community engagement

Interdisciplinary Learning in Music

cdtlsd Lighting Talks , , , ,

HO Chee Kong, CHAN Tze Law, MIAO Kaiwen, Frances LEE, Rachel HO, Xavier TAN, and Benedict NG*

Career Orientation and Community Engagement
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM)

*ngwjben@nus.edu.sg

 

Ho, C. K., Chan, T. L., Miao, K., Lee, F., Ho, R., Tan, X., & Ng, B. (2023). Interdisciplinary learning in music [Lightning talk]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/interdisciplinary-learning-in-music/

SUB-THEME

Communities and Education

 

KEYWORDS

Community engagement, music education, interdisciplinary learning, inquiry-based pedagogy

 

CATEGORY

Lightning Talks 

 

CONTEXT

The traditional role of a music conservatory is to produce professional musicians and emphasises artistic excellence. However, in the rapidly evolving musical landscape, it is no longer sufficient for professional musicians to focus solely on musical excellence to remain relevant. Moreover, the portfolio career that most musicians work in necessitates “entrepreneurial and transferable skills that often go beyond the domain of music” (Smilde et al., 2016). Furthermore, the National Arts Council (NAC) identifies the collaboration between the arts and different sectors, and audiences’ expectation for greater connection between the arts and social causes as macro trends in the industry (National Arts Council, n. d.). As such, musicians must also critically evaluate the impact of their musical practices vis-à-vis their relevance to the communities that they live in (Gaunt et al., 2021). Nurturing these values necessitates a shift from the traditional artist-apprenticeship model of education, which focuses on developing discrete musical skills (Jorgensen, 2011), to a model that develops students who learn independently and are cognisant of how their musical practices impact society.

 

CURRICULAR CHANGES

One of our initiatives was to create space within the Music & Society, Music Collaboration & Production (MS/MCP) curriculum to include problem-based, investigative projects with inquiry dimensions that critically evaluate how their musical practices can have a meaningful impact on wider society. These self-directed projects aim to develop “critical thinking skills and an awareness of the interconnectedness of various domains” (MS/MCP Roadmap, 2023). The inquiry process also aims to instil intellectual curiosity and nurture research-thinking mindsets. These are vital for musicians to be able to seek new knowledge and advance their own professional practices (Aditomo et al., 2011) amidst the turbulent nature of the music industry, especially where there are few developmental career structures (Smilde, 2016).

 

Pedagogy in the MS/MCP context also shifts from one-to-one learning to a team-taught process. Students are assigned an overseeing mentor who, in regular consultation with a team of tutors, can tap on a wider pool of expertise. Moreover, collaborative teaching has the potential to raise the quality of teaching as students would be exposed to a wider variety of perspectives and ideas (Knieter, 1963) as the faculty team comprises active practitioners from different sectors of the music profession that stay abreast of current developments in the industry. From the pedagogical perspective, team-teaching also helps instructors to sharpen ideas, role model collaboration, and expand existing networks with industry stakeholders.

 

The mode of assessment also evolves to give greater weight to assessing the student’s learning process. This includes continuous assessment dimensions, where the student is evaluated on their artistic growth and demonstration of critical thinking. Written and presentation assessments are also included to evaluate the student’s ability to communicate their artistic processes. The assignment weightage is also scaffolded where in the first two years, students would be assessed largely through continuous assessment and the focus would gradually shift to the quality of student projects in the later years.

 

EXAMPLES

The changes in curriculum and pedagogy have given rise for expanded possibilities with interdisciplinary dimensions. For instance, the team-teaching concept was expanded to include collaborations across faculties including the NUS Museum. During the seminars, MS/MCP students were introduced to themes surrounding the museum’s artefacts and created informed musical responses to them. This was later expanded in the subsequent semester, where students collaborated with the NUS Baba House to produce a full-length performance. These experiences developed the students’ curatorial and production skills as well as critical thinking in connecting their music to wider issues.

 

The intermodal nature of students’ projects also reflects these new creative possibilities. One of the capstone projects, emergent, combined violin performance with lighting and sound design, composition, and dance, to create an interdisciplinary performance. Rather than producing a presentational style performance that focuses primarily on the music, the student here sought to use interdisciplinary performance as means to explore perspectives on issues of identity. With a critical lens, the student was able to articulate her artistic choices and demonstrate how the arts can be a powerful means to unpack these issues in an impactful manner.

