Music technology and Future Work Skills 2020: An employability mapping of Australian undergraduate music technology curriculum

Abstract

This study explored how Australian music technology courses teach employability skills. A curriculum mapping of 63 undergraduate courses was conducted with course learning outcomes aligned against two benchmarks. The first benchmark was the Ten Skills for the Future Workforce which identifies key employability skills graduates will require in the coming decade. The second benchmark was the Australian Qualifications Framework Specification for the Bachelor Degree which defines the generic skills graduates must obtain through Australian Bachelor Degrees. This curriculum mapping reveals that Australian music technology courses teach Novel and Adaptive Thinking, Computational Thinking, New Media Literacy, and Design Mindsets universally. However, this curriculum mapping also reveals a deficit in employability skills related to Cross-Cultural Competency, Transdisciplinarity, Virtual Collaboration, and Collaboration more generally. The implications of this mapping is that Australian music technology educators seem to be prioritizing specific technical and creative skills over higher-order applications of skills and knowledge which are contextualized in their broader social and cultural contexts. Finally, this article shows how curriculum mapping can be implemented to embed employability skills progressively across a program sequence using a case study from the School of Music, University of Queensland.

Assessing teachers’ perspectives on giving music lessons remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown period

“…However, virtual collaboration is the learning criterion that has to be considered most carefully. For example, only 4.76% of Australian music technology courses incorporated this approach (Klein & Lewandowski-Cox, 2019). In our view, a possible explanation could be that music schools are reluctant to accept change, and that the introduction of new teaching techniques and methodologies takes quite a long time to become established.…”

“…The first set is technical: audio quality and signal transmission delay (Koutsoupidou, 2014;Lancaster, 2007); the second is group work and assessment, which are-although linked to technical problems-related to the content of teaching and learning. As Klein and Lewandowski-Cox (2019) assert, "Traditionally, the demands of distance and online learning have meant that group work and assessment can prove challenging" (p. 643). However, several projects have been developed for testing and improving the possibilities for remote performance (e.g., the Lola project, https://lola.conts.it/), creating a set of distance learning modules (e.g., the Swing project, https://www.aec-music.eu/projects/current-projects/swing-2018-2021), and developing an online platform for music distance learning teaching and practice (e.g., the Intermusic project, https://www.aec-music.eu/projects/current-projects/intermusic-).…”

The Chain Mediating Effect of Network Behavior and Decision Self-Efficacy between Work Skills and Perceived Employability Based on Social Cognitive Theory

“…Currently, perceived employability places new demands on work skills development. However, most of the current research and discussions in this area focus on the assessment of work skills development [ 6 ], students' skills for coping with work readiness [ 7 ], the application of work skills development models [ 8 ], curriculum mapping [ 9 ], and whether work skills development can affect graduate employability [ 10 , 11 ]. We need to focus on skills development.…”

Acquiring skills in music technology

“…The developmental benefits of collaborative, interdisciplinary music technology activities are maximized when there is sufficient openness on the part of learners. This can be manifested as openness to different forms of creativity (Gower, 2015), flexible working contexts (Klein & Lewandowski-Cox, 2019), unfamiliar sonic resources and musical languages (Rosas et al, 2016), and to the critical evaluation of one's own work (Bielmeier, 2014;Walzer, 2017). Educators should actively challenge, encourage and support this openness, whilst simultaneously developing technical proficiencies (Gower, 2015).…”

“…Delivering on this responsibility has exercised many and there is evidence from some countries of an increasing emphasis on metacognitive skills including adaptive, divergent and computational thinking, and new media literacy. Some have begun to promote concepts such as social intelligence, and cognitive load management skills (Gower, 2015;Klein & Lewandowski-Cox, 2019). In the case of one Australian undergraduate music technology programme, the curriculum has been refocused away from "20th century recording studio practice" to "interactive creative music making" using mobile, online and desktop technologies (Klein & Lewandowski-Cox, 2019, p. 3).…”