Date

5-16-2024

Department

School of Music

Degree

Doctor of Music Education (DME)

Chair

Jerry L. Newman

Keywords

COVID-19, online instruction, technology, band instruction, digital immigrants, digital natives

Disciplines

Education | Music

Abstract

Despite having access to such technologies, most music educators were not using online worksheets, playing exercises, or video questionnaires during daily instruction prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. For example, in the band world, the only daily use of technology may have been the metronome, as most band directors focus on playing exercises and literature during class. Band classes are “hands-on” and performance-based. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, band directors had to transition from traditional teaching to teaching band online quickly. To combat the rapid spread of the coronavirus, schools in all fifty states and all U.S. territories were mandated to discontinue meeting in person, forcing all educators to transition to online formats in a decidedly rapid fashion. Going from face-to-face to looking at students through a screen changed how band directors were able to teach band instantly. The issues that band directors faced during the pandemic were transitioning traditional lessons to an online format and finding solutions when faced with the limitations of technology. However, once classes returned to in-person teaching, some teaching strategies developed during the shutdown continued to be used in their face-to-face teaching. The band directors’ perspectives are untold, but they do matter. Their successes can be a blueprint for new music educators or those who want to learn more about implementing technology into the classroom. This qualitative study will examine the perspectives of middle and high school band directors in Cedar Hill, Texas, who were teaching during the onset of the COVID-19 shutdown.

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