Peter Miksza

The primary goal of this study was to examine relationships among observed practice behaviors, self-reported practice habits, and performance achievement of high school wind players (N = 60). Participants practiced in three 25-minute sessions, rated their practice efficiency following each day, and completed a practice survey. Participants performed a researcher-composed étude six times across the duration of the study. Performances were rated using objective and subjective criteria. Practice sessions were observed for frequencies of selected practice behaviors. Interjudge reliability for performance ratings and observations was acceptable to high. A significant change (p < .001) in performance achievement was detected over time (d = .85). The behaviors exhibited the most were repeat measure, repeat section, and marks part. Significant correlations were found: (a) among the behaviors repeat section, whole …

The purpose of this study was to develop and test the construct validity and reliability of a self-report measure of self-regulated practice behaviors for beginning and intermediate instrumentalists. A questionnaire was designed to assess the motive, method, behavior, time management, and social influences dimensions of the theoretical model of self-regulation proposed by McPherson and Zimmerman. The questionnaire’s construct validity was tested using confirmatory factor analysis, and a preliminary assessment of predictive validity was estimated by correlating the measure with self-reported practice habits. The measure’s reliability in regard to internal consistency and consistency over time was assessed as well. The sample consisted of middle school band students in grades 6 to 8 (N = 302). Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a model including factors representing the dimensions self-efficacy, method …

This study is an investigation of relationships among impulsiveness, locus of control, sex, observed practice behaviors, practice effectiveness, and self-reported practice habits in a sample of 40 college brass players. Practice effectiveness was defined by the amount of change in pretest and posttest performance achievement scores over one 23-minute practice session. Each subject's practice session was analyzed for frequency of practice behaviors. Measures included the Eysenck Impulsiveness Questionnaire for Adults (1985), the Nowicki-Duke Locus of Control Scale for Adults (1974), and a researcher-designed practice questionnaire. Results indicated (a) a significant interaction effect (p < . 01) between performance achievement and impulsiveness, with subjects in the low-impulsive group outperforming those in the high-impulsive group; (b) a significant relationship (p < .01) between subjects' locus of control …

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between observed practice behaviors consistent with conceptions of deliberate practice (Lehmann & Ericsson, 1997) and the performance achievement of collegiate wind players (N = 55). The secondary purpose of this study was to explore relationships among observed practice behaviors, performance achievement, and individual differences in impulsivity and achievement goal motivation. Participants completed: (1) a 23-minute practice session; (2) pre- and post-test measures of performance achievement; (3) a researcher-adaptation of the Elliot and McGregor (2001) 2 x 2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire; (4) the Eysenck Impulsiveness Questionnaire for Adults (Eysenck, Pearson, Easting, & Allsop, 1985); (5) the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (1985); and (6) a researcher-constructed practice habit questionnaire. Reliability results for all measures …

This study was designed to (a) gather band directors’ opinions of skills and characteristics important to teaching and (b) examine the relative effectiveness of electronic versus paper survey methods. Survey respondents ranked lists of music, teaching, and personal skills or characteristics in order of importance and answered open-ended items regarding advice for 1st-year teachers and the struggles and rewards of band directing. The final response rate was 66% (N = 235). Personal and teaching skills and characteristics were ranked higher than music skills. The items “maintain high musical standards,” “be able to motivate students,” and “enthusiastic, energetic” were the highest ranked skills or characteristics. Perseverance, patience, and long-term vision were the most common forms of advice to 1st-year teachers. Issues related to classroom management and student success were the most-often-cited struggles …

This study is a longitudinal investigation of the relationships among music participation (i. e., band, chorus, orchestra), socioeconomic status (SES) and standardized measures of academic achievement (i. e., math, reading, social studies, science) in a national sample of American high school students (N= 5335). The data used for this study were drawn from the first three waves (i. e., 8th, 10th and 12th grade) of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (U. S. Department of Education). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze inter- and intra-individual differences in academic achievement over time. The final model included music participation and SES as significant predictors. Results indicated that music participants began the study with significantly higher academic achievement scores in all subjects and maintained higher scores over time. Although SES was found to be significant predictor …

Professional discussion of curricular change and innovation is essential for maintaining and increasing the positive effects that music education can have on schoolchildren. Much recent discourse about curricular change has focused on critiques of the traditional large-ensemble model of music education, technological innovation applied to teaching music, and the incorporation of popular music idioms. I propose counterpoints to these commonly discussed topics and offer suggestions for redirecting advocacy efforts and for reconsidering dispositions toward large-ensemble instruction. Rather than discard the current curricular models as inadequate, we can exercise patience and reflect while building on what currently exists.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the status and development of junior-level preservice music teachers’ concerns using Fuller and Bown’s teacher concerns model. Participants were 11 junior-level instrumental practicum students from a large American university. Data sources included a goals essay, lesson plans, teaching DVDs, self-evaluations of teaching, and a reflection on the original goals essay. Data were coded according to Fuller and Bown’s concerns categories (i.e., self, task, student impact). Analyses indicated that participants had a variety of concerns within each concern category specific to music education. Overall, there was an emphasis on task concerns, as participants appeared to be more concerned with pedagogical execution than with their personal characteristics or student impact. Rapport, content knowledge, and motivation were the most frequently coded self, task, and student …

