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Abstract
Improvement programs, teaching pedagogies, and other innovations introduced to educators have often met with resistance, even if the innovation is supported by research. Explanations for resistance to change and innovation are complex and have originated with the educational community as well as outside sources. This study evaluated the implementation of a piano-keyboarding program labeled as innovative in a K–12 public school using the research from Dr. John Kotter on change and Diffusion Theory by Everett Rogers. The evaluation compared local test data collected by a small, rural, public school district with national norms using the Cognitive Abilities Test as the primary instrument. The hypothesis that piano keyboarding instruction would demonstrate significant improvement of the local mean differences over the national norms was supported. The school district provided two piano keyboarding lessons, 20 minutes in duration on a 6-day rotation to students in grades K–3 (n = 134) throughout the school year. The district utilized research conducted by Dr. Francis Rauscher using pre-school children and the piano keyboard. The results of the 3-year study found that every grade level, K-3, showed significant improvement when compared to the Cognitive Abilities Test Form 5 nationally normed scores. The most dramatic score increases occurred in Kindergarten.
