The effects of peer-assisted learning on rhythmic and melodic sight-reading in a middle school chorus

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways that children engage in collaborative processes with adults and their peers in music sight-reading skill acquisition in a middle school chorus in the Southeastern United States. Intact groups of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade choruses were assessed on melodic and rhythmic sight-reading using a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest non-equivalent control group design. The instruments to evaluate melodic and rhythmic sight-reading included an adapted version of the Vocal Sight-Reading Inventory and a researcher-developed Rhythmic Skills Hierarchy. A comparison of the effectiveness of three learning models on rhythmic and melodic sight-reading achievement occurred: teacher-only and two types of peer-assisted learning. Three Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVAs) compared differences between groups on adjusted posttest scores. There were significant differences between the teacher-only (T-O) and the symmetrical peer-assisted learning (SPAL) groups when compared to the asymmetrical peer-assisted learning group (APAL). The T-O and SPAL treatment types were effective learning models for melodic sight-reading achievement but with nonsignificant results on rhythmic sight-reading. Symmetrical peer-assisted learning strategies are a suggested practice as a complement to teacher-directed instruction.