Linguistic Indicators of Reflective Practice Among Music Education Majors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine linguistic indicators of reflective practice in preservice music teachers’ written reflections following peer-teaching experiences. In an instrumental rehearsal techniques course, eight preservice music educators completed four peer-teaching episodes and submitted a written reflection after each episode. Reflections were analyzed with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software to examine students’ usage of pronouns (first-person singular, first-person plural, third-person singular, and third-person plural), temporal focus words (past-, present-, and future-focused words), and affect words (positive- and negative-emotion words). Results indicated significantly more first-person singular words over all other types of pronouns, fewer future-focused words than past- or present-focused words, and more positive-emotion words than negative-emotion words. These linguistic results were observed across all episodes (i.e., they did not change across time). Results are interpreted in light of previous linguistic analysis literature, and implications for music teacher educators are discussed.

Effects of Camera Placement on Undergraduates’ Peer Teaching Reflection

“…In a study of beginning science teachers' self-reflection through video annotation, inservice teachers tended to focus mostly on themselves as the primary "actor" in the class (McFadden et al, 2014). Springer and Yinger's (2019) analysis showed that preservice music teachers used significantly more first-person pronouns than second-or third-person pronouns in their teaching self-reflections, suggesting they focused on their own actions more than their students' responses. Similarly, Powell (2014) found an especially low occurrence of student impact comments from participants' self-reflection on peer teaching (vs. field teaching) videos, and recommended finding ways to get preservice music teachers more focused on student concerns during their undergraduate studies.…”

“…Fuller and Bown (1975) suggested a model showing how preservice teachers develop through three stages of attention: concern about how well they are teaching (self-concern), concern about how they will manage the class and get through the material (task-concern), and concern about students and their learning (impact-concern). Several researchers have used this model recently as a basis for studies of preservice music teachers’ growth and self-reflection (Baughman & Baumgartner, 2018; Berg & Rickels, 2018; Juchniewicz, 2014; Killian et al, 2013; Miksza & Berg, 2013; Powell, 2016; Springer & Yinger, 2019).…”

Before the singing : the journey of an artistic director

“…Journal writing. Journaling and written reflections are effective tools for promoting reflective thinking in pre-service music teachers and in music teacher education programs (Barry, 1996;Lindroth, 2014;Springer, 2019). A literature review by Lindroth (2014) focused on the numerous approaches that journals provided for opportunities for reflective thinking in music education pre-service programs (p. 66).…”

“…Linguistic analysis of pre-service teachers' reflective writing may also be useful in understanding teaching experiences. Springer and Yinger (2019) examined the psycholinguistic/psychological processes underlying written reflections of preservice music teachers following four peer-teaching episodes. Participants were asked to write and submit open-ended reflections within a week of viewing their teaching episode videos.…”

“…They wrote significantly fewer future-focused words. Springer & Yinger (2019) suggested a two-part reflection, focusing on teacher behaviors and student behaviors, to possibly increase external focus.…”