Exploring the Educational Benefits of Ocarina Instruction: A Focus on Musical Reading Comprehension in Elementary Students

Item

Media
NikitaWilliams_ARP_2024.pdf
Title
Exploring the Educational Benefits of Ocarina Instruction: A Focus on Musical Reading Comprehension in Elementary Students
Creator
Nikita Williams
Degree Name
action_research
Master of Arts in Teaching (initial licensure)
Project Type
action_research
Date
6/15/2024
Abstract
This research study examined the connection between students' growth in musical reading
comprehension and their advancement through the skill set of playing the ocarina. The students
involved were 24 fourth- and fifth-grade students in a blended class in a small rural K-8 school.
For six weeks, students learned how to read and play nursery rhymes using their ocarinas to
use as a tool to learn the staff notes on the treble clef. Students' other skills during the unit
were rhythm reading skills, song recognition, and aural skills, such as repeating songs and scales. They
performed a 15-bar melody using standard music notation and using color-coded fingering
charts as reference for the notes. The music classes were taught in person, with 30-minute classes
three days a week for six weeks. They started their songs during the fourth week and performed
them during the last week of the study. Students were asked to submit exit tickets periodically
during the study to assess their progress in learning to read notes on the staff and ocarina
fingerings. We had several playtests and written tests during this time to help identify which
skills the students had mastered. The findings of the study showed nearly 52% of students could
pass a post-test of 80% or higher of just staff notes knowledge, 14% scored 50%-60%, and 33%
scored under 60% on their final written assessment. Most students did score above 70% on all
playtests, while 30% needed to retake a section of the playtests. The results of the study have
important implications for music teachers.
Keywords
Ocarina, Classroom instruction
Committee Member
Xiaopeng Gong
Jean Elliot
Rights
https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en
Western Oregon University Library has determined, as of 6/29/2024, this item is in copyright, which is held by the author. Users may use the item in accordance with copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use. For other uses, please ask permission from the author.
License
CC-BY-NC (attribution, non-commercial)
Language
English
Type
Text