How does formal instrumental music tuition (FIMT) impact on self- and teacher-evaluations of adolescents’ computer-based compositions?

This study examined 48 computer-based compositions produced by adolescents (13–14 years old) using evaluations by specialist music teachers and the adolescents’ self-evaluations and self-assessments. Based on previous research (Seddon and O’Neill, 2001), we expected that the teachers’ evaluations of the compositions would not differentiate between the compositions by adolescents with or without 2–4 years prior experience of formal instrumental music tuition (FIMT). We also predicted that the self-evaluations and selfassessments of adolescents with FIMT would be higher than the self-evaluations and self-assessments by adolescents without FIMT. The results supported our predictions suggesting that adolescents’ self-evaluations of their ability to compose and their self-assessments of their own compositions are determined by their levels of self-perceived competence, and that this is influenced by whether or not they have previous experience of FIMT. Implications for the use of selfevaluations and self-assessments in music education are discussed

Values Across Creative Domains

Past research has demonstrated that the hierarchical value structures of creative individuals differ systematically from their less creative counterparts. However, earlier studies used a global creativity score, which is inconsistent with both creativity’s movement toward a domain-specific viewpoint, and Lebedeva et al.’s 2019 study suggests the relationship between values and the frequency of creative behaviors differs by domain. We conducted two studies to determine if different creative domains are associated with distinct value hierarchies in creative ability, self-perception, and achievement. Study 1 (N = 156) examined whether Schwartz’s core values demonstrated a different pattern of correlations with verbal versus visual creative performance, assessed with story and drawing tasks. Study 2 (N = 492) examined the pattern of values across a broader set of domains (i.e., artistic, everyday/self, science, performance, and scholarly), assessed using measures of creative self-concept and self-reported creative achievement. The value hierarchies associated with each of the domains were not consistent with each other or with the findings of past studies. The implications of these results for creative domain specificity and motivation are discussed. © 2020 Creative Education Foundation(CEF

A Situated Model of Creative Learning

This article puts forward a situated model of creative learning. Most educational studies on creativity tend to concentrate on explaining the relation between teaching and creativity while keeping learning as a secondary concept. However, it has been stated that it is likely that teaching creatively leads to creative learning, suggesting that there is a need to describe the concept of creative learning and to analyse its possible constituents. Accordingly, this presentation introduces an empirically based and theoretically informed model of a creative learning community. The model is based on three key concepts or learning principles which can take different forms in particular settings and social practices. These are respectively: (1) Immersion in the topic of interest, in traditions and in the subject matter, (2) Experimentation and inquiry learning and (3) Resistance from the material of interest. As a theoretical point of departure, this presentation will outline a situated model of creativity and learning, and following this, will introduce a model of creative learning. This presentation will include several empirical examples. In the final part, the model will be discussed in relation to the concept of creative teaching

Call for action: Designing for harmony in creative teams

Competitive markets force diverse organizations to intensively manage innovation. Many of them set up multifunctional teams responsible for generating novel and original ideas. Such teams often face higher risk of conflicts and tensions, being an inherent part of creative processes. Impact of this phenomena on creative performance of teams, even though extensively addressed in research, remains unclarified. We approach this issue while providing a novel interpretation framework inspired by the concept of harmony in jazz improvisation. We apply it to observations made with project teams in an organizational setting, and use it to inform design of a supporting collaborative solution. We postulate the need for further work on team harmony and creativity

Transmembrane and extramembrane contributions to membrane protein thermal stability: studies with the NaChBac sodium channel

The thermal stabilities of the extramembranous and transmembranous regions of the bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel NaChBac have been characterised using thermal-melt synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) spectroscopy. A series of constructs, ranging from the full-length protein containing both the C-terminal ectodomain and the transmembrane domain, to proteins with decreasing amounts of the ectodomain, were examined in order to separately define the roles of these two types of domains in the stability and processes of unfolding of a membrane protein. The sensitivity of the SRCD measurements over a wide range of wavelengths and temperatures has meant that subtle but reproducible conformational changes could be detected with accuracy. The residues in the C-terminal ectodomain were highly susceptible to thermal denaturation, but for the most part the transmembrane residues were not thermally-labile and retained their helical character even at very elevated temperatures. The process of thermal unfolding involved an initial irreversible unfolding of the highly labile distal extramembranous C-terminal helical region, which was accompanied by a reversible unfolding of a small number of helical residues in the transmembrane domain. This was then followed by the irreversible unfolding of a limited number of additional transmembrane helical residues at greatly elevated temperatures. Hence this study has been able to determine the different contributions and roles of the transmembrane and extramembrane residues in the processes of thermal denaturation of this multipass integral membrane protein