Neurodidactics in elementary music classrooms: a mixed-methods study

• Main Author: Leahy, Sarah Elaine-Alexandra
• Other Authors: Smith, Garth Dylan
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Music education; Elementary music; Mirror neurons; Mixed methods; Music cognition; Neurodidactics
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/43055

Up until recent technological developments in neuroscience and advancements in brain imagery techniques, educators and scientists had little insight into what was occurring in the minds of learners. These developments in the field of neuroscience have led to increased knowledge about how the brain develops and learns in childhood. Understanding how music is processed in the brains of young children may provide educators with insights about how to teach more efficiently and effectively, with the potential to either support or refute current classroom practices. Many music educators appear eager to bring strategies with a grounding in neuroscience to their classrooms. It is important then, to understand not only the limits of neuroscientific data and its applicability to classroom settings, but also the degree to which current music teaching practices either correspond or run contrary to current understandings in neuroscience. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of neuroscience recommendations by teachers in elementary general music classrooms; that is, whether current classroom practices correspond with the latest understandings of the developing brain as well as how and to what degree these recommendations for music teaching based on neuroscience are reflected in elementary general music pedagogy.