Transformative Agents of Positive Change

Stephen Raghunath EDUC 8002 Qtr. 8/31-11/15 2015

With tiny fingers manipulating mini notebooks, I heard several hushed

exclamations of excitement across the room. I can remember substituting for a
2nd Grade classroom in a city school district, in which a small spark was lit in my
thoughts. There was one hundred percent participation that day. The subject?
Math review using educational gaming software for basic arithmetic. As they
completed their work they came up to me and excitedly showed me their
progress and scores. I began to think, if this can work for math, how could it work for
music? I decided then to pursue a Masters of Science in Music Technology, where
I developed my own music theory gaming software to test run on my current
middle school music classes. With their retention of music symbols higher than
the traditional classroom lecture counterpart, I knew I had to take this research
one step further. When landing a job as a software developer after teaching, I also
began to see similar use cases for software education in the enterprise market,
specifically for training new hires when one business acquires another. This
timeline produced strong convictions for learning, and a desire for mastery of
skills in the education technology field, such as research, applied learning, and
software development. It prompted motivation to explore potential educational

models in music education and the corporate training domains. The merits of
software driven learning in music education, professional development of
undergraduate computer science students, and delivery/assimilation of
corporate training through the web are three topics of interest to research.
Integration of technology into math and literacy is required for students
in the United States (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices,
Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). A standard specifically for the
integration and assimilation of technology into music education has also
emerged (National Association For Music Education, 2015), highlighting the
importance to invent new mediums and approaches to the music discipline.
Little research has been found that extensively gathers data on the use of
software learning tools for teaching core music concepts. By exploring this
domain, we can interpret the effectiveness and validity of this integration,
contributing to the educational model in music.
As I work in a computer science department for a local university, I am
underwhelmed by the lack of professional preparation of the degrees offered
there. Upon research of other notable computer science institutions, and after
personally conducted training for recently graduated students from around the
world, I started to see a pattern of generalization in this area of education.
Comparative Advantage Theory, a neoclassical trading goods theory, which

states that there is economic benefit to the specialization of trade (Hunt, S. D., &
Morgan, R. M. 1995) can be an allusion to the current workforce for future
computer science/software engineering students. This specialization can be seen
on the countless number of job postings in the computer science field, which
require applicants to have very specific skill sets and even work habits. This
presents an opportunity to evaluate current market models and create
educational curriculums that allow specialization, but dont inhibit natural
evolution of the subject.
Being a part of a company that constantly acquires new subsidiaries as a
growth plan for economic value, I continue to see the same issue when
approaching each acquisitions domain: There is a direct relationship between
unfamiliarity of the working knowledge for the new subsidiary versus time and
resources spent to normalize and assimilate that company into the umbrella
corporation. While perhaps a predictable correlation, the efforts and strategies
designed to overcome or minimalize this factor continue to be widespread,
undocumented, and un-researched. In the ever-expanding global market, this
kind of research could revolutionize business-to-business transfers and external
market strategies.
With the aforementioned research areas, obtaining my degree has
primarily two goals: One: Performing focused research in using software as a

layer of abstraction for education or training. Two: equipping myself with the
skills to contribute and work in the higher education community. This degree
will serve as a platform to reach these aspirations. By developing models in
these areas I hope to contribute to revolutionizing the way we can educate
musical concepts. For example providing concrete evidence that music
educational software can increase the musical literacy of young learners, or
expose them to aural soundscapes like standing in the middle of the Vienna
Orchestra to underprivileged students who might not otherwise have an
opportunity to go to a professional concert. For education in the business
domain, perhaps providing substantial research in software paired learning
models that can determine employee success or resource value. With technology
evolving year-to-year, sound investigation is necessary to equip our society with
the best tools available.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State
School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards. Washington, DC: Authors.
Core Music Standards (Music Technology). (2015, May 1). Retrieved September 6,
2015, from http://www.nafme.org/wp-content/files/2015/05/Core-MusicStandards-Technology-Strand.pdf
Hunt, S. D., & Morgan, R. M. (1995). The comparative advantage theory of
competition. The Journal of Marketing, 1-15.

