CASE STUDY 2 - REPORT & SUPPLEMENTARY ANALYSIS
As in the first case study, this second case study investigates how creative activities in a beginner clarinet curriculum cultivate a sense of ownership among students aged 9-10. Criteria for ownership reflect on the student's engagement, autonomy, collaboration, pride in work, and self-expression. Drawing from data I have collected at this research stage (student profiles, observations in both regular classes and three creative activities, student focus group interviews, and teacher interviews), this report explores the evolution of the students' ownership based on the previously mentioned criteria. Lastly, supplementary analysis of students aged 10-11 is addressed at the end of the chapter.
Observations & Findings
Regular Class (baseline for observations)
In the regular class, students were introduced to foundational clarinet techniques, such as embouchure, note fingering (G, A), and repertoire. During this class, students began to explore their instruments independently, helping their classmates, and kept going even when producing sound was difficult. This showed they were curious, becoming more independent, and starting to work together. However, collaboration was limited, and self-expression was constrained to technical exercises. This highlighted the need for more interactive and creative approaches to cultivate ownership among clarinet students.
Creative Activity 1: As in the first case study, students were asked to interpret paintings by creating sounds for selected visual elements, such as shapes, movement, and atmosphere. In the second case study, students in both classes stayed focused and engaged throughout the activity. From initial discussions around the paintings to the final sound performances, students demonstrated excitement and personal investment. For instance, students chose specific elements (e.g., ballerina shoes, black holes) and developed sound ideas that reflected their visual and emotional interpretation, and justifying their decisions by saying, for instance, “I chose a long note because the black circle is very big”. In one group, students proposed changes to the task structure, such as incorporating games and performance variations, indicating a sense of agency and ownership. Lastly, in the first case study, students were asked to complete the activity individually; however, in this revised version, students were given the choice of whether to engage in the activity individually or in smaller groups. By offering this choice, all students preferred to create with their classmates, negotiating interpretations, materials, and making group decisions. All students were eager to share their creations, clapping and laughing at peer performances. Student responses like 'my sound' or 'our composition' were frequently observed (see Figure 6).
Figure 6:
Case Study 2 - Example Results from Creative Activity 1: The two images below represent examples of the creative outcomes from Creative Activity 1 of both classes in Case Study 2. Specifically, students drew two selected elements from paintings used in the activity, which inspired them to create their own sounds. As the activity required students to generate one or more sounds incorporating the properties of pitch, duration, and dynamics, they annotated their drawings with the chosen pitch or pitches, whether the sound was intended to be long or short, and some ideas about dynamics. The result is a proper, creative musical score produced by the students.
Creative Activity 2: As in the first case study, students were introduced to rhythms through body movement and group composition. In the second case study, students showed high levels of engagement, especially during the embodied tasks. They created individual and group movements (e.g., stomping for short notes, sliding for long ones, etc.) and were eager to try out and refine their ideas. Students conducted their groups using invented gestures. During this stage, students were not only leading, as required by the activity, but also revising sequences and guiding their peers—signs of growing autonomy and pride. Lastly, several students highlighted the enjoyment of inventing movements and composing. One student said, “I liked it because I got to lead and decide the rhythm.” However, a few students found conducting challenging, as it required more thinking.
Creative Activity 3: As in the first case study, the third and final activity involved group composition, combining repertoire’s pitches and rhythms to create melodies. Students in both classes showed a strong sense of ownership, referring to their work as “my composition” and showing pride in the results. The atmosphere was joyful and focused, with students frequently smiling, laughing, and discussing their creative choices. Without formal notation, students invented ways to structure their pieces, demonstrating an internalization of musical form. One student emphasized spacing between notes to represent rests, while others gave symbolic values to note durations. Students also showed how to compose, rehearse, and perform without minimal guidance. In interviews, students reflected on their learning, describing how working together allowed them to feel safe and take creative risks. Lastly, collaboration played a key role: students offered feedback, supported hesitant peers, and celebrated collective success with applause and words of encouragement (see Figure 7).
Figure 7:
Case Study 2 – Example Results from Creative Activity 3. The four images below represent examples of the creative outcomes from Creative Activity 3 in both classes of Case Study 2. In this activity, students created a sequence of learned sounds for a collaborative composition. Building on insights from the first case study, the concept of chords was intentionally incorporated into the activity. As a result, all compositions included multiple melodic lines. Additionally, some students chose to overlap multiple rest cards to vary the durations, introducing the idea of different note and rest values in music.
- Engagement: In the regular class, students were interested in learning the clarinet and sometimes explored it on their own. In all three creative sessions, students remained focused and enthusiastic. Embodied tasks, compositional challenges, and the freedom to interpret or lead deepened their investment, and their body language (smiling, laughing, and attentive posture) reflected growing confidence and ownership.
- Autonomy: While some signs of independence were noted in the regular class, such as helping peers and exploring fingerings, creative activities provided more structured opportunities for student decision-making. Students selected visual elements to represent, made musical and movement choices, and composed original melodies without assistance. Across activities, students also refined their work and demonstrated increasing confidence in their creative instincts.
