Introduction    
Self-­‐efficacy  is  a  powerful  predictor  for  success  in  music-­‐making  practices  
(McPherson  et  al,  2012)  and  is  an  essential  component  of  quality  learning.  This  
research  aims  at  identifying  factors  that  effect  self-­‐efficacious  belief  and  
formulating  tasks  and  teacher  behaviours  that  can  enhance  learning  and  self-­‐
efficacy  in  the  domain  of  music.  The  areas  of  investigation  that  formed  the  nexus  
of  this  research  included:  the  various  modes  in  which  self-­‐efficacious  beliefs  are  
constructed;  the  perceived  innate  nature  of  musical  talent  and  creativity;  teacher  
behaviours;  strategies  for  increasing  task  expectancy-­‐value;  and  how  efficacious  
beliefs  effect  learning.    
 
Rationale  
Quality  music  education  should  be  focused  on  developing  students’  musical  
understanding  (Wiggins,  2001).  For  students  to  develop  musical  understanding  
they  must  interact  directly  with  music  through  listening,  performing  and  
creating  and  have  opportunities  to  combine  and  link  the  three  processes.  
Activities  such  as  composition  and  performance  facilitate  the  contextualisation  
of  musical  elements  and  assists  students  to  realise,  elucidate,  organise  and  
discover  thoughts,  ideas  and  feelings.  (Veenhoven  Guderian,  2012).    
Throughout  the  observational  period  of  my  professional  practicum,  I  identified  
self-­‐efficacy  as  a  pertinent  area  of  investigation.  The  perception  of  not  being  
naturally  gifted  in  music  appeared  to  create  significant  deficiencies  in  student  
engagment  for  creative  tasks,  such  as  composition,  improvisation,  collective  
music  making  and  aural  skills  (field  note,  4/05/2014).  These  activities  are  
essential  for  quality  music  learning  as  they  involve  the  interactive  synthesis  of  
various  cognitive  processes  such  as  analysis,  evaluating  and  reflection  
(Veenhoven  Guderian,  2012).  Social  constructs  about  the  nature  of  musical  
ability  often  centre  on  the  assertion  that  talent  is  a  result  of  ‘innate’  gifts  
(McPherson  et  al,  2012).  If  students  believe  they  do  not  possess  the  skills  
required  to  complete  tasks,  they  will  be  reluctant  to  be  actively  engaged  
(McPherson,  2006).    Students’  not  attempting  tasks  with  an  appropriate  degree  
of  sophistication  was  another  indication  of  low  self-­‐efficacy  (field  note,  
28/04/2014).  The  stronger  the  perceived  self-­‐efficacy,  the  higher  the  goal  
challenges  students  set  for  themselves  and  the  firmer  their  commitment  to  
complete  them  (Bandura,  1993,  p.  131).      
Self-­‐efficacious  beliefs  have  been  shown  to  have  a  significant  impact  on  students’  
engagment,  motivation  and  learning  strategies  (Ritchie  et  al,  2011).  Individuals  
with  high  levels  of  perceived  self-­‐efficacy  exhibit  numerous  traits  that  are  
essential  for  quality  learning.  Self-­‐efficacy  beliefs  regulate  ambition,  choice  of  
behavioural  course,  mobilisation,  maintenance  of  effort,  and  affective  reactions  
(Bandura,  1997,  pg.4).  Individuals  construct  their  self-­‐efficacy  beliefs  from  
various  sources  which  include:  mastery  experiences,  which  serve  as  indicators  of  
capability;  vicarious  experiences,  in  which  self-­‐efficacy  is  increased  by  observing  
similar  peers  successfully  completing  tasks;  and  verbal  persuasions  by  those  
perceived  as  an  authority/expert  (Bandura,  1997,  pg.  79).  Self-­‐efficacy  beliefs  are  
task  specific;  similarly,  the  factors  that  influence  self-­‐efficacy  are  specific  to  the  
individual  (Bandura,  1997,  pg.  36).  The  pathways  to  achieving  competency  or  
mastery  in  music  differ  depending  on  the  activity.  The  skills  required  for  
composition  are  not  necessarily  the  same  needed  for  performing  within  the  
western  art  music  tradition.  This  makes  an  investigation  into  self-­‐efficacy  salient  
because  it  affects  all  areas  of  learning  within  the  domain  of  music.  
Self-­‐regulation  and  monitoring  are  traits  essential  for  quality  learning  (Mitchell,  
2002).  Self-­‐regulated  learning  is  enhanced  through  a  heightened  sense  of  
perceived  self-­‐efficacy  (Schunk  et  al,  2000,  pg.  622).    
Expectancy-­‐value,  which  refers  to  beliefs  about  the  importance,  relevance,  
authenticity  and  novelty  of  a  task,  can  also  have  a  significant  effect  on  students’  
perceived  self-­‐efficacy  and  engagment  (Hussain  et  al,  2013,  p.  1682).  
Engagement  is  salient  because  students  learn  through  active  processes  of  
construal  and  construction  of  what  they  experience  (Richards  et  al,  2013,  p.  
251).  The  successful  completion  of  tasks  does  not  guarantee  an  increase  in  
perceived  self-­‐efficacy.  The  degree  in  which  self-­‐efficacy  is  altered  through  
completing  tasks  is  dependent  on  the  perceived  difficulty  and  the  effort  required  
for  high  achievement  (Bandura,  1997,  p.  81).  Tasks  should  be  learning-­‐
orientated,  which  focuses  attention  on  progress  and  the  strategies  utilised  to  
acquire  competency  (Schunk  et  al,  2000,  pg.  634).    
McPherson  and  McCormick  (2006)  highlighted  that  finding  better  ways  of  
identifying  learners  with  low  self-­‐efficacy,  and  exploring  methods  that  
strengthen  these  students’  beliefs  in  the  areas  in  which  they  find  it  difficult  to  
manage  as  an  educational  imperative.  In  consideration  of  the  previous  
statement,  my  research  centred  on  exploring  the  following  principle  questions:    
• What  factors  affect  self-­‐efficacy?  
• To  what  extent  does  self-­‐efficacy  affect  student  learning?  
• What  strategies  can  be  adopted  to  increase  students’  self-­‐efficacy  for  
music  learning?  
Due  to  limitations  imposed  by  the  timeframe,  it  was  beyond  the  scope  of  this  
research  to  accurately  measure  increases  in  perceived  self-­‐efficacy  within  the  
cohort.  The  research  centred  on  enhancing  my  understanding  of  self-­‐efficacy  in  
music  learning  and  informing  my  teaching  practice.  Successful  outcomes  were  
gauged  by  observing/documenting  changes  in  students’  attitudes,  behaviours,  
engagment  and  strategies  employed  while  completing  tasks.    
 
