Experiencing Thinking Styles through Music Education

This study aimed to create an environment for pre-service teachers to apply active music education practices and to gain self-awareness through experiential learning and thinking styles inventories. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, the study prioritized quantitative data from inventories, followed by participant-driven interpretation through qualitative reflection. Qualitative data were gathered from evaluations of practice-based group work integrated into workshops that emphasized exploration and active participation, framing the study as action research. A total of 74 fourth-year participants (56 female, 18 male) took part. The majority (71%) displayed divergent and assimilative experiential learning styles. According to the thinking styles inventory, most participants were judgmental, introverted, and innovative (36%), while fewer showed elaborative and anarchic styles (7%). The findings emphasize the value of experiential learning in music education for revealing individual learning differences and enhancing both personal development and group collaboration.