Creativity in Online Music Education Methods Courses: a Narrative Autoethnography
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International Journal of Digital Society (IJDS), Volume 12, Issue 2, 2021 Creativity in Online Music Education Methods Courses: A Narrative Autoethnography Heather Waters Adelphi University, United States Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, the author, a student access and accountability, and a lack of direct music teacher educator, quickly adapted instruction social interaction and engagement. During this shift, to be fully online for courses that were previously the author sought to continue to emphasize creative taught in person. The author sought to continue to musical expression and holistic student well-being, prioritize creative musical expression, now in online and embraced the challenge of adapting instruction to class spaces. This autoethnographic narrative inquiry ensure creative musical expression was still highlights the author’s perceptions of challenges and prioritized in these courses. successes facilitating creativity with preservice music As part of this inquiry, the author assumed that her educators in their online music education methods identity as a researcher, teacher, and musician are courses. intersecting parts of a whole. Each segment of her professional identity had, and continues to have, 1. Introduction significant overlap, as well as features that are distinct to each part. As a researcher, teacher, and musician, The COVID-19 pandemic created an she is continually seeking to integrate her research unprecedented shift in teaching and learning, and has with her teaching practice and musicianship. As a exacerbated existing issues of inequality and music teacher educator, she also seeks to model this educational access. Since March of 2020, music flexible, integrated approach for her university educators in the United States have become quite students, and encourage them to embrace inquiry as a familiar with challenges inherent in online and natural part of being a reflective practitioner. She restricted in-person instruction, including technology views engagement in self-study as a valuable form of issues (such as latency and lack of access), and safety inquiry that can inform and improve teaching protocols that prohibit singing, sharing of instruments, practices. or close social interaction. Most music education methods courses prioritize active, embodied 2. Literature Review participation with high levels of in-person interaction. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the author taught Limited research exists related to teaching music all music education methods courses entirely in- during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is of course person. These courses included Elementary Music because the pandemic is still ongoing and researchers Education Methods, Classroom Instruments, Diverse have not had adequate time to disseminate their School Settings, and Secondary Music Education findings. Likely, there will be a plethora of research Methods. These courses heavily utilized interactive that emerges following the pandemic, but currently in-person musical activities including singing, playing research on this topic is limited, and this study will instruments, and creative movement. All of the contribute to this gap in the literature. courses included a strong emphasis on developing Even in the absence of abundant research related teaching skills for the future music teachers within the to teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be context of active, socially-situated music making. inferred that many of the teaching challenges that In March of 2020, many of these class activities existed pre-pandemic continue to persist, and in some became unsafe during the COVID-19 pandemic, and cases have been magnified. Prior to the pandemic, the author, along with most music teachers and music many educators were already familiar with disparities teacher educators, had to drastically adapt instruction related to educational access and resources [1], but midway through the spring 2020 semester. Because preliminary evidence suggests this has been these courses were not originally designed as online exacerbated during the pandemic [2], [3], [4]. These courses, suddenly shifting these courses to fully inequalities potentially contribute to greater variance online instruction presented challenges, including in student’s holistic needs, with some students having access to abundant resources, and others lacking basic Copyright © 2021, Infonomics Society | DOI: 10.20533/ijds.2040.2570.2021.0213 1706 International Journal of Digital Society (IJDS), Volume 12, Issue 2, 2021 necessities for successful learning. During in-person (3) What successes have there been in shifting music instruction on a university campus, some of these education methods courses online? disparities could previously be mediated because the students had access to the same resources in shared (4) What additional possibilities can be uncovered physical classroom spaces. However, once instruction that promote musical creativity in all learning shifted to fully online classroom spaces, differences in modalities? access and home environments became a greater concern. Although addressing access issues is not the (5) How does educing teaching practice (relative to primary focus of this study, the author recognized that online music education methods courses) offer these issues pervaded all aspects of instruction, insights that resonate with other music teacher student participation, student engagement, educators? assessment, and evaluation. The author sought to mediate the effects of these inequalities by fostering 4. Methodology creativity and individual expression, and recognized that high-quality student-teacher interactions are one This narrative autoethnography represents an of the primary factors that facilitate student exploration of creative musical expression as shaped engagement and meaningful learning [5], [6]. via relational and environmental factors during the From the limited research on music teaching COVID-19 pandemic. The author interrogated and during COVID, one study of instrumental music situated her own conceptualizations of possibilities educators [6] highlighted the importance of and limitations inherent in teaching music education prioritizing connectedness and collaboration between courses online. She connected her teaching students and teachers. Utilizing teaching approaches experiences to conceptions of spatialities [8, 9, 10] that fostered relationships, empathy, connection, and and how these relate to place and space-based learning reinforced connectedness to others via musical in online environments. experiences were beneficial to students and teachers Data sources for this study include written and alike. Although a detailed review of literature related audio journal reflections, teaching artifacts and to relationship-based, holistic, social-emotional recordings, and informal notes. As part of the research learning is beyond the scope of this paper, the author process, autoethnographic narratives were restored for approached her teaching with these considerations in the “essence of being and the source of knowing” [11] mind, and sought to facilitate student growth, and are presented as interim texts [12]. This article specifically related to musical and pedagogical highlights short excerpts of these narratives collected creativity, via a focus on students’ holistic well-being, between March 2020 and May 2021. This inquiry will rather than a strict focus on musical concepts and potentially continue as long as the author’s teaching skills. remains primarily online, with additional narratives added over time. 3. Purpose and Research Questions 5. Potential Implications The purpose of this self-study was to examine the experiences of a music teacher educator exploring Potential implications for this study include ways to facilitate creativity in online undergraduate formulating strategies for facilitating inclusive music education classes during the COVID-19 teaching praxis within online, hybrid, and other pandemic. Via this self-study, the researcher/author modified learning environments, and potential sought to educe [7] herself regarding her own adaptations to teaching music education methods assumptions and teaching processes, in an effort to courses online that still continue to promote active, produce more meaningful opportunities for her creative musical expression. As a narrative undergraduate students to actively engage in creative autoethnography, the findings or implications are not musical expression in online courses. generalizable, but readers are invited to reflect on the examples in ways that resonate with their own The guiding questions for this inquiry included: teaching practice. (1) What challenges emerged in facilitating creativity 6. Narratives in online music education classes? In narrative autoethnography, the product of the (2) How can inclusive instructional practices be inquiry is context-specific excerpts from utilized to support all musical learners in all contexts autobiographical narratives that have been re-storied (whether in-person, hybrid, and online)? multiple times. Restory refers to revisiting the narratives multiple times and viewing them through shifting lenses as perspectives change. The following Copyright © 2021, Infonomics Society | DOI: 10.20533/ijds.2040.2570.2021.0213 1707 International Journal of Digital Society (IJDS), Volume 12, Issue 2, 2021 are short excerpts from the complete autobiographical every interaction in which we’re navigating how best narratives that highlight the experience