This paper provides a summary and synthesis of the extant research related to music practicing as well as a preliminary presentation of an original instructional theory of practicing. The 119 studies reviewed in this paper are organized according to four central questions about practicing that research has begun to inform: (a) What do individuals do when they practice music? (b) How have researchers intervened with individuals' practice? (c) What individual difference variables interact with why and how musicians practice? and (d) How is self-regulated learning relevant to practicing? Figures summarizing the essential methodological components of selected studies from each category are included. An instructional theory is presented as opposed to a descriptive theory in an attempt to more closely align research and teaching efforts. The instructional theory that is proposed makes considerations for theoretical …

The purpose of this study was to investigate intermediate musicians’ self-regulated practice behaviors. Thirty sixth- through eighth-grade students were observed practicing band repertoire individually for 20 min. Practice sessions were coded according to practice frame frequency and duration, length of musical passage selected, most prominent musical objective, and practice behaviors. The 600 min of video were parsed into 234 practice frames for analysis. Practice sessions also were rated for overall degree of self-regulation. Reliability of the observational procedures (three observers, 95% to 100% agreement) and self-regulation ratings (two raters, coefficients of .89 to .96) was excellent. Analyses revealed an average of 7.8 practice frames with a mean duration of 2 min 45 s across sessions. Participants most frequently addressed the musical objective pitch accuracy and most commonly selected passages of …

This study examined dimensions of self-regulation and motivation in the music practice of junior high school band students. A volunteer sample of 7th- and 8th-grade students (N = 175) completed a 43-item, researcher-adapted questionnaire designed to measure the constructs of intrinsic motivation, attribution of success and failure, self-regulation, metacognition, and concentration as related to practice habits and beliefs. The questionnaire designed for this study drew from previous research in music education (e.g., McPherson & McCormick, 2000; Schmidt, 2005), educational psychology (e.g., Pintrich & DeGroot, 1990), and psychology (e.g., Nowicki & Strickland, 1973). Data were also collected regarding subjects' self-reports of practice efficiency, practice time per-day/per-session, and percentages of formal/informal practice. Factor analysis revealed five factors explaining 48% of the total variance: Concentration …

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential reUtionships among participation in high school music ensembles and extra-musical educational outcomes broadly defined (i.e., math achievement, community ethic, commitment to school) using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002. The sample (N =12,160) was representative of white and minority high school sophomores from 603 rural, suburban, and urban schools across the United States. Bronfenbrenner's bioecological development model was used as a theoretical framework to guide the selection of predictor variables. Multilevel model analyses accounting for both individual-(i.e., music participation, SES, minority status, peer influence) and school-level (i.e., urbanicity, percent of teachers certified, number of music teachers) effects were conducted for each outcome variable. Music participation was found to be significantly (p < .001) rebted …

This study is an investigation of the effect of self-regulation instruction on collegiate wind players’ performance achievement, practice behavior, and self-efficacy. Volunteers (N = 28) were randomly assigned to an experimental condition that included either (a) instruction in the application of practice strategies (slowing, repetition, whole-part-whole, chaining) or (b) instruction in self-regulation principles (concentration, goal-selection, planning, self-evaluation, rest/reflective activity) in addition to the aforementioned strategies. The instruction was delivered via videos across 5 days and consisted of narrative descriptions and aural/visual models of each approach. Recordings of pre-test performances, 20 minutes of practice, and post-test performances were collected at days 1 and 5. Participants provided ratings of self-efficacy beliefs at days 1 and 5. Both groups made significant gains in performance achievement at …

The purpose of this study was to determine whether students’ practice efficiency, flow during practicing, and self-efficacy for self-regulation varied as a function of their practice tendencies, their tendencies toward self-evaluation, their self-regulatory tendencies to be self-reflective when practicing, tendencies to exhibit grit in their learning, and their teachers’ methods of instruction in practicing. Participants were 52 studio lesson teachers and 241 of their students from 25 large collegiate music programs in the United States. Both the teachers and students represented a diverse range of instruments: flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, French horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, and tuba. The data for this study were self-reports collected via online questionnaires. Findings indicated that of the five predictor variables examined, only two—students’ tendencies to exhibit grit in their learning and their tendencies to …

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate relationships among impulsivity achievement goal motivation, and the performance achievement of high school wind players (N = 60). An additional purpose was to examine how impulsivity and achievement goal motivation were related to observed practice behaviors. Subjects practiced in three, 25-minute sessions and completed the Eysenck Impulsivenessɸ Questionnaire (Eysenck, Pearson, Easting, & Allsop, 1985) as well as a researcher-adaptation of the Elliot and McGregor (2001) 2 X 2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire. Reliability for the impulsivity and achievement goal sub-scales, performance ratings, and observed behaviors ranged from adequate to excellent. Results showed significant (p < .01) curvilinear growth in performance achievement with rapid gains made across day one, a peak in the rate of improvement at day two, and a plateau at day three …