Ernest Woodruff and Phillip Heeler, Northwest Missouri State University

One of the greatest challenges faced by educators on any level is that of working with large numbers of students in a course. The ability of students varies so greatly that it is difficult to address any subject or concept in such a way that everyone will understand. A special challenge is presented in music courses requiring the perception of aural concepts. Listening perception is a skill that develops at widely varying rates in students, and the time spent in class is insufficient for many students to gain those skills. In recent years we have looked to technology to help individualize the learning process by providing avenues for drill and practice of at least basic terms and concepts relative to our courses.

Music theory is an obvious example of a course that requires the development of listening skills. Computer programmers and music publishers have provided music educators with a wealth of software to address the development of aural skills in the context of music theory. However, other music courses such as music literature and music appreciation have not been served by the same level of attention given to music theory. Material developed for these courses has focused on presenting material in an effective way rather than testing the student’s comprehension of aural concepts such as the perception of meter or discrimination of timbre.

Perhaps one of the reasons for this lack of interest on the part of software developers and publishers is that there is less standardization of the expectations instructors have for the students in these courses. Another possible explanation for this fact is that students do not always grasp these concepts from mere exposure to them. Feurerstein (1979) suggests that there are two distinct modes through which we learn. One is simply direct exposure to stimuli, and the other is defined as a Mediated Learning Experience. In the latter mode another person is interposed between the stimuli and the student. The role of this person or teacher is to mediate the learning experience by transforming stimuli, selecting them, scheduling them, and framing them.

The use of technology in the learning process is sometimes criticized for its lack of mediation in the learning process. The level of technology in the past made programming sophisticated tutorials quite difficult; however, it is now possible for most instructors to create computer-assisted tutorials using authoring software. The purpose of this project was to incorporate principles of a Mediated Learning Experience into a multimedia tutorial that was used to facilitate the development of aural concepts in college music appreciation students.

Four sections of music appreciation students who are attending Northwest Missouri State University were available for this research project. Two of the sections met during the fall semester of 1995, and the other two met in the spring of 1996. All four sections used the same texts and were taught by the same instructor. Students who took the course in the fall did not have the opportunity to use the tutorial simply because the materials were not yet available.

This study used a simple experimental and control group design. Scores collected from tests taken in fall 1995 were used as control group data. There were scores for a total of 78 students in those two sections. Students from two sections that met in the spring of 1996 were asked to volunteer to take the tutorials. The scores generated by their exams were used as experimental group data.

Students in the experimental group were offered extra credit as an incentive to participate in the project. A total of 48 of the 84 enrolled in the two sections accepted the offer to take the listening tutorial before their first exam. A certain amount of computer literacy was required of the students. They were given instructions to obtain software and compact discs from the reserve desk at the library and to install the software application on the hard drive of a computer running Microsoft Windows. Consultants were available in the computer laboratory area to provide assistance when needed. A copy of the instructions given to the students is included at the end of this paper. In order to receive extra credit the students printed the results of their exam and brought it to class.

The effectiveness of the music tutorials was measured by comparing scores on the listening portion of the first exam in all the sections. The mean scores of the control and experimental groups were compared with a t test.

The tutorials were developed using PODIUM software developed by Fred Hofstetter at the University of Delaware. Version 5.0 is packaged with templates that make the construction of a quiz or tutorial within the grasp of any interested instructor. Templates are provided in several different formats such as matching, true/false, and multiple choice. To use them one need only replace the text for the questions, answers, and appropriate feedback in the template. PODIUM comes with a toolbox that allows the user to customize the look of the pages if that is desired, and one must be prepared to make some time investment to become proficient in its use.

For this project the multiple choice template was used. The only need for customization was to adapt the font size and location of text to accomodate different lengths of questions, and the addition of visual links to start and stop the compact disc player.

The hardware required for the presentation of these tutorials included an IBM-compatible computer with a CD-ROM drive running Windows. While running the tutorials on a network might have been desirable, it was not possible in this situation due to an already overcrowded file server. Multiple copies of the compact discs used in the tutorials were, of course, required.

