Auditory alarm annoyance plagues clinicians, which results in alarms desensitization and ultimately affects patient care. Contributing to this problem are the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 60601-1-8 alarms, a standardized set of melodic alarms used to convey information to clinicians in intensive care units. By design, IEC alarms employ flat amplitude (i.e., amplitude invariant) envelopes and are not reflective of naturally occurring sounds with percussive amplitude (i.e., decaying) envelopes. We present a series of three experiments evaluating the effect of amplitude envelope manipulation (i.e., incorporating percussive envelope) on memory and annoyance in IEC alarms synthesized using pure tones (experiment 1), complex tones (experiment 2) and assessing annoyance pre and post memory assessment (experiment 3). For the memory assessment, participants were assigned to learn either the flat alarms or percussive alarms. During the memory assessment, participants were informed of the alarm–referent pairings (study phase), practised identifying alarms (training phase), had a short break, and tested on their ability to identify alarms (evaluation phase). The annoyance assessment was a two alternative forced choice task where participants identified which alarm they perceived to be more annoying from a pair of alarms differing in either envelope-type or alarm-type. Across all experiments there was no difference in alarm learnability between those learning either flat or percussive alarms during the memory assessment. Annoyance assessments revealed that all participants chose the flat alarms to be more annoying than the percussive alarms, independent of the memory assessment condition. These results showcase the potential of using percussive alarms to reduce alarm annoyance without harming learnability, a cost-efficient manipulation. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Alarms in intensive care units are perceived as annoying, ultimately negatively affecting both clinicians and patients. These alarms are mandated by the International Electrotechnical Commission to have sustained or flat amplitude envelopes (i.e., referring to the change in loudness over time), which does not reflect naturally occurring stimuli that typically have decaying or percussive amplitude envelopes. The current experiments assessed the effect of percussive envelopes on alarm learnability and annoyance. We showed in a series of experiments that there is no difference in learning alarms with flat or percussive envelopes. However, we showed that alarms with percussive envelopes are perceived to be less annoying than alarms with flat envelopes. These results offer one potential solution to reduce alarm annoyance in intensive care units without harming the learnability of these alarms.

Effective practice determines the quality of a performance and it is essential to improving a musician's overall level of playing. Studies show that experts in the field of music display superior metacognitive skills, or the ability to think about one's thinking. Metacognition is an important skill that needs to be developed in order for a student to become a self-regulated, or independent learner. Effective practice can be improved by learning and developing metacognitive and self-regulated learning skills. An important component of self-regulated learning is reflective thinking. Reflective thinking is a mental process that contributes to deeper learning experiences, improves problem solving skills, and enhances creativity. Reflective thinking can be stimulated with writing activities. Research and theories of reflective practices informed the creation of the Reflective Writing Prompts. The Reflective Writing Prompts stimulate reflective thinking as they teach and develop metacognitive and self-regulated learning skills to make practice more effective. Each exercise prompts the student to think and write a response to questions focused on a specific skill. These prompts are based on research in music psychology and reflective thinking, with special focus on metacognition, self-regulated learning, practice habits, and reflective journaling. The pertinent studies and theories in these areas will be examined and explained in relation to each other. With this foundational knowledge in place, the Reflective Writing Prompts will be presented. The prompts are designed to support first or second year music students in their development as independent learners who practice effectively.

This study identified teaching strategies of successful trombone professors for undergraduate trombone students. Participants were three professors at accredited colleges in the United States who had received international awards in the field of trombone pedagogy. A comprehensive interview instrument was administered to each participant in a multiple case studies research design. From the gathered data, a classical content analysis revealed 79 emergent themes from 375 coded passages, with 45 of the emergent themes being commonalities among the three participants. In addition to specific teaching strategies, three meta-themes emerged from an examination of these commonalities: Product Over Process, Individualized Teaching Approaches, and Raising Student Awareness of Issues. A teaching model of the three professors is presented based upon these meta-themes, and findings and implications of the research are discussed.

