Contemporary professional music performance and teaching practices demand the ability to engage in a variety of collaborative settings with a broad range of competencies and skills. According to... Show moreContemporary professional music performance and teaching practices demand the ability to engage in a variety of collaborative settings with a broad range of competencies and skills. According to various studies, offering a wider variety of pedagogical approaches and implementing collaborative learning activities in conservatoire education would be beneficial for students' preparation for their prospective careers. However, collaborative learning has not yet been broadly and widely implemented in conservatories around the world. The aim of this research project was to increase understanding of which collaborative learning approaches already exist, and how implementation of collaborative learning could be supported. Four studies were conducted, including students, teachers, and leaders as stakeholders. Collaborative learning was found to support experiences and feelings of trust, safeness, friendship, and reinforced the development of collaborative and metacognitive skills. Also, learning activities and content of lessons appeared to be suitable for implementation of collaborative learning. A purposeful design of lessons is necessary, including a change to a student-centred learning environment. Yet, aspects of culture and tradition sustaining teacher-centred approaches, were found to hinder the process of implementing collaborative learning. Better connections to professional practice and society require a paradigm shift in teaching and learning in conservatoire education. Show less
The current dissertation presents a review study and three empirical studies, focusing on the understanding of the state of the art of research about PjBL in higher education and the investigation... Show moreThe current dissertation presents a review study and three empirical studies, focusing on the understanding of the state of the art of research about PjBL in higher education and the investigation of the relation between PjBL and student outcomes in the context of Chinese higher education. Insights into the design and the implementation of PjBL curricula and their potential impact on student learning are informative for a broad array of higher education teachers and educational advisors. Show less
In higher education, group learning activities (GLAs) are frequently implemented in online, blended or face-to-face educational contexts. A major problem for the design and implementation... Show more In higher education, group learning activities (GLAs) are frequently implemented in online, blended or face-to-face educational contexts. A major problem for the design and implementation of good quality GLAs that lead to the desired learning outcomes is that many approaches to GLAs have been studied, but with different terminology and with various components of the design of GLAs. The central aim of this thesis was to provide insight into how teachers in higher education can be supported in the design, implementation, and evaluation of GLAs by developing a theoretically and empirically underpinned framework for the design of GLAs. In the first study, the beliefs and practices of teachers in higher education regarding collaborative learning were explored to establish whether there is a need for support in the design and implementation. In the other three studies, a framework was developed for the design, implementation and evaluation of GLAs, its empirical validity was examined and its usefulness for understanding the relation between GLA design and perceived learning outcomes was explored. Show less