The first unit studied in this course was an introduction to the elements of music; therefore, concepts such as meter, harmony, texture, and timbre were addressed in the tutorials. Each question in the tutorial had to be answered correctly before the student could progress to the next one. Each response resulted in feedback which was used to mediate the students’ learning by directing their attention to the critical attribute or attributes that identified the correct response.

A second effort to mediate the learning experience was made through providing a summary of incorrect responses upon completion of the tutorial. Each incorrect response given generated a data statement that contained the number of the question, the correct response and the incorrect response. This data could be viewed or printed, and test scores including the number of attempts, the high score, and the low score were displayed.

A total of 14 of the 90 questions on the first unit exam were directed toward listening skills, and the same questions were given to all four sections. The tutorial used questions that were similarly worded, but no musical example from the exam was used in the tutorial.

The mean scores for the control group and experimental group on the listening portion of exam one were 7.36 and 9.79 respectively. The standard deviations were 2.11 and 2.14 for the two groups. The results of thet test comparing the test means were significant (p < .05). (See Table 1 for results.)

One of the assumptions instructors often make involving extra credit assignment or enrichment activities is that the best students are typically the ones who want to participate. That argument could well be made relative to this study. In order to compensate for this potential inequality between groups, the researchers made a second comparison using only the highest 48 scores in the control group. The results of this comparison which are found in Table 2 still indicate a significant difference between the mean scores (p < .05).

Table 1

* There was a significant difference between the mean scores of the two groups (p < .001).

Providing instructional materials for students requires a significant investment of time and effort on the part of an instructor. Therefore, it is important to know whether or not the materials that are provided are helping the students learn. The data used in this study, however informal, do indicate that students benefit from the tutorial.

The use of computers to administrate tests certainly does not need defending today. There have been a host of researchers, such as Herman (1982), who have provided ample evidence on behalf of the effectiveness of this medium. Our study has focused on both the greater potential for providing feedback to students and the greater ease with which it can be produced by instructors without the ability to author computer programs. The fact that at least some level of mediation can be provided by computer-administered tests and tutorials certainly enhances their learning potential. This technology that makes greater use of graphics and sound also appeals to today's students who are used to multisensory learning.

While our study did indicate that this approach is effective, it did not provide data relative to other approaches. The results were not surprisingly very positive, however, since one can almost assume that perception will improve with practice. Further investigation needs to be made into comparisons of tutorial approaches.

We found that the technical challenges were two-fold. One still significant challenge is the contruction of the tutorials. While the use of templates is helpful, it is still a cumbersome means for producing the tutorials. This is not intended to be a criticism of the PODIUM software because it was originally developed as classroom presentation software. The potential to write tutorials with this software is a welcome addition even though it is somewhat time consuming. The other challenge alluded to is that of technical support. Certainly more students today have some level of computer literacy, but there is still a great need for competent and understanding assistance from support personnel.

Go to the reserve desk in the library and check out a pair of headphones, a 3.5" diskette labeled Unit One Review, and the set of three compact discs that contain the listening examples from our text. These items are on reserve under my name.

1. With Windows running, load the unit one diskette and compact disc #2 into the computer.

2. Select Run from the File submenu in Program Manager.

3. Type a:\install and click OR in the dialog box.

4. When the PODIUM installer dialog box appears, click INSTALL. After the program is installed, click OK.

5. To complete installation of the software you must run File Manager from the Main application group.

6. Find the directory labeled UNPODIUM in the left column and click on it. A file named expand.bat should appear in the right column.

7. Double-click on the expand.bat file name to execute it.

8. Exit File Manager.

9. Run the Unit One review by double-clicking on its icon. Click on the headings of the main screen of the tutorial to gain access to the questions relative to that heading. You are encouraged to use the See Results option in the review in order to find out your score and to view and print feedback data generated by your work.

To receive extra credit for completing this tutorial, bring a copy of the printout of the data available from the See Results menu to class.