Design and validation of a music technology course for initial music teacher education based on the TPACK framework and the project-based learning approach

Abstract

This project outlines a design for, and presents an evaluation and validation of, an information and communication technology (ICT) training course on an initial teacher education programme for pre-service music teachers at a Spanish University. The primary objective was to improve initial teacher education in music technology through a course design with two key components: (1) constructivist learning through collaborative projects (PBL) and (2) the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) integration framework. The course saw students carry out four real-life projects, three of which involved the elaboration of educational material through the exclusive use of musical technology, and one of which involved an ICT research project. Results were obtained through an end-product evaluation and a self-assessment questionnaire and indicated that the course was well received and highly valued by the participants. In their self-assessment responses, students spoke of the academic value of the course, a confidence in their own skills, their willingness to use ICTs in future teaching contexts, the importance of ICTs in their degree programme, the fact that the course surpassed their expectations in terms of achievement (a fact corroborated through data triangulation in the end-product evaluation) and the transferability of the knowledge acquired to the music classroom. Finally, they provided suggestions for potential improvements to the course.