Profiles, perceptions, and practices related to customizable computer-aided instructions (MacGAMUT) among postsecondary aural-training instructors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between demographic and educational characteristics of postsecondary aural-training instructors and their practices using CAI (here, MacGAMUT). Instructors who use MacGAMUT (N = 278) were surveyed about their profiles, perceptions, and practices using a pilot-tested, researcher-designed online questionnaire. Two separate four-way MANOVAs were chosen to simultaneously analyze whether respondents differed on eight dependent variables. Significant main effects were found for the whole model (p = .010), gender (p = .018), and years using MacGAMUT (p = .006) in MANOVA 1; and the whole model (p = .022), years teaching aural skills (p = .015), and years using MacGAMUT (p = .001) in MANOVA 2. Significant interaction effects included the influence of gender on monitoring student usages of MacGAMUT (p = .017), years using MacGAMUT on the impact of CAI on learning dictation skills (p < .0001), years using MacGAMUT on the impact of instructors' interactions and involvement with MacGAMUT on learning dictation skills (p < .0001), and years using MacGAMUT on the impact of customization on learning dictation skills (p = .004) in MANOVA 1; and the influence of years using MacGAMUT on the importance of requiring students to use MacGAMUT in Mastery Mode (p = .005), and years using MacGAMUT on how often students are required to submit MacGAMUT assignments (p = .011) in MANOVA 2. Conclusions focus on the instructional uses of MacGAMUT as having a positive impact on student learning of dictation, thus placing a greater responsibility on the instructor to coordinate their uses of CAI thoughtfully with the curriculum. Suggestions for further research include gender differences using more complex types of music technology, in-class practices of aural training, reasons for default changes, userfriendliness, reasons for discontinued use, professional development, graduate training in technology, foundational assumptions among Digital Natives, and a replication of the study.