Research  background  and  context  
The  research  took  place  over  a  10-­‐day  period  from  28/4/21014  to  9/5/2014  
within  a  co-­‐educational  secondary  college  in  the  Mornington  Peninsula  region  of  
Victoria.  Currently,  the  schools  student  body  is  approximately  620  pupils  from  
Years  7  to  12.  There  is  well-­‐established  music  program,  which  includes  beginner  
and  advanced  school  concert  bands,  extra-­‐curricular  instrumental  music  lessons,  
percussion  ensembles,  rock  bands  and  choral  choirs.  Music  is  compulsory  for  
years  7  and  8  and  both  receive  up  to  two  hours  of  classroom  music  lessons  per  
week.  Music  is  offered  to  middle  and  senior  years  as  an  elective  and  currently  the  
school  runs  a  year  10  music  class  and  a  combined  year  11  and  12  VCE  music  
class.  The  school  is  situated  in  a  lower  socioeconomic  area  and  through  
conversations  with  key  staff  members  I  became  aware  of  a  high  incidence  of  
behavioural  issues  and  a  record  of  poor  academic  achievement.  
Throughout  the  professional  practicum  I  had  the  opportunity  to  teach  and  
observe  four  hours  of  yr  7  classes,  ten  hours  of  year  8  classes,  four  hours  of  year  
10  classes  and  eight  hours  of  VCE  classes.  Primarily,  the  curriculum  content  
focused  on  enhancing  students’  conceptualisation  of  musical  elements  through  
composition  and  performance.  
 
Methodology    
A  qualitative  research  methodology  was  implemented  to  in  order  to  gather  
interview  and  observational  data.  Informal  conversations  pertaining  to  students’  
perceived  self-­‐efficacy  and  learning  were  recorded  in  the  form  of  field  notes.  A  
structured  interview  was  conducted  with  the  schools  head  of  music,  which  
delved  into  specific  factors  that  inhibit  student  motivation  and  engagment  for  
creative  tasks  and  collective  music  making.  In  addition  to  field  notes  and  
interview  data,  teacher  reflection  formed  a  significant  component  of  the  
research.  Collected  data  and  relevant  literature  was  reviewed  and  compared  in  
order  to  identify  common  themes,  these  findings  were  utilised  to  formulate  
lesson  plans  and  teaching  strategies.    
 
Theoretical  Frameworks  
The  theoretical  framework  that  forms  the  basis  for  this  research  is  grounded  in  
Bandura’s  theory  of  self-­‐efficacy,  a  subset  of  social  cognitive  theory  (Bandura,  
1997).  ‘Perceived  self-­‐efficacy  refers  to  beliefs  in  one’s  capabilities  to  organise  
and  execute  the  courses  of  action  required  to  produce  given  attainments’  
(Bandura,  1997,  pg.  3).    The  longitudinal  study  conducted  by  McPherson  et  al.  
(2012),  that  investigated  the  extent  to  which  environmental  and  social  factors  
effect  engagement  and  success  in  music  provided  another  theoretical  platform  
for  this  research.  McPherson  et  al  (2012),  adapted  various  models  such  as  
‘Gagne's  differentiated  model  of  giftedness  and  talent’  and  ‘Self-­‐Determination  
theory’  to  argue  that  musical  skill  and  talent  are  not  derivatives  of  ‘innate  gifts’;  
rather,  success  in  music  is  a  result  of  a  plethora  of  motivational,  environmental  
and  social  variables.  Peter  Webster’s  model  of  ‘creative  thinking’  (Webster,  
1990)  was  also  of  importance,  and  is  particularly  salient  to  the  domains  of  
composition  and  performing.    Creative  thinking  centres  on  the  assertion  that  
endeavours  such  as  composing,  improvising  and  performing  are  products  of  a  
dynamic  interplay  between  divergent  and  convergent  thinking,  utilised  in  order  
to  solve  creative  problems  (Webster,  1990).  This  highlights  that  creativity  is  a  
process  that  can  be  developed.  Throughout  my  investigation,  frameworks  such  
as  Bloom’s  ‘Taxonomy  of  the  Cognitive  Domain’  and  Mitchell’s  (2002)  ‘Principles  
of  Teaching  for  Quality  Learning’  were  utilised  to  formulate  lesson  tasks  and  
teacher  strategies.    
       
Results  
Through  reviewing  literature  and  analysing  collected  data  I  identified  numerous  
factors  that  may  contribute  to  a  reduced  level  of  self-­‐efficacy  for  music  learning.  I  
attempted  to  formulate  tasks  that  aimed  at  improving  student  learning  by  
enhancing  perceived  self-­‐efficacy.    
Misconceptions  about  the  nature  of  musical  talent  can  be  problematic  while  
attempting  to  engage  students  in  creative  tasks  such  composition  and  collective  
music  making  (McPherson  et  al,  2012).  Erroneous  beliefs  about  the  absence  of  
innate  musical  ability  was  present  throughout  all  classes  I  observed/taught  
regardless  of  year  level  (Field  note,  02/05/2014).  This  was  reinforced  by  an  
interview  conducted  with  the  head  of  music  in  which  he  confirmed  that  many  
students  held  the  belief  that  musical  ability  was  innate  and  this  significantly  
effected  engagement  and  achievement  (Private  interview,  08/05/2014)(see  
appendix).  Many  students  held  existing  schemes  for  understanding  the  world  
that  prohibited  them  from  actively  interpreting,  interrelating  and  understanding  
new  experiences  and  ideas  (Barnes,  2010).  To  counteract  this  I  introduced  the  
notion  of  creative  thinking,  which  aimed  at  encouraging  students  to  reshape  
their  existing  beliefs  and  engage  in  deep  process  learning  (Biggs,  2012).  Students  
who  regard  ability  as  an  acquirable  skill  that  can  be  increased  by  gaining  
knowledge;  seek  challenges  to  enhance  learning;  regard  errors  as  a  natural  part  
of  an  acquisition  process;  and  judge  their  progress  by  personal  improvement  
(Bandura,  1993,  pg  120).  Similarly,  students  who  view  ability  as  reflecting  innate  
aptitudes  or  traits  exhibit  erratic  critical  thinking,  lower  aspirations  and  a  
deterioration  of  performance.  An  acquirable  skill  view  of  musical  ability  can  also  
foster  a  task-­‐diagnostic  focus,  which  aims  at  expanding  competence  (Bandura,  
1993,  p.  121).  This  approach  seemed  to  be  quite  effective  while  exploring  
composition  with  a  year  10  class,  in  which  many  students  had  made  comments  
such  as  “sir,  there  is  no  point  of  me  doing  this,  I’m  not  musical”  (Field  note,  
29/04/2014).  I  commenced  the  subsequent  lesson  with  a  class  discussion  that  
centred  on  the  question  “are  some  people  born  more  musical  than  others?”(See  
appendix).  Most  students  asserted  that  musical  ability  was  innate,  sighting  
anecdotal  evidence  such  as  a  talented  friend  or  family  member.  Others  stated  
that  music  ability  could  be  developed,  however,  high  achievement  was  reserved  
for  gifted  individuals  (Field  note,  02/05/2014).  I  directed  the  discussion  towards  
musical  activities  being  a  series  of  creative  problem-­‐solving  tasks  and  made  
distinction  between  innate  abilities  and  talent.  As  a  class  we  systematically  
dissected  activities  such  as  composition  and  performance  into  smaller  problem-­‐
based  inquiries  and  organised  them  hierarchically.  I  utilised  exploratory  talk  to  
encourage  students  to  postulate  on  various  methods  used  to  solve  problems.  
Exploratory  talk  allows  new  ideas,  information  and  judgments  to  be  brought  into  
new  relationships  with  students’  existing  perceptions,  beliefs  and  knowledge  
(Barnes,  2010).    This  also  engaged  students  in  high  order  cognitive  process  such  
as  analysis  and  evaluation.  I  illustrated  how  to  employ  convergent  and  divergent  
thinking  (creative  thinking)  in  order  to  solve  creative  problems,  asking  students  
to  link  the  process  with  other  academic  subjects  and  activities  outside  of  school.  
Few  activities  are  entirely  new  as  most  contain  varying  degrees  of  familiar  and  
novel  characteristics,  as  such,  students  who  focus  on  familiar  aspects  of  new  
activities  display  greater  transfer  of  perceived  self-­‐efficacy  (Bandura,  1997,  pg.  
51).  This  lesson  aimed  at  encouraging  students’  to  enhance  and  modify  their  
thinking  processes  and  allow  for  the  linking  of  pre-­‐existing  competencies  to  
creative  practices.  Although  modifying  students’  existing  schemes  takes  longer  
than  a  single  class,  there  were  signs  of  successful  outcomes.  Students  seemed  
engaged  and  actively  participated  in  tasks  and  discussions  (Field  note,  
02/05/2014).  A  number  of  students  made  links  between  creative  thinking  and  
other  academic  subjects  and  life  outside  of  school;  illustrated  by  comments  such  
as  “so,  it’s  kind  of  like  when  you  have  to  write  a  creative  story  in  English?  (Field  
note,  02/05/2014)  Learning  is  a  way  of  interacting  with  the  world,  interpreting  
experiences  and  ideas  with  pre-­‐existing  schemes.  As  such,  education  is  about  not  
just  the  acquisition  of  information;  it  is  also  about  conceptual  change  (Biggs,  
2012,  p.  5).  Highlighting  commonalities  between  composition  and  other  
problem-­‐based  activities  did  appear  to  bring  about  some  degree  of  conceptual  
change.  My  mentor  gave  verbal  feedback,  stating,  “students  responded  well,  and  
the  tasks  seemed  to  give  students  a  sense  of  what  is  possible  and  strategies  to  go  
about  it”  (field  note,  02/05/2014).    
 
