A comparative analysis of Edwin Gordon's approach to sequential musical learning and learning sequences found in three elementary general music series
Byrd, Maurice Elton
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/20032
Description
Title
A comparative analysis of Edwin Gordon's approach to sequential musical learning and learning sequences found in three elementary general music series
Author(s)
Byrd, Maurice Elton
Issue Date
1989
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Colwell, Richard J.
Department of Study
Music
Discipline
Music Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ed.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Music
Education, Elementary
Language
eng
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the materials and suggested sequencing published in three general music textbook series, The Music Book, Silver Burdett Music, and The Spectrum of Music, were compatible with Edwin Gordon's approach to sequential musical learning. Edwin Gordon has provided a music sequence model designed specifically for the teaching and learning of melodic and rhythmic skills in music.
The investigator established Gordon's position by examining his major publications, particularly Learning Sequences in Music: Skill, Content, and Patterns (1984). Gordon's position on skill development, tonal and rhythmic learning in music, and the organization of the curriculum were presented. A content analysis of the three music series, grades K-6 was conducted to examine goals, objectives, instructional techniques, and the suggested sequencing of melodic and rhythmic skills. Each was compared and contrasted to Gordon's skill learning sequence. Each grade level was quantified to determine skill emphasis, and the data were reported in percentages using Gordon's descriptors to standardize the comparison. Data were also presented which compared the use of stepwise and spiral movement in the curriculum, the use of curriculum objectives, methodology, and techniques.
Findings indicated that the learning sequences for melodic and rhythmic skill development in the three music series, though appearing to be compatible with the stated philosophies of the series, were incompatible with Gordon's approach to sequential musical learning. Stepwise and spiral movement in the learning sequences, curriculum organization, and the use of instructional techniques and methodology, were also found to be incompatible with Gordon's approach. Although certain features congruent with Gordon's sequence were found in the three series, the materials and activities were not consistently developed in a manner than would, according to Gordon, yield efficient learning.
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