Month: February 2016

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Test Your Jazz Theory Knowledge!

71oK1Jd978L-2Dear Participants,

My name is Dr. Charles Ciorba, and I am an Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Oklahoma. I am conducting a research study to examine the effectiveness of a new Jazz Theory Test. I plan to build on the results of this research to create an educational theory that can help jazz educators diagnose the musical imperfections exhibited by beginning improvisers with the intention of creating appropriate solutions. In addition, music educators can use these results to develop innovative curricula, which can be used to effectively teach the art of jazz improvisation to their students.
If you agree to participate in this research, you will be asked to complete a 60-item jazz theory test, which should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. There are no risks and no benefits from being in this research. Participation is completely voluntary, and all responses will remain anonymous.

If you would like to participate, please click on the link below.

https://ousurvey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9WERwTaism2OgGF

Sincerely,

Dr. Charles R. Ciorba
Associate Professor
Coordinator of Graduate Music Education
University of Oklahoma
Email: cciorba@ou.edu

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Perceptions Towards Music Education

_MG_5355-flugel-1As an educator, I have always had a deep passion for the inclusion of music in the public schools. As a professional researcher, it has been a long-term goal of mine to conduct a nationwide research study that examines professional perceptions towards music education.  Given the introduction of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), now seems like a perfect time to gauge these perceptions. Over the past year and a half, a group of dedicated graduate students and I compiled a list of publically available email addresses from a random sample of approximately 470 school districts across the nation.

The primary purpose of this study is to examine perceptions toward the impor­tance of music education as reflected by administrators, music teachers, teachers of other subject areas, and support staff (e.g., paraprofessionals, counselors, media special­ists) using the Music Education Perception Measure. A second­ary purpose is to ask members of the K–12 educational community how they would improve music in the schools.

Data collection has begun, and over the course of this semester, I will be contacting thousands of professionals by email to ask for their participation in this study. It is hoped the findings from this research may provide a better understanding of how the importance of music education is perceived in the United States, and that the implications derived from this study can further enhance the discussion regarding the importance of music education.