Evidence of Pedagogical Content Knowledge Among High School Band Directors and University Applied Music Teachers in the Context of Student Self-Evaluation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to seek evidence of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in high school band directors’ (generalists) and applied music teachers’ (specialists) evaluations of musical performance; (b) explore the similarities and differences between generalists’ and specialists’ perspectives on PCK; and (c) compare the evidences of PCK to student musicians’ self-evaluations of same performances. A basic interpretive qualitative approach with data collected through a think-aloud procedure applied to evaluation of solo music performance videos revealed four themes indicative of PCK—Aural Concept, Conveying Information, Effecting Change, and Uncertainty—and attendant sub-themes. Generalists and specialists provided a rich trove of evidence of PCK. Several findings appear to be unique to PCK in music, among them teacher uncertainty and the sheer variety of pedagogical means available to experienced teachers. Generalists and specialists were remarkably the same in their verbalizations about student performance, casting doubt on whether the generalist/specialist dichotomy is real relative to experienced teachers’ dealings with PCK in music. Apparent differences in educational and performance background did not result in actual differences in the way that teachers responded to the same evaluative tasks and the ways they thought from the perspective of PCK. The difference in verbalizations between teachers and students, not surprisingly, was wide. The magnitude of the gap, indicative of students’ pedagogical needs, was striking.