The development of teaching cases for instrumental music methods courses

The purpose of this study was to develop teaching cases for instrumental mu sic education methods courses through analysis of current teaching practice . A qualitative case study research design was used to document the daily i nteractions, decision-making skills, and use of pedagogical content knowled ge of four experienced instrumental music teachers (one elementary, two mid dle school, and on high school teacher). Observation and interview data wer e analysed and coded, categories were identified, and teaching cases were d eveloped. The teaching case categories documented in this project include c urricula and objectives, program administration, recruitment and balanced i nstrumentation, scheduling, choosing literature, classroom management in re hearsals, motivation, assessment and grading, musicianship, and rapport wit h students. Implications of this project for music teacher education and mu sic education research are discussed.