Encouraging  students  to  employ  sophisticated  practice  strategies  appeared  to  
enhance  self-­‐efficacy  (field  note,  02/05/2014).  The  knowledge  of  rules  and  
strategies  for  constructing  effective  courses  of  behaviour  can  assist  students  in  
managing  self-­‐efficacious  beliefs  and  enhance  learning  (Bandura,  1997,  p.  80).  
Engaging  in  effective  practice  strategies  is  also  a  strong  indicator  for  future  
success  in  music  making  (McPherson  et  al,  2012).  I  presented  a  VCE  music  class  
(See  appendix)  with  a  range  of  cognitive  processes  in  which  I  engage  myself  as  a  
music  practitioner;  this  is  closely  linked  to  the  PEEL  ‘structured  thinking’  
procedure  (PEEL,  1995).  Teachers  modelling  cognitive  strategies  can  
significantly  increase  students  perceived  efficacy  and  academic  skills  more  so  
than  didactic  instruction  (Zimmerman,  2000,  p.  88).  As  a  class,  we  discussed  the  
various  processes  needed  to  engage  in  effective  and  self-­‐regulated  instrumental  
music  practice.  We  constructed  various  sub-­‐headings  for  our  practice  schedules  
and  discussed  appropriate  activities  for  each.  Students  had  to  give  explanations  
of  how/why  a  particular  activity/exercise  would  be  beneficial  and  enhance  their  
learning.  By  engaging  in  structured  discussion  and  having  their  ideas  challenged,  
students  gained  an  awareness  of  how  they  learn  (PEEL,  2012,  p.  26).  The  next  
task  required  students  to  reflect  on  an  area  of  their  performance  that  needed  
improvement  and  create  a  practice  schedule.  When  assessing  areas  for  
improvement  and  setting  future  goals  items  should  be  couched  in  terms  of  what  
the  student  believes  they  ‘can’  do  as  opposed  to  ‘will’.  The  use  of  the  word  ‘can’  
refers  to  a  judgment  of  capabilities,  whereas  ‘will’  is  a  statement  of  intention  
(Bandura,  1997,  p.  43).  Before  students  could  commence  practicing  they  had  to  
give  a  verbal  overview  of  their  practice  schedules  and  benefits.  This  kind  of  
problem-­‐based  learning  requires  students  to  question,  speculate,  generate  
solutions  and  use  higher  order  cognitive  processes  (Biggs,  2012,  p.  5).  
Throughout  the  lesson  I  encouraged  students  to  be  active  learners  and  provide  
opportunities  that  allowed  for  the  synthesis  of  theoretical  and  practical  
activities.  Students  seemed  to  be  engaged  throughout  the  lesson  and  actively  
participated  in  tasks  (field  note,  02/05/2014).  Students  focusing  on  proximal  
goals  can  enhance  self-­‐efficacy  and  skill  development  more  effectively  than  distal  
goals:  as  proximal  attainments  provide  evidence  of  growing  capability  (Bandura  
&  Schunk,  1981)  (Zimmerman,  2000,  p.  81).  Reflection  is  important  in  
developing  quality  learning  behaviours  and  informing  self-­‐efficacious  beliefs.  
Each  student  presented  a  reflection  to  the  class  that  centred  on  their  progress  
including  successful/unsuccessful  outcomes,  discoveries  and  strategies  
employed  to  overcome  difficult  challenges.  Engaging  in  objective  self-­‐monitoring  
can  increase  the  quality  of  learning  (Mitchell,  2002)  and  enhance  self-­‐efficacy.  
However,  students  often  assess  their  capabilities  in  relation  to  the  attainments  of  
others.  Social  comparisons  often  encourage  students  to  under  estimate  progress  
and  achievement,  thus  impeding  self-­‐efficacy  (Bandura,  1993).  It  is  essential  to  
place  emphasis  on  learning  outcomes  rather  than  performance.  When  the  
classroom  environment  values  the  progress  and  strategies  underlying  task  
completion,  students  are  more  likely  to  be  motivated  to  engage  in  task-­‐
appropriate  activities  and  experience  an  increase  in  self-­‐efficacy  (Schunk  et  al,  
2000,  pg.  634).  Encouraging  the  adoption  of  positive  self-­‐assessment  and  
individualising  the  learning  process  can  activate  positive  perceptions  of  the  task,  
resulting  in  a  strong  sense  of  self-­‐efficacy  (Hussain  et  al,  2013,  p.  1684)  Students’  
sharing  the  procedures  used  to  achieve  successful  outcomes  enhances  
metacognition,  develops  a  shared  intellectual  control  and  allows  students  to  
incorporate  new  schemes  into  their  existing  frameworks.  Beliefs  of  capabilities  
are  influenced  by  observing  similar  peers  achieving  success  (Bandura,  1997,  p.  
79),  as  such;  shared  intellectual  control  can  result  in  an  increase  of  perceived  
self-­‐efficacy.    
 
