The Effect of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Piano Education: An Experimental Study with Pre-service Music Teachers

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of computer assisted teaching practices in piano courses in Department of Music Education of Faculty of Education on students’ success, piano playing skills and to what extent they provided permanent learning. The research was carried out with the pre-test/post-test research design with a control group, one of quasi experimental designs. In the study, the experimental group was provided computer-assisted piano instruction, while the control group received the regular curriculum instruction. There were 7 female and 6 male students in the control group and 6 male and 7 female students in the experimental group. A computer-assisted piano instruction program was developed for the experimental group. Instruction in the experimental and control groups lasted for 10 lessons. Piano Achievement Test and Piano Observation Form were used as data collection tools. Mann Whitney U test was used to test permanent learning and the success and piano skills of the groups. The results of the research show that computer assisted piano instruction applied in the experimental group is more effective than the regular curriculum instruction in increasing students’ course success and permanent learning. However, no significant difference was found between the post-test levels of the experimental and control groups in terms of piano skills.