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AEC PUBLICATIONS 2007 HANDBOOK CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT IN HIGHER MUSIC EDUCATION JEREMY COX
AEC PUBLICATIONs 2007
handbook
CurriCulum design and development
in higher musiC eduCation
jeremy Cox
The Polifonia project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views of its authors and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which might be made of the information contained therein.
A free electronic version of this handbook is available through www.polifonia-tn.org.
handbook
CurriCulum design and development
in higher musiC eduCation
jeremy Cox
Contents
Foreword1. introduction2. some preliminary remarks on Curriculum design and development –whatisitandwhatisitfor?3. Curriculum design: the holistic approach 3.1 Thepartsandthewhole 3.2LearningOutcomes 3.3FromLearningOutcomestoaholisticcurriculum4. the use of learning outcomes in curriculum design 4.1 Fromtheorytopractice 4.2Lessons,classes,LearningOutcomesandtherelationshipbetweenthem 4.3Semesters,yearsandaprogressivecurriculum 4.4LearningOutcomesandintermediatemilestones 4.5LearningOutcomes,the‘typical’student,coreandoptionalunits5. the use of credit points in curriculum design 5.1 Creditpoints,volumeandstandardunits 5.2Thebenefitsofstandardisation 5.3Creditpointsandlevels 5.4Creditpoints,optionsandmanagingthecostofprovision6. reviewing and updating a designed curriculum – Curriculum development 6.1 Design,approvalandreview 6.2LearningOutcomesandreview 6.3Ongoingdevelopmentthroughannualmonitoring 6.4Continuousenhancement–thedevelopmentalphilosophy 6.5Thedevelopmentalapproachtomanagingthecostofprovision 6.6Curriculumreviewandexternalqualityassurance7. Conclusion 7.1 Returningtofirstprinciples 7.2Student-centeredness:traditionsandideals 7.3Finalremarks
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Foreword
ThisdocumenthasbeendevelopedintheframeworkoftheERASMUSThematicNetworkforMusic“Polifonia”1,thelargestEuropeanprojectonprofessionalmusictrainingtodate.Thisprojectinvolved67organisationsinprofessionalmusictrainingandthemusicprofessionfrom32Europeancountriesand30expertsin5connectedworkinggroupsinanintensive3-yearworkprogrammefromSeptem-ber2004–October2007.Theproject,whichwascoordinatedjointlybytheMalmöAcademyofMusic–LundUniversityandtheAssociationEuropéennedesConservatoires,AcademiesdeMusiqueetMusikhochschulen (AEC),receivedsupportfromtheEuropeanUnionwithintheframeworkoftheERASMUSProgramme.Theaimsoftheprojectwere:
1. To study issues connected to the Bologna Declaration Process, such as the development oflearningoutcomesfor1st(Bachelor),2nd(Master)and3rdcyclestudiesthroughthe“Tuning”2methodology,theuseofcreditpointsystems,curriculumdevelopment,mobilityofstudentsandteachers,andqualityassuranceinthefieldofmusicinhighereducation.
2. Tocollect informationon levels inmusiceducationother than the 1st (Bachelor)and the2nd(Master)studycycles,inparticularpre-collegetrainingand3rdcycle(Doctorate/PhD)studiesinthefieldofmusic.
3. Toexploreinternationaltrendsandchangesinthemusicprofessionandtheirimplicationsforprofessionalmusictraining.
WiththeaimtoparticipateinthediscussionstakingplaceinthehighermusiceducationsectorandintheframeworkoftheBolognaprocess,theAECformedwithin“Polifonia”agroupwiththefollow-ingexperts:
• JeremyCox(Chair-RoyalCollegeofMusic,London)• HannuApajalahti(SibeliusAcademy,Helsinki)• EvertBisschopBoele(HanzehogeschoolGroningen)• CristinaBritodaCruz(EscolaSuperiordeMúsicadeLisboa)• BrunoCarioti(ConservatorioStatalediMusica“AlfredoCasella”,L’Aquila)• GrzegorzKurzynski(K.LipinskiAcademyofMusic,Wroclaw)• JörgLinowitzki(MusikhochschuleLübeck)• JacquesMoreau(CNSMDdeLyon)
1 Moreinformationabout‘Polifonia’canbefoundatwww.polifonia-tn.org.
2 Formoreinformationaboutthe‘Tuning”methodologypleaseseehttp://www.tuning.unideusto.org/tuningeu/index.php?option
=content&task=view&id=172&Itemid=205.
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InordertoassisthighermusiceducationinstitutionswiththerequirementsproposedbytheBolognaprocess,the“Polifonia”projectissuedaseriesofpublicationsthatcanbeusedbytheinstitutionsinthedevelopmentoftheirstudyprogrammes:
• Severalpracticalhandbookson: - CurriculumDesignandDevelopmentinHigherMusicEducation - ImplementationandUseofCreditPointsinHigherMusicEducation - InternalQualityAssuranceinHigherMusicEducation• Adocumententitled“SummaryofTuningFindings–HigherMusicEducation”,whichcontainsthe
AECLearningOutcomesforthe1st,2ndand3rdcycles,aswellasthe“Polifonia/DublinDescrip-tors”asmentionedinparagraph3.2.6ofthishandbook
• Atrilingualwebsitecalled“BolognaandMusic”(www.bologna-and-music.org),whereallrele-vantdocumentationinrelationtotheBolognaprocessseenfromtheperspectiveofhighermusiceducationcanbefound.
Inaddition,theAECproject“AccreditationinEuropeanProfessionalMusicTraining”3producedsev-eralimportantdocumentsaddressingexternalqualityassuranceandaccreditationinmusic.
3 Moreinformationaboutthisprojectcanbefoundatwww.bologna-and-music.org/accreditation.
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1 IntroduCtIon
1.1 Thishandbookisintendedasashortguideforthosewhoworkinconservatoiresandareinvolvedwithorganisingthetypesandpatternsofteachingthatgoonthere.Itisnotmeanttobeanexhaustivemanualforcurriculumdesignanddevelopment,althoughitdoesaimtogivesomepracticaladviceoncertainkeyissues.Itsprimaryfocusisuponthewaythat,inrecentyears,CurriculumDesignandDevelopmenthavebecomemoreconsciouslyandelaboratelyembeddedinthewaywerunthelearn-ingandteachinginconservatoires.
1.2 Becauseofthisfocus,thehandbookisdeliberatelyconcernedwithlinksbetweencurriculumde-signanddevelopmentandthreeofthekeyelementsthathavebeenmuchtalkedaboutinEuropeanHigherEducationinrecentyears–Learning Outcomes, Credit PointsandQuality Assurance.AllthreeofthesehavebeengivenadditionalimpetusbytheBolognaProcessandthishandbookhasbeenwrittenwiththatbackgroundinmind.Itishopedthatitwillgivesomehelpandencouragementtoin-dividualsandteamsworkingonimplementingchangesintheirinstitutionsthatrelatetotheBolognaProcess.
1.3 Ihavewrittenthishandbookassomeonewhobelievesthatawell-designedcurriculumreallycanhelpconservatoirestudentstolearntobebettermusicians–inotherwords,thatcurriculumde-signisnotjustsomethingforthemoretraditionallyacademicsubjectstaughtinuniversities.Icanappreciate,though,thatsomereadersmayfeelthatcurriculumdesignisyetanotherexampleofmoderneducationalbureaucracyforcingustoputproceduresandprotocolsaroundsomethingthatwe,inconservatoires,areusedtodoingquitefreelyandnaturally.Iamalsowellawarethat,howeverbeautifullywemayeachofusdesign,balanceandintegratethecurriculuminourinstitution,ourkeyteachers–thebusymusicianswhodividetheirtimebetweentheprofessionandtheir1-to-1teaching–probablyhavelittleinterestinaspectsofthecurriculumoutsidetheirspecificarea-andevenlessinreadingcurriculumhandbooksandotherdocuments,insteadofjustgettingonwiththepracticalrealitiesofmusicmaking!
1.4 Inmanyways,thechallengetocurriculumdesignersinconservatoiresastheyworktocreatecours-esanddocumentationinlinewiththeBolognaProcessisoneoftranslation–howtoconverttheEuropeanHigherEducationjargonintotermsthatmusicianscanfeelreasonablycomfortablewith,andhowtogivetheformalcoherenceandclaritybelovedofeducationaliststotherich,butoftensomewhatchaotic,patternoflearningandteachingactivitiesthattakeplacewithinthewallsofaconservatoire.Intheend,likeanytranslation,thisprocesswon’tentirelysatisfythenativespeakersofeitherlanguage!
1.5 Oneofthemostencouragingsigns,though,isthattoday’sstudentsmostlyseemtohaverelativelylit-tledifficultyfindingtheirwayaroundnewer-stylecoursehandbooks,withtheirLearningOutcomes,CreditPoints,etc.Thisispartlybecausetheirearliereducationhasbeencarriedoutundersystems
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thatarealsochanging,likethoseofhighereducation.Butmostly,Iliketothinkthatitisbecausetheirmindsarestillyoungandflexible.Iwouldalsohopethat,thankstoalearningprocessthatisperhapsmorestudent-centredthanthatexperiencedbytheirteachers,theymayretainsomeoftheircurrentflexibilityandabilitytotakeinthebiggerpicturewhenthey,inturn,becometheteachersofthenextgeneration.Weoweittothemtotrytodesignthecurriculathatwillhelpthatprocesstocomeabout.
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2 someprelImInaryremarksonCurrICulumdesIgnanddevelopment–whatIsItandwhatIsItFor?
2.1 The word “curriculum” is used to describe the course of study that is offered by an educationalinstitutionandtakenbyitsstudents.Historically,curriculawithininstitutionshavetendedtoevolverelativelyinformallyandinapiece-by-pieceway.Thisisnottosaythatthereisnotextensivecom-monground,nationallyandeven internationally,across institutionsteachingthesamediscipline.Onthecontrary,eachacademicorvocationaldisciplinetendstohavedevelopeditscoreelements,generallytaughtineveryinstitutionofferingthediscipline.Forconservatoires,theforemostofthesecoreelementsistheone-to-onePrincipalStudylesson,deliveredbyateacherwhoisusuallyalsoadistinguishedprofessionalperformerorcomposeroutsidetheconservatoire.Almostallconserva-toiresoffermuchmorethanjustthislesson,however,andtherearemanycommonpatternstowhattheyofferinaddition–usuallygroupmusicalactivityofsomekind–chamber,orchestral,choral,etc;supportingtheoreticalstudy;perhapsasecondorrelated instrumentalstudy,oftensomekindoftraininginthepedagogyofone’sinstrumentand,increasingly,somekindofpreparationforthechal-lengesoftheprofession.Collectively,theseelementsconstitutethecurriculum-recognisablefromoneconservatoiretoanotherbut,initsspecifics,almostcertainlytheproductoftheuniquehistoryandcircumstancesofeachinstitution.
