Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemIntroducing instrumental students to improvisation( 2012)Improvisation has been an integral component of music practice throughout a variety of world musics, such as the Indonesian Gamelan, Japanese Kabuki Theatre, African drumming, Australian Indigenous music, Klezmer music, the Indian Raga, Jazz and Popular music. Instrumental tuition, within the present system of Western Education, on the other hand, tends to emphasise an early and ongoing commitment to the reading of notated music. Some of the literature in the area suggests that the emphasis for instrumental tuition should be concerned with improvisation thus producing opportunities to achieve a more personalised and independent result with music expression. By including improvisation within regular tuition the student instrumentalist could feel more at one with his or her own voice and imagination, rather than attempting to take on the role of reproducing the character and style of another person's notation. This thesis focussed on the development and provision of improvised music activities with high school students from Years 10 and 11. Consideration was given to how these improvised music activities might have impacted not only their improvisational skills but also broader attitudes to music. The study included a specifically designed curriculum emphasising improvisational techniques. It was constructed and implemented over a ten-week period with accompanying interviews, questionnaire and video. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the implementation of this curriculum and how it could assist the learning and teaching of improvisation. The study's performance-ensemble consisted of rhythm and lead instrumentalists where all participants had the opportunity to engage with specific instrumental techniques that assisted the expression of improvisation. Simultaneously, all participants had the liberty of managing the lesson-content with original extemporised melody and composition. The results showed the participants experienced increased confidence with improvisation. The conclusion suggests that improvisation be viewed as an integral component within the teaching and learning of instrumental music.
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ItemTeacher perceptions of using immersive virtual environment (IVE) in a second language class( 2011)This study examines a teacher’s perception on the use of Immersive Virtual Environment (IVE) in a second language class. It is proposed that understanding teacher perception has a significant role in the adoption of any technology. Very little research has been conducted in this area that is specifically aimed at IVE adoption. This paper reveals that even if positive pedagogical outcomes and student experience are realised and acknowledged by the teachers in the use of IVE, the practical and technical difficulties perceived and experienced prior to and during its use eludes its continued adoption in teaching contexts. This study revealed that when using IVE for second language teaching, the affordance of communicating in the language being learnt is vital for second language learning and should be incorporated in the design of an educational IVE tool. Additionally this study revealed that the instant gratification offered by recent technologies like text messaging and social media overcasts the user experience offered by an IVE due to the inherent lack of spontaneity offered in the IVE medium. This is an important consideration during the evaluation of IVE tools. The findings make the case of recognition for time for experimentation and professional development for the teachers if they are to embrace new technologies including IVE. The importance of technical support and building technical confidence in teachers is highlighted in this study. Finally the lack of a comprehensive framework for the integration of IVE is revealed as an impediment for uptake of IVE in formal teaching contexts. As an outcome of this study it is recommended that the already existing Four dimensions framework (de Freitas, 2008) for evaluating IVE be modified to include practical considerations as the Fifth dimension for the selection process and new framework be developed as a guide for teachers with emphasis on the practical considerations to be addressed while using IVE in teaching contexts.
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ItemLearning through simulation: powerful, purposeful and personal( 2011)Simulation has been in use for many years in the education of health professionals. The value of this as an educational pedagogy is under-researched. While there have been some valuable studies, these mostly focus on the technical aspects of simulation. The aim of this research was to examine simulation beyond the development of technical skills, to determine the validity of simulation in the development of higher-order thinking and clinical judgement. Simulation has been in use in one form or another in the development of health care professionals for many years. Until recently simulation was generally seen as an adjunct to the education and training process, and not part of the overall development of the professional. However in more recent times with the reduction in the availability of clinical practicums and the increased demand for these placements, simulation has become a more important part of the educational process. Yet the research into the effectiveness of simulation in the development of the health care professional is currently under researched as discussed above. For this reason it is an area requiring further research. This is a qualitative study involving educators and students from nursing, medicine, paramedicine and the fire brigade. Eighteen educators and eighteen students were interviewed through semistructured interviews. The observations were restricted to the pseudo-authentic workplace and consisted of seven educators, forty-six students from paramedicine and the non-emergency patient transport sectors. A review of curriculum documents was also undertaken to locate and assess the espoused views of the teaching organisation on simulation in the education of their students. The findings were triangulated to provide reliability to the results. This research has shown that simulation is a pedagogy that can assist in the development of higher-order thinking and judgement-making during “hot action”. This study has identified that the development of higher-order thinking and judgement-making through public reflection occurs best in the third phase of a simulation. In conclusion, simulation is a powerful learning and teaching pedagogy, and can be considered as one of the active learning pedagogies. Furthermore, if the simulation is well constructed and executed, it can provide valid experiences for the participants. These experiences can provide for the development of an epistemology of practice with highly developed higher-order thinking and clinical judgement capabilities.