CREATIVE MUSIC ACTIVITIES FOR THE PREPARATION OF TEACHERS

The intent of this study was to research, develop,
and present creative music activities which could be used by
classroom teachers to promote creative thinking in children.
The creative music activities follow the format developed by
Frank Williams in his Total Creativity Program for Individualizing
and Human~zing the Learning Process.
Creative music activities which were selected encourage
divergent production and develop the creative thinking
abilities of fluency, flexibility, original ity, and
elaboration. These activities also stimulate t he development
of affective behaviors such as risk-taking, preference
for complexity, curiosity, and imagination. In addition,
suggested teaching strategies for teachers which enhance
creativity are included in each activity.
These activities were categorized as being (1)
composition, (2) dramatization , (3) movement, (4) rhythmic
experience, (5) special project, or (6) basic music skills. They were further organized into appropriate grade levels,
kindergarten through sixth grade.
A survey was conducted of music teachers in Palm
Beach, Broward, and Dade Counties, Florida, to obtain information
about the use of creative activities. A questionnaire
designed by the author and the Khatena-Torrance
Creative Perception Inventory were used to gather the necessary
data.
The major findings of this study showed that most
teachers used creative activities in their teaching and are
receptive to new materials on creativity. Physical setting
was not a significant variable in predicting the extent of
the use of creative music activities by teachers. Teachers
who scored high on the Creative Perception Inventory used
more creative activities in their teaching than those who
scored low but the difference was not· significant. The
discovery technique is desirable in teaching children with
high creative ability but most teachers did not use this
method exclusively in their presentation of new material.
This study was not intended to be field tested by
the author. Rather, emphasis was on the development of
creative music activities with variations of difficulty
which could be used by classroom teachers with a minimum
of musical training.