Distance Learning and Teaching in Group Settings at Primary Music Schools in Slovenia

Abstract

During the Covid-19 pandemic, all stakeholders in education, including music teachers, had to respond to new challenges, including the adjustment of the learning process to the requirements of distance learning and teaching. The main goal of the present research was to determine music teachers’ self-assessment of ICT competences and their use of teaching methods, strategies, techniques and assessment methods. A survey questionnaire was designed and the collected data were processed using the Friedman test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The sample consisted of teachers of subjects that are taught in groups (i.e., Music Preparatory, Music Theory and Solfeggio) at public primary music schools in Slovenia. The participants reported no problems using most ICT tools and resources during the pandemic. In general, they were most confident with videoconferencing tools and least confident when recording explanatory videos unaccompanied by oral explanation. In the planning and implementation of the teaching process, they least frequently used activities of music creation and playing Orff instruments. More specifically, lessons in Music Preparatory most frequently included listening activities, while classes in Music Theory and Solfeggio focused on the transmission of theoretical musical and formal knowledge. Overall, the teachers mainly resorted to synchronous and frontal instruction. In terms of evaluation and assessment of musical abilities, skills and knowledge, they most frequently employed oral consolidation, testing and assessment, as well as student-produced recordings of rhythmic and melodic exercises.