Files
Abstract
The educational concept of cooperative learning has existed for many years and dates back as early as the 1920s. Cooperative learning is broadly used by teachers in diverse fields, including K-12 classroom settings, collegiate group piano classes, and adult group piano instruction. The benefits of cooperative learning have been widely acknowledged by researchers across fields, especially in the areas of motivation, psychological, cognitive, and social development. Educational and social psychologists such as John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky have recognized the enormous potential of cooperative learning as the primary learning environment, and many music scholars have promoted group learning as a primary method of acquiring musical knowledge and skill. Group settings provide learning opportunities that cannot be experienced in a one-on-one setting. Moreover, group teaching provides opportunities for instructors to deliver a more comprehensive, creative, and motivating music curriculum as outlined by David and Roger Johnson, Robert Slavin, Frances Clark, Christopher Fisher, and many more.
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the benefits of group piano - motivational, psychological, social, and developmental-and connect the general principles of cooperative learning theory specifically to group piano study for ages five to eight, an under-researched age group. The study will examine how cooperative learning enables students to learn in a student-centered environment and how it aids the development of intrinsic motivation. The group activities and games developed as part of this study are designed to address the research performed in the age group of students five to eight.