I present strategies and methods for teaching fundamentals of music theory in the context of the private music studio through a variety of techniques and research. Beginning with a background in educational psychology, examples of behaviorist and cognitive teaching models are presented, and how each applies to teaching music is explained. Two detailed examples of actual lessons are presented, coupled with musical examples, to describe both the process and the concepts that can be presented. A qualitative experiment based upon the learning styles of three music students and the effect of different teaching styles when teaching the same concept is presented and discussed in detail.

Attrition rates among applied music students accelerate as young people progress through adolescence. Once disengaged from music participation in the teenage years, disinterest tends to persist throughout adulthood. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the teaching practices of applied music teachers as they worked with teenagers at a talent development level referred to as second phase (Bloom, 1985), which is typically reached in adolescence. The study investigated teaching and learning behaviors in the lessons, teachers’ management of para-instructional decisions (such as monitoring students’ progress and recommending students for collegiate-level study), and teachers’ strategies for influencing, motivating, and nurturing students. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit six classical guitar, harp, and piano teachers. Data collected from music lesson observations, semi-structured interviews, and documents were analyzed typologically for occurrences of predetermined categories of instructional behaviors and inductively for emergent themes. The study revealed several findings. Verbal directives and questions, positive approbations, and playing models dominated the teachers’ behavior. The teachers accommodated individual learning styles and empowered their students by providing them with decision-making opportunities. The teachers’ pedagogies were systematic and goal driven, with refined tone and strategies for lifelong music making among the pedagogical foci. Musical analysis was integral to the teaching, as it served to deepen students’ intellectual understanding of the music and support their memorization during performances. The teachers prescribed exact practice routines, which most of them provided in written form. The findings suggest that in light of the voluntary nature of applied music study in adolescence and the many activities competing for students’ time, a chief concern of the teachers was to influence and motivate their students to continue their participation in music lessons. The teachers accomplished this by utilizing six categories of teaching strategies, some of which could involve decisions contrary to their own musical preferences and pedagogical inclinations. The strategies’ synergy maximized the facilitation of positive student experiences, particularly those associated with public performance. These experiences seemed to fulfill students’ drive for independence, satisfy their need for recognition, and boosted their motivation to work towards achieving higher proficiency levels. / 2024-03-31T00:00:00Z

The dissertation thesis deals with the shadow education phenomenon, which has yet not been explored in the Czech context. In the international literature, the term shadow education entails various forms and types of paid private supplementary tutoring. The dissertation provides a diagnostic-analytical inquiry on taking paid private tutoring lessons and preparatory courses for university entrance examinations by students of upper-secondary schools in programmes concluded with maturita examination in Prague and Moravian-Silesian Region. Its objectives are: 1) to describe the chosen types of private supplementary tutoring at upper secondary level of education concluded with maturita examination (scale, subjects, intensity, organisational forms, providers etc.), 2) to analyse the contextual factors underlying the demand for these types of private supplementary tutoring. The research employed multi-phase mixed-method research design with priority given to quantitative data. Three research methods were used: 1) quantitative content analysis of the internet mediated notice board for private tutoring lessons, 2) the quantitative questionnaire survey research of randomly chosen students studying in academic and technical track upper-secondary schools in Prague and Moravian-Silesian Region (n=1265), 3)...

Disertační práce popisuje stav soukromého doučování, jeho míru a intenzitu využívání v průběhu druhého stupně základní školy, především v posledních dvou ročnících. Studie je součástí rozsáhlejšího výzkumu fenoménu soukromého doučování v České republice a svými výsledky doplňuje informace o využívání soukromého doučování na základních školách. Tato práce poskytuje analýzu využívání soukromého doučování na druhém stupni základních škol ve Středočeském a Ústeckém kraji. Cílem je 1) charakterizovat žáka využívajícího soukromé doučování, zejména individuálních lekcí nebo skupinových kurzů (rodinné zázemí, školní úspěšnost, studijní ambice, názory na soukromé doučování atd.), 2) popsat vybrané typy soukromého doučování (míra využívání, předměty, poskytovatelé atd.). Jedná se o kvantitativní výzkum s využitím dotazníkového šetření u žáků 9. tříd náhodně vybraných základních škol ve Středočeském a Ústeckém kraji (n = 1 016). Žáci se nacházejí na rozhraní primárního a sekundárního vzdělávání, řeší přestup na střední školu a mnoho z nich musí konat přijímací zkoušku. Tyto dva kraje byly vybrány z důvodu jejich odlišnosti vzhledem k socioekonomickým poměrům. Výsledky šetření potvrzují vysokou míru využívání placeného doučování, individuálních i přípravných kurzů v průběhu 2. stupně základní školy v obou...

This study examined the schooling experiences of eleven graduates from the rural south of Egypt with primary community schools in Assiut. The study used individual interviews and focus groups to examine how community school graduates understood their experiences. The community schools were found to have removed previous obstacles of distance and cost. The quality of education that the students received allowed them to flourish in education rather than falter, and that was largely influenced by the quality of their relationship with their teachers. The students learned academic skills, as well as attitudes and dispositions that serve as cultural capital. They have more opportunities than before, yet also face significant challenges as they transition to the public system. The model of community schooling is also facing significant challenges as differences with the public schooling systems are exerting tension on the community school model to converge.

This study examined the schooling experiences of eleven graduates from the rural south of Egypt with primary community schools in Assiut. The study used individual interviews and focus groups to examine how community school graduates understood their experiences. The community schools were found to have removed previous obstacles of distance and cost. The quality of education that the students received allowed them to flourish in education rather than falter, and that was largely influenced by the quality of their relationship with their teachers. The students learned academic skills, as well as attitudes and dispositions that serve as cultural capital. They have more opportunities than before, yet also face significant challenges as they transition to the public system. The model of community schooling is also facing significant challenges as differences with the public schooling systems are exerting tension on the community school model to converge.