Recognizing creativity in the music classroom

This study examined trainee music teachers’ judgements of the musical creativity of secondary age students. Nine pieces of music composed by Year 8 students (13 years of age) were evaluated by 17 postgraduate, trainee teachers. These musical pieces were sorted into a diamond-shaped formation according to how creative they were perceived to be with the most creative pieces placed at the top and the least creative ones placed at the bottom of the diamond. This approach helped the trainee teachers achieve some agreement in their evaluation of the students’ creativity. As well as a practical approach to recognizing musical creativity, the analysis of the trainees’ responses led to the identification of some attributes, such as representing the stimulus idea well and making imaginative use of musical elements and musical devices, which can help teachers to recognize, evaluate and promote children’s creative responses in music

Capturing change: a review of the implementation of Restorative Approaches and its outcomes within a local authority in North East England

In 2007-08 Durham County Council successfully secured funding from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) to support the implementation of Restorative Approaches in two secondary schools over a three year period. The long term overarching aims of the Restorative Approaches project are inextricably linked to positive learning outcomes and achievement delivered through: promoting mutually respectful relationships; building community cohesion; developing resilient and self-regulating learners; promoting positive learning environments; and removing the causal factors leading to non-attendance, conflict and misbehaviour. Having explored a range of approaches, the work of Dr Belinda Hopkins, which offers an educative and skills based approach, was deemed most appropriate in terms of delivering the vision and aims of the project. Following a rigorous evaluation of the implementation of Restorative Approaches in the two project schools, positive changes were found in pupils’ and teachers’ ability to understand and communicate better with one another, in school ethos and behaviour, and in pupils’ attitudes towards teaching and learning resulting in higher levels of participation and engagement

How can the understanding of analysis of sonata form movements be deepened by the use of graphic representation?

The aim of the study presented in this paper is to explore the nature of understanding when learning music through the use of ‘graphic representations’ trialled in a learning conversation with a ten-year old flautist. It is argued that the powerful visual component of presenting a musical score in graphic form can enhance students’ understanding and ability to process the score more effectively by providing a succinct way of accessing the data. Central to understanding the analysis of sonata form movements is the need to create a representation which is independent from the existing score. This study offers a practical way of doing this which has the potential for wider application

Project-Based Methodology to Lecture on Web Frameworks Applied to the Management of Health-Related Data

The management and processing of the data generated by healthcare systems is getting more and more attention because of the digitalization of a traditionally analogical sector such as healthcare. Various data management frameworks and solutions have emerged to face some of the multiple challenges present in this environment, includ ing: (a) Data privacy and security; (b) Inter-operability between het erogeneous systems; and (c) Usability and readability of health-related sensitive information. In this paper, the authors share their experience on lecturing on how to address such issues by developing web-based software from several points of views: (a) Healthcare professional needs and requirements in terms of usability, accessibility and easiness; (b) Technical requirements and knowledge required to develop all the layers of a fully functional example of a micro health information system; and (c) Technical require ments to share and distribute the data required by several agents of the healthcare environment, focusing on the adoption of international stan dards such as HL7; (d) Perform of all operations in a secure, available and reliable way. It is concluded that the application of Flipped Teaching among with Project-based Learning may have a very positive impact on both in grades and drop rates for late-years (junior and senior) courses within the Health Engineering bachelor’s degrees

Improving the primary-secondary transition in music education

This project aimed to bring together schools in the north east of England to enable the sharing of ideas about how the primary-secondary transition in music can be improved. Within this broader aim of enabling the professional development of teachers in the north east of England through the sharing of expertise and the engagement in fruitful discussion about issues relevant to the primary-secondary transition in music education, this project sought answers to the following four research questions (RQ): RQ1: Is there a dip in achievement and attitudes (enjoyment and motivation) for children as they move to secondary school? RQ2: Do secondary schools perceive themselves as having strong mechanisms in place to support the primary-secondary transition in music education; and where might any weaknesses lie? RQ3: How can lines of communication among schools and supporting mechanisms be improved? RQ4: Can these have a positive impact on children’s achievement and attitudes (enjoyment and motivation) in music after their move to secondary school