Bandura  and  Wood  (1989)  (Bandura,  1993,  p.  125)  found  that  belief  systems  
concerning  the  perceived  level  of  controllability  within  an  environment  
contributed  to  levels  of  resilient  self-­‐efficacy.  When  individuals  operate  with  the  
view  that  group  behaviour  is  amendable  to  influence,  they  display  greater  faith  
in  their  capabilities  and  achievement  at  higher  levels.  Throughout  my  practicum  
I  attempted  to  present  tasks  that  allowed  for  a  high  degree  of  decision-­‐making  
and  ownership,  which  yielded  mixed  results.  I  found  it  very  difficult  to  
implement  these  types  of  tasks  with  younger  students  and  in  situations  where  
behaviour  issues  were  present.  When  working  with  a  class  of  year  8  students,  I  
created  a  lesson  plan  that  aimed  at  providing  a  range  of  decision-­‐making  
opportunities,  with  an  overarching  goal  of  enhancing  learning  and  self-­‐efficacy  
(See  appendix).  The  task  was  for  students  to  create  a  2-­‐3  minute  composition,  
which  utilised  any  combination  of  musical  elements.  For  example,  students  could  
create  a  composition  that  was  purely  rhythmic  in  nature,  or  one  that  focused  on  
variations  of  timbre  and  dynamics.  Students  also  had  free  choice  regarding  
instrumentation  and  could  present  their  compositions  to  the  class  in  the  form  of  
a  performance  or  a  recording.  Certain  elements  of  this  lesson  worked  quite  well  
such  as  allowing  students  to  record  their  compositions  on  their  phones  to  
present  to  the  class.  This  provided  an  avenue  for  less  confident  students  to  
present  their  compositions  to  the  class  and  receive  positive  comments  from  a  
teacher  and  their  peers.  The  immediacy  and  frequency  of  enactive  feedback  can  
create  enhanced  perceptions  of  personal  efficacy  (Zimmerman,  2000,  p.  88).  
However,  I  found  it  difficult  to  encourage  students  to  engage  the  task  with  a  high  
level  of  cognition.  Some  students  enjoyed  the  freedom  and  were  actively  
engaged,  while  other  students  saw  the  task  as  an  opportunity  to  ‘slack  off’  (Field  
note,  05/05/2014).  This  lesson  also  highlighted  that  class  management  can  
affect  students’  perceived  self-­‐efficacy.  In  a  conversation  I  had  with  my  mentor  
after  the  lesson,  he  stated  ‘bullying  from  their  peers  effects  students  perceptions  of  
their  capabilities’  (Field  note,  05/05/2015).  Similarly,  students  that  have  a  
heightened  sense  of  self-­‐efficacy  for  a  particular  task  may  be  apprehensive  to  
display  success  in  front  of  their  peers.    
 
Motivation  is  often  governed  by  expectation  that  behaviour  will  produce  
outcomes  and  the  value  of  those  outcomes  (Bandura,  1993,  p.  128).  Students’  
perceptions  of  the  importance,  authenticity  and  value  of  a  task  can  affect  self-­‐
efficacy,  engagment  and  the  quality  of  learning  (Hussain  et  al,  2013,  p.  1684).  
Aural  skills  are  essential  for  developing  musical  understanding,  yet  it  is  often  
difficult  to  motivate  students  to  improve.  Aural  skills  are  frequently  taught  by  
rote  and  detached  from  other  musical  activities.  Quality  music  education  should  
involve  the  learning,  applying  and  practice  of  concepts  in  support  of  each  other,  
not  as  separate  components  of  learning  to  be  addressed  separately  (Veenhoven  
Guderian,  2012,  pg.  6).  Linking  aural  skills  to  activities  such  as  composition  and  
improvisation  can  increase  task  authenticity  and  value.    Evidence  of  my  attempt  
to  increase  the  perceived  value  and  importance  of  aural  tasks  can  be  observed  in  
a  lesson  plan  created  for  a  VCE  music  class  (See  appendix).  As  part  of  an  aural  
exercise  I  gave  students  fretboard  and  keyboard  diagrams  of  incomplete  scales.  
The  students  had  to  engage  their  ears  to  fill  in  the  missing  notes  and  learn  the  
scale  on  an  instrument.  Once  completed  students  were  required  to  compose  a  
short  melodic  figure  that  emphasised  the  tonality  and  mood  of  the  scale.  This  
approach  is  the  antitheses  to  “right  answering”  (Barnes,  2010)  and  allowed  
students’  to  synthesis  information.  In  addition  to  enhancing  aural  skills,  lesson  
objectives  included  motivating  students  to  actively  seek  measures  for  
improvement.  The  students  displayed  resilience  and  perseverance  when  faced  
with  difficult  tasks,  which  are  characteristics  of  positive  self-­‐efficacious  belief  
(Ritchie  et  al,  2011)  and  enhanced  motivation.    
 
 
Throughout  my  investigation  I  was  able  to  identify  numerous  factors  that  effect  
self-­‐efficacy  and  learning.  These  included  erroneous  beliefs  about  the  innate  
nature  of  musical  talent,  monitoring  and  goal  setting,  expectancy  value  of  a  task  
and  classroom  management.  Whilst  I  developed  an  understanding  of  self-­‐efficacy  
from  conducting  the  initial  literature  review,  synthesising  theoretical  
frameworks  into  practical  tasks  and  procedures  further  enhanced  my  
knowledge.  Nonetheless,  time  constraints  did  not  allow  for  a  full  investigation  of  
the  complex  nature  of  self-­‐efficacious  beliefs  and  learning.  As  well  as  deeper  
exploration  into  areas  discussed  in  the  results,  other  potential  focus  areas  
include:  fostering  self-­‐efficacy  amongst  younger  students;  techniques  to  improve  
group  self-­‐efficacy;  and  development  of  strategies  to  improve  task  value.  This  
research  has  illustrated  that  educational  practitioners  should  place  equal  focus  
on  how  student’s  perceive  their  capabilities  and  the  transmission  of  information  
to  ensure  successful  learning  outcomes.  
 
