feedback plays an essential role in music education, helping individuals learn to consider creative works from multiple perspectives. In this article, we explore the Critical Response Process, a four-step process for engaging with artistic works in progress. Founded on the principle that both artists and responders play active roles in feedback,…

This article explores the ways in which a musical learning project acted as a space for critical artistic and relational engagements in two middle school (ages 11-14) music programs. Drawing from work on cultural production and border crossing pedagogies, this project invited students to create soundscape compositions that explored the question…

Making Music: Composing "with" Young Musicians was a multi-year, multi-site research project partnered with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Canadian Music Centre to commission composers to collaborate with teachers and students to write educational music. On-site observations undertaken by the co-author and examined…

The purpose of this study was to examine the culture of an American middle school music technology classroom based in musical composition. Research questions explored students' perceptions of how they co-create the classroom culture with the teacher and how the classroom culture influences participation in musical composition activities, if at…

In Western countries, music educators have made efforts to revitalise enthusiasm for music education by integrating more mainstream and culturally-relevant genres into their curriculum. Conversely, current research indicates that popular music pedagogy in mainland China is not encouraged and faces many obstacles, as school music education is used…

This article presents a field-tested approach for integrating music arranging into middle and high school music ensembles. This project-based unit of study builds on scholarship in informal music learning and social constructivism. Reflections from former high school students who participated in the project help illuminate these connections. The…

We are co-teachers at Rototuna Junior High School with expertise in music and digital technologies respectively. We share our experiences of using digital-game development as the context for our integrated learning module called Sound Bytes. We hope to inspire other teachers to develop their own innovative and integrated curriculum design and…

Accomplished arts educator Linda F. Nathan profiles Conservatory Lab Charter School in Boston, a PreK-8 school that specializes in music education. In addition to academic coursework, Conservatory Lab students--many of whom are from low-income, minority families--learn musical instruments, play in ensembles, and compose and conduct music. Nathan…

This study was an investigation of middle and high school students' preferences for various music learning conditions and secondary music course offerings. The stratified random sample included students who were and were not enrolled in school music classes (N = 827). Participants represented secondary school music students (n = 369), students who…

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in a composition competition influenced four K-12 students' self-concepts as musicians. Research questions explored motivations for these four students to enter into a composition competition, influences of the competition on students' self-concepts as musicians (if at all), and effects…

This study examined trainee music teachers' judgements of the musical creativity of secondary age students. Nine pieces of music composed by Year 8 students (13 years of age) were evaluated by 17 postgraduate, trainee teachers. These musical pieces were sorted into a diamond-shaped formation according to how creative they were perceived to be with…