Yiannis Mygdanis (September 2023)

Title: Music Education 4.0: Leveraging Immersive Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, and ST(R)E(A)M Education in Music Classes

Abstract:
The technological advancements of recent years are constantly redefining the ways in which individuals engage with music, shaping new prospects for musical expression, interaction, and learning. Children in the contemporary digital era are growing up in an environment that daily expands their musical experiences and preferences. This results in perceptions of musical practice transforming and acquiring new meanings through the use of digital media, simultaneously creating new challenges for music pedagogy. These rapid developments make it essential to design learning environments within a framework that is radically different from the conventional one.

This study focuses on the ways in which learning environments emerge and take shape within the context of Music Education 4.0. The primary aim is the design, development, and implementation of instructional scenarios for primary education that reflect the interdisciplinary ST(R)E(A)M framework (Science, Technology, Reading/Writing, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics). The study approaches the experience of students in the 5th and 6th grades of primary school and analyzes the use of immersive technologies (virtual, augmented, and mixed reality) and artificial intelligence in these learning environments.

The practical application will take place in the form of a music group at the Pierce – The American College of Greece primary school. The methodological design is qualitative and draws from Design-Based Research, focusing on practical application with an emphasis on design, development, and evaluation of educational interventions in authentic teaching-learning environments. The results of the research are expected to highlight expanded perspectives for designing Music Education 4.0 initiatives, as well as the integration of immersive technologies and artificial intelligence. Simultaneously, the utilization of design research as a methodological approach brings forth new prospects in educational research for the field of music pedagogy.

 
Angeliki Konstantakopoulou (June 2024)

Title: Implementation and Evaluation of an Educational Program Using Original Songs to Develop Reading Skills in Early Childhood

Abstract:
As an extension of the educational program with songs designed to support the acquisition of reading mechanisms in first grade, examined in the doctoral research: “The Use of Poems and Songs in Teaching Reading in First Grade: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Educational Intervention,” the current postdoctoral research focuses on the application of this program in early childhood education (Kindergarten).The research explores the program's effects on the development of phonological awareness—as a necessary precursor to acquiring reading skills—and the emergence of additional outcomes related to music education, multiple intelligences, and the psychosocial skills of kindergarten students. Simultaneously, educational materials are being developed in audio, print, and digital formats, adapted for use by general and music education teachers in preschool and early elementary education.