The Effect of Cooperative Listening Exercises on the Critical Listening Skills of College Music-Appreciation Students

Abstract

The authors investigated the effectiveness of cooperative listening exercises in developing critical music-listening skills in nonmusic majors. Subjects were college freshmen and sophomores enrolled in Introduction to Western Music. Control-group subjects attended classes taught exclusively in lecture format. Two experimental groups participated in four 50-minute group-listening exercises. Experimental Group 2 engaged in five additional group-analysis exercises, comparing known and unfamiliar musical styles. The consistent use of cooperative-listening exercises proved to be more effective in developing subjects' critical listening skills than either lecture-demonstration or occasional group work. On final exams, Experimental Group 2 scored significantly better than the other groups on identifications of texture, compositional genre, and musical style. To be most effective, group work needs to be implemented on a regular basis — for both the introduction of new material and for its review or application.

March 31, 2006

April 22, 2006

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Berube, M. R. (1994). American school reform: Progressive, equity, and excellence movements, 1883–1993. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Bradley, I. L. (1974). Development of aural and visual perception through creative processes. Journal of Research in Music Education, 22, 234–240.

Bruffee, K. A. (1993). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence, and the authority of knowledge. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Eisman, L. W. (1975). The formulation and testing of a problem-solving approach to the development of perceptive listening skills in selected college music appreciation classes (Doctoral dissertation, New York University, 1975). Dissertation Abstracts International, 36 (08), 4837.

Flannery, J. L. (1994). Teacher as co-conspirator: Knowledge and authority in collaborative learning. In K. Bosworth & S. J. Hamilton (Eds.), Collaborative learning: Underlying processes and effective techniques, Vol. 59 (pp. 15–23). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Haack, P. A. (1969). A study in the development of music listening skills of secondary school students. Journal of Research in Music Education, 17, 193–201.

Hoffman, J. A. (1991). Computer-aided collaborative music instruction. Harvard Educational Review, 61 (3), 270–278.

Holloway, M. S. (2004). The use of cooperative action learning to increase music appreciation students' listening skills. College Music Symposium, 44, 83–93.

Hopper, K. B. (2003). In defense of the solitary learner: A response to collaborative, constructivist education. Educational Technology, 43 (2), 24–29.

10.

Hosterman, G. L. (1992). Cooperative learning and traditional lecture demonstration in an undergraduate music appreciation course (Doctoral dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1992). Dissertation Abstracts International, 53 (05), 1440.

11.

Huang, H.-M. (2002). Toward constructivism for adult learners in online learning environments. British Journal of Educational Technology, 33 (1), 27–37.

12.

Johnson, D. W. , & Johnson, R. (1989). Cooperation and competition: Theory and research. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

13.

Johnson, D. W. , & Johnson, R. T. (1999). Learning together and alone: Cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

14.

Johnson, D. W. , Johnson, R. T. , & Smith, K. A. (1991). Active learning: Cooperation in the college classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

15.

Kaplan, P. R. , & Stauffer, S. L. (1994). Cooperative learning in music. Reston, VA: Music Educators National Conference.

16.

Kassner, K. (2002). Cooperative learning revisited: A way to address the standards. Music Educators Journal, 88 (4), 17–22.

17.

Madsen, C. K. , & Geringer, J. M. (1990). Differential patterns of music listening: Focus of attention of musicians versus nonmusicians. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 105, 45–57.

18.

McCoy, C. W. , & Ellis, M. C. (1992). The effects of short-term instruction on the ability of college nonmusicians to discriminate meter. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 114, 35–45.

19.

Millis, B. J. , & Cottell, P. G. (1998). Cooperative learning for higher education faculty. Phoenix, AZ: American Council on Education, Oryx Press.

20.

Norris, N. D. (2004). The promise and failure of progressive education. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Education.

21.

Reimer, B. (1970). A philosophy of music education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

22.

Reimer, B. (1985). Developing the experience of music (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

23.

Slavin, R. E. (1995). Cooperative learning: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

24.

Smithee, L. G. (1989). The effects of two methods of teaching basic music concepts utilizing twentieth-century music (Doctoral dissertation, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1989). Dissertation Abstracts International, 50 (07), 1975A.

25.

Webb, J. C. (1997). Increasing teaching and learning effectiveness in jazz studies courses through collaborative and cooperative activities. Jazz Research Proceedings Yearbook, 17, 181–188.