Fifteen undergraduate music education majors who were enrolled in an introductory music education course constructed concept maps on the topic of “teacher effectiveness” prior to and following two microteachings. The Survey of Teaching Effectiveness (STE) and a time sampling procedure based on criteria from teacher-intensity (TI) research measured teaching performance. Conceptions of teaching effectiveness were examined from two perspectives: cognitive structure, measured by map scores, and conceptual understanding, based on qualitative data from maps, self-evaluations, and interviews. Quantitative results indicate that participants' cognitive structure did not change, nor did it correlate with their teaching performance. Qualitative results provide insight into how preservice teachers acquire conceptions of teaching effectiveness and suggest that microteachings in conjunction with concept mapping may help shape preservice music education teachers' understanding of what it means to teach.

A conceptual model designed specifically for the investigation of issues surrounding race, ethnicity and culture in relation to music learning will best serve our profession as we attempt to understand how these issues may impact music learning among diverse populations. This paper proposes such a model, depicted as a concept map, featuring five primary categories: teacher, student, content, instruction, and context. Focusing research according to this model will serve to categorize current knowledge, clarify factors and constructs involving music learning, and formulate predictions of specific learning outcomes, thereby facilitating the development of hypotheses and theories that support a research agenda devoted to examining the barriers to and support for music learning as influenced by race, culture and ethnicity.

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