2.2 Partofthisuniquenessarisesbecausecurriculahaveatendencytogrowoftheirownaccord.Wherecurriculaarerelativelymodest-andifresourcesarereasonablyabundantandnottoocloselymoni-tored-newelementscansimplybeaddedasandwhenaneedisidentified-orperhapswhenaparticularmemberofstaffwishes tocontributeanelement thatreflectsapersonalenthusiasm.Conservatoireshaveaparticularlyrichtraditionofofferingarangeofactivitiesthatarealmost“op-tionalextras”inthissense;infact,theymaynotbeconsideredpartoftheformal“curriculum”atall–thislattermayactuallybequitenarrowandnotatallflexible.Themoreenergeticandenthusiasticastudent,themoreoftheseactivitiesheorshecanbenefitfrom,butthereisusuallynopenaltyat-tachedtonottakingthem.Crucially,theseactivitiesarenotthereforeseparatelyassessed;theyaresimplygivenouttothosestudentssufficientlymotivatedtotakethem.
2.3 Withincreasingaccountability,thereisacorrespondingpressuretoformaliseorcurtailtheseactivi-ties,bringingthemwithinadocumentedandproperlyassessedcurriculumiftheyaretoberetained.Becauseofareluctancetolosetherichnesstheyrepresent,thishasledtomanycurriculareachingasaturationpoint.Meanwhile,theacceleratedpaceofchangeinallwalksoflife,includingthemusicprofession,meansthattherehasbeenanunprecedentedpressureinrecentyearstoaddnewele-ments.Andyetallthishastakenplaceacrossaperiodwhenconservatoires,likeallhighereducationinstitutions,haveincreasinglyhadtojustifytheircostsand,whereappropriate,todelivertheircur-riculamoreeconomically-atthesametimeasneedingtodevelopframeworksofqualityassurancewhichthemselvesaddtocosts.Allthishasmeantthatcurriculacannolongercontinuetoevolveinthewaydescribed.Theyneedtobereviewedfromtoptobottom,lookingateachelementand
judgingitsvalue,aswellaswhetherthatvalueisconstantovertime,increasingordecreasing.Then,becausenoteverythingcanbeincluded,prioritieshavetobedecided–whattokeepin,whattotakeout.Inshort,thecurriculumnowadaysneedstobedesigned.
2.4 Goodcurriculumdesigncanhelpaninstitutiontogetthemostfromtheresourcesithasavailable;itcanalsoleadtoacurriculumwhichiseasiertomodifyandupdatesubsequently,helpingtheongoingprocessofcurriculumdevelopment.Ingeneralterms,aneffectivelydesignedcurriculumwilltendtohavethefollowingfeatures:
• Well-balanced:thevariouscomponentsareeachgiventheirdifferentweight,asappropriate,butnoelementisgivenmorethanitsfairshare.
• Full, but not overloaded:deliverablewithintheresourcesavailable-anover-fullcurriculumwill,inanycase,leadtostudentschoosingwhichelementstheywillattendandwhichtheywillmiss,sincetheycan’tattendeverything.Thewasteinsuchasituationisobvious.
• Flexible:adaptabletothedifferentneedsofdifferentstudents;responsivetochangingprioritiesandalerttolikelyfuturerequirementsoftheprofession.
• progressive:encouragingstudentstogrowanddevelopastheypassthroughtheprogramme,oftenbystartingwithastructuredandlargelycompulsorypatternofstudiesandmovingtooneinwhichchoiceplaysagreaterpart.
• student-centred:recognisingthat,foreachstudent,thecurriculumismorethansimplythepat-ternoflessonsandclassesthattheinstitutionoffers–itisthesumtotalofeverythingthestudentislearningandabsorbingduringhisorhertimeattheconservatoire.
• Focussed on learning:selectingteachingmethodsandmethodsofassessmentonthebasisofhowwelltheyencouragelearningandthendemonstratethatithasbeenachieved.
2.5 Thishandbookdiscussesthewaysinwhichcertainprinciplesofcurriculumdesign,coupledtotoolssuchasLearningOutcomesandCreditPointSystems,canhelpinstitutionstodevelopcurriculathatfulfilthesecharacteristics.Itthengoesontoexaminehowacurriculumdesignedinthiswaycanbedevelopedovertime,whetherinresponsetochangingcircumstancesorsoastoincorporateim-provementssuggestedbytheexperienceofrunningit.
2.6 Itshouldbesaidthatthecontentofthechaptersthatfollowisbasedupontheassumptionthataninstitutionhasbroadcontroloverwhatitchoosestoteachandhowitchoosestodoso.Ofcourse,somecountrieshavesystemswherethecurriculum,oramajorpartofit,isfixedatnationallevel;inothercountriesandsystems,partof themechanismofexternalqualityassuranceconsistsofsettingagreedtemplates,sometimescalledSubject Benchmarks,thatdefinethemainareastobecoveredbycurriculaandthekindsofstandardsthatstudentsareexpectedtoachieveinrelationtoaparticulartypeofqualification.Whilstanyoftheseexternalinfluencesmayfeelasthoughitisplacinglimitationsuponaninstitution’sfreedomtocarryoutcurriculumdesign,theyaregenerallyintendedtopromotemanyofthesamecharacteristicsasthoselistedabove.Therefore,eveninasituationwheresubstantialelementsofthecurriculumarepredeterminedbyexternalforces,theprinciplesinthishandbookshouldstillbeofrelevance.
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2.7 Thisintroductionhasattemptedtosetoutsomeofthebackgroundtocurriculumdesignandwhyithasbecomeaprocessthatneedstobemoreconsciouslyplannedandarticulatedthanpreviously.Thechapterthatfollowscontinuesthissomewhatphilosophicalapproach,suggestingawayofthink-ingthat,inmyopinion,leadstomoreeffectivecurriculumdesign.ChaptersThreetoFivethendealinmorepracticaltermswiththewaysinwhichtheprinciplesadvocatedintheearlierchaptersmaybeputintopractice.
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3 CurrICulumdesIgn:theholIstICapproaCh
3.1 thepartsandthewhole
3.1.1 Itisnatural,andinevitable,thatweshoulddividecurriculaintodifferentcomponentparts.Students’learninghastohaveastructure;thereisalimittohowlongstudents–andforthatmatterteachers–cancontinuedoingthesamething;varietyinthedailyandweeklyactivityishelpfulandfocussinginturnonvariousspecificareaswithinadisciplinehelpsthelessonslearnttobeunderstoodandassimilated.However,itisalwaysimportanttorememberthattheendresultofthelearningproc-essshouldbeacompleteindividualwhousesalltheirskillsandaccumulatedexperienceflexibly,fluentlyandwithoutconsciouscompartmentalisation.Soalthoughcurriculumdesignispartlyaboutdividingupwhatistobelearnt,itmustalsobeverymuchconcernedwithputtingalltheelementstogetherinacoherentmannerandwithawell-integratedendresult.Acurriculumdesignedwiththisinmindisontherighttracktofulfilthefirsttwofeatureslistedabove,namelythatitshouldbewell-balancedand full,but not overloaded.Moreover,byhavingregardtothekindofwholemusicianwhoshouldemergefromtheprogrammeoftraining,itwillalsotendnaturallytobestudent-centredandfocussed upon learning.Howflexibleandprogressiveitiswilltendtobemoreamatterofdetailedimplementation,aswillbediscussedinlaterchapters.
3.1.2 Manyteachingsituationsreflecttheideathatlearningisnotrigidlycompartmentalised.Inmusic,the1-to-1PrincipalStudylessonisaperfectexampleofthis.Duringthecourseofonelesson,astudentmaybedoinganyorallofthefollowing-andprobablyotherthingstoo:honingtheirtechnicalskills;exploringnewrepertoire;receivingcontextualorvaluableanecdotalinformationaboutthatreper-toire;gainingwiderinsightsfromanexperiencedprofessionalmusician-evenbeinggivenvaluabletipsorcontactsforprofessionalnetworking.Somelessonsmayatfirstappeartobemorenarrowlyfocussedupononespecificskillbuttheboundariesarehardlyeverrigidlydrawn.Forexample,anauraltrainingclass,aswellasenhancingthestudent’sauralskills,mayalmostincidentallyintro-ducehimorhertonewrepertoire,provideinsightsintomusicalformandstructureandofferoppor-tunitiestoreinforceeffectivecommunicationandgroupinteraction.
3.1.3 Despitethefactthattheseexamplesshowhowfluidthevarioustypesoflearningtakingplaceinaparticularlessoncanbe,mostofthetimewedon’tthinkinthisway.WethinkofthePrincipalStudylessonasonetypeoflearning,sittinginitsowncompartment,andtheauralclassasanother–andsoonthroughallthetraditionaldivisionsofthecurriculum.Thesedivisionshavecomeaboutforgoodreasons,ofcourse,buttheyarenottheonlywaythatthesubjectareamighthavebeendividedandtheyshouldnotencouragesimilardivisionsofthoughtandexperiencetobebuiltinthemindsofstudentsandteachers.Forexample,learningthroughhistoricalandanalyticalstudyaboutmusicalstyleanditschangesinrelationtosuccessiveperiodsanddifferentrepertoiresisnotmuchuseif,attheendofthelesson,thestudentpacksawaytheseideasalongwithhisorhernotesandgoesontoaninstrumentallessoninwhichtheyperformthepiecetheyhavepreparedthinkingonlyoftech-niqueandtoneproduction.EspeciallywithacomposersuchasBach,whoisbotharepresentativeof
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aparticularhistoricalstyleperiodandoneofthekeyfiguresinthegeneralmusicalcanon,thiskindofdislocationbetweentypesoflearningcanbesurprisinglycommonandisalmostalwaysdamagingtoastudent’sdevelopmentasathoughtfulandwell-roundedmusician.
3.1.4 Thisisthekeyreasonwhyitisimportantthatcurriculumdesignshouldstartfromtheholisticview-point.Thefirstconsiderationshouldbewhatkindofcomplete,integratedmusiciantheinstitutionishopingtohelpdevelop.Thisoverallaimoraspirationmaybeginasasingle,all-encapsulatingsen-tencebutitwillprobablyquicklytaketheformofalistofattributesofsuchamusician.Interestingly,inbuildingsuchalistaprocessofcompartmentalisationisbeginningtotakeplaceonceagain,butitisimportanttonotethatthisnewlistisalmostcertainlynotgoingtobedividedinthesamewayasthetraditionaldivisionsofthecurriculum,althoughtheremaybesomeoverlapbetweenthetwo.ThelistisbasicallywhatwewouldcallasetofCompetenciesor,ifexpressedintermsofspecificandmeasurablethingsthateverysuccessfulstudentshouldbeabletodo,asetoflearning outcomes.
3.2 learningoutcomes
3.2.1 Learning Outcomes are an increasingly common way of describing the objectives of a course orwholeprogramme.Theyrepresentasubtle,butimportant,shiftinthewaythatwethinkaboutedu-cation–fromwhatistaughttowhatislearned.Ofcourse,thereisacloseconnectionbetweenthesetwoconceptsbuttheyarefarfromidentical.Ontheonehand,itisclearthatastudentmayeasilyenduplearning,andproperlyinternalising,lessthanthetotalofwhatheorshehasbeentaught;equally,though,thestudentmaybeexploringthingsforhim-orherself,learningwithandfromfellow-stu-dents,processingarangeofexperiences,bothinsideandoutsidetheformallearningenvironment,andtherebylearningquiteliterallymorethanisbeingtaught.LearningOutcomesfocusuponthissecondviewofastudent’seducation.Inthissense,theyarethemselvesstudent-centredandtheyencourageanapproachtoteachingthatissimilarlystudent-centred.
