How can autonomy and active learning be stimulated in a blended oboe class program?

Irma Kort

This research is an exploration into stimulating autonomy and active learning in musical tuition. Through an explorative journey in my teaching practice I developed tools to increase autonomy, active learning and self-regulation in students, using the self-determination theory, new learning and self-regulation as the main learning theories to find answers to my research question. In my lesson practice students rarely come in as active-, self-directing autonomous learners. However, literature and experiences of other teachers, show us that students – even beginners – can learn to become active, self-directed learners. It is not common practice yet to implement these theories in music classes. This is why I would like to create a toolkit and a user manual for teachers that would like to incorporate autonomy supportive teaching and self-regulation in their practices. I will also create a blueprint to inspire working with blended programs in music classes. A flipped classroom can trigger an ongoing learning process in the week, it can aid students in their practice and it is a tool to reflect on teaching practices, teaching styles and programs. The research took place in the BASIS oboe classes at the School for Young Talent, in The Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. There were 5 beginning oboe players, in the age group of 7 till 13 years. I used a combination of design and action research. With the design research I developed the online learning space and the tools for active learning and self-regulation. With action research I reflected on my teaching, students learning, development and well-being and the use of the tools. It was possible to use learning theories in different ways. I used tables and frameworks to reflect on my teaching, I used existing tools, I tailored tools to the age group of my students and I combined aspects of active learning and self-regulation. After three design cycles there is a blueprint of a toolkit that can be used in a flexible way and there is a blueprint for blended learning in instrumental music classes. The changes in my teaching style, the implementation of the learning theories and the reflections on the program using the online environment had a great impact on the teacher – student dialogue, the content of my lessons and the overview of the program. In students I saw an increase in motivation, autonomy and effectiveness. They are very engaged young learners, they learned to choose repertoire and strategies in their practice, they are able to plan, practice and reflect on their process and they have covered more repertoire and technique over the last year in comparison to the year before. They started sharing their music outside of classes and started thinking about their own goals in their oboe practice.

Chapter 6: Discussion

How can autonomy and active learning be stimulated in a blended oboe class program?

In this research project I experimented in my teaching practice, implementing learning theories on autonomy, active learning and self-regulation. I wanted to create a blended learning program because, in a blended program, the online classroom serves as an extension of the live lessons and deepens skills and knowledge. It can support students in their practice and triggers and creates an ongoing learning process. It is also possible to differentiate in online classroom settings.

As I started in a situation where students' autonomy was limited, as were their self-regulatory capacities and their process overview, I needed to find learning theories to stimulate these topics. The key was looking at my teaching style and program and asking where I could stimulate autonomy, active learning and self-regulation better.

Implementing the Self-Determination Theory in my practice gave me tools to be more autonomy supportive in my teaching, to develop concepts and ideas to create relatedness in and around the classes and to focus on the effectiveness of my teaching and the learning process of my students.

The learning functions overview of New Learning, funtioned as an active learning framework to reflect on my teaching and to find gaps in the program.

Self-regulation theories and Quality Practice gave me tools to implement learning to learn in my teaching.

It was important to create a flipped classroom with the same qualities derived from the learning theories as in the live lessons, stimulating autonomy, active learning and self-regulation. So the same theoretical frameworks were used live and online to reflect on the program.

General discussion of the research findings

The main research question was: How can autonomy and active learning be stimulated in a blended oboe class program?

In three research cycles I implemented learning theories through tools, live lessons and an online learning environment. Throughout the process I observed my own teaching and the effects on my students learning processes, motivation and well-being. Questions and aspects coming up during the research were always answered in light of the Self-Determination Theory, New Learning and Self-Regulation.

The process and its results were supporting my hypothesis.

It is possible to stimulate autonomy, active learning and self-regulation within the context of a blended oboe class using tools. Students (even young students) can learn how to learn with these tools, creating a process overview with learning functions that can be applied in different musical contexts.

During the research cycles I developed, implemented and improved tools to stimulate autonomy, active learning and self-regulation. I saw an increase in student autonomy. They learned to choose pieces and use strategies and creative solutions to tackle challenges. There was an increase in teacher - student dialogue on content, goals and learning functions in lessons and in the online space. They started describing personal end goals, resulting in more focussed and reflective practice. Students learned to create an overview on their process with the preparatory, executive and closing learning functions sheets. They were able to apply the tools in new repertoire and in learning new technical skills.

It was stricking to see the increase in motivation and quality practice, resulting in more technical and musical effectiveness in students playing, together with an increase in the amount of repertoire studied. The importance of repeating learning processes was evident when a reflection on learning functions was needed. A repertoire list with goals became a process, a repertoire piece a micro step in this process with a before, a during and an after.

I learned how to create a blended oboe class program incorporating learning to learn and stimulating autonomy. Students learned how to work with the online environment and tell me what they needed, to take the next step in their learning process. What surprised me was that the online space not only gave me insight in student motivation and processes but also in the content of my program and the teaching style I was using.

