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Rickels, David A.

Associate Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • Dr. Rickels conducts research on issues in music teacher education, specifically focusing on teacher recruitment and use of technology in teacher education. On teacher recruitment, Dr. Rickels has published studies and continues to conduct inquiry on the motivations of high school students selecting careers in music education. Dr. Rickels studies technology in teacher education by examining the use of mobile devices and media applications as tools to bridge the divide between classroom and field work in terms of assessment and feedback on student work. Through these lines of inquiry, Dr. Rickels works to expand knowledge of best practices for recruiting and educating high-quality teachers for 21st century PreK-12 classrooms.

keywords

  • music education, educational technology, teacher education, teacher recruitment, competition

Teaching

courses taught

  • IMUS 5093 - Contemporary Topics in Music Education
    Primary Instructor - Summer 2018 / Summer 2020 / Summer 2021
  • MUSC 2103 - Introduction to Music Education
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
    Introduces students to the broad range of skills and responsibilities inherent to the music education profession. Explores current topics in public school music teaching while developing teaching skills through supervised field experience. Offered fall only.
  • MUSC 4443 - Teaching Instrumental Music
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019
    Examines instrumental music curricula, instructional materials and teaching techniques appropriate for rehearsal, class, and lesson settings. Also addresses administration strategies for instrumental music programs. Offered spring only. Same as MUSC 5443.
  • MUSC 5173 - Advanced Instrumental Techniques and Pedagogy
    Primary Instructor - Summer 2023 / Summer 2024
    Reviews and expands knowledge of brass, woodwind, percussion, or string instrumental techniques and pedagogical tools, extending upon skills gained in a typical introductory class teachers complete prior to licensure. Students complete a project based on synthesizing new pedagogical resources and materials. Intended for music educators who teach in K-12 school settings. settings.
  • MUSC 5183 - Research in Music Teaching
    Primary Instructor - Summer 2018 / Summer 2019 / Fall 2019 / Summer 2021 / Fall 2021 / Summer 2022 / Fall 2023 / Summer 2024
    Introduces basic descriptive, experimental, and qualitative research methods, including sampling, design, data collection, and analysis. Students review published music research and conduct one original research study. Offered fall of odd-numbered years.
  • MUSC 5443 - Teaching Instrumental Music
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2019
    Examines instrumental music curricula, instructional materials and teaching techniques appropriate for rehearsal, class, and lesson settings. Also addresses administration strategies for instrumental music programs. Offered spring only. Same as MUSC 4443.
  • MUSC 6113 - Foundations of Music Education
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2022
    Surveys historical and philosophical bases of contemporary music education. Offered fall of even-numbered years.
  • MUSC 6133 - Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
    Explores curricular models for music education. Emphasizes comprehensive musicianship and standards-based frameworks for curriculum and development. Offered spring terms of even-numbered years.
  • MUSC 6203 - Psychology of Music Learning
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Summer 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Summer 2023 / Spring 2024
    Provides an overview of psychological concepts relevant to music teaching and learning. Topics include learning theories, selected individual difference variables (motivation, anxiety, creativity, and personality), physiological structures related to hearing, psychoacoustics, and approaches to examining musical ability (e.g. brain research, music aptitude, and skill acquisition). Offered spring terms only.
  • MUSC 7138 - Contemporary Issues in College Teaching
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2023
    Examines music teaching within colleges and universities, including the evolution of university music programs, undergraduate and graduate music curricula, music professors and their work, and sociopolitical issues. Offered spring of odd-numbered terms.

Background

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