 

The nature of student projects have also developed to encompass non-performative contexts that seek ways to use music to have a wider impact on society. The third-year project ‘Gesture as Connection: A Study of Soundpainting’s Effects on Composer and Performer Communication’, explored intermodal communication between musicians and audiences. The visualisation of music through gestures also has the potential to represent music to hearing-disabled communities, empowering them to appreciate music. Another capstone project, the ‘No Pain More Gain’ symposium, on performing arts health was also instrumental in spreading awareness about wellness for performing artists. The impact is clearly seen when the student was also invited by the Singapore Armed Forces Military Band to facilitate a workshop on wellbeing for their musicians.

 

As the nature of the musical landscape is ever-changing, it is thus pertinent that the academic faculty and curriculum at the conservatory is dynamic and constantly evolving to anticipate the needs of the industry. While the effects of the revised curriculum and pedagogy is still nascent, the preliminary results of these efforts have been positive and we intend for the team teaching concept to be expanded to include collaborations with new faculties, opening up new possibilities for music major students as well as non-music major students. We have also embarked on the Teaching Enhancement Grant (TEG) to explore greater ways to assess the effectiveness of team teaching, establish best practices, and seek ways to expand collaborative instruction to include other disciplines.

 

REFERENCES

Aditomo, A., Goodyear, P., Bliuc, A.-M., & Ellis, R. A. (2013). Inquiry-based learning in higher education: Principal forms, educational objectives, and disciplinary variations. Studies in Higher Education, 38(9), 1239-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2011.616584

Gaunt, H., Duffy, C., Coric, A., González Delgado, I. R., Messas, L., Pryimenko, O., & Sveidahl, H. (2021). Musicians as “makers in society”: A conceptual foundation for contemporary professional higher music education. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 713648. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.713648

Jorgensen, E.R. (2011). Pictures of Music Education. Indiana University Press, 53-57.

Knieter, G. L. (1963). The creative arts symposium. A four-year experiment team-teaching music and the fine arts. Music Educators Journal, 49(5), 62–66. https://doi.org/10.2307/3389950

National Arts Council Singapore (n.d.). Our SG Arts Plan (2023-2027). Retrieved from https://www.nac.gov.sg/docs/default-source/the-arts-plan/our-sg-arts-plan_2023—2027_phase-4_updated.pdf?sfvrsn=bf188896_2.

Small, C. (1998). Musicking: The meanings of performing and listening. University Press of New England, 2-4.

Smilde, R., Tómasdóttir, B. M., Hall, Þ. D., Pedersen, G., Gaunt, H., Lopez-Real, C., Bork, M., Jonker, R. (2016). Research in NAIP. Musicmaster.eu, 7.

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. (2023). MSMCP Roadmap (AY2022/2023). National University of Singapore, 1

 

What We Learn From Our Neighbours: Measuring How Outcomes Are Met On Overseas Study Trips

cdtlsd Paper Presentations , , , , ,

Lynette TAN Yuen Ling*, LI Jingping, and TAN Lai Yong
Residential College 4
*rc4lynette@nus.edu.sg

 

Tan, L. Y. L., Li, J., & Tan, L. Y. (2023). What we learn from our neighbours: Measuring how outcomes are met on overseas study trips [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/what-we-learn-from-our-neighbours-measuring-how-outcomes-are-met-on-overseas-study-trips/

 

SUB-THEME

Communities and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

Learning outcomes, out-of-classroom learning, study trips, experiential learning, community engagement

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

In the trajectory of effort in implementing out-of-classroom activities, overseas study trips are likely placed at the zenith—they often incur high costs, heavy faculty teaching commitment, and onerous administrative support. Whether the student learning gained is commensurate with the time and financial costs of such trips has yet to be established definitively. In particular, little empirical research exists on learning outcomes associated with overseas study trips of short duration. A study that examined the impact of a two-week study tour on the perceptions of American college students concluded that a longer exposure would likely have a more substantial impact on learning (Carley & Tudor, 2010). Even when there is a more prolonged exposure, such as in study-abroad programmes, there are still concerns about evidencing student learning and development (Dwyer, 2004). In a system-wide research initiative on study-abroad learning outcomes across the University System of Georgia (comprising 34 public institutions), Sutton and Rubin (2004) compared the self-reported learning outcomes of study-abroad participants and non-participants and concluded that while studying abroad does add value to students’ academic achievements, further studies are needed.

 

At the National University of Singapore (NUS), overseas study trips have been a staple programme of the Global Relations Office—whether through the long-term student exchange experience (with over 300 partner universities in more than 40 countries) or the Study Trips for Engagement and EnRichment (STEER) (National University of Singapore, n.d.). In AY 2022/23, a new kind of overseas study trip was launched—the Southeast Asia Friendship Initiative (SFI).