3.2.2Atthesametime,LearningOutcomesdonotpassthewholeresponsibilityforlearningtothestudent.Theyareusuallywordedinsomethinglikethefollowingway:“Atthecompletionoftheirstudies,suc-cessfulstudentswillbeableto…”.Thisimpliesasharedresponsibility.Theinstitutionwillprovidetheteaching,theresourcesandtheenvironmentwhichoughttoenableastudentwithappropriateinitialaptitudeandareasonablycommittedapproachtosucceedinmeetingtheseoutcomes;meanwhile,thestudent,tobesuccessful,willshowduecommitmentandmakeappropriateuseoftheteaching,resourcesandenvironmentalsupportprovidedasheorsheproceedsalongthepathoflearningtothepointofmeasurementthatcomesatthecompletionoftheirstudies.
3.2.3LearningOutcomesdescribewhatthesuccessfulstudentshouldbeabletodoattheendoftheirstudies.Morespecifically,theydescribewhat everysuccessfulstudentshouldbeabletodo.Asaresult,whattheydescribe isaminimum foreverysuccessfulstudent.Successmustthereforebepitchedatarealistic“typical”level.FormoststudentstherewillbesomeLearningOutcomesthattheycomfortablyexceedbytheendoftheirstudies,aswellasothersthattheyonlyjustmanageto
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reach.IfastudentfailstoreachthelevelofoneormoreoftheLearningOutcomesofaprogramme,thenstrictlyspeaking,heorsheshouldnotpasstheprogramme.Thisiswhyit isimportantthatLearningOutcomesarewordedsoastocapturewhatistheminimumlevelofachievementthatastudentneedstoreachtobesuccessful.
3.2.4LearningOutcomesdescribewherestudentsshouldarriveattheendoftheirstudies,nothowtheyshouldgetthere.Thisnotonlyacknowledgesthatthelearningmightinvolvemorethanwhatistaughtformally,asseenabove,butitalsopotentiallyintroducesaflexibilityastohowlongaparticularstu-dentmighttakeinreachingthedestinationidentified.Differentstudentsprogressatdifferentspeedsand,especiallyinadisciplinelikemusic,differentstudentsmayarriveatthestartingpointofhighereducationwithverydifferentlevelsofpriorattainment.ThisfeatureofLearningOutcomesisusefulinthecontextofcreatingcomparabilitybetweenprogrammesthatmaybeofdifferentduration.
3.2.5TheoriginalBolognaDeclarationexpressedaminimumnumberofECTScredits(andhencelearningtime)thatshouldapplytoeachcycle,butdidnotlaydownamaximum–or,indeed,anideal-dura-tiontobeusedbyallcountriesandall institutions.Asaresult,systemswithboththreeandfouryearsforthefirstcycleandoneortwoyearsforthesecondcyclecanbefound.Often,institutionsarenotfreetochoosewhichdurationsshouldapplyintheircase.DefiningthesecyclesintermsofthetypicalLearningOutcomestobeachievedmeansthatinstitutionscanplantheircurriculasoastomeettheselevelsacrosstheperiodofstudyavailabletothem.Ofcourse,thisdoesnotremovealltheproblemsassociatedwithhavingsupposedlyequivalentprogrammesthatlastadifferentnumbersofyears,butitdoesatleastcreateanenvironmentwhereeveryoneisworkingtowardsbroadlysimilargoalsintermsoftheminimumthresholdofachievementexpectedofstudentsattheendofeachcycle.
3.2.6 ItwaswiththisinmindthattheAECWorkingGroupexaminingtheimplicationsoftheBolognaProc-essforhighermusiceducationchosetoexpressitsrecommendationsintheformofaproposedsetofsharedLearningOutcomesforthefirstandsecondcycles4.TheLearningOutcomesarrivedatdrewuponmodelsalreadyinexistenceinEuropeancountriesandinNorthAmerica.TheysoughttodescribeapatternoflearningsufficientlybroadtoberecognisedbyAECmemberinstitutionsfromdifferentnationaltraditionsandofferingteachingdifferentspecialismswithinhighermusiceduca-tion.TheAECLearningOutcomeshavebeenrefinedaspartoftheworkofthePolifoniaErasmusThematicNetworkforMusic.OutcomesforthethirdcyclehavebeenaddedandthelanguageoftheLearningOutcomeshasbeencarefullymappedagainstframeworksanddocumentsthatarenowemergingtodescribehighereducationacrossEurope,mostnotablytheso-called“DublinDescrip-tors”5andtheproposedEuropeanQualificationsFramework(EQF)6.
4 TheAECLearningOutcomesforthe1st,2ndand3rdcyclescanbefoundatwww.bologna-and-music.org/learningoutcomes.
5 A‘musical’versionofthe‘DublinDescriptors’,whichdescribethelevelsforthe1st,2ndand3rdcycles’,hasalsobeenmade-
these‘Polifonia/DublinDescriptors’canbefoundatwww.bologna-and-music.org/learningoutcomes.
6 MoreinformationabouttheEuropeanQualificationsFramework(EQF)canbefoundathttp://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/
educ/eqf/index_en.html.
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3.2.7 BecausetheAECLearningOutcomesaredesignedtoberecognisabletoallmemberinstitutions,theyarenotnecessarilyexpectedtobetakenoverliterallyastheLearningOutcomesforindividualprogrammes.Institutionswillalmostcertainlywanttoadaptthem,perhapsstrengtheningtheminareaswherethey feel theirownstrengths lie,but thehope is that theywillnot feel that there isanythingaskedofstudentsintheseLearningOutcomesthattheycannotaddressintheirownpro-grammes. InstitutionalLearningOutcomesshouldbeonesthatpeoplefeelcomfortablewithandthatcanberealisticallysharedwithteachersandstudents–whoare,afterall,thepeopleinthefrontlineofensuringthatOutcomesaremet.Itisforthecurriculumdesignerstoensurethataninstitu-tion’sownOutcomesremaincompatiblewiththewiderAECLearningOutcomes.Providedthatthisisthecase,theycanthenbeconfidentthattheOutcomeswillalsobecompatiblewiththeframeworksandstandardsbeingsetoutforEuropeanHigherEducationacrossalldisciplines.
3.3 fromlearningoutcomestoaholisticcurriculum
3.3.1 ArmedwithasetofLearningOutcomeswithwhichitfeelsconfidentandhappy,aninstitutioncanthengoaboutdesigningacurriculumthatisholisticallyconceived.Asthedesigningteamcomestoconsidereachlessonorclassthatitisplanningtoinclude,thereisaseriesofquestionsthatitcan,andshould,beasking:
• IsthereoneormoreofourchosenLearningOutcomethatatypicalstudentwouldbehelpedtowardsbytakingthislessonorclass?
• Ifnot,whyareweplanningtoputthelessonorclassintothecurriculum?(Ifitturnsoutthattherereallyisagoodreasontodoso,itmightbeworthgoingbacktolookattheLearningOutcomestoseeifsomethingimportanthasbeenmissed!)
• IfthereisatleastoneLearningOutcomethatthelessonorclassdoesaddress,howdoesithelpthestudentachieveit?
• Havingdecidedhowithelps,doesthewaythelessonorclassisassessedactuallymeasurethestudent’sprogresstowardstherelevantLearningOutcome(s)and,ifnot,howmightitbechangedtodoso?
• Oncewehavegonethroughalltheproposedlessonsandclasses,arethereanyLearningOut-comesthathavenotbeenproperlyaddressed?
• Ifso,whatotherlessonsorclassesneedtobeadded?• Andiftherearetobeadditions,whichlessonsorclassesmightwebepreparedtodrop,trimdown
oramalgamatetomakeroomwithintheavailablebudgetand/orthelearningtimeavailabletothestudentfortheelementsweneedtoadd?
3.3.2Thislastquestionmightfeelrathernegative,butitcanactuallybeoneofthemostrewardingaspectsofcarryingoutacurriculumdesignprocessorganisedaccordingtotheseprincipleswhentheproc-essitselfuncoversamoreefficient,andperhapsamoreintegratedandelegant,wayofdeliveringtheintendedoutcomes.
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3.3.3 Ofcourse,institutionswillalsoneedtocomebackfromtimetotimetolookattheLearningOut-comesthemselvestomakesuretheyarestillhappywiththem.Often,whentheydoso,theymaydecidethattheycouldbeimproved,whetherbecausetimesandtheneedsoftheprofessionhavemovedonorsimplybecausetheinstitutionitselfhasbecomemoreadeptatthinkingintermsofLearningOutcomesandmakingthemworkinawaythatishelpfultocurriculumdesigners,teach-ersandstudentsalike.
3.3.4 AssoonastheLearningOutcomesarealtered,thelistofquestionsaboveneedstobegonethroughagainandanyappropriatechangesmadetothelessonsandclassesofthecurriculum.ThisistheprocessknownasCurriculumDevelopmentanditisliterallynever-ending.However,inordertopro-videsomestabilitytothepatternsofteaching,top-to-bottomreviewoftheLearningOutcomesandcurriculumusuallytakesplaceonacycleofanythingfromfivetotenyears.ChapterFivediscussestheprinciplesandprocessesofcurriculumdevelopmentingreaterdetail.
3.3.5 EvenwithoutchangestotheLearningOutcomes,smalladjustmentstoanindividualelementhereandtherewillprobablyhappeneachyearaspartofannualmonitoringofthecurriculumanditsef-fectiveness.Thisisimportantifinstitutionsaretoavoidcurriculabeingfrozenforfiveyearsbetweenreviews.ChapterFivewillalsodiscussthisprocessofannualmonitoring.Meanwhile,thefollowingchaptergoesintomoredetailabouttherelationshipbetweenLearningOutcomesandthecurricu-lumandhowthisrelationshipcanbeusedtoshapethecurriculumdesignprocess.
3.3.6 Thepracticalexamplesgiveninthechaptersthatfollowarebaseduponfirst-cyclemodels,whetherofathree-orfour-yearvariety.Thisisbecausethefirstisthelongestandoftenthemoststructuredofallthreecyclesandpresentscorrespondinglycomplexcurriculumdesignchallenges.Ingeneral,curricula across the three cycles become progressively more tailored to the individual student’sdevelopment,suchthat insomethird-cycleresearchdegrees, theonly“curriculum” is theearlyportionthataddressesresearchskillstraining.Hopefully, theexamplesusedwill thereforeofferideasthatcanbeadaptedforsecond-andthirdcycleprogrammes.Ontheotherhand,thecom-mentsmadeatseveralpointsaboutflexibilityandstudent-centredlearning,ifanything,applywithincreasingforceasonemovesthroughthesequenceofcycles.
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4 theuseoFlearnIngoutComesInCurrICulum desIgn
4.1 fromtheorytopractice
In the lastchapter, itwassuggestedthat thetraditionalelementsof thecurriculumanda listofLearningOutcomeseachdividethecurriculum,andthatthewaysinwhichtheydosocorrespondinsomerespectsbutnotinothers.SinceacurriculumdesignedaccordingtoLearningOutcomesneedstotaketheseoutcomesandrelatethemtoaseriesoflessonsandclasses,itisimportanttolookincloserandmorepracticaldetailatthisrelationship.Adiagrammaticapproachmaybehelpfulhere.
