"Blending with purpose" : a multimodal model for music education

Abstract

The use of communication and information technologies has enriched teaching and learning experiences. To enhance the teaching and learning experience in Music Education (ME), the need for the incorporation of online technologies has led to the investigation of the Blending with Purpose Multimodal Model of Picciano. The research approach that guided the understanding of the main research question is a qualitative, single case study in an interpretive/constructivist paradigm. Picciano recommends that teachers and instructional designers use multiple approaches to meet the needs of a wide spectrum of students. The purpose of this case study is to understand teaching and learning in tertiary ME through multimodal learning (also referred to as blended learning) for B. Mus. and BA Mus. undergraduate students at the University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa. South Africa is a multi-cultural country and students from different cultural backgrounds are represented in the ME modules. ME is an elective or fundamental module for full-time undergraduate students who enrol in B. Mus. or BA Mus. courses. The student groups focused on in this thesis are in their first, second or third year of study. These students have different personality types and learning styles and multimodal pedagogical objectives and activities can accommodate this diversity. A literature study was carried out in order to describe the current trends related to multimodal learning and restructuring a music education curriculum in higher education. The goals and objectives of the ME curriculum meet the needs of the music students by the use of: • delivery of content linguistically, through the learning management system (clickUP), paper and media; • social and emotional support in a face-to-face mode; • student cooperation by means of dialectic or questioning activities (e.g. class discussions and using the online discussion boards); • synthesising, evaluating, and assessing learning as objectives (papers, essays, tests, student presentations, PowerPoint presentations, etc.); • content sharing through student collaboration (group problem-solving: group projects and wikis); and • reflection as pedagogical strategy. Data was gathered by conducting open-ended interviews with students. Teaching and learning activities of the ME module at UP were observed to document the integration of the multimodal model of Picciano and students’ online participation documents were collected. The data was organised and categorised with ATLAS.ti 7.1.6 in order to execute a case analysis. Three main themes emerged: The wide spectrum of students, the ME curriculum and Picciano’s Blending with Purpose Multimodal Model. From the findings I have created a teaching and learning model ─ “The diversity of considerations when planning the ME curriculum at UP”. Even though the findings are specific to the ME modules at UP, diverse possibilities exist for the application of the created multimodal model in national and international higher music education.