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While many music educators learn how to teach through teacher training programs, the standard mode of transmission in which piano teachers learn to teach applied piano is through proficiency of the instrument under the guidance of a master teacher. This tacit development of pedagogical knowledge occurs through the master-apprentice model of pedagogy. The purposes of this study were (a) to explore how piano teachers learn how to teach from, and independent of, piano pedagogy coursework, overcome challenges, and continue to add to their pedagogy knowledge, and (b) to explore topics that would be most useful in a piano pedagogy course or program. This exploratory research design consisted of a series of semi-structured interviews. Piano teachers of varying ages, educational levels, and years of teaching experience (N = 12) were interviewed as to their experiences as students, autonomous transition into the teaching role, and the informal or formal learning opportunities which contributed to their development as piano teachers. Upon reflecting on their experiences in higher education compared to their professional lives as piano teachers, interviewees were asked to make suggestions for the future of piano pedagogy and the piano curriculum in general. In analyzing the data, 11 major themes emerged in the interview transcripts which revealed aspects of the interviewees' transition into the teaching role and development as piano teachers: (1) piano teachers were autonomously resourceful when transitioning into the teaching role, (2) experiential learning (i.e., learning by doing, gaining experience, and trial-and-error), (3) piano teachers evoke memories (of former teachers, materials played, and experiences as students) in transitioning into the teaching role, (4) piano teachers emulate former teachers + a mix of elements in developing their teaching style, (5) overcoming challenges and seeking out resources, (6) formal learning experiences (including piano pedagogy coursework), (7) partnership of learning and teaching (apprenticeship and cognitive apprenticeship), (8) support in the field (including the role of professional activities), (9) teaching confidence, (10) reflective practice, and (11) reflections and suggestions for the future. The pianists interviewed experienced an autonomous transition into the teaching role as they received no formal teacher-training and very little guidance when beginning to teach. Although the master-apprentice model is often attributed as the primary means in which piano teaching is disseminated, experiential learning (e.g., learning by doing, gaining experience, and trial-and-error) factored just as prominently into the pianists' transition into the teaching role and early development as piano teachers. Additionally, apprenticeship (i.e., guided teaching) and cognitive apprenticeship (i.e., formal learning combined with authentic hands-on teaching experiences) were two facilitative modes of learning to teach experienced by some of the interviewees. The pianists interviewed demonstrated incredible personal initiative in navigating their autonomous transition into the teaching role and development as piano teachers (e.g., teaching style, teaching confidence, teaching identity, and reflective practice) by deriving meaning through the process of overcoming challenges, seeking out resources and support in the field, monitoring and correcting their own performance, and finding measures to continually refine their teaching. The importance of pedagogical coursework and increased teacher-training experiences in the higher education setting were emphasized by all piano teachers interviewed, especially when combined with opportunities to observe expert piano teaching and gain authentic hands-on teaching experiences. Similarly, some piano teachers described teaching while pursuing their degree(s) as a means of learning from an academic and career standpoint, as they could immediately apply what they were learning to their own teaching. Piano teachers emphasized the need for business skills for running a successful studio, performance skills beyond the traditional classical repertoire, functional skills to make a viable living (e.g., accompanying, improvisation, harmonizing melodies, and playing for church services), as well as techniques, materials, and special considerations for teaching across the entire lifespan (i.e., "cradle to grave") for a wider variety of learners (e.g., beginning, intermediate, advanced, pre-school age through mature adult, and those with special needs). This exploratory study provided a detailed perspective as to the induction experiences of the piano teacher. It is proposed that further exploration into the pianist's transition into the teaching role could inform the development and restructuring of pedagogical coursework and a wealth of pedagogical materials for practitioners in the field as well as the framework for piano teacher training.

This collection of works involved examinations of two phenomena that currently impact music education in the United States and constitute challenges for both pre-service and in-service music educators. Article one is an exploration of college aged musicians, their experiences with critical commentary and stressful scenarios encountered in and through applied music studies, and the role that mental toughness might play in these experiences. This study examined the perceptions of college level studio teachers and their students. Results of the study indicated that significant differences in mental toughness scores existed between the studio teacher group and the students (as a whole) and between the studio teacher group and 5 of the 6 student groups. Significant negative correlations were found between students’ mental toughness scores and answers to three questions related to teacher criticism, student anxiety in lessons, and students’ frequency of hurt feelings following feedback about their performing. Article 2 examined the perceptions of in-service music educators regarding aspects of education law. Participants included music educators (N = 152; Mage = 41.7) from each of the 50 states whose teaching assignments occur primarily at the high school (grades 9 – 12) levels. Results indicated that these participants viewed their undergraduate teacher training programs, and graduate studies, as having included very low levels of legal content. Few of the participants indicated receiving additional education and training from a legal specialist, and taking part in sessions on legal topics offered by their school districts and professional associations. The legal issues receiving the greatest numbers of selections as having been experienced by the participants included 5 aspects of copyright law, religious music/lyrics in educational and performance material, and protection of student health (i.e., medical) information. The total number of legal issues selected was significantly correlated with the number of traveling groups (ensembles) with which the teachers were associated. Teachers of marching band indicated a greater number of total legal issues having been dealt with in their professional experience. And teachers of orchestra demonstrated fewer total numbers of legal issues experienced. In spite of the significant correlations, total expressions of relevant legal issues were largely unassociated with teachers of specific ensemble types.