4.2 lessons,classes,learningoutcomesandtherelationshipbetweenthem
4.2.1 Ifweimaginethewholecurriculumasrectangularblock,thevariouslessonsandclassescouldbeseenasdividingitintoverticalcolumns.Theprocessmightgosomethinglikethis:
theCurrICulum
theCurrICulum
Lessonsand
classes
Prin
cipa
lStu
dyle
sson
Cham
ber
coac
hing
Orc
hest
ra
His
tori
cals
tudi
es
Theo
ry/
anal
ysis
Aura
l
Prof
essi
onal
pre
para
tion
4.2.2Correspondingly, the Learning Outcomes agreed for the curriculum might be imagined as divid-ing it into a series of rows. Where a lesson or class and a Learning Outcome coincide, this canthenbeshownbyamarkattheirintersectingpoint.Thefollowingtableshowsthisprinciple,us-ingthelessonsandclasseslistedaboveand,forthesakeofillustration,thefirsteightoftheAECLearning Outcomes, which relate to practical (skills-based) outcomes. These are numbered and
18 19
giveninheadlineforminthetable.Noteveryonewillnecessarilyagreewitheveryoneoftheintersec-tionssuggestedhere,buthopefullyatleasttheprinciplewillbeclear:
theCurrICulum
lessons and classesPr
inci
palS
tudy
le
sson
Cham
ber
coac
hing
Orc
hest
ra
His
tori
cals
tudi
es
Theo
ry/
anal
ysis
Aura
l
Prof
essi
onal
pr
epar
atio
n
learning outcome 1
Skillsinartisticexpression• • •
learning outcome 2
Repertoireskills
• • • • •
learning outcome 3
Ensembleskills
• • •
learning outcome 4
Practisingandrehearsingskills
• • • •
learning outcome 5
Readingskills
• • • • •
learning outcome 6
Aural,creativeandre-creativeskills
• • • • •
learning outcome 7
Verbalskills• •
learning outcome 8
Publicperformanceskills
• • •
18 19
4.2.3Asthisexampleshows,someelementsofthecurriculumwillintersectwithjustafewLearningOut-comesandotherswithseveral–perhapsnearlyall.Becausetheskillslistedherearepractical,theintersectionswiththemoretheoreticalelementsofthecurriculumarerelativelyfew;iftheexercisewererepeated for theother twocategories-knowledge-basedandgenericskills- thecoveragewouldbecomemorebalanced.
4.2.4Onthefaceofit,onemightexpectthatthemoreLearningOutcomesalessonorclasscontributesto,thelargerthenumberofcreditsitshouldbeallocated.Thingsarenotquiteassimpleasthis,however.AswillbediscussedfurtherinChapterFour,creditpointsmerelymeasurethevolumeofstudenteffort,notthe“value”thatissetonthateffort.SomelearningactivitiesmaycontributetoanumberofLearningOutcomes,yetstillonlytakearelativelysmallamountofastudent’stimeintheircompletion.
4.2.5A diagram such as the table above can be useful in course documentation so that teachers andstudentscanseeataglancetherelationshipbetweenaparticularsetoflessonsorclassesandtheoverallLearningOutcomesoftheprogramme.Indeed,thiskindofdiagram–sometimesreferredtoasaCompetency Matrix–isoftenprovidedaspartoftheevidencebaseinquality-assuranceexer-cises.Forsimilarreasons,thebriefdescriptionofeachlessonorclassfoundinacoursedocumentfrequentlyliststhoseLearningOutcomestowhichitcontributes.
4.3 semesters,yearsandaprogressivecurriculum
4.3.1 Sofar,thetableabovesimplytreatseachlessonorclassasadivisionofthewholecurriculum.Inpractice,curriculathatrunformorethanoneyear–andatypicalfirst-cyclecurriculumwillrunforthreeorfouryears–donotkeepthesamepatternoflessontypesthroughouteachoftheyears.Someelements,likethePrincipalStudylesson,willrunthroughout;others,especiallysomeofthesupportingacademicclasses,mayoperateforjustthefirstorfirst-and-secondyears.Thisiswhere,referringbacktothefeatureslistedintheintroduction,awell-designedcurriculumwillbebuiltwithaprogressivestructureinmind.
4.3.2Inordertotakeaccountofprogression,eventhoseelementswhichruncontinuouslythroughouttheprogrammeneedtohavesomesenseofthemilestonestobeachievedyear-by-year(or,wherethecurriculumisstructuredinsemesters,semester-by-semester)sothatthestudentknowswhetherheorsheisontracktoreachtherelevantLearningOutcomessetfortheprogrammeasawhole.Thesemilestonesfortheprogrammecanalsobehelpfulinsettingpersonalmilestonesforstudentsaspartoftheirindividual Study Plans.
4.3.3Someclassesorlessonsthatfinishbeforetheendofaprogrammemayneverthelessbeimportantpreparatorystepsformoreadvancedworkthatcomeslater;othersmayalreadyenablethestudenttoreachthenecessaryleveltosatisfyaparticularLearningOutcomebeforeheorshereachestheendoftheprogramme.Essentially,thewaysthatthelessonsandclasseschosenacrosstheyearsandtheLearningOutcomesfortheprogrammeasawholecanrelatetooneanothermaybeseen
20 21
asfallingintothreecategoriescorrespondingtotheexamplesgiveninthisandtheprecedingpara-graph.Thesecategoriesmightbedescribedas 1-continuous, 2-consecutive and3-achievingearly
completion.
4.3.4Indifferentways,allthreecategoriesrequiresomedefinitionoftheintermediateoutcomesthatastudentisexpectedtoachievebytheendofaparticularsetoflessonsorclasses.Incategory1,theintermediateoutcomesarethemilestonesalongthecontinuouspathtotheendoftheprogramme;incategory2,theywillbeformulatedasoutcomesforeachclassthatensurethatthepreparationforlaterclasseshasbeenachieved;incategory3,theoutcomeforthefinalclass,althoughcompletedsubstantiallybeforetheendoftheprogramme,mustbethesameastherelevantprogrammeLearn-ingOutcome.Again,thismaybeshownmoreclearlybytheuseofadiagram,inthiscasebaseduponafour-yearfirst-cyclepattern:
4.3.5
learnIngoutComesFortheprogrammeasawhole
Category1
(continuous)
Category2
(consecutive)
Category3
(earlycompletion)
Year4
Alessonorclassrunning
throughouttheyearsof
theprogrammeshouldbe
directedtowardshelpingthe
studenttoachievetherel-
evantLearningOutcomesby
theendoftheprogramme.
Todosoitwillneedtoestab-
lishmilestonesofachieve-
mentforeachindividual
year/semester
AlessonorclassinYear4
buildsonYears1,2&3and
setsapassingstandardthat
willmeanthattherelevant
LearningOutcomesfor
theprogrammehavebeen
achieved
Year3
AlessonorclassinYear3
buildsonYears1&2and
preparesthestudentforlater
classes
Year2
AlessonorclassinYear2
buildsonYear1andprepares
thestudentforlaterclasses
AlessonorclassinYear2
buildsonYear1andsets
apassingstandardthat
willmeanthattherelevant
LearningOutcomesforthe
programmehavealready
beenachieved
Year1
AlessonorclassinYear1
preparesthestudentforlater
classes
AlessonorclassinYear1
preparesthestudentforlater
classes
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4.4 learningoutcomesandintermediatemilestones
4.4.1 Itmaybehelpfultogiveanexampleofhowtheseintermediatemilestonesoroutcomesmightbeconstructed.TakingCategory1,forexample,itisverylikelythatthePrincipalStudylessonwillbeoneofthekeyelementsthatrunthroughoutallyearsoftheprogramme.Thiselementisalmostcer-tainlygoingtorelatetoaLearningOutcomesuchasthefirstoftheAEC/PolifoniapracticalOutcomes–skillsinartisticexpression.Thisoutcomereadsinfullasfollows:
skills in artistic expression:Atthecompletionoftheirstudies,studentsshouldbeabletocreateandrealisetheirownartisticconceptsandshouldhavedevelopedthenecessaryskillsfortheirexpres-sion.
ThisOutcomeexpressesarichsetofskillsspanningfromcreativeimaginationtothetechnicalabilitytorealisetheproductsofthisimagination.Wetendtothinktraditionallyofworkingtowardsagoalsuchasthisbyfirstensuringthatthetechnicalelementsaresecureandthengivingtheimaginativeandcreativeaspectincreasingemphasis.Thisstraightawaygivesusapotentialshapeandsequencefor intermediatemilestoneswhichmight lead inaprogressiveandcoherentmannertowardstheculminatoryLearningOutcome.
4.4.2Again,imaginingafour-yearfirst-cycleprogramme,thekindofmilestonesthatmightbelaiddowncouldwelllooksomethinglikethefollowing:
learnIngoutCome1:skIllsInartIstICexpressIon
Year4 Atthe completion of their studies,studentsshouldbeabletocreateandrealisetheirownartistic
conceptsandshouldhavedevelopedthenecessaryskillsfortheirexpression.
Year3
Milestone3:
Atthecompletionoftheir third year of studies,studentsshouldbebeginningtodeveloptheirown
artisticintentionsintocreativeconceptionsspanningentireworksandshouldhavedevelopedthe
necessaryskillstointegratetechnicalandimaginativeaspectsalmostseamlessly.
Year2
Milestone2:
Atthecompletionoftheirsecond year of studies,studentsshouldbeabletoformulatetheirown
artisticintentionsandshouldhavedevelopedthenecessaryskillstoimplementthese,orrespond
imaginativelytosuggestionsfromtheirteacher,withfluencyandtechnicalsecurity.
Year1
Milestone1:
Atthecompletionoftheirfirst year of studies,studentsshouldhavedevelopedsufficienttechnical
skillsandsecuritytobeabletoconcentrateupondevelopingtheirskillsinartisticexpression.
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4.4.3InCategory2,theconsecutivemodel,asimilarprocesscanbecarriedouttoproduceintermediateoutcomesforlessonsorclassesconcludinginthefirst,secondorthirdyears.Eachlessonorclasspreparesforthesucceedingone,justasthemilestonesdointhecontinuousmodel.Becausewearenowdealingwithlessonsorclassesthatformallyfinishatanintermediateyearorsemester,theycouldalsobesaidtoformPre-requisitesforthelessonsorclassestakeninthesucceedingyear.Eachlaterclasscanbestructuredontheassumptionthatstudentswillenteritwithalevelofpriorattainmentcorrespondingtothepreviousintermediateoutcomes.Thecontentofthelatercoursecanthereforetakethingsforwardfromthatassumedlevelofattainment.
4.4.4Strictly, this means that a student must have successfully completed the earlier class or lesson–henceitsbeingdescribedasapre-requisite.Inpractice,astudentwho,forwhateverreason,hasnotcompletedtheearlierelement(perhapsbecausetheyaretransferringintoaprogrammeatanintermediatepoint)canusuallydemonstratewhetherornottheyhaveachievedacomparablelevelofattainmentbyothermeans–suchasasimplyadministeredtest.
4.5 learningoutcomes,the“typical”student,coreandoptionalunits
4.5.1 Alloftheabovehasimplicitlyrelatedtowhatisreferredtoasthecore curriculum–thepatternofstudyundertakenbyallstudents.Aswasstatedintheintroduction,oneofthefeaturesofawell-designedcurriculumisthatitshouldbeflexible.Flexibilitywasdescribedthereastakingtwoforms-beingadaptabletothedifferentneedsofdifferentstudentsandbeingresponsivetochangingpriori-tiesandalerttolikelyfuturerequirementsoftheprofession.Thesecondofthesewillbeaddressedinthenextchapteroncreditpoints;thefirstisrelevanttothepresentchapter.
