children able to create with the presence of IT?

 

Four music head teachers from different schools took part in a series of semi-structured interviews. It was found that there were no change in the strategies that the teachers had used, and IT was not employed efficiently. Teachers merely consider IT a substitute for paper and pencil for notating musical pieces. Meanwhile, the interviewees were still using a “practice and drill” approach to teach music composition when they were applying IT.

 

However, a student-centered approach is deemed to be more appropriate for the teaching and learning of music composition. To promote the effective use of IT in this area, a teaching framework, called Pedagogical Framework for Music Composition with Information Technology (PFMCIT), was formulated. The ultimate purpose of this framework is to provide music teachers with the appropriate knowledge and skills that can enhance the use of IT in facilitating teaching and learning of music composition.

 

To further investigate the role of PFMCIT and improve its efficacy in promoting the more effective music composition education, an action research project was conducted. The participants were full-time music teachers in a Hong Kong primary school. They found that, when applying PFMCIT, they felt more confident to teach music composition in class. Students were more motivated to compose and they could compose good quality musical works.

 

It is encouraged that PFMCIT should be used as a means to provide more professional information for teachers in the area of teaching music composition. It is hoped that the framework can be promoted in teacher education to improve pre-service and in-service music teachers’ knowledge and skills by bringing a change of teaching approach, and to establish a better technological environment for teachers to develop students’ creativity.