 
Bandura,  A.  (1993).  Perceived  Self-­‐Efficacy  in  Cognitive  Development  and  
Functioning.  Educational  Psychologist,  28(2),  117-­‐148.  
 
Bandura,  A.  (1997).  Self-­‐Efficacy:  The  Exercise  of  Control.  New  York,  NY:  W.H  
Freeman  and  Company.  
 
Barnes,  D.  (2010).  Why  talk  is  important.  English  Teaching:  Practice  and  Critique  
9(2),  7-­‐10.  
 
Biggs,  J.  (2012).  What  the  student  does:  teaching  for  enhanced  learning.  Higher  
Education  Research  &  Development,  31(1),  39-­‐55.  
 
Hussain,  H.,  Aldhafri,  S.,  &  Alnabhani,  H.  (2013).  The  Impact  of  Students  
Perceptions  of  Assessment  Tasks  on  Self-­‐Efficacy  and  Perception  Of  Task  Value:  
A  Path  Analysis.  Social  Behaviour  and  Personality,  41(10),  1681-­‐1692.  
 
McCormick,  J.,  &  McPherson,  G.  (2006).  Self-­‐efficacy  and  Music  Performance.  
Psychology  of  music,  34(3),  322-­‐336  
 
McPherson,  G.E.,  Davidson,  J.W.  &  Faulkner,  R.  (2012)  Music  in  our  Lives.  New  
York,  USA  :  Oxford  University  Press.  
 

Mitchell,  M.  (2002,  June).  Using  ICTs  and  the  PEEL  Principles  of  Teaching  for  
Quality  Learning.  PEEL  in  Practice  online,  58,  48.  

 
PEEL,  (1995,  June)  F10  Structured  Thinking,  Learning  from  the  PEEL  Experience,  
256.    
 
PEEL,  (2012,  January)  B15  CUP  -­‐  conceptual  understanding  procedure,  More  
Teaching  Procedures,  1,  26.    
 
Ritchie,  L.,  &  Williamon,  A.  (2011).  Primary  School  Children’s  Self-­‐Efficacy  for  
Music  Learning.  Journal  of  Research  in  Music  Education,  59(2),  146-­‐161  
  
Richards,  J.,  Sweet,  L.,  &  Billett,  S.  (2013).  Preparing  Medical  Students  as  Agentic  
Learners  Through  Enhancing  Student  Engagement  in  Clinical  Education.  Asia-­
Pacific  Journal  of  Cooperative  Education,  2013,  14(4),  251-­‐263  
 
Schunk,  D.,  &  Ertmer,  P.  (2000).  Self-­‐Regulation  and  Academic  Learning.  In  M.  
Boekaerts,  P.  Pintrich  &  M.  Zeidner  (Eds.),  Handbook  of  Self-­‐Regulation  (pp.  631-­‐
649).  Massachusetts,  U.S.A:  Academic  Press.  

 
Veenhoven  Guderian,  L.  (2012).  Music  Improvisation  and  Composition  in  the  
General  Music  Curriculum.  General  Music  Today,  25(3),  6-­‐14.  
 
Webster,  P.  (1990).  Creativity  as  creative  thinking.  Music  Educators  Journal.  76  
(9),  22-­‐28.  
 
Wiggins,  J.  (2001).  Teaching  for  Musical  Understanding.  New  York,  NY:  McGraw-­‐
Hill  Higher  Education.  
 
Zimmerman,  B.  (2000).  Self-­‐efficacy:  An  Essential  Motivation  to  learn.  
Contemporary  Educational  Psychology.  25,  82-­‐91.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Appendix  1.    
 
The  following  is  an  interview  conducted  with  the  head  of  music.  
 
Can  you  identify  some  factors  that  inhibit  students  from  actively  engaging  
in  composition  and  performance?  
 
Mr.  Smith  (pseudonym):  As  far  as  students  performing  and  particularly  
performing  in  front  of  the  class,  peer  pressure  is  a  big  one.  Depending  on  the  
dynamics  of  the  class,  students  are  often  inhibited  by  their  peers,  whether  it’s  a  
case  of  shyness  or  fear  of  bullying.  Often  students  are  afraid  of  doing  well  or  
being  seen  to  be  doing  well.  Obviously  if  you  observe  that  in  your  class  there  is  a  
few  things  you  need  to  do  to  counteract  it.  You  need  to  establish  a  protocol  for  
performances  such  as  students  must  pay  attention  to  who  is  performing,  turning  
your  chair  to  face  the  performer,  not  speaking  and  save  any  comment  s  to  after  
the  performance.  Also  you  need  to  explain  that  constructive  criticism  is  good  but  
negative  or  hostile  comments  are  not  useful  and  will  not  be  tolerated.  A  few  
positive  comments  can  have  a  real  impact  on  a  students’  confidence  in  regards  to  
their  ability.  Also  students  need  to  be  reminded  that  class  performance  activities  
are  works  in  progress  or  a  way  to  engage  a  topic,  it’s  a  step  along  the  way  not  the  
ultimate  destination  and  should  not  be  afraid  of  making  mistakes.  
 
Do  you  think  some  student  have  a  perception  that  they  are  not  naturally  
gifted  for  music,  or  not  creative  in  general.  Does  this  effect  self-­efficacy?  
 
Mr.  Smith:  Yes,  I  think  that’s  quite  a  significant  problem  in  this  school.  It  
definitely  effects  self-­‐esteem  and  self-­‐efficacy.  It’s  important  to  have  really  well  
scaffolded  tasks.  Demonstrate  to  students  that  they  can  achieve  success  using  a  
series  of  basic  steps.    
 
 
 
  
Do  you  personally  think  musical  talent  is  innate?    
 
Mr.  Smith:  I  think  some  people  have  a  natural  disposition  for  music.    I  think  
everybody  can  learn  something  from  music,  so  it’s  an  important  educational  tool.  
It’s  mostly  environmental  though,  if  you  have  motivation  than  you  will  practice  
and  improve.  
 
Do  you  think  students  not  fully  understanding  task  directives  or  not  being  
able  to  conceptualise  certain  musical  elements  effects  engagement  and  
participation?  
 
Mr.  Smith:  It  can  do.  It’s  important  to  identify  whether  or  not  students  
understand  the  concepts  your  presenting.  If  a  student  doesn’t  understand  a  
concept  you  have  to  look  at  other  ways  of  presenting  it  to  them.  Musical  concepts  
are  usually  quite  abstract  so  it  can  be  difficult.  
 
How  do  you  create  a  need  to  know  among  your  students?  So  they  see  they  
value  of  tasks  such  as  composition.  
 
Mr.  Smith:  I  use  composition  tasks  more  in  terms  of  allowing  me  to  assess  their  
knowledge  and  understanding  of  music.  It  can  be  an  indicator  if  a  students  
lagging  behind.  Similarly,  if  a  student  goes  beyond  what  you  set  then  you  might  
need  to  examine  your  task  and  add  something  on  to  it.  
 
