MA suggestions

[bad amatuear]

hello, i am about to start the final year of my MASTERS in education and want to do something on piano teaching. any ideas on a research project - i have a year in which to write it. so far i have thought of doing it on how to practise effectively but am not sure. thanks in advance for any help.

[pianistimo]

honing down a thesis from a wide subject to a narrow one is best done with a teacher i found out.  just keep hemming them in at every turn.  of course, just finding the basic topic is crucial - but then thousands of revisions to narrow it down is necessary.  otherwise there will be a lot of wasted time at the library.

i started realizing the importance of reading GOOD thesis's that others had done.  only your teacher will have copies of these, unfortunately, it seems.  there are so many half-baked master's thesis that they are a dime a dozen.  to see an example and realize the goal is much better. 

hound your teacher incessantly.  ours was extremely kind and had also written a manual on 'how to write a term paper' (similar to thesis but shorter) and all the writing tips that he had gleaned over the years.  you can find similar books at barnes and noble.  i would suggest to get a 'writer's manual' of some kind for your thesis work at the same time as deciding on what to write.  and, for as long as you are going to be writing this paper - BUY some of your research books.  it takes the pressure off continually re-checking them out. 

in terms of education breakthroughs - i would definately check out some modern methods of teaching - such as piano lessons through the internet, and ways that people try to save money (and save gas) and whether they are worth the investment of time/money to set up the recording equipment in the home.  maybe talk to some teachers and students.  it seems to be a new wave of the future.  there is at least one person on this forum that teaches via internet.  some piano competitions are now done this way, too.  (also saving all the expense of flying to location).  my personal curiosity is 'can they hear the finer elements of the playing - or is it a general perception?'

[pianistimo]

say,  you are sure to get some good ideas from a music education conference.