Date of Award
Spring 2025
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Department
School of Music
First Advisor
Wendy H. Valerio
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to develop an understanding of my second-grade students’ creativity and agency in game-like music activities during peer-to-peer social interactions in music learning centers. Following were the guiding research questions for this study. During music learning centers: 1) How did students create game-like music activities, 2) What types of play did they demonstrate, 3) How did they describe their experiences, and 4) What music characteristics did they demonstrate? I collected data during three 50-minute second-grade music classes over the course of two weeks at St. Peter’s Catholic School (SPCS). I used the following data collection sources to achieve triangulation: video-recorded, whole class opening discussions; video- and voice-recorded, music learning centers; moderate participant observer field notes; video-recorded, whole class game demonstrations; and video-recorded, whole class closing discussions. Following my data analysis, I identified five emergent themes regarding the second-grade music students’ creativity and agency: Students created game-like music activities using a variety of organizational music structures and peer-to-peer interaction strategies; students engaged in different developmental stages of social and cognitive play; students incorporated their lived experiences into their game-like music activities; students valued their music learning center experiences for various reasons, and they transferred their game-like music activities to scenarios outside of music class; students incorporated ostinati in triple v meter, rhythm patterns in duple meter, and tonal patterns in major tonality into their game-like music activities. Through those findings, I gained insights regarding my second-grade music students’ creativity and agency. Based on those findings, I present personal pedagogical implications regarding the second-grade students’ use of organizational music structures and peer-to-peer interaction strategies, rule creation capabilities, and music vocabularies. I conclude by suggesting recommendations for future research.
Rights
© 2025, Hunter Knight Thompson
Recommended Citation
Thompson, H. K.(2025). Examining Second-Grade Music Students’ Creativity and Agency During Game-Like Music Activities in Music Learning Centers. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/8284