Do  you  think  it’s  important  to  link  music  learning  to  other  academic  
subject?  So  they  are  aware  they  are  learning  transferable  skills.  
 
Mr  Smith:  I  don’t  think  students  think  in  terms  of  transferable  skills,  and  I  don’t  
necessarily  think  many  teachers  do  either.  Things  seem  to  be  more  
compartmentalised.  In  my  experience  its  not  often  discussed  but  there  is  
definitely  a  need  for  it.  To  be  honest  it  is  something  I  should  do  more  of.  
 
  
Appendix  2  
 
Lesson  plan    
Date:   02/04/2014       Year  level:10    class  length:  120  min  
Big  idea  (s)  
What  is/are  your  big  ideas?   1.Creativity  and  musical  talent  is  not  ‘innate’.    
2.  The  creative  process  
What  are  your  content  points    1.Creativity  is  not  reserved  for  individuals  deemed  
for  this  lesson?   to  have  ‘innate’  abilities’,  rather,  It  is  a  PROCESS  
that  incorporates  both  divergent  and  convergent  
thinking  tasks  in  order  to  problem-­solve.  This  
process  can  be  learnt/developed.  
   
What  are  you  doing  with  it:   • Stimulate  the  adoption  of  high  order  
intended  learning   cognitive  process  such  as  divergent  
outcomes/objectives   thinking,  evaluation  and  analysis.  
• Making  links  to  other  academic  subjects  
• Enhance  self-­‐efficacy  through  the  transfer  
of  competencies    
   
Generating  engagement  
Affective   Can  you   • Placing  the  students’  
engagement:     generate  this?   ideas/values/experiences/explorations  at  
How?   the  centre  of  the  learning  while  engaging  
in  collective  knowledge  construction  
creates  a  shared  intellectual  control.  
• Making  strong  links  to  areas  outside  of  
music.  
What  student   • Utilise  exploratory  talk  and  class  
background   discussion  to  identify  beliefs  of  musical  
do  you   talent  and  current  cognitive  strategies  
expect?  How   used  in  order  to  problem-­solve.  
will  you  find    
out  and  use  
this?  
So  how  will  you  begin?   • Scaffolding  questions  such  as-­  what  do  you  
think  creativity  is?  Can  it  be  learnt?  Are  
some  people  more  creative  than  others,  
and  Why?    
• Discuss  content  points  to  provide  a  focus  
for  thinking.  (Introduce  Webers  Model  for  
Creative  Thinking)  
• Remember  to  pitch  this  at  an  appropriate  
level  for  the  age  demographic.  
 
Cognitive   What  will  be   • As  a  class  discuss  and  create  various  
engagement   your  tasks   problem-­solving  question  that  relate  to  
and  why   composition  and  performance.  
• Organise  hierarchically  and  link  to  other  
activities  (use  concept  maps)  
• In  small  groups  work  on  their  compositions  
from  previous  lessons.  Documenting  the  
creative  process  in  their  workbooks.  
Students  should  include  concept  maps,  
brainstorming  sheet  etc.    
 
   
What  do  you   Participating  within  group  discussion,  
•
intend   critical  /reflective  thinking.  
students  will   • Engaging  in  a  range  of  cognitive  strategies  
be  doing   i.e.  divergent  thinking,  convergent  
thinking,  self-­reflection  
• Making  links  between  the  “creative  
thinking”  process  and  possible  in  other  
subjects,  and  everyday  lives.  
• Discuss  and  defend  ideas  in  a  respectful  
manner.  
Behavioural  engagement:  -­‐ • Everyone  must  contribute  to  discussions.  
what  will  be  your   • Everyone  must  contribute  to  creative  
instructions?   thinking  exercise  and  composition  
During  the  lesson:  Feedback/communication/ongoing  evaluation  
What  will  you  be  attending  to   • Engagement  in  discussion  as  well  as  task/s  
as  signs  of  success   • Be  able  to  draw  upon  individual  and  
collective  ideas,  beliefs,  values  and  
experiences  to  complete  task.  
• Be  able  to  give  reasons/justifications  for  
their  musical  choices  and  defend  them  if  
necessary.  
• Articulate  the  processes  behind  ‘creative  
thinking’.      
• Successfully  linking  ideas  
How  will  you  know/find  out   • If  everyone  is  actively  offering  ideas  and  
if  you  are  achieving  your   engaging  in  discussion.  
goals?   • Using  terms  such  as  divergent  and  
convergent  thinking  in  the  right  contexts.  
 
What  teaching  moves  will   • I  will  provide  open-­ended  questions  in  
you  make  to  sustain   order  to  stimulate  exploratory  talk.  
engagement?   Encourage  students  to  build  on  other  
group  members’  ideas.  
• Tasks  have  a  number  of  ways  to  achieve  
successful  outcomes.  
• I  will  attempt  to  provide  a  high  degree  of  
linkage  between  the  material  and  other  
aspects  of  their  lives.  I  will  also  provide  
 opportunities  to  link  creative  thinking  and  
aesthetic  awareness.    
• I  will  set  tasks  that  are  authentic  in  
nature,  and  use  examples  that  seem  
relevant  to  the  students.  
• Work  collaboratively  in  order  to  extract  
meaning/feelings,  ideas  etc  from  the  
image  and  translate  them  into  sound  
possibilities.  
Debrief   • Ask  the  group  to  discuss  how  creative  
thinking  could  be  used  in  other  
contexts/situations.  
• Ask  if  there  are  any  other  questions,  or  
areas  that  need  further  explanation.  
Post  Lesson  Evaluation  
  At  times  I  felt  I  pitched  the  lesson  above  the  age  
demographic.  However,  my  mentor  mentioned  
that  he  thought  that  pitching  it  high  seemed  to  
engage  the  students.  All  students  generally  
worked  well  and  participated  throughout  the  
lesson.  Some  students  still  seemed  disengaged  and  
I  need  to  find  ways  of  reaching  these  students.  
Some  students  made  strong  links  to  other  
academic  areas,  which  was  a  successful  outcome.  
Class  management  was  improved  in  this  lesson;  
however,  further  strategies  are  required  to  make  
whole-­class  discussion  and  activities  more  
effective.  Presenting  composition  and  
performance  as  a  series  of  smaller  creative  
problems  did  seem  to  resonate  with  the  students.  
There  is  still  a  lot  of  work  needed  to  do  in  order  to  
encourage  the  adoption  of  new  schemes  in  regard  
to  musical  ability.  However,  this  was  a  good  
introduction.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Appendix  3  
 
Lesson  plan    
Date:  02/05/2014                  Year  Level:  VCE  music     Class  Length:  2  hours
       
Big  idea  (s)  
What  is/are  your  big  ideas?   • How  to  practice  effectively    

 
What  are  your  content  points   • What  is  effective  practice  
for  this  lesson?   • Self-­regulation  and  monitoring  
• Effect  practice  strategies  

