DAR:E Diversity in Artistic Research: Exposition

Arising from 10-months of work by colleagues in the faculty research series on “A/r/tography as an Arts-Based and Creative Research Methodology” with Professor Rose Martin (Professor of Arts Education, Dance and Multiculturalism, Norwegian University of Science and Technology), DAR:E was a three-day exposition to dive into curiosities as artists, researchers, and teachers.

The performative presentations involved a diverse range of products including performative talks, dialogues with epistemic objects, video creation, and graphic essays.

Reverberations of being / knowing / doing were prepared by Sharon Choo, Kimberly Shen, Noor Iskandar, Noor Effendy (Fine Art); Daniel Fong, Nellie Seng, Alicia de Silva (Music); Ethel Chong (Arts Management); Chew Han Lim (Fashion); and Shin Jung Hoon (3D Design).

Joining the exposition as panel discussants were Gry Ulrichssen (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Dr Helen Kara (Independent researcher and researcher), Dr Susanna Hast (Visiting Fellow, UniArts Helsinki) and Professor Rose Martin (Norwegian University of Science and Technology). The series focused on unpacking the reflective, reflexive, recursive and responsive acts that form the practice of a/r/tography, in relation to individuals’ (or small collectives) own research projects:

Nov

2020 }

Exploring A/R/Tography

Jan

2021 }

Planning A/R/Tography In Action

Feb

2021 Developing an Individual/ Small Group A/R/Tographic Exploration

}

Mar 2021 } Personalising A/R/Tographic Practices

May 2021 } A/R/Tographic Explorations

Aug 2021 } Presentation of A/R/Tographic Explorations

Ch 4 Our Projects

Research on Narratives in Community Engagement through Service Learning pg 20 Research in Creative Engagements on Learning Communities pg 26 Action Research Chronicles 2021 Showcase pg 31

Project 1

Research on Narratives in Community Engagement through Service Learning

Background

• This research captures the voices of six student musicians and one artist-educator in their engagement with an indigenous community in Sabah. It seeks to understand how student professionals in the arts benefit from learning experiences outside of studio spaces.

• The findings in this case study capture specific skills that tertiary music students learnt through a regional community outreach programmes with Jesselton Philharmonic

Orchestra (JPO), Sabah. August 2018 to August 2019

• Foo Say Ming (Head, String Studies)

• Rebecca Kan (Vice-Dean, Pedagogy and

Research Unit)

• Tan Jeng Suan (Student Research

Assistant, Pedagogy and Research Unit) • Koh Cheng Ya (Violin),

Saenghaengfah Tosakul (Violin),

Yap Qin (Violin), Chen Tian (Violin)

• Thantakorn Lakanasirorat (Viola)

• Tan Xiao En (Cello)

Overview

Service learning is a form of experiential education that integrates meaningful community service into the curriculum. Through comparative studies in experiential education, this study uncovers how service learning effectively takes place at NAFA’s School of Music (Bringle & Hatcher, 1995; Preradović, 2015). Service learning fosters altruism, civic virtue, conscientiousness, courtesy and sportsmanship. Service learning teaches participants the real transfer of learning from classroom theoretical knowledge to real-life practice (Myers, 2020). Working within a service learning paradigm allows us to see how the multiple stakeholders are “valuable resources for their communities” (Burton & Reynolds, 2009, p. 18).

Such mutual partnerships have also “encouraged the expansion of notions of viable field placement settings, reflective practice, and habits of inquiry” (Burton & Reynolds, 2009, p. 30).

Kaye’s (2004) service-learning model of investigation, preparation, action, reflection and demonstration is operationalized through a project at the School of Music.

The Jesselton Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) is a community orchestra based at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Founded in April 2007, the JPO aims to provide outreach and training initiatives to more than 200 youths in underserved communities throughout Malaysia and the ASEAN region.

As part of JPO’s outreach program, an Annual Gala Concert was organised for students from schools, orphanages and halfway houses in Sabah. NAFA students were invited to Kota Kinabalu to coach, rehearse and to co-stage a Celebration Gala Concert for the program’s sponsors, donors and the general public. International performers were also involved in solo and operatic highlights at the Classical concert. The Finale of the programme culminated in participants performing a medley of famous international and local Malaysian tunes, under the direction of Maestro Yap Ling.

