Research investigating improvisational skill development in adolescent learners is scant. In this study interviews with developing jazz improvisers are used to characterize the skill-building process. The findings were considered in light of two views of skill learning. In one view, students progress through several discrete levels, while in a…

Students with learning disabilities may experience difficulty engaging in literacy activities, as they risk being hindered by negative attitudes and doubt of their intellectual abilities, reduced effort, lower self-efficacy, and failure (Klassen, 2007; Litcht & Kirstner, 1986; Oldfather, 2002; Roberts, Torgesen, Boardman, & Scammacca,…

The integration of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) serves to develop creative thinking and twenty-first-century skills in the classroom (Maeda 2012). Learning through STEAM promotes novelty, innovation, ingenuity, and task-specific purposefulness to solve real-world problems--all aspects that define creativity. Lisa…

The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of anxiety that students experienced according to whether their public performance consisted of a free improvisation or a repertory piece. The researcher had two objectives: (1) examine the relationship of students' levels of anxiety to free improvisation and repertory pieces during a…