Quality of Work
Submitted
Adherence to
Assignment
Expectations
The extent to which
work meets the
assigned criteria.

Exemplary
Advanced Graduate
Level Work

Advanced
Graduate
Level Work

Assignment exceeds
expectations,
integrating additional
material and/or
information. (3
points)

All parts of the

assignment are
completed, with
fully developed
topics.
(2 points)

Assignment
demonstrates
exceptional breadth
and depth. (3 points)

Assignment
demonstrates
appropriate
breadth and
depth.
(2 points)
Assignment
demonstrates
clear
understanding
of
course/module
critera.
(2 points)
Demonstrates a
clear
understanding
of the
assignments
purpose.
(2 points)

Assignment
demonstrates
exceptional
understanding of
course/module
critera.
(3 points)
Assimilation and
Synthesis of Ideas
The extent to which
the work reflects the
students ability to:
1.
2.

3.

Understand the
assignments
purpose;
Understand
and analyze
material in
videos,
readings, and
discussions;
Apply
presented
strategies

Written Expression
and Formatting
The extent to which
scholarly, critical,

Demonstrates a clear
understanding of the
assignments purpose
as well as the ability
intellectually to
explore implement
key instructional
concepts.
(3 points)
Demonstrates
insightful critical
thinking of key
instructional
concepts, theories
and strategies.
(3 points)

Provides careful
consideration of
key
instructional
concepts,
theories and
strategies.
(2 points)

Demonstrates
exceptional inclusion
of major points, using
creditable sources, in
addition to course
videos or required
readings. (3 points)

Includes
specific
information
from course
videos or
required
readings to
support major
points. (2
points)

Work represents
scholarly writing in
correct APA format;
effective sentence
variety; and clear,

Work is well
organized with
mostly correct
APA formatting
throughout;

Minimal
Advanced
Graduate
Level Work
Most parts of
assignment are
completed.
Topics are not
fully
developed.
(1 point)
Assignment
demonstrates
minimal depth
and breadth.
(1 point)

Unacceptable Advanced
Graduate Level Work
Does not fulfill the
expectations of the
assignment. Key components
are not included. (0 points)

Assignment lacks breadth

and depth.
(0 points)

Assignment
demonstrates
little
understanding
of
course/module
critera.
(1 point)
Shows some
degree of
understanding
of the
assignments
purpose.
(1 point)

Assignment demonstrates no
understanding of
course/module critera.
(0 points)

Generally
applies
theories,
concepts,
and/or
strategies
correctly, with
ideas unclear
and/or
underdevelope
d.
(1 point)
Minimally
includes
specific
information
from course
videos or
required
readings.
(1 point)

Does not apply theories,

concepts, and/or strategies.
(0 points)

Somewhat
represents
scholarly,
advanced
graduate-level

The quality of writing and/or

APA formatting are not
acceptable for advanced
graduate level work; no
effort to express ideas clearly

Shows a lack of
understanding of the
assignments purpose.
(0 points)

Does not include specific

information from course
videos or required readings.
(0 points)

analytical writing is
presented in APA
format;
Standard Edited
English (i.e. correct
grammar,
mechanics).

concise, powerful
expression. The
entire piece is well
organized and
includes an
introduction and
conclusion.
(3 points)

elements of
effective
communication
such as an
introduction and
conclusion are
included. (2
points)

Work is unified
around a central
purpose with welldeveloped ideas,
logically organized in
paragraph structure
with clear transitions
and proper grammar.
(3 points)

Ideas are clearly

and concisely
expressed with
few, if any,
grammatical or
mechanical
errors.
(2 points)

writing, with
APA generally
followed;
elements of
effective
communication
such as an
introduction
and conclusion
are not
included.
(1 point)
Ideas are not
clearly and
concisely
expressed with
more than a
few
grammatical or
mechanical
errors.
(1 point)

and concisely.
(0 points)

Major points do not reflect

appropriate elements of
communication with many
grammatical or mechanical
errors.
(0 points)