4.5.2Aswasstatedin2.2.3,LearningOutcomesdescribewhatevery“typical”studentshouldachieveifheorsheistobesuccessful.Inonesense,therefore,theyrepresentoutcomesforthecorecurriculumsincethisiswhatallstudentstake.However,acurriculumwhichisflexibleneedstohaveroomforsomestudentstodoonethingwhileothersdoanother.Inparticular,thefreedomforstudentstostarttospecialiseduringtheirprogrammeisan importantpartofensuringthattheir learningisdevelopmentalandprogressive.Onthefaceofit,suchflexibleandindividually-tailoredactivitymightseemtolieoutsidethescopeofgeneralLearningOutcomes.Thisneednotbethecase,however,iftheLearningOutcomeshavebeencarefullyconstructed.
4.5.3Indescribingtheachievementofa“typical’student”,LearningOutcomesinevitablysetstandardsthatareexceededbysomestudents.Thisistrueinfinalassessmentofthoseelementsofthecur-riculumwhichallstudentstakethroughouttheprogramme,suchthe1-to-1lesson.Inasimilarway,astudentchoosingaparticularoptioncanstillbeaddressingoneormoreofthegeneralLearningOutcomesoftheprogrammebutdeliberatelytakingtheoutcometoahigherlevelthanthe“typical”student.
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4.5.4Forexample,astudentwithaspecialinterestinperforminguponperiodinstrumentsmightbeabletopursuesuchanoptiontoarelativelyhighlevel,whileotherstudentsarefreetodolittleornostudyinthisarea.Asaresult,thestudentmightfulfilcertainLearningOutcomestodowithbreadthofrep-ertoireknowledge,rangeofperformingskillsorunderstandingofhistoricalcontextmorefullythan–oratleastdifferentlyfrom–otherstudents.Nevertheless,thesamegeneralLearningOutcomesapply,justastheywouldtoastudentchoosingtopursueoptionsincontemporaryclassicalmusic,jazz,etc.
4.5.5Theprincipleisperhapsmoreclearlyshownwithadiagram.Thediagram,thistimebaseduponathree-yearfirst-cycleprogramme,depictsafirstyearthatconsistsentirelyofcompulsory,coresub-jects,asecondwithsomeoptionalelementsandathirdwhereatleasthalfofthestudent’sindividualprogrammeofstudyismadeupofoptionalelements:
All LearningOutcomesfulfilledatleastto
thresholdlevel
SomeLearningOutcomesfulfilledtohigher
thanthresholdlevel
Year3 CoreCurriculum Optionalelements
Year2 CoreCurriculum Optionalelements
Year1 CoreCurriculum
4.5.6Insomecases,theremaybeoptionswhichastudentcanchoosewhichbegintostandoutsidethescopeofgeneralLearningOutcomes.Agood,althoughoftencontentious,exampleofthisispeda-gogy,whichisanimportantelementofsomestudents’learningandcompletelyabsentfromthecur-riculumofothers.ItwouldobviouslybenonsensicaltosaythatbecausepedagogyisnotfeaturedinthegeneralLearningOutcomesofaprogrammeitshouldnotfeatureasastrandinthecurriculumforsomestudents.Clearly,incircumstancessuchasthis,amorespecificLearningOutcomeneedstobedrawnupforthosestudentstakingthisoption.Eveninacasesuchasthis,though,thelearningprocessesinvolvedintakinganoptioninpedagogywillalmostcertainlybefoundtocontributetooneormoreofthegeneralLearningOutcomes,particularlyiftheseincludeoutcomesrelatedtogenericskills.
4.5.7Wheredifferentstudentsaretakingdifferentoptions,itisimportanttoensurethattheiroverallwork-loaddoesnotdiffertoowidely.Eachstudent’sstudypattern,aswellastheinstitution’scurriculum
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asawhole,needstobefull, but not overloaded,toreferoncemoretothefeaturesofawell-designedcurriculumlistedintheChapterOne.Credit-pointsystemscanbeveryusefulincontrollingthisas-pectandthenextchapterwilldealwiththisandotherwaysinwhichtheycancontributetoeffectivecurriculumdesign.
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5 theuseoFCredItpoIntsInCurrICulumdesIgn
5.1 creditpoints,volumeandstandardunits
5.1.1 Creditpointsareaclearandeasywaytoshowhowthevolumeofoneelementofthecurriculumcompareswithanotherandhowthewholecurriculumaddsuptoavolumeofstudythatismanage-ableforthestudent-andcomparablewithcurriculainotherinstitutions.Inoneofthecompanionhandbookstothis,entitled“handbook for the implementation and use of Credit points in higher music education institutions”7, a detailed account is given of how an existing curriculum can bedividedintosuitablenumbersofcreditpointsforeachelementandhowtodealwiththefactthateveryonetendstofeelthattheirpartofthecurriculumisthemostimportant-andthereforeshouldhaveasmanycreditsaspossibleassociatedwithit.Asismadeveryclearinthathandbook,creditsareameasureoftheamountofstudenttimedemandedbyeachelementofthecurriculum,nothow“important”itisinsomehigher,almostmoral,sense.
5.1.2 Themodelsproposedinthecreditpointhandbookallinvolvesomeelementofcompromisebuttheystillendupdividingthecreditsinquitesensitiveways,suchthateachelement’sallottednumberofcreditsispotentiallyunique.Thisisclearlythebestwaytotrytocaptureintermsofcreditstheshapeandproportionsofanexistingcurriculum.
5.1.3 Whendesigningacurriculuminwhichcreditpointsareincorporatedrightfromthestart,apoten-tiallyfreerrangeofchoiceintheuseofcreditvaluespresentsitself.Underthesecircumstances,itcanbeextremelyhelpfulifsomesystemofstandardcreditvolumeisused.Thisdoesnotmeanthateveryelementofthecurriculumhastobethesamesize;someelementsmaybedouble,tripleormoretimesthesizeofthestandardunit.Iftheratiosarekeptsimple,though,thereareseveralbenefitsthatarisewhendesigningcurriculathatareadaptable,bothtoindividualstudents’differentinterestsandtochanges,updatesandotherdevelopments.
5.1.4 Assumingthepatternof60creditscorrespondingtoafull-timestudent’stotaleffortforoneacadem-icyearthatisfoundintheECTSsystem,thereareanumberofwaysthatthissummaybedivided.Ideally,thoughitisprobablyhelpfultohaveastandardunitofvolumethatgivessomewherebetween10and15divisionsofthewholeamount.Witharangeofdoubleandtripleunits,thiswillprobablygiveanywherebetween6and10elementsintowhichthecurriculumfortheyearmaybedivided.Ina60-creditsystem,wewouldthereforebelookingatastandardcreditunitof4,5or6points.A5-pointcreditunitoffersagoodrangeofupto12divisionsofthetotallearningeffortfortheyearand–quiteimportantlyforgeneralunderstanding–makesthemathematicsofaddingunitstogethersimple,sinceeverythingisinmultiplesof5and10.
7 Thishandbookcanbefoundatwww.bologna-and-music.org/creditpoints.
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5.1.5 Whilsta5-pointcreditunitworkswellinyear-longteachingpatterns,itshouldbenotedthatitcanleadtoproblemswhereasemesterisedcalendarisused.Teachinginsemestersalsomeansassessingeverysemester,soitislikelythatthestandardunitofcreditswillhavetobesubdividedwhenallocatingcreditsacrosseachelementofthecurriculumandoverthetwosemesters.Althoughthisproblemcanbeovercomebygroupingelementsofthecurriculumtogetherinsidethesemesterandallocatingahighercreditvaluetotheresultantcompoundunit,thiscanhaveafeelingofexpedi-ency,ratherthanrealcurriculumdesign.Manycurriculumdesignersworkingwithinasemesterisedstructurethereforeprefertouse6creditpointsasthestandardunitsize,therebypermitting3-creditunitswithineachsemester,linkedtoeachotheracrosstheyearina3+3=6pattern.
5.1.6 Toseehowthissystemofstandardcreditunitsmightworkinrelationtoanimaginarycurriculum,wecangobacktotheelementsusedintheexampleat3.2.2.There,thecurriculumwasdividedintosevenelements.Ofthese,mostpeoplewouldassumethatthePrincipalStudylessonandthestu-dent’sindependentpracticeassociatedwithitwouldtakebyfarthemosttimeandeffortoftheseven.Afterthat,therecouldobviouslybeextensivedebateaboutwhetherthestudenteffortdevoted,say,tochambermusicshouldbemore,lessorthesameasthatallocatedtoorchestralactivityandwhethereitheroftheseshouldbegivenmore,lessorthesametimeashistoricalstudies,etc.Nevertheless,itwouldprobablybewidelyagreedthattheremainingsixelementsareprobablyroughlyequivalenttoeachotherinvolume–especiallywhenoneremembersthatwearedealingwithanimaginary“typical”studenthere,notaparticularindividualwhowillundoubtedlydevotemoretimetoonethananother.
5.1.7 Bearingthisinmind,thesimplestwayofdividingthiscurriculumintostandardunitsandmultipleswouldbetogivehalf,ornearlyhalf,ofthestudent’stotalefforttohisorherPrincipalStudylessonandallocateequalnumbersofcreditstoeachoftheremainingsixelements.Assumingthatthisweredonewithintheslightlymorecomplicatedsemesterisedpatterndiscussedabove,thismightbeachievedusinga6(3+3)-creditstandardunitasbelow:
theCurrICulum(60CredIts)
less
ons
and
clas
ses
prin
cipa
l stu
dy l
Cham
ber
coac
hing
orch
estr
a
his
tori
cal s
tudi
es
theo
ry/
anal
ysis
aura
l
prof
essi
onal
pre
para
tion
tota
l cre
dits
24 6 6 6 6 6 6
27
Cred
its in
sem
este
r tw
o
12
(standard
unit x 4)
3 3 3 3 3 3
Cred
its in
sem
este
r on
e 12
(standard
unit x 4)
3 3 3 3 3 3
5.1.8 Asanalternativetotheabove,togivejustoneexample,itmightbedecidedthat,forsomeinstru-ments,workinorchestrasismoreimportantandtheamountofindividualpracticetimerequiredforthePrincipalStudyinstrumentless.Ifso,3creditspersemestermightbetransferredfromthePrin-cipalStudylessontoorchestra,givingcreditsof9,3,6,3,3,3and3respectivelyineachsemester.Itcouldevenbethat,forayearinwhichtheorchestralworkismainlyinthesecondsemester,thepat-ternshowninthetablecouldbeusedforSemesterOneandthealternativegivenhereforSemesterTwo,asshownbelow:
theCurrICulum(60CredIts)
less
ons
and
clas
ses
Cham
ber
coac
hing
orch
estr
a
his
tori
cal s
tudi
es
theo
ry/
anal
ysis
aura
l
prof
essi
onal
p
repa
ratio
n
tota
l cre
dits
21 6 9 6 6 6 6
Cred
itsin
Sem
este
rTw
o
9
(standard
unit x 3)
3 6 3 3 3 3
Cred
itsin
Sem
este
rO
ne 12
(standard
unit x 4)
3 3 3 3 3 3
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5.2 thebenefitsofstandardisation
5.2.1 Animportantpointtonoticeintheexampleaboveisthatbyusingastandardcreditvolume,wecanstillsay that the totalcreditvolume for the first threesubjects,PrincipalStudy lesson,chambercoachingandorchestraisconstantat36creditsacrosstheyear.Bysacrificingasystemofcountingthatispreciselysensitive,onanuniquebasis,totheperceivedweightingofeachelement,wegainapowerfulinter-changeabilitywithinthecurriculum.