- Collaboration: This factor has been revealed as one of the key elements in giving students a sense of ownership. By engaging in the activity with their peers, students showed more enthusiasm, needed less help from the teacher, and also together with the help of teachers, were more willing to take the risk of creating something new.
- Pride: Students felt proud of their work during the creative activities. They were happy to share their sounds and compositions. They clapped for each other, used phrases like “my idea” or “our song,” and smiled during performances.
- Self-Image and Expression: Students' participation in creative tasks contributed to their connection with their instruments and themselves as young musicians.
Students’ Progress
Student 1: Showed initiative and leadership from the beginning. Helped classmates and enjoyed creative group work.
Student 2: Highly engaged and supportive from the start. Frequently participated in discussions and helped classmates. Took leadership during creative tasks and expressed pride in creating personal ideas.
Student 3: More reserved at first, but Student 3 participated actively in creative activities. Gained confidence during pair work and expressed enjoyment in creating and sharing sounds.
Student 4: Quiet and compliant, Student 4 was often shy but showed growing confidence, especially when working in small groups. Student 4 participated more as the activities progressed.
Student 5: Curious and full of energy. Engaged in exploring the clarinet and became more focused during creative activities.
Student 6: Often took the lead. Student 6 was confident and active, especially in group compositions.
Student 7: Student 7 was shy at the beginning, but became more confident in group tasks. Showed a lot of leadership during the last activity.
Student 8: Very active and social. Became more confident through teamwork and support from others.
Student 9: Sensitive and hardworking. Student 9 had technical challenges but showed strong motivation. Became more confident through teamwork and support from others.
As already seen in the first case study, students who engaged in exploring the instrument during the regular class (such as Students 1, 5, and 6) were often the ones who led creative work. These students helped others feel more confident. For future activities, it can be helpful to pair exploration students with more shy students so they can support each other during creative tasks.
Teacher's Interview
During the second case study, the clarinet teacher noticed an overall improvement in the activities due to refined design and experience gained from the first case study. He emphasized that these enhancements allowed better time management and fostered richer collaborative engagement, strengthening students’ learning and creative expression. “Additional activities proved useful for allowing further creative exploration during the course,” he observed. Moreover, a key challenge in this cycle was the different group dynamics, and this necessitated a more personalized approach focused on peer communication, self-control, and time awareness. Ettore also expressed the value of the project for his own growth as a music student, teacher, and artist-researcher. “Opening to such a creative approach has helped me immensely,” he noted, highlighting how the study supported his ongoing exploration of ownership and creative thinking in clarinet performance and pedagogy.
Additionally, the coordinator of the Orkest in De Klas project Rosanne, reaffirmed the alignment of the activities with the project, highlighting how she got inspired to create similar activities for the whole orchestra. In this regard, she expressed “I would like to add an element of free music to the program to get the children more involved”, adding the wish to change the project’s focus slightly, from solely playing pre-selected repertoire to including space for free musical creation.
Lastly, the challenge for both teachers remains the limited time available, which can make the project feel like a pressured production. Although Ettore recognized that this creative approach could greatly benefit teachers and institutions interested in developing knowledge in creative thinking and learning, he suggested a shortened and adaptable layout.
Key Insights
- Creative tasks help students take ownership: Students were more involved and motivated when they could create their own sounds and ideas.
- Giving students choices increases participation: When students could choose between working alone or in a group, they all chose to work with others. This shows that collaboration is important for them.
- Working together builds confidence: Students were more creative and happier when they worked with classmates. They gave feedback, shared ideas, and celebrated each other's work.
- A safe space encourages creativity: Students were not afraid to try new things. They learned that there were no right or wrong answers in creative work. This helped even the shy students to participate more.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The creative activities in this second case study helped beginner clarinet students develop a stronger sense of ownership in their musical learning. Students were more involved, independent, and confident when they had the chance to make choices, create their own ideas, and work with their classmates. In further research, the recommendations are:
- Encourage collaboration: Design activities that allow students to work in pairs or small groups. This increases motivation and supports shared learning.
- Balance structure with freedom: Give students clear steps, but also space to make their own choices. This helps them feel secure while being creative.
- Support leadership: Let students take small leadership roles, like conducting or sharing ideas, and gradually increase their responsibility.
- Use exploratory students as peer leaders: When creating pairs, mix curious/exploratory students with more hesitant ones to balance the group and support growth.
- Focus on process, not perfection: Remind students that creative work has no “right” or “wrong” answers. This helps build a safe environment where students are not afraid to try.
Supplementary analysis
The results revealed a significant increase in initiative and independence. These students were more eager to engage in the creative process, naturally taking leadership roles and requiring less teacher guidance. However, some students reported that some activities seemed too childish, indicating the need for age-appropriate adaptations to sustain engagement and respect their growing sense of maturity. For instance, in the first activity, a more effective approach could involve:
- Selecting an entire painting instead of focusing on individual elements,
- Assigning a word or creating a short poem inspired by the painting rather than drawing, and
- Creating a sound or series of sounds based on the chosen word or poem, reflecting the musical properties being studied.
This kind of adaptation should maintain the creative integrity of the activities, fostering a sense of ownership in line with students' cognitive and emotional needs. Lastly, this suggests that although creative activities remain effective across age groups, their design should evolve to reflect students' developmental stages.