What  are  you  doing  with  it:   • Encourage  self-­‐regulation  and  

intended  learning   metacognition.  
outcomes/objectives   • Making  links  to  other  academic  subjects  
• Enhance  self-­‐  efficacy  through  the  
transfer  of  competencies    
   
Generating  engagement  
Affective   Can  you   • Placing  the  students’  
engagement:     generate  this?   ideas/values/experiences/explorations  at  
How?   the  centre  of  the  learning  while  engaging  
in  collective  knowledge  construction  
creates  a  shared  intellectual  control.  
• Establish  a  need  to  know  by  creating  
proximal  goals    
What  student   • Utilise  exploratory  talk  and  class  
background   discussion  to  identify  current  practice  
do  you   habits  and  highlight  the  importance  of  
expect?  How   effective  practice  strategies.  
will  you  find    
out  and  use  
this?  
So  how  will  you  begin?   • Scaffolding  questions  such  as-­  why  is  
practice  important?  Is  how  you  practice  
important?  What  strategies  do  you  
currently  use  etc.  
• Discuss  content  points  to  provide  a  focus  
for  thinking.  (Self-­regulation,  monitoring  
and  effective  practice  strategies)  
• Present  my  personal  practice  schedule  and  
strategies.  Discuss.  
 
 
Cognitive   What  will  be   • As  a  class  discuss  the  various  methods  of  
engagement   your  tasks   practice.  Create  sub-­headings  for  a  
and  why   practice  schedule.  
• Students  are  to  identify  an  area  of  
weakness  of  something  that  needs  
particular  attention  within  their  VCE  
pieces  
• Discuss  possible  tasks  to  improve  certain  
areas  of  music  practice.  
• Create  a  personal  practice  schedule  and  
give  explanations  of  the  benefits.  
• Practice  their  pieces  
• Reflect  on  their  progress,  including  
difficulties  and  strategies  to  improve.  
• Discuss  with  class  

   
What  do  you   Participating  within  group  discussion,  
•
intend   critical  /reflective  thinking.  
students  will   • Engaging  in  a  range  of  cognitive  strategies  
be  doing   i.e.  divergent  thinking,  convergent  
thinking,  self-­reflection  
• Making  links  between  the  “creative  
thinking”  process  and  possible  in  other  
subjects,  and  everyday  lives.  
• Discuss  and  defend  ideas  in  a  respectful  
manner.  
Behavioural  engagement:  -­‐ • Everyone  must  contribute  to  discussions.  
what  will  be  your   • Must  complete  schedule  and  give  
instructions?   explanations  before  commencing  practice.  
• Must  record  progress.  
During  the  lesson:  Feedback/communication/ongoing  evaluation  
What  will  you  be  attending  to   • Engagement  in  discussion  as  well  as  task/s  
as  signs  of  success   • Be  able  to  draw  upon  individual  and  
collective  ideas,  beliefs,  values  and  
experiences  to  complete  task.  
• Be  able  to  give  reasons/justifications  for  
their  practice  choices  and  defend  them  if  
necessary.  
• Articulate  strategies  for  effective  practice  
• Meaningful  reflection  on  progress  and  
future  goals  
How  will  you  know/find  out   • If  everyone  is  actively  offering  ideas  and  
if  you  are  achieving  your   engaging  in  discussion.  
goals?   • Monitor  progress  throughout  lesson.  
What  teaching  moves  will   • I  will  provide  open-­  ended  questions  in  
you  make  to  sustain   order  to  stimulate  exploratory  talk.  
engagement?   Encourage  students  to  build  on  other  
 group  members’  ideas.  
• Tasks  have  a  number  of  ways  to  achieve  
successful  outcomes.  
• I  will  model  the  cognitive  strategies  I  
present  
• I  will  set  tasks  that  are  authentic  in  
nature,  and  use  examples  that  seem  
relevant  to  the  students.  
• Work  collaboratively  in  order  to  extract  
meaning/feelings,  ideas  etc  from  the  
image  and  translate  them  into  sound  
possibilities.  
Debrief   • Ask  the  group  to  discuss  progress,  areas  of  
difficulties  and  future  goals  
• Ask  if  there  are  any  other  questions,  or  
areas  that  need  further  explanation.  
Post  Lesson  Evaluation  
  Students  seemed  engaged  throughout  this  lesson.  
Due  to  the  year  level  and  pre-­existing  interests  in  
music  there  are  minimal  behavioural  or  
engagment  issues.  Each  student  was  able  to  
identify  an  area  of  improvement  and  effectively  
form  strategies  for  practice.  For  the  most  part  
students  kept  on  task;  however,  having  an  
instrument  in  your  hands  can  sometimes  cause  
distractions.  This  is  to  be  expected,  however,  
students'  engaged  well  and  practiced  effectively.  
My  mentor  mentioned  this  was  a  great  lesson  and  
I  will  definitely  implement  this  lesson  plan  in  the  
future.    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
Appendix  4  
Lesson  plan    
Date:07/05/2014     Year  Level:  VCE   Lesson  length:  120  min  
Big  idea  (s)  
What  is/are  your  big  ideas?   1.  Aural  skills  can  enhance  all  aspects  of  music  
making  practices  
 
What  are  you  doing  with  it:   • Enhance  audiation  skills  
intended  learning   • Enhance  scalar/intervallic  
outcomes/objectives   knowledge    
• Create  an  environment  that  
supports  risk-­‐taking  and  enhances  
students’  self-­‐efficacy  by  providing  
tasks  that  can  be  completed  with  
varying  degrees  of  sophistication.      
• Increase  perceived  task-­‐value.  
• Students  being  self-­‐motivated  to  
improve  aural  skills  
• Enhance  self-­‐efficacy  
 
   
Generating  engagement  
Affective   Can  you   • Placing  the  students’  
engagement:     generate  this?   ideas/values/experiences/explorations  at  
How?   the  centre  of  the  learning  while  engaging  
in  collective  knowledge  construction  
creates  a  shared  intellectual  control.  
• Making  strong  links  to  other  areas  of  
music.  
What  student   • Students  have  been  working  on  minor  
background   scales  for  the  last  term.  
do  you    
expect?  How  
will  you  find  
out  and  use  
this?  
So  how  will  you  begin?   • Scaffolding  questions  such  as-­  why  are  
aural  skills  important?  
• Discuss  content  points  to  provide  a  focus  
for  thinking.    
 
Cognitive   What  will  be   • Introduce  harmonic  minor  and  melodic  
engagement   your  tasks   minor  scale  construction.  Demonstrate  
and  why  
 how  to  transform  the  major  scale  into  
harmonic  and  melodic  minor.  
• Ear  Training-­Play  various  examples  of  
scales,  placing  the  scale  in  context.  Discuss  
the  moods/imagery  the  scales  produce.  
Sing  the  scales  with  the  scale  degrees.  
• Introduce  7th  intervals.  
• Scale  recognition  and  Interval  recognition.  
• Work  sheet  exercise-­  Students  are  given  
sheets  that  have  an  incomplete  harmonic  
minor  scale.  Students  are  to  use  their  ears  
to  fill  in  the  right  notes.  
• Composition  exercise-­Students  are  to  
create  an  original  melody  utilizing  the  
harmonic  minor  scale.  
• Reflection-­  Students  are  to  reflect  on  their  
own  progress  (both  pros  and  cons)  and  
discuss  how  they  applied  practice  and  
rehearsal  strategies.  

