Enhancing Keyboard skills Instruction in the Music Education Department of the University of Education, Winneba, through the Tenets of Constructivist Theory

Keyboard skills instruction is one of the priority areas of study at the Music Education Department of the University of Education, Winneba. Every student who passes through the department is supposed to offer keyboard, either as a major or minor instrument. Having gone through formal training in the department, students are expected to function well in the area of keyboard playing within the Ghanaian community to cater for the high demands in the music industry, educational institutions and the religious groups. In recent times, the external examiners’ reports raise concerns for the improvement of keyboard skills acquisition in the department. Through descriptive research design, the study investigates the various ways keyboard skills instruction can be enhanced. It is suggested that instructional design for keyboard tutelage is made manifest and well established in the department based on the tenets of constructivist theory to supplement the existing traditional behaviourist instructional strategies. The outcome provides a framework that redirects keyboard tutelage in the Department. Key words:

Keyboard instruction, constructivism, behaviourialism, Music Department.