The use of elaboration strategy and its efficiency level in violin lessons given in music departments of anatolian fine arts high schools

The Use of Elaboration Strategy and Its Efficiency Level in Violin Lessons Given in Music Departments of Anatolian Fine Arts High Schools Özlem AKIN PhD, Fine Arts Education Department, Music Teacher Training Section Advisor: Prof. Dr. Ali UÇAN May - 2007 This research was carried out to determine to which extend elaboration strategy was used in violin education at Music Departments of Anatolian Fine Arts High Schools (MD AFAHS), and the efficiency level of this strategy in learning violin. For this purpose, descriptive and empirical methods were used in this study. In the descriptive part of the study, violin students and teachers from MD AFAHS were given a questionnaire in order to gather information about their opinions and thoughts on elaboration strategy. In the empirical part of the study, pre-test and posttest with control groups were made use of. The subjects for this study were composed of 11. grade violin students, from 53 MD AFAHS, in 2005-2006 Academic Year. In determining sampling, Turkey was divided into three regions as western, central and the eastern Turkey. Two AFAHS from each region for descriptive model sampling and one AFAHS for empirical model sampling were chosen. 144 students and 19 teachers took part in the descriptive part sampling, and in the empirical part sampling of the study 25 students took part, 13 of whom were in experiment and 12 of whom were in control group. The questionnaire prepared to collect data was applied to the descriptive sampling group and behavioral observation form was applied to the empirical sampling group. Two violin pieces, one of which was to be used in pre and post tests and the other to be used in experimental test, were chosen. The application in experimental process viii was observed by three expert violin educationists and the data obtained were assessed through SPSS 13.0 software. Split - plot Anova test was used in analyzing the data. Percentages were used in analyzing the questionnaire. After scanning of the Preparatory Class Basic Art Education Lesson and Musical Instrument Violin 1, 2, 3 teaching program and Violin Course Books, it was found out that such elements as ?drawing inferences?, ?creating similarities?, ?detecting differences?, ?associating? and ?application? were included but that no elements related to stages such as ?summarizing? and ?taking notes? were included. When the violin training literature was studied, components related to stages of ?drawing inferences?, ?associating?, ?summarizing? and taking notes were determined, but components related to the stages of ?creating similarities?, ?detecting differences?, and ?application? were not detected. It was found out that students and teachers used stages of ?summarizing?, ?drawing inferences?, ?associating?, ?creating similarities?, ?application?, ?making comparisons and finding differences? more compared with other components. It was found out as a result of the study that elaboration strategy stages (?summarizing?, ?drawing inferences?, ?associating?, ?forming similarities?, ?making comparisons and finding differences?) had a positive effect on MD AFAHS students? learning violin. Elaboration strategy is an efficient and useful strategy that can be used in the education of MD AFAHS students and students of the same age. This study should be carried out in other classes of MD AFAHS for different instruments. In addition, different strategies should be used and the most appropriate strategies for learning the violin should be determined.