Resumen de Nurturing Young Composers: exploring the Relationship Between Instruction and Transfer in 9-12 year-old Students
The goal of this qualitative action research study was to explore of transfer theories and research on children and composing in a general music classroom. I developed and field tested a curriculum based on transfer theories and the literature on children composing, designed to facilitate concept transfer from listening and performance tasks to small group composing tasks. The content included instruction on concepts, composing strategies, and collaboration. Four instructional units were taught to students in a Chicago summer enrichment program. Reflective analysis with expert observers at the end of each unit yielded tentative findings and new queries, which in turn allowed for instructional improvement and expand upon knowledge gained from prior research. Emergent themes related to teaching for transfer to composition tasks and reflections on transfer theories are presented, along with recommendations for future research
