Research Catalogue

Crossing borders – supporting ‘beyond genre’ artistic exchange by creating models for interdepartmental collaborative learning environments in a conservatoire. Open creative spaces that offer freedom for artistic collaboration, inspiration and creation between music students are still rare in conservatoires. Meanwhile these students, coming from all departments, show a deep interest in creative activities based on collaborating with and learning from peers from other genres and departments. But there are too many obstacles still occuring like busy schedules, the fear of the unknown or being afraid to improvise. The models and the communication around it need to be more clear, inviting and stimulating. In this research Felix Schlarmann investigates on new formats of inter-departmental cross-genre activities and their impact on conservatoire students' motivation, creativity and artistry. By conducting and analysing a series of case studies around creative semi-formal student-centred projects, Felix hopes to obtain more insight in the opportunities offered by cross-genre activities, but also into what desires and motivations students have around this topic and what challenges lie in the feasibility of various concepts.

This report on research was supported by the Lectorate of Music, Education, and Society at the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague. The following work explores the endeavor to integrate creative concepts and artistic exploration into the Bachelor's curriculum at conservatoires, with the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague serving as a case study. It presents the researcher's ideas for innovative content and structures related to creative practices and interdisciplinary collaboration, compiled in a playful structure known as the ‘Category Game’. This article provides a comprehensive list of tools designed to facilitate these creative collaborative processes, which were either developed during my work with students or gathered from relevant literature, colleagues' contributions, or other academic programs. During the course of this research project, I engaged in discussions about interdepartmental and creative activities in higher music education with both teachers and students, conducted projects and case studies with various student groups, and ultimately designed a toolbox in the form of a game. Background: In recent years, my educational interests have centered on fostering creative interdepartmental collaboration among music students. The initial phase, exemplified by the research project ‘Learning Pods,’ involved practical case studies where specific forms of creative interdepartmental work were experimented with and analyzed. These 'learning pods' paired students from different departments for semi-structured creative sessions, demonstrating significant positive impacts on learning, autonomy, motivation, confidence, self-efficacy, and performance experience. Subsequently, during the 'Crossing Borders' initiative, a series of case studies with diverse formats was conducted, involving musicians from various institutions and collaborations with fellow educators. The complexity of creative cross-genre projects became apparent, influenced by students' personalities, musical backgrounds, genres, and departmental affiliations. While students displayed varying levels of confidence in exploring new artistic territories and collaborating across departments, a collective desire for increased interdepartmental exchange emerged. As my focus expanded to encompass 'the creative act in higher music education' more broadly, a central question arose: What tools and structures could be easily applied to facilitate a creative process for an interdepartmental group of music students in an easy and playful manner, regardless of their prior experience in creating or improvising? This inquiry necessitated an examination of the existing study offerings and their structure within the institution. Do these activities significantly contribute to interdepartmental collaborations? What modifications or additions might be beneficial? Further inquiries addressed the role of improvisation, the management of definitions, and the potential contribution of jazz—a genre and attitude toward improvisation and creation that appears underexplored in the institution's discussions.

One of the most powerful and effective sources of learning for music students is the other students: learning from and with each other. Peer learning occurs in every conservatoire but usually informally. The aim of the design of the learning pods was to enhance motivation: specifically autonomy (students formulate their own goals and strategies), competence (learning outcomes facilitated by structured framework, creative methods and reflective documentation) and relatedness (it is done by and for groups of students who share their outcomes with other groups). In this research two semi-structured learning groups (pods) were formed that were steered and assessed by the students themselves. One pod focused on performance preparation and the other on creative collaboration. Students were coached on how to formulate goals and give and receive feedback in a respectful way and were required to document their process. Data was collected through questionnaires, logbooks, workshop session video recordings, as well as performance video recordings (in the case of the creative pod). Results found that both pods had a positive effect on motivation (autonomy, competence and relatedness) and confidence.