Date of Graduation

Fall 2021

Degree

Master of Music

Department

Music

Committee Chair

Daniel Hellman

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the goals, structure, and director perceptions of team-teaching practices within a vertically-aligned band program. Previous research has indicated that “team teaching” can provide many benefits to both students and teachers. Since not all school districts apply such a system, the objective of this study was to explore a school band program that has implemented vertically-aligned team teaching. I wanted to understand how the directors perceived its benefits, drawbacks, and difficulties. I selected a band program with an established vertically-aligned program that used team-teaching as a pedagogical strategy. I interviewed and observed band directors and analyzed, categorized, and interpreted the findings. The overarching theme that emerged from this study was using team teaching to build continuity throughout the band program. Additional themes that I found were scheduling, teacher roles, team-teaching strategies, teacher autonomy, professional growth, staff relationships, and collaboration. I observed complexity in the implementation of team teaching and found it difficult to define in precise terms. I discuss four implications arising from the case study: (a) valuable benefits for teachers and students, (b) challenges of implementation, (c) sustaining intended educational goals, and (d) navigating context.

Keywords

band program, team-teaching, team-teaching strategies, co-teaching, vertical- alignment, curriculum, program continuity, collaboration

Subject Categories

Music Education | Music Pedagogy

Copyright

© Aaron Zane Thomas

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Open Access

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