The Practicing Workshop: A Development Project

Abstract

In music academies and conservatoires, the culture of teaching and learning seems to nurture individuality and hierarchic structures at the cost of collaboration and sense of community. This could indicate a privatized conception of teaching and learning musical skills. As current research suggest that students’ learning may benefit from collaborative learning with their peers, the present article addresses music performance students’ understanding of the learning potential from participating in a specific social learning context. The study investigated students’ perceptions of outcomes from participating in a practicing workshop in a music academy, on both an individual and social level. The workshop aimed at helping music performance students develop their understanding of instrumental practicing. The course allowed for sharing ideas and experiences, and for collaborative exploration, discussion, and reflection. We conducted qualitative interviews with five volunteering students that had followed the workshop. Although identifying direct outcomes of the workshop in general proved to be difficult, we found that the students reported positive learning experiences from planning, implementing, and presenting their individual development projects, and that their awareness of variations in the group strengthened their confidence in how they tailored their own individual practicing. However, they also described more mixed outcomes in relation to learning about practicing directly from other students. The study also revealed that just providing a group forum for students does not in itself lead to positive learning experiences. Implications of the study are discussed.

Processes and Experiences of Creative Cognition in Seven Western Classical Composers

“…The “cultural significance often attributed to individual [composers]” ( Bennett, 2012 , p. 146) may well have discouraged, until recently, the application of this socially curious approach to expert compositional practice. Yet a series of fascinating studies with undergraduates and young children involved in collaborative compositions (e.g., Barrett, 1998 ; Kratus, 1989 ; MacDonald et al, 2000 ; Morgan, 1999 ), and recent work in peer-to-peer music education, emphasise the role of reciprocal interaction for musical development and flourishing (see Johansen & Nielsen, 2019 ). Other work in the field of skill acquisition points to a distinctive role of sociality even in seemingly individual situations ( Schiavio, Gesbert et al, 2019 ; see also Høffding & Satne, 2019 ).…”

Creating Space for Reflection: Meaning-Making Feedback in Instrumental/Vocal Lessons

“…To achieve this, teachers should, in line with Black and Wiliam (2009) statement regarding the importance of discussions between teachers and students, and according to the requirements of reflections set forth in the Swedish Code of Statutes to a greater extent provide space for students' capacity to act so that they can become reflective and independent learners. A collaborative work, where teachers and students reflect and solve problems together (Creech and Gaunt, 2012) as well as collaboration between students resulting in deeper interaction and engagement (Johansen and Nielsen, 2019), where student can think reflectively about their development (Gaunt et al, 2012) can probably further develop teacher students to be independent reflective teachers helping their future students to reflect.…”

“…For example, feedback comments in collaborative music classrooms can serve as an opportunity to share personal anecdotes or details, establishing a sense of comfort and intimacy (Chapman Hill, 2019) as well as that collaborative learning with and from peers can create an environment appropriate for mentoring, where students can develop reflective interaction (Gaunt et al, 2012). Also, it is considered that students' critical reflections related to other students' contributions in collaborative practices provide a deeper learning as well as a deeper interaction and engagement among the peers (Johansen and Nielsen, 2019). Given the requirement for upper secondary school students to "reflect on their experiences and their individual ways of learning" (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2013, p. 8), developing future music teachers' critical thinking and reflection on learning processes is crucial.…”

The dynamics of musical participation

“…Similarly, studies of peer-to-peer learning, community music, and collective pedagogies inspire an important shift in theory and practice. For example, recent work on peer interaction in musical learning places an important focus on the connection between students’ motivation and creativity, and their sense of belonging to the group ( Kototsaki & Hallam, 2007 , 2011 ; see also Johansen & Nielsen, 2019 ). It has also been argued that fostering safe and positive environments encourages students to take on more responsibility and develop their own musical identities, highlighting once more the recursive co-determination of social, cultural, emotional, and motivational factors (e.g., Schiavio et al, 2019b ).…”