Hand Sign-Based Instructional Model for Melodic Perception: Enhancing Elementary Teacher’s Pedagogy

Abstract

Enhancing teacher's teaching skills at the elementary level needs creative methodologies, especially for the melodica instrument, which is taught conventionally to the students. Kodály's hand sign system presents a comprehensive approach combining visual, physical, and auditory learning components, but the implementation of this method in Indonesia is limited. This research creates an instructional framework utilizing manual signs to enhance students' aural recognition of melodies while assessing the effectiveness of the method in developing teachers' teaching capabilities. A problem identified among elementary school teachers teaching music as a subject is their low ability to creatively teach melodic concepts through the melodica. This qualitative study employed educational design research with three phases, analysis through focus group discussions (FGDs), development of a prototype model based on Kodály's theory, and expert validation testing and limited testing in three classes. Data was collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and analysis of lesson plan documents. This method is effective as an innovative pedagogical framework that optimizes hand-signing for melodica instruction, with a dual impact on teacher professionalism and students' musical literacy. As a recommendation, this model integration can be developed as a teaching material in the Indonesian curriculum.