 

The SFI was designed to increase NUS students’ exposure to neighboring Southeast Asian (SEA) countries through experiential learning. Students are given opportunities to engage with local communities and partner universities, local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and enterprises in destined Southeast Asian (SEA) countries to gain first-hand insights into the nuances and challenges the local stakeholders face when they tackle various aspects of sustainable development. The common academic theme of the SFI programmes is linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or innovation and enterprise. Ranging from 7-10 days, the SFI aptly fits the category of the short-duration study trip, and it has several generic learning outcomes. These include gaining intercultural intelligence of the SEA country and deepening knowledge of key SDG(s) within it, as well as expanding the student’s social and professional networks to aid their future prospects in the region.

 

This study seeks to investigate if the SFI trips meet these generic and specific learning outcomes, and the extent to which those learning outcomes are met via student perception surveys as well as questions that test student knowledge administered just before and immediately after the trip. Held during the Special Term, the first SFI trip comprised 21 students and the second 20, with both trips also including one student teaching assistant and two staff from Residential College 4, NUS. The location was Indonesia, with half the trip in Lombok and the rest in Pulau Sumba.

The survey questions were grouped within four constructs:

  1. Exposure to SEA countries
  2. Knowledge on SDGs and their local solutions
  3. Understanding of collaboration between Singapore and targeted SEA countries
  4. Understanding leadership at the fringe (specific learning outcome of the course)

 

Results from the surveys indicate that the intended learning outcomes were met. The study trip increased students’ exposure to SEA countries and local communities: the results show that students had a better knowledge of local language and geography features, and also developed a deeper understanding of local challenges and solutions from the perspective of SDGs through the trip. Moreover, exposure to the local communities had a positive impact on students’ willingness to engage in work and business opportunities in SEA countries, which might strengthen the collaboration between Singapore and SEA countries at the individual levels.

 

The significance of the study is twofold—firstly, and more generally, it supports the SFI as a value proposition that it does indeed merit the time and financial costs incurred. Secondly, the study serves as a measure of how short-term study trips can meet learning outcomes based on community engagement, leading to intercultural growth and a change in attitudes of students towards our SEA neighbours.

. 

 

REFERENCES

Carley, S., & Tudor, R. K. (2010). Assessing the impact of short-term study abroad. Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective. 1(2), Article 5. https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/jgi/vol1/iss2/5

Dwyer, M. M. (2004). More is better: The impact of study abroad program duration. Frontiers (Boston, Mass.), 10(1), 151–64. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v10i1.139

Sutton, R. C., & Rubin, D. L. (2004). The GLOSSARI project: Initial findings from a system
-wide research initiative on study abroad learning outcomes. Frontiers (Boston, Mass.), 10(1), 65–82. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v10i1.133

National University of Singapore. (n.d.). Student Exchange Programme. https://www.nus.edu.sg/gro/global-programmes/student-exchange

 

Unpacking Students’ Development of Empathy And Skills in the Informal Curriculum of a Residential College in Singapore

cdtlsd Poster , , , , , ,

Lavanya BALACHANDRAN*, Sue CHANG-KOH, and LIM Xin Yi
College of Alice & Peter Tan (CAPT)

*lavanyab@nus.edu.sg

 

Balachandran, L., Chang-Koh, S., & Lim, X. Y. (2023). Unpacking students’ development of empathy and skills in the informal curriculum of a residential college in Singapore [Poster presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/unpacking-students-development-of-empathy-and-skills-in-the-informal-curriculum-of-a-residential-college-in-singapore/ 
 

SUB-THEME

Communities and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

Service-learning, community engagement, student-led, empathy, skills, learning outcomes

 

CATEGORY

Poster Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

Service-learning has been identified as an effective pedagogy for students across various age cohorts (Steinke & Fitch, 2007) with many benefits such as cognitive development and personal growth (Everhart, 2016), including empathy development (Gordon et al., 2022). This is because service-learning programmes provide the platform to engage with various communities and real-world issues where students gain ‘ground-up’ knowledge and acquire skills (Prentice & Robinson, 2010).

 

In Singapore, service-learning pedagogies have been incorporated into the curriculum of public schools and institutes of higher learning (IHLs) (Service learning and greater flexibility for incoming undergraduates at NUS, 2021; Tan, 2009). Additionally, some IHLs have also incorporated them into living and learning programmes (LLPs), which are residence-based programmes that focus on specific academic themes, through formal and informal curricula (Inkelas, 2008; Mukhopadhyay & Tambyah, 2019).

