Abstract:
This research explored the criteria that children in second and sixth grade used when evaluating their own compositions and their peers’ compositions. Two children from each grade were studied. Criteria between the two second grade students were consistent in similarity of answers given (instrument selection/timbre and effort). Criteria between the two sixth grade students were not consistent or similar. Three of the four children, two from second grade and one from sixth grade, identified personal effort as a criterion. The three students who identified effort spent more time actively engaged in musical decision-making as far as revising and editing their ideas, whereas the fourth student spent almost no time engaged in that type musical decision-making. The students’ compositional process directly influenced their evaluations of goodness. The students’ evaluations of goodness were essentially the same when they evaluated their own compositions as when they evaluated their peers’ compositions. The last two findings mentioned were consistent both within an across age groups.
