Musical creativity and the teacher: an examination of data from an investigation of secondary school music teachers’ perceptions of creativity

This paper examines data from an investigation of creativity in music education, with particular reference to the perceptions of six teachers in English Secondary schools. Adopting a qualitative approach, videotaped extracts of lessons on composition and improvisation with pupils aged 11-14 were used as a basis for discussion during in-depth interviews with participants. Two of the three original research questions are considered in this paper focusing on (a) how participants characterised creativity in their discourse and (b) the relationship between their perceptions and their backgrounds. Twenty-eight categories and subcategories that complemented a four-fold framework outlined from the literature review (i.e. Pupil - Environment - Process - Product) emerged from the analysis of the interviews. Some of the categories and their educational implications are discussed with reference to the framework and the above research questions

Towards pedagogies of creative collaboration: guiding secondary school students' music compositions

The pedagogy of creative collaboration in music classrooms is hardly clear from the literature. There are plenty of strategies for setting up composition activities and some useful models for peer and self-assessment. But what about the nature of the interaction between the teacher and the students, and amongst the students themselves, as the composition is unfolding? How can these interactions facilitate the development of the students’ independent thinking? And what is the influence of the teachers’ background on their approach to facilitating creative collaborations? This chapter explores these matters by first reviewing some literature and then profiling a case study of an English secondary class that has composition as part of the music curriculum. Transcripts of student and teacher observations were studied and then summarised for illustration, in the form of vignettes. In the discussion the music teacher background is considered, charting critical incidents in her education and professional path. The chapter closes with suggestions of building blocks for the design of pedagogies of creative collaboration

Assessing a Collaborative Online Environment for Music Composition

The current pilot study tested the effectiveness of an e-learning environment built to enable students to compose music collaboratively. The participants interacted online by using synchronous and asynchronous resources to develop a project in which they composed a new music piece in collaboration. After the learning sessions, individual semi-structured interviews with the participants were conducted to analyze the participants\u2019 perspectives regarding the e-learning environment\u2019s functionality, the resources of the e-learning platform, and their overall experience with the e-learning process. Qualitative analyses of forum discussions with respect to metacognitive dimensions, and semi-structured interview transcriptions were performed. The findings showed that the participants successfully completed the composition task in the virtual environment, and that they demonstrated the use of metacognitive processes. Moreover, four themes were apparent in the semi-structured interview transcriptions: Teamwork, the platform, face-to-face/online differences, and strengths/weaknesses. Overall, the participants exhibited an awareness of the potential of the online tools, and the task performed. The results are discussed in consideration of metacognitive processes, and the following aspects that rendered virtual activity effective for learning: The learning environment, the platform, the technological resources, the level of challenge, and the nature of the activity. The possible implications of the findings for research on online collaborative composition are also considered

The construction of creativity: using video to explore secondary school music teachers’ views

This paper is taken from research which seeks to illustrate how English secondary school music teachers view creativity. It explores methodological issues regarding the eliciting of the views of teachers regarding creativity, with particular reference to the use of videotaped extracts of lessons during in-depth semi-structured interviews. Various research designs and results from previous studies are examined and the implications pointed out. A pilot study using a theoretical four-fold framework (pupil-environment-process-product) is reported. A qualitative research design was used to allow teachers to reflect on their own ideas. Music lessons on composition and improvisation from three schools were observed and videotaped. The teachers were interviewed and asked to complete a ‘Musical Career Path’. The process of analysis was assisted by a software package for qualitative research (i.e. NUDIST). The conclusions presented some subcategories that supported the initial framework and exemplified the complexities in defining the term ‘creativity’, pointing to a need for further enquiry. It is suggested that the use of videotaped extracts of lessons for the purpose of discussion with participants during the interviews, proved beneficial in exploring the teachers’ views of creativity. This method may have relevance for both researchers and practitioners interested in teachers’ attitudes