5.2.2Thefirstwayinwhichthiscanbeusefuliswhenwewishtogivestudentstheabilitytoputelementsofthecurriculumtogetherinwaysthataremoreindividuallytailored.Withoutstandardisation,thiswillleadtosomestudentstakingatotaloffewerthan60creditsandothersmore.Thisisnotonlyuntidybutpotentiallyserious.Togivejusttworeasonswhy:astudentwhohaschosenapatternwithmorethan60creditsmayfailsomeelementbutstillhave60creditsoverallfortheyear,makingitunclearwhethertheyshouldprogresstothenextyearornot;anotherstudentwhonoticesthattheyhavefewercreditsoverallintheiryear’sstudymaystarttoquestionwhetherthis“fair”andwhether,inaclimatewherestudentfeesarerising,theyaregettingthesame“valueformoney”asanotherstudent.
5.2.3Astandardisedunitsizeavoidsalloftheseproblemsandisuseful inasecondway.Standardisa-tionmakesiteasierforcurriculumdesigners,andforstudentschoosingtheirelementsofstudy,toseehowoneelementmaybe“liftedout”ofthecurriculumandanotherofthesamevolumeslottedcleanlyintoitsplace.Inthisway,agroupofstudentsmayeachbetakingslightlydifferentpatternsofstudybutallbefollowingacurriculumwhich,tothesameextent,isfull, but not overloaded.
5.3 creditpointsandlevels
5.3.1 Sofar,ithasbeenassumedthatstudentchoiceisanunequivocallygoodthing.Ofcourse,thishastobetemperedbythenotionthateachstudent’spatternoflearningmustbewell-balancedandpro-
gressive.Wehavealreadyseenhowaspectsofthecurriculumneedtoberegardedasformingacoreforeverystudent(4.5).Wehavealsoseenhowthereneedstobesomecontrolovertheorderinwhichastudenttakeselementsofthecurriculumandanassurancethat,inenteringaparticularcourseofstudy,theyhavethenecessarypriorexperiencetobeginworkingattheappropriatelevel.Thisisaddressedbytheprincipleofpre-requisites(4.4.3).Althoughcreditpointsthemselvesonlyaddressthevolumeofstudy,notitslevel,credit–pointsystems,thatcombinecredit-pointswithaqualifica-tionsframework,canbeofassistanceherebecausetheyaddtotheissueofvolumethatofLevel.Byintroducingsomekindofladderorframeworkagainstwhichthekeyqualificationsaremapped,suchsystemsnotonlyallowcomparisonsofleveltobemadeattheendofparticularcycles,buttheyoftenprovideanumberofintermediatelevelswithinagivenqualification,especiallywithinthefirstcycleofhighereducationstudythatlastsforaminimumofthreeyears.
28 29
5.3.2Manycredit-pointsystemsmapthefirstcycleacrossthreeoftheirlevels.Howtheselevelsarede-finedvariesinthedetailbutacommonideaisthattheycorrespondtodifferenttypesoflearning,movingincreasinglytowardsautonomy,fluencyandtheabilitytohandlecomplexity.Atypicalpatternwouldbesomethinglikethefollowing:
First-cycle level type of learning
3Thestudentsynthesisestheskillsfacts,concepts,etc,applyingtheminanintegratedmannerwithinlarger,
longer or more complex learning situations
2 Thestudentassimilatestheseskills,facts,concepts,etcandgainsfluencyinusingthem
1 Thestudentacquiresskills,facts,concepts,etc
Referringbackto4.4.2,itwillbeseenthattheintermediatemilestonessuggestedaspointsofref-erenceonthewaytotheachievingoftheoverallLearningOutcomeofskillsinartisticexpressioncorrespondbroadlywiththesetypesoflearning.
5.3.3Athree-Levelsystemmapsveryconvenientlyontoathree-Yearfirstcycle,ofcourse,anditiseasytoimaginethat,insuchapattern,YearandLevelareessentiallydifferentwaysofexpressingexactlythesameconcept.However,itisimportanttorememberthat,althoughLevelandYearofstudydooftencorrespondtooneanother,theyarenotentirelythesameandneednotinvariablymapdirectlyontooneanother.Oncetheyarementallyseparated,itbecomespossibletoseehow,forexample,astudentwhodecidesinhisorherfinalyearthatitwouldbehelpfuliftheylearnedsomeofthebasicsofMusicTechnologymight,ifthecurriculumstructureallowed,takeanappropriatecourseofstudyatLevel1alongsideotherstudiesthataremostlyatLevel3.
5.3.4HavingonlythreeLevelsmightseemtopresentaproblemwhenafour-yearpatternoffirst-cycleprogrammesisusedbut,inpractice,itneednotbeandcanactuallygivebenefitsintermsofcur-riculumdesign.Afour-yearprogramme,setagainstthreelearningLevels,increasesthescopeforlaterbroadeningofastudent’sknowledgeandexperiencealongthelinesoftheMusicTechnologyexampleabove.ItcanalsoallowastudenttoextendsomeoftheirLevel2learningintoathirdyearorspreadsomeoftheirLevel3learningacrossthethirdandfourthyears.
a four-year first
cycle
type of learning
year 4 Thestudentusuallytakesmainlylevel 3units
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year 3Thestudentusuallytakesamixturesoflevel 2 and 3unitsbutmaytakeoneortwounitsnotcoveredinthe
previoustwoyears,startingafreshatLevel1
year 2Thestudentusuallytakesmainlyunitsatlevel 2.SomeareasnotcoveredinYearOnemaybestartedafreshat
level1.Whereastudentisalreadyadvancedinaparticulararea,someLevel3workmaybepossible
year 1 Thestudentusuallytakesunitsatlevel 1only
5.4 creditpoints,optionsandmanagingthecostofprovision
5.4.1 Thislatterpointcanbehelpfulwhenitcomestotryingtodesignarichcurriculumthatisneverthe-lessaffordable.If,say,aLevel3optionalunitisofferedinamannerthatmeansitmightbetakenbyamixtureofstudentsfromthefinaltwoyears(advanced2nd-yearwith3rd-yearstudentsinathree-yearpatternand,especially,3rd-and4th-yearstudentsinafour-yearone)thelikelihoodofitsoperatingwithaneconomicallyviablegroupsizeisincreased.Inthiscontext,itisimportantforinsti-tutionsofferingchoicewithinthecurriculumtosetlimitsaroundtheminimumgroupsizesatwhichcertainoptionsmayruninagivenyear.Forexample,aninstitutionmightdecidethataparticularoptionmayonlyruniffivestudentsselectit.Clearly,thechancesofthisnumberbeingreachedareeffectivelydoubledifstudentsfromtwoyearsmaystudytogetheronthisoption.And,thinkingofthistheotherwayaround,astudentpotentiallyhasasecondchancetotakeagivenoptionifitdoesnotruninoneyear.
5.4.2Aswellasminimumgroupsizes,institutionsmayneedtosetmaximumsizesincertainareas.Thismightsimplybeamatterofpractical issues,suchashowmanywork-stationsareavailable inateachingroomforaMusicTechnologyclass,oritmaybeconnectedtoamoreabstractsenseofhowthedynamicofthelearninggroupmayceasetobeeffectivebeyondacertainsize.Ineithercase,asimpleformulacandeterminenotjustwhetheranoptionshouldrunatallbutalsothepointatwhichoneormoreadditionalclasseswouldneedtobesetup.Takingtheexamplegivenaboveofafive-studentminimum,thepatternmightbeextendedasfollows:
Doesnotrun 1group 2groups 3groups
1-4students
5-9students
10-14students
15–19students
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5.4.3Inasystemsuchasthatdescribedhere,thenumberofoptionsadvertisedeachyearmaybeexten-sive.Studentswillneedtoindicatearangeofchoices,sothateveniftheirfirstchoicedoesnotrun,theirsecondorthirdchoiceshouldstandagoodchanceofbeingmet(and,asalreadyindicated,theymightbeabletotaketheirfirstchoicethefollowingyear).Onceallthechoiceshavebeencollatedandthedecisionstakenaboutwhichoptionsshouldrun,theactualnumberoflessonsandclassesneedingtobearrangedfor theyearwillprobablybeconsiderablysmaller thanthe“menu”fromwhichthestudentschosebutitwillalsohavebeensubstantiallyshapedbytheirchoice.
5.4.4Overtime,optionsthatproveconsistentlyunpopularmaybedroppedfromthelistofthoseadver-tised.Conversely,newoptionsmaybeintroducedovertimebyfirstbeingdevelopedinprinciple,thenadvertisedand,ifselectedbysufficientstudents,incorporatedintothecurriculum.Suchaprocessismademuchmorestraightforwardlogisticallywhenusingastandardisedunitsizesince,asindicatedabove,standardisationpermitsoneelementtobeliftedoutandanotherofthesamevolumetobeslottedcleanlyintoitsplace.
5.4.5Theyear-by-yearprocessofevolution,whereby“weaker”unitsfallbythewaysideand“stronger”onestaketheirplacebeginstoleadusintotherealmsofcurriculumdevelopmentand,therefore,bringsustothetopicofthenextchapter.
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6 revIewIngandupdatIngadesIgnedCurrICulum– CurrICulumdevelopment
6.1 design,approvalandreview
6.1.1 Whendesigningacurriculum,asopposedtosimplylettingonegrow,thedesignprocessitselfwillprobablyinvolvesomekindofcriticalreviewoftheexistingpatternofteachingtofindoutwhichele-mentsworkwellandwhichmightbenefitfromchange.Suchareviewwillbestrengthenedifthepeoplegivingtheanswersarenotjusttheteachersofeachelementofthecurriculumbutalsothestudents,formerstudents,peopleinpositionsintheprofessionwheretheyareregularlylookingfornewly-qualifiedconservatoiregraduates(andthereforeknowwhatqualitiestheyarelookingfor)etc.Itmayalsobehelpfultodosomefact-findingaboutthewaysthatotherconservatoiresorganisetheircurricula–almosteveryinstitutionwillhavesomethinginitscurriculumthatitdoesinawayworthimitating.
6.1.2 Basedonallofthisinformation,thecurriculumdecideduponwillthenbedesignedanditsdesigndocumented.Nowadays,itisrecommended,andinsomesystemscompulsory,toputtheproposedcurriculumthroughsomeprocessofformalapprovalbeforeitruns.Thisiswherecurriculumdesigninteractswithqualityassurance,whichisthesubjectofanothercompaniontothishandbook,“inter-nal Quality assurance in higher music education”8.
6.1.3 Whenanewly-designedcurriculumisapproved,approvalisnormallygivenforacertainnumberofyears–usuallybetweenfiveandten-withtheexpectationthatareviewcomparableinscaletotheonethatledtothedesignitselfwilltakeplaceattheendofthisperiod.Thisprocessofperiodic reviewisimportantbecauseitre-imposesthedisciplineofthinkingholisticallyfromtimetotimeaboutthecurriculum,howithasevolvedoveranumberofyearsandhowtheneedsoftheprofessionmayalsohaveevolved,notnecessarilyinidenticalways,duringthesameperiod.Decidingthatacurriculumwhichwasdesignedandimplementedfiveormoreyearspreviouslynowneedssomefundamentalchangesdoesnotnecessarilymeanthattheoriginaldesignersgotitwrong;itsimplymeansthat,inanewsituation,anothermodelmightworkbetter.
