The Creative Teacher – Teaching Viewed as a Creative Process
In group teaching, the group forms a social context that both students and teacher constantly relate to, interact with, and measure themselves against. The aim of the pedagogical project 'The Creative Teacher – Teaching Viewed as a Creative Process' with the subtitle 'Group teaching in classical aural training at BA level’ is to investigate how the collective dynamic affects the individual student's learning process and the teacher's development of her own competences.
Kaja Daugaard Christensen, associated professor
(Link to the completed report at the bottom of the page.)
In the music pedagogical tradition at higher music institutions, a professional and theoretical pedagogical approach to teaching has not received the same attention as the musicological approach – the instrumental, vocal, compositional and music theoretical.However, this situation has seen a period of great change in recent years, and my pedagogical project ‘The creative teacher’ is intended as a contribution to this development.
The study, among other things, worked to raise awareness of some of the processes behind the dynamics of group teaching.
In group teaching, the group forms a social context that both students and teacher constantly relate to, interact with, and measure themselves against. The aim of the pedagogical project ‘The Creative Teacher – Teaching Viewed as a Creative Process’ with the subtitle ‘Group teaching in classical aural training at BA level’ is to investigate how the collective dynamic affects the individual student’s learning process and the teacher’s development of her own competences.
The problem formulation of the investigation
- to investigate what is needed for the students to become actively involved and counteractive participants in the teaching
- to examine how the collective dynamic affécts the individual student’s learning process and the teacher’s development of her own competences
- gain insight into what contributes to teaching becoming a creative process, understood as a dialogue on many levels and with many languages – a creative dialogic process
Results and experiences from the investigation
Based on the students’ responses to the reflection sheets (questionnaire survey), which the class participants were given after each of the ten lessons that were recorded on video, and a follow-up focus group interview, the following results have emerged, among others:
For the Students
Developed a greater awareness of:
- the meaning of being the co-playing and counterplaying student
- the importance of reflecting over one’s own work effort and practice process
- when the learning happens – that deep learning happens between lessons
For the teacher
Gained great insight into:
- the vulnerability of the students
- that raising students’ awareness of the importance and quality of their own efforts is important for developing the teacher’s own competencies in being a creative teacher – understood as a dialogue on many levels and with many languages – a creative dialogic process”
Overall results
- the great importance of building a mutually appreciative community as a fertile ground for a dynamic and vitalized community. In such a space, the opportunity for a desire to learn can be created, even to enjoy being in a learning process, and thus be instrumental in shifting the focus from performance to learning, and thus also strengthen the internal motivation for learning. In an anxiety-free learning space that is exploratory and playful, students dare to make mistakes and are given the opportunity to forget themselves and put learning at the center
- the great importance of the teacher’s own professional commitmen. This is contagious and has a professionally inspiring effect
- The great importance of the empathically reflective and empathetic teacher as a fundamental prerequisite for being able to provide the right counter- and co-operation in teaching
- the insight of the students into the importance of their own active participation and counterplay in teaching. A greater awareness of the quality and significance of their own efforts in relation to the teacher can lead to development of the teacher’s own skills in becoming a more creative teacher
- more experiences in relation to nature and quality of the learning space
The report can be downloaded here.
The report can also be borrowed from the library at the ‘Royal Academy of Music’(RAMA) in Aarhus. It is available in both Danish and English versions.
See Kaja Daugaard Christensen’s poster about the project, which was presented at RAMAs seminar ‘Research and Development’ on April 24, 2020.