Limitations and future research

Creating a differentiated blended program and using the tools to stimulate autonomy, active learning and self-regulation might be seen as time consuming. In 30 minute lessons there is little time to add 'learning to learn' and there is no financial space to take the time to create an online environment. But the tools can be introduced gradually and content in an online space can be reused over time by different students. In private teaching practices, selling program packages could be considered, teachers can also think of creating lesson programs for groups. From the learning functions case study in the second design cycle of this research, I can conclude that even without an online environment (that can trigger an ongoing learning process), but with autonomy supportive teaching and a focus on 'learning to learn', motivation and competence in learners will increase. So even adding aspects of this research to a teaching practice will bring about change. It might also be time to reconsider how we teach and plan musical tuition programs. Group lessons with peers can be valuable and could be part of musical teaching programs.

The effects on the students motivated me as a teacher, although one year of monitoring this process is very short. It will be interesting to follow students throughout high school, in their development, using the tools and to see what the effects are on their practice processes and the quality of the practice. It would also be interesting to see students' development after long term autonomy supportive teaching.

The group of children was small in this research, all students were intrinsically motivated to play the oboe before the research and they all have supporting families. I did however see an increase in family support and motivation, noting the output in played pieces and creative work. What was evident was that every student needs a personal dialogue and is in a different place in the 'learning to learn' process, resulting in a personal use of the tools. It would be interesting to do the same research in a social orchestra project to see what the outcomes could be. It would also be interesting to create a bigger group of students to test the tools in the school for young talent, or work cooperatively with teacher groups to create new versions of tools.

Creating an online environment is time consuming for teachers. It involves learning to work with the applications, helping students and parents to use the space, creating differentiated content based on reciprocal dialogue and student and teacher presence. I also needed to develop my recording and video editing skills to create stream tutorials, play alongs, feedback video's, informative films and more.

What the online environment brought me was a clear content overview. It became clear where there were gaps in the program. In the first research cycle reflection on the online environment brought to light that I wasn't using principles of active learning a lot. There were two process cycles within a year, but when focussing on self-regulation and active learning, it would be more convenient to go through as many learning processes as possible in a year. The main reason for this is that students need the closing function step to have an incentive to describe their end-goals. Goal descriptions trigger strategy use. Reflections on the online environment can provide answers to many questions in teaching practices this way.

In the future it will be interesting to see if the flipped classroom increases effectiveness of students as the differentiated learning process can continue in between live lessons.

A blended program is always in a statue of change. During the covid-19 pandemic there were updates to Teams on a monthly basis. Every week new applications are added to co-work with Teams. They are all interesting and all have value but it is impossible to stay updated in all developments all the time. I am still learning to work with Teams, making changes and trying to use the online space as well as possible. Using the online environment is not a goal in itself, it should be a supporting tool for students' practice processes, deepening skills, individual musicianship and knowledge. Focus should always be on the students and their needs, in connection to program content. The online space is a great tool. To create a complete program overview it is very helpful to use an online environment. My research focussed on the BASIS oboe class, but in the future it could be used to support all lessons in the School for Young Talent. Gamification could be actively used and I could develop creative projects in which all students could cooperate, share presentations, inspire each other and practice and perform together, with reward structures.

Covid-19 period

In March 2020 teaching online became a necessity. At this moment live lessons are possible, but I will continue to use the advantages of blended learning in a flipped classroom.

At first I encountered many difficulties and challenges regarding sound quality and internet connections. The quality of students' sounds deteriorated and the pitch was often off.

In lessons I always play with my students, this helps them to create a sound image of an oboe, but online this was difficult. Only timing was there, when the internet connection was sufficient.

I was comparing live lessons with online teaching, but this is not possible as there is little to compare. There is no quality sound and communication depends on the network speed. It is however possible to look at what the online environment can bring and add to the music program.

So to make it possible for students to listen to quality sound I started making recordings of my playing as practice helps and tutorials. I also gave assignments to listen to wonderful colleagues via YouTube links and livestreams.

Exploring the online space completely, I found many applications to enrich the learning environment of my students.

It surprised me how the teacher-student dialogue changed in this period and lesson content floated towards what students needed. This change in direction of a conversation made me realise I wasn't really teaching in an autonomy supportive style. This triggered me to reflect on my teaching and made me rethink the program.

I can't imagine a class without online sharing, video presentations and Skype concerts for family anymore. It is motivating to share music and findings, not having to wait for the next live lesson. I also discovered the power of an online 15 minute practice help sessions, to get students started in focus and reflect on their playing. Even with one extra session a week in good focus the students' practice becomes more effective.

Using the online environment I added a new perspective to my teaching. This gave me insight in my teaching style and my program. It became a valuable addition to the research. I developed new ideas on an autonomy supportive scaffolded program.

So although this period is incredibly difficult for the arts, it also brought me a lot of insight in my teaching practice and in blended learning. It made me realise how important music making is and how much music is interwoven with our lifes, the people that surround us and our culture.

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