6.1.4 Thereviewprocessneednotalwaysleadtoradicalrevision,ofcourse.Sometimes,ateammaylookatthecurriculumanddecidethat,apartfromafewminoradjustments,itisstillfitforpurpose.Thekeythingisthatthescopeofthereviewshouldbethorough,andpeople’smindsopentothepossibil-ityofchange.Aswehaveseeninthelastchapter,acreditstructurethatmakesitstraightforwardforelementsofthecurriculumtobeliftedoutandothersputintheirplacewithoutdestroyingthewholecanmakethekindofchangethatmaybecontemplatedatatimeofperiodicreviewseemamuchlessthreateningexercisethanitmightotherwise.
8 Thishandbookcanbefoundatwww.bologna-and-music.org/internalqa.
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6.2 learningoutcomesandreview
6.2.1 WithacurriculumthathasbeendesignedusingLearningOutcomes,theoutcomesthemselvesaretheobviousplacetostartthereviewprocess.InstitutionswillwanttoholdeachLearningOutcomeupforscrutinyandtoaskthemselveswhethereachOutcomeindividually,andthewholelistofOut-comesincombination,stillcorrespondtotheskillstheywouldwishtheirgraduatestopossess.Thequestionwillneedtobeputinanumberofways:
• IsthisparticularLearningOutcomestillrelevantanddesirableforgraduatingmusicianscom-pletingtheirstudiesnowand,asfarasonecanpredict,forthenextfive,ormore,years?
• DoestheoverallpatternofLearningOutcomesadduptoadescriptionofthekindofcomplete,well-roundedgraduatingmusicianthatwearehopingtoproducenow,andforthenextfiveormoreyears?
• And,intermsofthekindofmusicianwearehopingtoproduce,hasourowninstitutionalmissionchangedoverthepastfiveyears–forexample,intermsofthemusicalstylesandgenresthatwefeelitisimportanttocover?
• ArethereanyLearningOutcomesnotcurrentlyintheoverallpatternthatoughtnowtobeadd-ed?
• Ifso,andifthenumberofLearningOutcomesisstartingtobeunwieldy,arethereanythat,whilestillrelevantanddesirable,canperhapssafelybeomitted?
6.2.2OncetheLearningOutcomeshavebeenreviewed,andperhapsmodified, theseriesofquestionslistedin3.3.1needstobeposedonceagainandanychangesthatappeardesirableasaresultin-corporated.EvenifitisdecidednottochangeoraddtotheLearningOutcomes,itisstillimportanttoaskthequestionsaboutlessonsandclasses.Changes,developmentsandtheinfluxofnewideasmaymeanthattheanswerstothequestionsthatemergedfiveyearspreviouslymaynotnowcomeoutentirelyinthesamemanner.
6.2.3 Initialapprovalandperiodicreviewarethemajorlandmarksinthelifehistoryofanycurriculum.However,itisimportantthatacurriculumshouldbeallowedtodevelopascontinuouslyaspossible–again,providedthatthechangesinvolvedinthisdonotcompromisetheoverallstructureorinstilasenseofperpetualfluxanduncertaintyinthemindsofteachersandstudents.Withthisinmind,itisagoodgeneralprincipletoobservethatanychangeintroducedshouldbeallowedtorunforatleasttwoacademicyears.Newelementsarealmostalwaysunpopularwithsomegroupssimplybecausetheyarenew.Bythetimetheycomearoundasecondtime,theyaremorelikelytobejudgedontheirmerits,ratherthanbytheirunfamiliarity(itcanoftenbeinterestingtoobservehowaninnovationthatwasmetwithwidespreadscepticismatitsintroductioncan,afteronlyafewyears,becometheorthodoxythatnobodycouldimaginebeingchanged!).
6.3 ongoingdevelopmentthroughannualmonitoring
6.3.1 Mostof thechangesthatan institutionmightwantto introduceonayear-by-yearbasisbetweenreviewswilltendtobeatthelevelofoperationaldetail.Forexample,acourseofstudy,asoriginallydesigned,mighthavebeengivenapatternofassessmentwhichturnsout,inpractice,tofeeloverlyheavytothestudentsanddifficulttohandleswiftlyandeffectivelybytheteachers.Thiskindofover-zealousdesign isquitecommonand,althoughthoseleadingcurriculumdesignexercisesshouldbeawareofitandtrytominimiseit,intheend,onlytheexperienceofrunningthecourseisgoingtoprovewhatworksbest.Again,itisimportantnottoleaptochangesomethingbecauseonegroupofstudentsfindsituncongenial;itissituationswhereapatternemergesthatshouldpromptustodecidethatchangeisrequired.
6.3.2Tohelpachievethisbalancebetweencontinuallylookingforwaysto improvethecurriculumandavoidingperpetualchangeanduncertainty,theprocessofannualmonitoringcanbeveryhelpful.Thisis,insomewayslikeascaled-downversionofperiodicreview.It,too,involvesgatheringfeed-backbut this isusually internal, fromstudentsandstaff.Theonekeyexternal ingredientcomeswhereasystemofExternalExaminersisused.Especiallywhenthistakestheformofoneormorein-dividualsinvitedtoattendpracticalassessmentsandreviewwrittenassessmentsandthenproduceareportonwhattheyhaveobserved,thisprovidesanextremelyusefulperspectivetocomplementtheinternalone.
6.3.3Feedbackgatheredannuallywillproduceavarietyofsuggestions,rangingfromthesmallandeasilyimplemented to themajorandpotentially far-reaching.Correspondingly, thestraightforwardanduncontroversialrecommendationscan,andshould,beacteduponswiftly.Othersmaybenotedandputintoalistforconsiderationatthenextperiodicreview.Thisensuresthatmajorupheavalwithinthecurriculumbetweenperiodicreviewsiskepttoaminimum.Ifthecurriculumhasgonethroughathoroughdesignprocessatitsoriginalinception,itisunlikelythatanissueshouldarisethatisatoncesomajorastoinvolvecomprehensivere-designandsourgentastobedangeroustodelaytothenextperiodicreview.
6.4 continuousenhancement–thedevelopmentalphilosophy
6.4.1 Curriculumdevelopmentdependsuponanattitudeamongteachersthatrecognisesthat there isprobablynoteaching,howevergood,thatcannotstillbeimprovedinsomeway.Althoughthiscouldperhapsbeseenasachallengetoaspectsofthetraditionalviewoftheconservatoireteacheras“guru”andcustodianofwisdomhandeddownfromearlierteachers,itisnotintendedtobe.Con-stantlylookingforimprovementisitselfasignofexcellence,ratherthananindicationofinadequacy.Manyofthereveredteachersofthepastacquiredtheirgreatreputationspreciselybecausetheywererelentlesssearchersafterimprovement.Moreover,theirmostsuccessfulstudents,someofwhomsucceededthemasillustriousteachers,succeededpreciselybecausetheywereabletodomorethan
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simplytakeinandreproducewithnopersonalvariationordevelopment,theestablishedwisdomoftheirteachers.Whereateacherhasanexplicit“method”ofteaching,itwillusuallybeasynthesisofearlyinfluencesadaptedandrefinedinthelightofpersonalexperience–inotherwords,theresultofapersonalisedandinformalversionofcurriculumdevelopment.
6.4.2Ifacceptedasaninstitution-wideapproach,curriculumdevelopmentensuresthatteachersseeitaspartoftheirprofessionalresponsibilitytocontinuetodevelopandretainacuriosityfornewideasandapproaches.Thismaymean,inturn,thattheyfeelencouragedthemselves,orareencouragedbyothers,totalkmoretocolleagues,bothwithintheinstitutionandoutside.Forhourly-paidpart-timestaff,thismayinvolveallocatingresourcestoallowsuchmeetingstohappen.Assuch,itisaprocesstowhichtheinstitutionasawholealsohastobecommitted.
6.4.3Intermsoftheexternalaspectofthisdialogue,thisiswheretheEuropeandimensioncanplayanes-peciallybeneficialrole.Therecanbeatendencytothinkofmobilityfirstintermsofstudentsandonlysecondarilyintermsofstaff.However,thepositiveimpactuponstaffofbeinginvolvedinexchangeschemescanbeverystrikingandlong-lastingwithintheinstitution.TherichnessanddiversityofeducationaltraditionswithinthecountriesandregionsofEuropeandtherelativeeaseoftravellingfromoneEuropeancountrytoanotherrepresentadvantagesforEuropeaninstitutions.Moreover,theavailabilityofEuropeanfundingtosupportexchangesofthiskindmeansthat,inthisareaatleast,thecommitmentofresourcerequiredbyindividualinstitutionscanbesignificantlyreduced.
6.5 thedevelopmentalapproachtomanagingthecostofprovision
6.5.1 As the previous paragraphs imply, curriculum development requires a commitment of resource.However,itcanalsoleadtoresourcesbeingsaved.Acultureinwhichcurriculumdevelopmentisthenormismorelikelytoleadtoteachersseeinghowelementsofthecurriculumcanbedeliveredmoreefficiently,andhencemoreeconomically.Forexample,itmightemergethattwopreviouslyseparateelementsofthecurriculumcouldbedeliveredinanintegratedmanner.Ifthisisseentoleadtoabetterandquickerunderstandingonthepartofstudents,itwillbewelcomed.But,asasecondarybenefit,itmayalsoreducetheoveralltimeandcostinvolved,whetherbecausethelearningprocesscanbecoveredinfewerlessonsoverallorbecauseintegratingtheelementsalsomeansintegratingtheirassessment,withanreduction,therefore,inthenumberofassessmentsastudentmustunder-take.Aswellassavingresources,suchadevelopmentcanhelptoensurethatthestudent’soverallpatternofstudy,whichincludestheirassessment,isfull, but not over-loaded.
6.5.2Fromtimetotime,mostconservatoiresarelikelytoencountercircumstanceswheretheyneedtomakemoresignificanteconomiesacrossthecurriculum,asopposedtotheseminorandisolatedefficiencygains.Atsuchtimes,itisespeciallyimportantthatthepotentialusefulnessofcurriculumdevelopmentasatoolforresourcesavingsbekeptinmind.Justasitcanhelptoimproveprovisionfornoextracostandmaintainprovisionwithsavings,itcanensurethateducationaldamageinflicted
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ifresourcesareseverelycutcanbekepttoaminimum.Aculturebasedonclearprinciplesofcur-riculumdesignandcontinuousdevelopmentcanalsoenableaninstitutiontorespondquickly,andinthemostbeneficialareas,ifandwhenfinancialcircumstancesthenimprove.
6.5.3Thekindsofcontinuousmonitoringdescribedabove,andtheinstillingofanapproachgearedtothepossibilitythatthereisalwaysapotentiallybetterwayofdoingthings,shouldprovidemuchoftheevidenceneededto judgetheeffectivenessoftheLearningOutcomesattheirperiodicreview.Bythinkingholisticallyofthekindofmusicianwearehopingtohelpdevelopandworkingfromthatvi-sion,expressedinLearningOutcomes,tothecurriculumthatwilldeliverthisindividual,wearemorelikelytoremainopentothepossibilityofchangeandthereforetoensurethatourcurriculacontinuetodevelop.
