The Effects of a Digital Music Production Course on Pre-service Early Childhood Teachers’ Musical Teaching Competence and Learning Satisfaction

Overview

This study examined the impact of a 10-week digital music production course on 66 second-year pre-service early childhood education majors. The course incorporated process-oriented production activities utilizing digital tools and generative AI technologies. The investigation focused on three primary dimensions: musical teaching competence, learning satisfaction, and educational perceptions. A one-group pretest–posttest design with paired t-tests was employed for quantitative analysis, supplemented by qualitative content analysis of open-ended responses to capture nuanced shifts in participant perspectives.

Methods and approach

The study utilized a one-group pretest–posttest design with 66 second-year early childhood education majors as participants. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired t-tests to assess changes in musical teaching competence and learning satisfaction. Qualitative content analysis of open-ended responses was conducted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying quantitative findings and document perceptual shifts. The intervention consisted of 10 weeks of process-oriented music production activities facilitated by digital tools and generative AI, designed to support participants in developing practical teaching competencies and reconceptualizing their relationship with musical activity.

Results

Quantitative findings demonstrated statistically significant improvements in practical teaching competencies, particularly in 'guiding children's direct music production' and 'activity planning.' These improvements indicate that digital tool scaffolding effectively reduced pre-service teachers' functional anxiety related to music instruction. Overall learning satisfaction ratings were high across the participant sample. Qualitative analysis revealed a fundamental reframing of music learning: participants reconceptualized musical engagement from an evaluative performance task to an exploratory, failure-tolerant activity, facilitated by the revision accessibility and immediate feedback mechanisms of digital environments. Additionally, participants developed prompt literacy—the capacity to articulate and structure musical intentions linguistically—through iterative interactions addressing inconsistencies in AI-generated outputs. This progression reflected a shift from passive music consumption toward active musical design roles.

Implications

The digital music production course demonstrates efficacy as an instructional mechanism for restoring musical agency among pre-service early childhood teachers. By reducing functional barriers through technical scaffolding and reconceptualizing music engagement as exploratory rather than evaluative, the intervention addresses documented deficits in pre-service teachers' musical confidence and competence. The development of prompt literacy represents an unexpected competency outcome with potential applications beyond music pedagogy. These findings provide empirical support for integrating digital music production curricula within early childhood teacher education programs. Future implementation should consider how such courses might be systematized across teacher preparation sequences to sustain competency development beyond initial exposure. The role of generative AI as a pedagogical tool warrants further investigation regarding its capacity to support iterative skill development and agency restoration in other subject domains and teacher populations.