 

This poster presentation draws from a qualitative research study conducted in a Singapore undergraduate residential college (henceforth referred to as the college) that has community engagement (CE) and active citizenship as its core ethos. In particular, it examines the impact of student-led CE programmes in the informal curriculum focusing on how empathy and skills—two out of the four intended learning outcomes (ILOs) of the CE programme in the college—are perceived to be developed, enhanced and sustained for students.

 

This study is based on in-depth interviews with 19 students over their two-year residency in the college. The interviews were conducted in three phases, spanning the residency period to track the students’ aspirations, expectations, and perceptions of their CE experiences. Thematic coding was conducted using NVivo to analyse the interview data.

 

Findings from this research suggest that:

(a) CE programmes effectively facilitate the development of empathy in students when grounded in curated, intentional learning experiences. Meeting and engaging with the various communities experientially catalyse affective empathy development, especially when augmented by other learning modalities, including pre-engagement and post-reflection activities.

(b) the type of student involvement results in differentiated pathways in skills acquisition. Leaders and non-leader participants have different tasks and expectations of their engagements. Hence, their varied experiences in these CE programmes result in the acquisition of different skills.

 

This research sheds light on how the adaptation of service-learning in the informal curriculum of a residential college, particularly when reconfigured into student-led programmes, significantly impacts on student learning. It also highlights the importance of focusing on experiential learning and providing opportunities for role variety in these programmes, as they enhance the development of empathy and skills in students. This study also provides suggestions to expand on these findings to explore how students should leverage different CE opportunities and explore various participatory roles to maximise their learning outcomes.

 

 

REFERENCES 

Gordon, C. S., Pink, M. A., Rosing, H., & Mizzi, S. (2022). A systematic meta-analysis and meta-synthesis of the impact of service-learning programs on university students’ empathy. Educational Research Review, p,37, 100490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100490

Everhart, R. S. (2016). Teaching tools to improve the development of empathy in service-learning students. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 20(2), 129-54. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/1281

Inkelas, K. K. (2008). Innovative directions for living-learning programs research and practice. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 35(1), 8–13.

Mukhopadhyay, K., & Tambyah, S. K. (2019). Where freshmen aspirations meet reality: Factors Influencing the learning outcomes of a living-and-learning program in an Asian university. Higher Education Research and Development, 38(5), 1015–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2019.1598337

Service learning and greater flexibility for incoming undergraduates at NUS. (2021, February 26). NUS News. https://news.nus.edu.sg/service-learning-and-greater-flexibility-for-incoming-undergraduates-at-nus/

Prentice, M., & Robinson, G. (2010). Improving student learning outcomes with service learning. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535904.pdf

Steinke, P., & Fitch, P. (2007). Assessing service-learning. Research & Practice in Assessment, 2, 24–29. https://www.rpajournal.com/assessing-service-learning/

Tan, K. P. (2009). Service learning outside the U.S.: Initial experiences in Singapore’s higher education. PS: Political Science & Politics, 42(3), 549–57. https://doi.org/10.1017/s104909650909088x

 

The Challenges and Possibilities of Service-Learning as a Catalyst for Social Impact in Southeast Asia

NUS CDTL Paper Presentations , , , , ,

Julius BAUTISTA
NUS College
bautista@nus.edu.sg  

 

Bautista, J. (2023). The challenges and possibilities of service-learning as a catalyst for social impact in Southeast Asia [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/the-challenges-and-possibilities-of-service-learning-as-a-catalyst-for-social-impact-in-southeast-asia/

SUB-THEME

Communities and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

Service-learning, community engagement, experiential learning, overseas classroom, Southeast Asia 

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

In this paper presentation, I will discuss the challenges and possibilities of implementing Service-learning (S-L) programmes as a way of catalysing student-driven social impact in the Southeast Asian region. S-L refers to credit-bearing educational endeavours that enable students and their faculty mentors to engage and collaborate with community partners towards addressing mutually identified social needs and problems. As part of a socially-oriented pedagogy, educators harness the experience of community engagement in a way that enables their students to achieve a deeper understanding and contextualisation of curricular content (Bingle & Hatcher, 1996; Saeed & Ahmed 2021, p. 323). As a mode of experiential learning, the distinctive feature of S-L is that the dual goals of achieving specified curricular objectives and the cultivation of social impact are equally prioritised.   