   
What  do  you   • Participating  within  group  discussion,  
intend   critical  /reflective  thinking  and  tasks.  
students  will  
be  doing  
Behavioural  engagement:  -­‐ • Everyone  must  contribute  to  discussions.  
what  will  be  your    
instructions?  
During  the  lesson:  Feedback/communication/ongoing  evaluation  
What  will  you  be  attending  to   • Engagement  in  discussion  as  well  as  task/s  
as  signs  of  success   • Be  able  to  draw  upon  individual  and  
collective  ideas,  beliefs,  values  and  
experiences  to  complete  task.  
• Be  able  to  give  reasons/justifications  for  
their  musical  choices  and  defend  them  if  
necessary.  
• Articulate  the  importance  of  aural  skill  
development.      
• Successfully  linking  ideas.  
• Displaying  resilience  for  difficult  
challenges.  
 
How  will  you  know/find  out   • If  everyone  is  actively  offering  ideas  and  
if  you  are  achieving  your   engaging  in  discussion.  
goals?   • Successfully  express  an  understanding  of  
the  overall  tonality  of  harmonic  and  
 melodic  minor  scales.  
What  teaching  moves  will   • I  will  provide  open-­ended  questions  in  
you  make  to  sustain   order  to  stimulate  exploratory  talk.  
engagement?   Encourage  students  to  build  on  other  
group  members’  ideas.  
• Tasks  have  a  number  of  ways  to  achieve  
successful  outcomes.  
• I  will  attempt  to  provide  a  high  degree  of  
linkage  between  the  material  and  other  
music  making  practices.  
• Work  collaboratively  in  order  to  extract  
meaning/feelings,  ideas  etc  from  scales  
and  intervals.  
Debrief   • Reflect  on  successful/unsuccessful  
outcomes  and  set  short-­term  goals.  
• Ask  if  there  are  any  other  questions,  or  
areas  that  need  further  explanation.  
Post  Lesson  Evaluation  
  This  lesson  was  quite  successful.  Again  this  is  a  
very  enthusiastic  group  of  students.  All  students  
seemed  to  benefit  by  linking  scale  tonalities  to  a  
feeling/imagery  etc.,  instead  of  trying  to  hear  
every  individual  note.  All  students  completed  tasks  
and  were  able  to  emphasise  the  particular  tonality  
of  a  scale  through  composing  a  melody.  Students  
engage  their  ears  well  and  learnt  to  play  the  scale  
on  an  instrument.  All  students  displayed  resilience  
when  faced  with  difficult  challenges;  this  is  a  very  
successful  outcome.  There  appears  to  be  an  
increase  of  self-­efficacy  among  the  cohort  in  
general.  Something  to  think  about  might  be  to  
plan  class  management  strategies  for  classes  with  
behavioural  issues.  Also  finding  a  way  to  pitch  this  
to  younger  students  will  be  useful.    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Appendix  5  
Sample  field  notes.  
 
Date:  28/04/2014        
 
Class:  8C     Role:  Observed  
Students  are  working  on  composing  riffs  using  the  G  blues  scale.  My  mentor  
seems  to  have  good  class  management  skills.  The  introduction  was  mostly  direct  
instruction  with  minimal  class  discussion.  The  students  were  given  clear  
directives  given  for  task  expectations.  Students  seem  to  be  disengaged  while  
completing  the  task,  most  are  not  attempting  the  task  properly.  It  appears  
students  are  not  aware  of  or  fully  understand  the  steps  required  to  compose.    
 
Class:  8D     Role:  Observed  
 
Same  composition  task  as  the  previous  class  (G  blues  scale).    The  class  dynamic  
seems  a  lot  different  to  8C,  behavioural  issues  are  much  more  prevalent.  Again  
students  seem  disengaged  and  unequipped  to  complete  the  task  with  a  high  
degree  of  sophistication.  There  is  not  a  great  deal  of  thinking  or  learning  
happening  within  these  lessons.  
 
 
Date:  29/04/2014        
 
Class:  10     Role:  Observed-­Team  Taught  
Students  working  on  group  compositions.  There  are  a  lot  of  positive  aspects  of  
the  task.  For  example,  students  can  use  a  range  of  media  to  complete  their  
compositions,  which  allows  for  the  task  to  be  completed  with  varying  degrees  of  
sophistication.  However,  most  students  seem  disengaged  and  are  not  employing  
appropriate  cognitive  strategies.    At  least  two  students  made  a  comment  stating  
that  a  lack  of  innate  musical  ability  was  inhibiting  them  from  completing  the  
task.  Students  made  comments  such  as,  “  I’m  not  creative  sir”  and  “  There’s  no  
point  of  me  doing  this,  I’m  not  musical”.  With  some  of  the  groups  I  discussed  
strategies  such  as  ‘creative  thinking’,  which  worked  quite  well.    
 
Date:  2/05/2014  
General  note:    Date:  2/05/2014  
 
Throughout  the  week  I  have  noticed  many  students  saying  that  they  do  not  
believe  they  are  naturally  gifted  for  music.  This  will  be  a  problem  for  both  
learning  and  engagment.  Challenging  the  perception  of  innate  ability  seems  to  be  
a  pertinent  area  of  exploration.  
 
 
 
Date:  02/05/2014        
 
Class:  10     Role:  Taught  
The  lesson  went  quite  well  and  students  seemed  to  be  engaged.  The  class  
discussion  about  the  innate  nature  of  musical  talent  went  as  expected.  Many  
students  stated  that  they  believed  musical  ability  was  innate.  Some  students  did  
express  that  musical  ability  could  be  developed,  however  high  achievement  was  
for  gifted  students.  One  student  used  an  example  of  his  cousin  who  plays  music  
and  is  a  ‘natural’.  I’m  not  sure  if  the  lesson  drastically  altered  their  existing  
schemes,  however,  students  were  engaged  and  employed  high  order  thinking  to  
complete  their  compositions.  Students  appeared  to  be  making  links  between  
creative  thinking  and  other  academic  subjects;  making  comments  such  as,  “so,  it’s  
kind  of  like  when  you  have  to  write  a  creative  story  in  English?  This  suggests  some  
transfer  of  competencies.    
My  mentor  gave  some  verbal  feedback  about  the  lesson;  ‘students  responded  well,  
and  the  tasks  seemed  to  give  students  a  sense  of  what  is  possible  and  strategies  to  
go  about  it’.