A pandemic as the mother of invention? Collegial online collaboration to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This article aims to present how music teachers in Sweden used the facebook group Musiklärarna in the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March andApril, 2020) to cope with challenges related to teaching music. The study is based on Biesta's perspective on the teacher profession. With the consent of the participants, we have analysed the 303 posts (and their comments) that directly addressed the COVID-19 situation during that period. We found that the group works as an important collegial forum and that the teachers pragmatically use the group to solve educational problems; further, the posts concerning work-conditions get the most engagement. The most frequent types of posts concerned how to design teaching situations under the new conditions. Specifically, asking questions, sharing material, asking for material and letting off steam were the most common types. Music teachers seem to be loyal, collegial and intent on solving any challenge to facilitate students' learning as regulated in the syllabus. We hope this article can motivate other researchers to perform similar studies or build on our results. We conclude by speculating about what the new normal will be for music teachers when the pandemic is over.

ICT and music technology during COVID-19: Australian music educator perspectives

“…This may also be accompanied by uncertainty as to whether the software meets the needs of the students ( Buabeng-Andoh, 2012 ). We concur with Thorgersen and Mars (2021) that music teachers had to “revisit and reconsider” their own teaching as they were forced to teach online due to the pandemic. This may have subsequently influenced their preferences for certain resources, tools, and pedagogies.…”

“…Yet during the pandemic, Australian music educators, like other teachers around the globe, were forced to embrace remote online teaching using ICT to support their practice ( Ferdig et al, 2020 ). The various lockdowns meant that music educators explored the “new normal” ( Thorgersen & Mars, 2021 , p. 238) as they worked within the online environment ( Camlin & Lisboa, 2021 ; Cheng & Lam, 2021 ). They relied on the continuous integration of ICT and various music technologies to teach their students.…”

‘Staying Apart Yet Keeping Together’: Challenges and Opportunities of Teaching During COVID-19 Across the Tasman

“…In addition, attributes such showing empathy, motivating students, being resourceful and resilient (Sheridan et al, 2021) became essential attributes in providing successful ITE programs in light of changes to remote teaching. This meant turning to others for practical, psychological, familial, peer and/or collegiate support (Camlin & Lisboa, 2021 ; Joseph & Lennox, 2021 ; Thorgersen & Mars, 2021 ).…”

Distant violin education in the first outbreak of the pandemic: Exploring perceptions of the instructors in Turkey

“…Distance education has also created a socio-psychological gap in students (Koutsoupidou, 2014). It is seen that teachers share their professional experiences and knowledge through social media platforms such as 'Musiklärarna' that they have created during the term (Thorgersen & Mars, 2021), with the attitudes of experienced teachers towards helping their young colleagues (Cheng & Lam, 2021) or cooperation and solidarity meetings with prospective teachers (Thomas et al, 2021).…”