An exploratory study of Singapore music teachers' needs in video-mediated online professional development

Abstract

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine Singapore music teachers’ needs when engaged in video-mediated online Professional Development (PD). The specific research questions were: (1) What were music teachers in Singapore interested in when searching for classroom videos in online repositories? (2) What were the features of a video-mediated online PD platform that mattered to music teachers in Singapore? Participants were 61 Singapore music teachers (Generalists, Specialists, Primary and Secondary levels) who were asked for keywords they would use to search in a video repository, and also to rate a list of online features in terms of importance to them. Their responses were collected through short informal interviews, brief focus group discussions, and online surveys. <br><br> Findings indicated that participants were more interested in searching for videos related to Music Content/Skills than Pedagogies/Teaching; this was especially true among Primary Generalists. Interestingly, the reverse was found among Primary Specialist music teachers: they were more interested in searching for videos related to Pedagogies/Teaching than Music Content/Skill. Topics that participants were most interested in were “Performance” and “Teaching Resources or Materials”; topics they were least interested in were “Listening and Responding to Music,” “Classroom Management,” and “Student-centric Approaches.” The highest rated features were “Able to enter keywords to search,” “Allows for video streaming,” and “Should have ability to bookmark favourite videos,” while the lowest rated feature was “A structured playlist based on a topic is followed (No skipping of videos allowed).” Three needs emerged from the data: need for convenience, need for content, and need for choice. Based on the findings, implications for responsive PD research and practice were offered.