 

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) has emphasised the benefits of S-L in  enhancing student aptitudes in civic and social consciousness (Battistoni, 2013), tolerance for intersectional diversity (Lemieux & Allen, 2007), relational empathy (Woo, 2019; Rondini, 2015), and responsible global leadership (Yorio & Ye, 2012; Pless et al., 2012). Nevertheless, relatively few studies have ventured into disambiguating the conceptual and institutional features of S-L vis a vis other modes of engaged pedagogy, such as volunteerism, field education and experiential learning. Furthermore, there has hardly been any scholarly research and benchmarking on how S-L, from a technical and methodological standpoint, can be effectively institutionalised in higher educational contexts (Mitchell, 2007). These gaps in the literature are indicative of some important conceptual, operational, and practical challenges that remain unresolved. As such, there may still be a reluctance among university faculty to fully implement S-L, particularly because it involves liability and compliance requirements that are time-consuming and often require extracurricular preparatory and in-class measures to implement (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996; Mitchell, 2007).    

 

In the presentation, I will share snapshots of practice in our efforts to offer S-L programmes as part of the NUS College Impact Experience (IEx) Programme. The ideas presented here emerge from discussions between IEx educators and students, who formed the Service Impact Learning Community (SILC) as an inclusive platform to propagate S-L as a way of confronting pressing cultural, socio-economic and environmental issues in the Asian region. As the lead facilitator of the SILC, I will channel our discussion on the following questions in particular:    

  1. What are the challenges and practice conundrums in the curricular implementation of S-L in higher education contexts? How can a deepening of our knowledge about S–L help configure existing NUS programmes that involve field trips and other forms of cross-cultural experiential projects?   
  2. How can ‘service impact’ or ‘asset-based community development’ be aligned towards the professional and personal growth of students?  
  3. What pedagogical methods and assessment regimes have not/worked in other institutes of higher learning (IHLs), and how can these be adopted or refined to suit the NUS General Education curriculum? 
  4. How do we collaborate productively with community partners, government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and industry in running S-L courses? What are the challenges of calibrating and coinciding the agendas of communities, students, and educators so as to meet social needs specific to the Asian region?    
  5. How do we maintain the distinction between S-L on the one hand, and advocacy, activism, and commodity endorsement on the other? What compliance and liability issues need to be considered? 

 

Under the NUS “Communities and Engagement” pillar, S-L is a crucial component of the graduation requirements for all students from cohort AY2021/22 onwards. It is important for NUS educators to work together in addressing the conceptual and practical challenges that may preclude the efficient implementation of a community engagement component in our curricula. The NUS community of students and educators would benefit from a sustained discussion of how S-L, from a conceptual and methodological standpoint, can be institutionalised in this regard.   

 

REFERENCES

Battistoni, R. M. (2013). Civic learning through service learning. In P. H. Clayton, R. G. Bringle, & J. A. Hatcher (Eds.), Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Assessment : Students and Faculty (pp. 111–32). Stylus Publications. 

Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1996). Implementing service-learning in higher education. Journal of Higher Education, 67(2), 221-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.1996.11780257  

Lemieux, C. M., & Allen, P. D. (2007). Service learning in social work education: The state of knowledge, pedagogical practicalities, and practice conundrums. Journal of Social Work Education, 43(2), 309-26. https://doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2007.200500548  

Mitchell, T. D. (2007). Critical service-learning as social justice education: A case study of the 

Citizen Scholars Program. Equity and Excellence in Education, 40(2), 101-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665680701228797  

Pless, N. M., Maak, T., & Stahl, G. K. (2011). Developing responsible global leaders through international service-learning programs: The Ulysses experience. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 10(2), 237–60. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.10.2.zqr237  

Saeed, M., & Ahmed. I (2021). An analytical review on rethinking service-learning as critical transformative paradigm in higher education. Journal of Humanities, Social and Management Sciences (JHSMS), 2(2), 318-34. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.jhsms/2.2.23   

Rondini, A. C. (2015). Observations of critical consciousness development in the context of service learning. Teaching Sociology, 43(2), 137–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X15573028   

Woo, J. J. (2019). Service learning and public policy education. In J. J. Woo (Ed.), Educating for empathy: Service Learning in Public Policy Education (pp. 3-14). World Scientific.  

Yorio, P. L., & Ye, F. (2012). A meta-analysis on the effects of service-learning on the social, personal, and cognitive outcomes of learning. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 11(1), 9–27. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2010.0072  

 

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