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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.

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.

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

thatarealsochanging,likethoseofhighereducation.Butmostly,Iliketothinkthatitisbecausetheirmindsarestillyoungandflexible.Iwouldalsohopethat,thankstoalearningprocessthatisperhapsmorestudent-centredthanthatexperiencedbytheirteachers,theymayretainsomeoftheircurrentflexibilityandabilitytotakeinthebiggerpicturewhenthey,inturn,becometheteachersofthenextgeneration.Weoweittothemtotrytodesignthecurriculathatwillhelpthatprocesstocomeabout.

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.

2.7 Thisintroductionhasattemptedtosetoutsomeofthebackgroundtocurriculumdesignandwhyithasbecomeaprocessthatneedstobemoreconsciouslyplannedandarticulatedthanpreviously.Thechapterthatfollowscontinuesthissomewhatphilosophicalapproach,suggestingawayofthink-ingthat,inmyopinion,leadstomoreeffectivecurriculumdesign.ChaptersThreetoFivethendealinmorepracticaltermswiththewaysinwhichtheprinciplesadvocatedintheearlierchaptersmaybeputintopractice.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Lessonsand

classes

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

giveninheadlineforminthetable.Noteveryonewillnecessarilyagreewitheveryoneoftheintersec-tionssuggestedhere,buthopefullyatleasttheprinciplewillbeclear:

theCurrICulum

lessons and classesPr

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

• • •

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

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:

learnIngoutComesFortheprogrammeasawhole

Category1

(continuous)

Category2

(consecutive)

Category3

(earlycompletion)

Alessonorclassrunning

throughouttheyearsof

theprogrammeshouldbe

directedtowardshelpingthe

studenttoachievetherel-

evantLearningOutcomesby

theendoftheprogramme.

Todosoitwillneedtoestab-

lishmilestonesofachieve-

mentforeachindividual

year/semester

AlessonorclassinYear4

buildsonYears1,2&3and

setsapassingstandardthat

willmeanthattherelevant

LearningOutcomesfor

theprogrammehavebeen

achieved

buildsonYears1&2and

preparesthestudentforlater

classes

buildsonYear1andprepares

thestudentforlaterclasses

buildsonYear1andsets

apassingstandardthat

willmeanthattherelevant

LearningOutcomesforthe

programmehavealready

beenachieved

classes

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.

Milestone3:

Atthecompletionoftheir third year of studies,studentsshouldbebeginningtodeveloptheirown

artisticintentionsintocreativeconceptionsspanningentireworksandshouldhavedevelopedthe

necessaryskillstointegratetechnicalandimaginativeaspectsalmostseamlessly.

Milestone2:

Atthecompletionoftheirsecond year of studies,studentsshouldbeabletoformulatetheirown

artisticintentionsandshouldhavedevelopedthenecessaryskillstoimplementthese,orrespond

imaginativelytosuggestionsfromtheirteacher,withfluencyandtechnicalsecurity.

Milestone1:

Atthecompletionoftheirfirst year of studies,studentsshouldhavedevelopedsufficienttechnical

skillsandsecuritytobeabletoconcentrateupondevelopingtheirskillsinartisticexpression.

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.

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

asawhole,needstobefull, but not overloaded,toreferoncemoretothefeaturesofawell-designedcurriculumlistedintheChapterOne.Credit-pointsystemscanbeveryusefulincontrollingthisas-pectandthenextchapterwilldealwiththisandotherwaysinwhichtheycancontributetoeffectivecurriculumdesign.

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.

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)

24 6 6 6 6 6 6

its in

(standard

unit x 4)

3 3 3 3 3 3

its in

(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)

21 6 9 6 6 6 6

(standard

unit x 3)

3 6 3 3 3 3

(standard

unit x 4)

3 3 3 3 3 3

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.

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

type of learning

year 4 Thestudentusuallytakesmainlylevel 3units

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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,

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

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 aecinfo@aecinfo.org Website www.aecinfo.org

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