Mentorship and Learning Experiences of Preservice Teachers as Community Children’s Chorus Conductors

Abstract

A service-learning model may be used to provide preservice music teachers with authentic context learning experiences and a range of pedagogical benefits, but research evidence specific to choral music contexts is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate two preservice music teachers’ experiences as interns with a community children’s chorus. Through an examination of verbal and written reflections, I sought to understand how interns perceived themselves as music teachers, their ability to implement and recall specific instructional strategies, connections they made between teaching young singers in a community choir context and future field work in public school settings, and mentor influence. Study participants were two junior-level music education majors and two children’s chorus conductors. Data collection methods included questionnaires, interns’ weekly video journals, one semistructured interview with each mentor, and one video-stimulated recall interview with each intern. Both interns assisted in teaching a weekly, 60-minute choral rehearsal for 10 consecutive weeks, and attributed their increased confidence as music teachers to this experience. They also discovered their own deficiencies in error detection and choosing teaching methods on the spot. Mentors had a positive impact on the interns’ overall experience. Implications for music education include the need to engage preservice teachers in all types of authentic context learning experiences, and to further explore the mentor’s role in these experiences.

Preservice teachers’ experiences as first-time voice instructors

“…These findings reflected Fuller and Bown's (1975) model of teacher development, which suggests a linear progression of preservice teachers' concerns from themselves, to tasks, and finally their students. Conversely, other researchers (Baughman, 2020;Berg & Miksza, 2010;Miksza & Berg, 2013;Powell, 2014Powell, , 2016 have found that preservice teachers often move through these concerns in "clusters" rather than linearly. Teacher development also has been described as "circular even as it is also forward-moving: a teacher is always collapsing the past, present, and future into a complex mélange of professional beliefs, goals, memories, and predication while enacting practice," (Olsen, 2008a, p. 24).…”

“…Research regarding ACL experiences of preservice music teachers has been primarily in elementary or instrumental contexts (See Baughman & Baumgartner, 2018;Burton & Reynolds, 2009;Haston & Russell, 2012;Paul et al, 2001;Powell, 2014Powell, , 2016Reynolds & Conway, 2003). There is a limited body of research regarding ACL experiences in choral music (See Baughman, 2020;Parker et al, 2017), and at the time of this study, no known investigation of ACL in a studio voice context exists. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate six preservice music teachers' experiences as first-time voice instructors.…”

“…Paul et al (2001) found that instrumental music education students who had the most ACL experience performed significantly better at the initial stages of their student teaching internships than those with moderate to low ACL experience. Preservice music teachers have found ACL experiences to be a less stressful and more beneficial than peer teaching (Baughman, 2020; Baughman & Baumgartner, 2018; Powell, 2014; Reynolds & Conway, 2003), and felt they learned more from ACL than from their coursework (Baughman & Baumgartner, 2018; Berg & Miksza, 2010; Conway, 2002; Pellegrino, 2019; Teachout, 1997). In Pellegrino’s (2019) study, preservice teachers felt they were able to internalize ideas explored during coursework as part of their thinking, practices, philosophies, and identities through their work with an after-school youth string program.…”

“…ACL experiences have proven beneficial in the development of numerous teaching skills. Preservice teachers perceived an improvement of their pedagogical skills in terms of teaching, planning, and classroom management (Baughman, 2020; Baughman & Baumgartner, 2018; Haston & Russell, 2012; Parker et al, 2017), and were able to identify their own deficiencies as teachers (Baughman, 2020; Schmidt, 2010). While conducting a community children’s chorus, preservice teachers identified their own insufficiencies in error detection and their inability to adapt pedagogical methods during actual instructional time, yet they grew more confident as teachers overall (Baughman, 2020).…”

“…Such opportunities may include authentic context learning (ACL) experiences—the chance to teach in an environment that simulates “real-life” instruction. Having opportunities to engage in ACL has helped preservice teachers to refine their pedagogical skills (Baughman, 2020; Baughman & Baumgartner, 2018; Haston & Russell, 2012; Parker et al, 2017), and strengthen their identity as teachers (Bartolome, 2013; Pellegrino, 2019).…”