A Framework for Evaluating Model-Driven Self-adaptive Software Systems

In the last few years, Model Driven Development (MDD), Component-based Software Development (CBSD), and context-oriented software have become interesting alternatives for the design and construction of self-adaptive software systems. In general, the ultimate goal of these technologies is to be able to reduce development costs and effort, while improving the modularity, flexibility, adaptability, and reliability of software systems. An analysis of these technologies shows them all to include the principle of the separation of concerns, and their further integration is a key factor to obtaining high-quality and self-adaptable software systems. Each technology identifies different concerns and deals with them separately in order to specify the design of the self-adaptive applications, and, at the same time, support software with adaptability and context-awareness. This research studies the development methodologies that employ the principles of model-driven development in building self-adaptive software systems. To this aim, this article proposes an evaluation framework for analysing and evaluating the features of model-driven approaches and their ability to support software with self-adaptability and dependability in highly dynamic contextual environment. Such evaluation framework can facilitate the software developers on selecting a development methodology that suits their software requirements and reduces the development effort of building self-adaptive software systems. This study highlights the major drawbacks of the propped model-driven approaches in the related works, and emphasise on considering the volatile aspects of self-adaptive software in the analysis, design and implementation phases of the development methodologies. In addition, we argue that the development methodologies should leave the selection of modelling languages and modelling tools to the software developers.Comment: model-driven architecture, COP, AOP, component composition, self-adaptive application, context oriented software developmen

Diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and perceptions of the environment in young adults

Background Few studies have explored both food behaviour and physical activity in an environmental context. Most research in this area has focused on adults; the aim of the present study was to describe perceptions of the environment, diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour patterns in 16–20 year olds in full-time education (Newcastle, UK). Methods Participants (n = 73) recruited from a college and sixth-form college completed a UK version of the Youth Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Survey, which included measures of sedentary behaviour. A validated food frequency questionnaire was completed and a factor applied to produce an estimated mean daily frequency of intake of each item, which was converted to nutrient intakes. A rank for Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) was assigned to their home postcode. Analysis explored associations between sedentary behaviours and nutrient intake. Results In this descriptive cross-sectional study, most participants reported being physically active for at least 1 h day−1 on 3–4 (n = 28) or 5–7 days (n = 31). There were no significant differences in nutrient intake according to sample quartile IMD position. Sedentary behaviours were significantly associated with less healthy eating patterns. Higher total energy (P = 0.02), higher fat (P = 0.005), percentage energy from fat (P = 0.035) and lower carbohydrate intakes (P = 0.004) were significantly associated with more time spent watching DVDs at the weekend. Conclusions This combination of sedentary behaviour and less healthy eating patterns has important implications for long-term health (e.g. the tracking of being overweight and obesity from adolescence into adulthood). Understanding behaviour relationships is an important step in developing interventions in this age group

Software agents in music and sound art research/creative work: Current state and a possible direction

Composers, musicians and computer scientists have begun to use software-based agents to create music and sound art in both linear and non-linear (non-predetermined form and/or content) idioms, with some robust approaches now drawing on various disciplines. This paper surveys recent work: agent technology is first introduced, a theoretical framework for its use in creating music/sound art works put forward, and an overview of common approaches then given. Identifying areas of neglect in recent research, a possible direction for further work is then briefly explored. Finally, a vision for a new hybrid model that integrates non-linear, generative, conversational and affective perspectives on interactivity is proposed

A Planning-based Approach for Music Composition

. Automatic music composition is a fascinating field within computational creativity. While different Artificial Intelligence techniques have been used for tackling this task, Planning – an approach for solving complex combinatorial problems which can count on a large number of high-performance systems and an expressive language for describing problems – has never been exploited. In this paper, we propose two different techniques that rely on automated planning for generating musical structures. The structures are then filled from the bottom with “raw” musical materials, and turned into melodies. Music experts evaluated the creative output of the system, acknowledging an overall human-enjoyable trait of the melodies produced, which showed a solid hierarchical structure and a strong musical directionality. The techniques proposed not only have high relevance for the musical domain, but also suggest unexplored ways of using planning for dealing with non-deterministic creative domains