As part of the Festival preparation, NAFA students were involved in coaching indigenous young musicians from various schools, to prepare them for the final event. Students were also given the opportunity to mentor, and facilitate in operational and logistical matters at the event. They worked not only with the youths, but also with their supervisors, the organising committee of the festival, and members of the board of committee. Additionally, NAFA students staged their own performance in a solo and chamber capacity with the students participating in this programme.

The following questions were posed in this study:

1. What kinds of experiential education does NAFA offer outside of classroom or studio practice in performing arts?

2. What do students gain from the experience of service learning through this project?

Data was collected through student reflections, pre- and post-surveys.

1. Giving to the community

2. Growing in learning

3. Gathering of people

There were mutual gains for both the beneficiary and benefactors. Evidently, service learning participation augments the heart to serve and give back, advocate music to remote areas where people have limited access, and spawn deeper thought about learning through a profession in the arts.

This service-learning project facilitated a greater sense of “giving”. In the student reflections, it is notable that they were thankful for the opportunity to give back to the community. One student saw this project as an opportunity to “reach out to underprivileged individuals”, while another used this opportunity to “bring music to areas where people have no access to music”. It made the students realize that one of their critical responsibilities was to “bring our music to the general public”.

Service learning provided a platform for students to apply theoretical knowledge into real-life situation, specifically in group teaching, teaching children, and improvising. Through this, students were able to realise the potential challenges and learnt to cope with them spontaneously.

Students shared in their reflections that they have gained improvement in different competencies such as “problemsolving skills to overcome problems in teaching at a level suitable for amateurs”. Besides, they also learnt to take ownership of challenges, instead of “sitting there waiting for answers to come”. Not only was this an opportunity for students to overcome their fears such as “stage fright”, it was also useful for them in developing their personal skills such as “communication” and “thinking skills when coaching” the students.

Other growth areas included values such as “patience when speaking” to students, and “confidence when leading the class”.

Gathering is defined by the physical grouping of people, and the building of relationships. This service-learning programme saw a large group of different people from different places coming together as one to make music. Such gatherings built relationships along the way, including “building strong bonds between friends”. It made students realize that “musicians of different [skill] levels can still gather and work together”, suggesting that music is a language that transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries.

Research-Led Recommendations for Consideration

Curriculum Enhance arts-based service-learning projects and provide support for civic engagement

Service learning in the arts lends support to the integration of civic engagement into arts courses. A 2018 report by the US National Education Association revealed that at-risk youth who have access to the arts in or out of school tend to have better academic results, better workforce opportunities, and more civic engagement (Catterall et al., 2018). Research also attests that academic courses and co-curricular service-learning would further engage at-risk youth.

While there are tangible benefits in organizing such projects, colleagues who are interested in initiating or deepening their work with community partners would also require support to do so. With the prevalence of the pandemic, there could be new ways to organize such projects, and provide the necessary support to encourage greater civic engagement.

Foo Say Ming (Head, String Studies) accounts for changes in the landscape following this music project:

“For recommendations Covid-19 and beyond, I would say that JPO’s programme has evolved and sprouted beyond outreach programmes, but also in servicing to the local music community. We would keep abreast with their online activities with regards to the outreach programme, but we would want to reestablish connection with them to see how physically we can be not just of service, but an operational partner in their endeavours, which I hear is expanding beyond Malaysia (to Indonesia), and beyond music (also via medicine and other avenues) to bring basic living standards up in rural areas in Sabah.”

Foo Say Ming

Head of Strings, School of Music

Learning

Prepare and engage students for more advocacy experiences

Motivating students to recognize arts participation as a civic responsibility should be an important component of higher arts education (Jacoby, 2019). Providing such experiences enable students to deepen advocacy of the arts beyond their intended disciplinary track. Such advocacy experiences not only broaden understanding into industry-current processes, but also influence collective student action in art-making for common good.

Conclusion

This music project provided a unique opportunity to combine professional learning with service learning through the arts. Music students gained valuable teaching and performance experiences while being exposed to a diverse and often underprivileged community of youths. This experience makes us think deeply about the benefits of service learning, and how students generally experience growth in personal skills, civic responsibility and contribution to the community.

Implications for further research include a continued exploration of how a service learning framework can be developed for the arts, and specific areas for growing in professional learning, giving to the community, and gathering of diverse communities to resolve social and cultural challenges in the post-pandemic era.

Findings of this research were presented at the 4th UniTWIN Symposium, International Arts Education Conference, 25-26 May 2021 and NAFA’s Pedagogical Praxis Sharing on 7 June 2021.