Videoconferencing Technology as a Tool to Foster the Learning of Undergraduate Music Education Peers

• In Event: Classroom Video as a Tool for Music Teacher Learning: Outlining Strategic Research Agendas

Abstract

While observing exemplary in-service teachers is important, researchers suggest there may be benefits to observing peers as well. Acknowledging the importance of peer observation, and recognizing that peer observation perhaps happens most often between peers in the same institution, the author used videoconferencing technology to bring together undergraduate music education peers from two different music teacher education programs allowing for a greater diversity of observation experiences beyond local school settings (Pickering & Walsh, 2011; Reese, 2015). The following research questions guided this study:

1. How do these preservice music educators perceive peer observation and dialogue with regard to their development as teachers?
2. How are these experiences different from or similar to observing peers at the same institution?
3. How does a videoconferencing observation compare with a traditional in-person experience?
4. How might the experience of the observer differ from the experience of the observed?

We used a case study design (Creswell & Poth, 2017; Merriam & Tisdell, 2015; Patton, 2015; Stake, 2010; Yin, 2009). According to Stake (2010), case studies allow researchers to develop greater understanding of complexity, and Yin (2009) notes they are the preferred strategy for exploring how and why questions. In particular, this study is considered an intrinsic case study (Creswell & Poth, 2017; Stake, 1995), in which the focus was on the case itself and chosen for its uniqueness where the unit of analysis was the phenomenon of cross-institutional, peer-to-peer observation mediated by videoconferencing technology used to connect students from two different music teacher education programs. Since Creswell and Poth (2017) note that case studies are explored over time and involve multiple data sources, the researchers used guided observation notes, cross-institutional dialogue sessions, researcher journals, and semistructured participant interviews as major data sources.

We identified three emergent themes: (a) technology as a tool for diverse experiences, (b) self-reflection and questioning assumptions, and (c) evolving issues of identity. Participants believed the experience was uniquely valuable when compared with traditional observations of peers within their own institutions. While all participants reported growth in self-awareness and ability to question assumptions, those who were observed developed stronger teacher identities and those who were observing learned vicariously through peers they wished to emulate. As the landscape of technology and online collaboration continues to evolve, we envision leveraging technology to deterritorialize learning spaces (Cremata & Powell, 2017) not only out of necessity or convenience but perhaps more importantly, to provide broader, richer, and more diverse experiences to students previously confined by location.

Author

• Chad West, Ithaca College