6.6 curriculumreviewandexternalqualityassurance
6.6.1 In6.1,itwaspointedoutthatformalapprovalforaprogramme,andasimilarlyformalperiodicre-viewofallprogrammes,isnowadaysrecommendedand,insomesystems,compulsory.Whereaninstitutionisauthorisedtoconductitsowninternalapprovalprocesses(forexample,inthecaseofUKuniversitiesgrantedtheirownRoyalCharter)externalqualityassurancewillconsistofperiodicmonitoringofthoseprocessestoensurethattheyarerobustinprincipleandhavebeencorrectlyoperatedinpractice.Inothercases,approvalisitselfgrantedthroughsomeexternalagencywhichthereforeconductstheapprovalandreviewexercisesitself.
6.6.2Ineitherofthecasesdescribedabove,someformofexternalqualityassuranceisthereforebeingappliedtoensurethattheinstitutionisfulfillingtherequirementsplacedonit.Wheretheexternaldimensiontakestheformofperiodicmonitoring,itusuallyinvolvesseparatevisits,generallyonafive-to-ten-yearcycle,atwhichdocumentationfromtheapprovalandrevieweventsthathavetakenplacesincethelastvisitisscrutinisedandtherigouroftheprocessesinvolvedevaluated.
6.6.3Whetheroneisdealingwithasystemofexternalmonitoringorfull-scaleinvolvementinapprovalandreviewprocesses,thevalueofhavingagreedandwidely-sharedLearningOutcomesisconsider-able.LearningOutcomesprovidetheagencyconductingtheexternalqualityassurancewithasetofbenchmarksthattheycanuseasmeasuringtools.Fromtheinstitution’spointofview,iftheLearn-ingOutcomeshavebeendevelopedamongthecommunityofinstitutionsworkinginthisdiscipline,theyshouldprovidesomereassurancethatthoseconductingtheexternalreviewwillbelookingforthingsthatthoseinthedisciplineregardasimportant.Anexampleofhowsubject-specificlearningoutcomescanbeusedinexternalreviewscanbefoundintheAECFrameworkDocument“QualityAssuranceandAccreditationinHigherMusicEducation:Characteristics,CriteriaandProcedures”9,whichaddressesexternalqualityassuranceandaccreditationprocessinmusicinmoredetail.
9 ThisFrameworkDocumentcanbefoundatwww.bologna-and-music.org/accreditation.
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6.6.4Itmightbethoughtthatthepreviousparagraphimpliesthataninstitutionisbest-advisedtosticktoanydiscipline-wideLearningOutcomesthatmaybeavailableandnotbranchoutonitsownatall. This, of course, would make curricula at different institutions tend to become very homoge-neousand,overtime,mightdestroythediversitythat isoneofthestrengthsofEuropeanhighereducation.Therealityisnotlikethat–or,atleast,itshouldnotbe.AsharedsetofLearningOut-comesenablesaninstitutiontogoalongwiththesewhereitfindsitappropriatetodoso,butalsotodevelopclearargumentsfordivergencewhereitfeelsthatitsownmissionrequiresthis.Oneofthefeaturesofsharedlearningoutcomesisthattheyneedtobe“ecumenical”,andinclusive.Thiscanmakethemrathergeneralised,andevenbland.ItisgoodthataninstitutionshouldfeelabletoconstructitsownsharperandmorespecificLearningOutcomes,reflectingitsparticularstrengths,whilstpreservingacertaindegreeofreferencetothesharedoutcomes.
6.6.5Amatureandwell-operatedexternalqualityassurancesystemwilllistentotheargumentsthataninstitutionputsforwardastowhyithasinflectedsharedLearningOutcomestoitsownparticularsituationand, if it findsthemconvincing,willnotpenalisean institutionwhichhasthe justifiablestrengthofconvictiontobedistinctive.Thisisespeciallyimportantastherangeofmusicsaddressedbyconservatoiresgrowsthroughrecognitionbeinggiventotheimportanceofpopulargenres,tech-nology-basedmusicandmusicfromothertraditionsthanthatofWesternEuropeanArtMusic.
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7 ConClusIon
7.1 returningtofirstprinciples
ThishandbookhasattemptedtoshowhowLearningOutcomes,CreditPointsandthecyclesofan-nualmonitoringandperiodicreviewcanhelptodeliveracurriculumthatstartsout,andcontinuestobe,characterisedbythequalitieslistedin2.4:
• Well-balanced:thevariouscomponentsareeachgiventheirdifferentweight,asappropriate,butnoelementisgivenmorethanitsfairshare
• Full, but not overloaded:deliverablewithintheresourcesavailable-anover-fullcurriculumwill,inanycase,leadtostudentschoosingwhichelementstheywillattendandwhichtheywillmiss,sincetheycan’tattendeverything.Thewasteinsuchasituationisobvious
• Flexible:adaptabletothedifferentneedsofdifferentstudents;responsivetochangingprioritiesandalerttolikelyfuturerequirementsoftheprofession
• Progressive:encouragingstudentstogrowanddevelopastheypassthroughtheprogramme,oftenbystartingwithastructuredandlargelycompulsorypatternofstudiesandmovingtooneinwhichchoiceplaysagreaterpart
• Student-centred:recognisingthat,foreachstudent,thecurriculumismorethansimplythepat-ternoflessonsandclassesthattheinstitutionoffers–itisthesumtotalofeverythingthestudentislearningandabsorbingduringhisorhertimeattheconservatoire
• Focussed on learning:selectingteachingmethodsandmethodsofassessmentonthebasisofhowwelltheyencouragelearningandthendemonstratethatithasbeenachieved
Inconcluding,Ishouldliketosayafewmorewordsaboutwhatismeantby student-centred learningandabouttheparticularimplicationsofthisforconservatoire-styleteaching.
7.2 student-centredness:traditionsandideals
7.2.1 Inonesense, theconservatoire teaching traditionhasalwaysbeenstudent-centred in thatat itsheartliestheteachingmodelofthe1-to-1lesson.Evenwhereapracticalteacherworkswithaclassformat,thisisstillusuallybasedupontheprinciplethatheorsheinteractswithonestudentwhileotherslookon,learningvicariouslyuntilitistheirturntobethefocusofindividualattentionfromtheteacher.Since,atanygivenmoment,oneteacheristhereforeinteractingwithonestudent,itisinevitablethatthegroundcoveredinthelessonshouldbeinfluencedbythematerialthestudenthasbroughttothelessonandbythestrengthsandweaknessesofthatparticularstudent.
7.2.2 However,ascanbeseenaboveinthesupplementarysentenceaboutstudent-centredlearning,thereismoretobeunderstoodinthisideathanjusttheelementofindividualtailoringthatcomesnaturallythroughthe1-to-1lesson.Inpart,itinvolvesafundamentalconceptualshiftfromteachingtolearningandagreaterconcentrationupontheideathatthestudentisanactiveagent,seekingoutknowledge,
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skills,etc.wherevertheyaretobefound,ratherthanthepassiverecipientofabodyofteachingthatothershavedecidedisinhisorherbestinterests.Inthisrespect,student-centrednessandafocusuponlearninggocloselytogether,aswasseenintheinitialdiscussionofLearningOutcomesin3.2.
7.2.3 Ofcourse,noteverystudenthasaclearideaofwhattheyneedtolearn–andsomewhodohaveclearideasarenotalwaysrightaboutthis!Especiallyintheearlieryearsoftheprogramme,studentsgen-erallybenefitfromreceivingacarefully-plannedpatternoflessonsandclassesdrawnupbythosewhodeliverthem.Whatisimportantisthattheteachersoftheselessonsandclassesshouldgivethoughttohow,inthecourseoftheirteachingandalongsidetheskillsandknowledgetheyaregivingthestudents,theyarealsopreparingthemforgreaterindependenceintheirsubsequentlearning.
7.2.4Thisiswherethe1-to-1lesson,althoughtailoredtotheindividualstudent,cansometimesbelessthantrulystudent-centred.Atitsworst,the1-to-1teachingsituationcansimplyencouragethestu-dent’spassivedependencyontheteacher–theveryoppositeoftruestudent-centredness;atitsbest,though,itcanpromoteasearchingdialoguebetweenteacherandstudent,thecharacterofwhichprogressivelyandinstinctivelychangesasthestudent’sexperienceandskillgrow.Where,initially,therolesofteacherandstudentmaybequitedistinctandtheteacher’scontributionsubstantiallydirective,ideally,thelessonswillgraduallyturnmoreintosharedjourneysofexploration,inwhichthestudentwillcontinuetotakecuesandsuggestionsfromtheteacherbutwillincreasinglyhaveinsightsandcounter-suggestionstocontributeinreturn.
7.2.5Teacherswhoencouragethismetamorphosis–andmanydo–generateateachingandlearningmodelwhichisorganic,developmental,optimisticallyopen-endedandgenuinelystudent-centred.Thestudentmaygrowindifferentdirectionsfromthosetakenbyhisorherteacherandmayevencomeintimetoeclipsethem.Whenthishappens,itissurelytobewelcomed-inthatthealterna-tivewouldbeamodelwhereeachstudentcouldonlybeaslightlyimperfectfacsimileofhisorherteacherandtheresult,overtime,wouldbediminution,ratherthandevelopment.
7.3 finalremarks
7.3.1 Likeanydocumentdealingwithaspecialistsubject,thishandbookcontainswordsandphrasesthathaveaspecialmeaning–inthiscase,withinthelanguageofhighereducation.Withmanyofthese,explanationsoftheirmeaninghavebeengivenalongsidetheirintroductionduringthetext.However,thereadermayfindithelpfultorefertothelargerGlossaryofsuchtermsthathasbeenpreparedseparatelyaspartofthePolifoniaproject.ThisGlossarymaybefoundatwww.bologna-and-music.org/glossary
7.3.2 Throughoutthishandbook,wehaveseenprinciplesandpracticesofcurriculumdesignanddevelop-mentthatareintendedtoencouragestudent-centredlearning.Perhapsitisappropriatetofinishbysayingthat,ideally,eachstudentshouldsimilarly,butonanindividualbasis,reflectonwhatkindof
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graduatingmusiciantheywishtobe(asitwere,theirpersonallearningoutcomes)andwhichlessonsandclassestheyfeelwillbesthelpthemtogetthere(theirpersonalcurriculum).
7.3.3Acurriculumdesignedaccording to theprinciplesdescribedaboveshouldhave theeffectofen-couragingjustthiselementofreflection,planningandchoice.Indeed,itisanincreasinglycommonfeatureoftoday’sdesignedandmorefully-documentedprogrammesthattheyshould involvethestudentproducingsomekindofwrittenStudyPlan.Providedthatthesearekeptsimple,theycanbeasusefulandrelevantformusicstudentsasforthoseinotherdisciplines.Forthestudent,asfortheinstitution,itcanbegenuinelyhelpfulforlearningtobeconsciouslyplannedandthen,whereverappropriate,developedthroughreflectionandreview.
Association Européenne des Conservatoires,Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC)PO Box 805 NL-3500AV Utrecht The Netherlands
Tel +31.302361242 Fax +31.302361290Email [email protected] Website www.aecinfo.org
