| Description |
The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of arts integration reform from 12 actively teaching elementary music integration specialists. The participants were chosen from the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program in Salt Lake City, Utah. They comprised the entire University of Utah cohort of music integration specialists and are among a larger group made up of dance, visual arts, and theater integration specialists. All participants received undergraduate training in music performance or music education and are now music integration specialists. The goals of this study were to (1) consider the self-reported perceptions concerning arts integration and music integration from current music integration specialists, (2) ascertain the different techniques for current practices in music-infused instruction, (3) review the possibilities in behavior differences among students between the more traditional general music classroom and the music integration classroom, and (4) determine the best practices for professional development in the field of music integration lesson planning and delivery. The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program is in its eighth year of inception in the state of Utah. Having grown from 22 elementary schools in 2008 to 324 elementary schools in 2015, this statewide arts integration initiative is on its way to reaching the goal of being implemented in every Utah elementary school within the next five to ten years. This program implementation will have an impact on students, classroom teachers, and music teachers. Because this widespread growth has the potential to impact a large population and set precedence for other potential arts integration programs, an examination of perceptions, procedures, and professional development are warranted. The overall sentiment towards arts integration was that it is beneficial for students and classroom teachers. Music integration in particular was revered as more difficult to integrate than the other three art forms (dance, drama, visual arts). An overwhelming amount of responses indicated that music integration must occur naturally such as in Orff Schulwerk in order to be successful. Lessons with an academic-first approach were more likely to be "contrived" and therefore cause frustrations for the students and music teacher alike. The most naturally occurring music integration lessons included elements of social studies with regards to historical and cultural elements. The participants reported that pre-fabricated music integration lesson plans along with instruction modeling and concise resources were the most valuable assets in professional development. |
