What staff, parents and young musicians have learnt moving music lessons online — Action Research Evaluation Report

Today, Southampton Music Hub releases the first evaluation report from Action Research into the impact of moving music lessons online during the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Drawing on responses from young musicians, parents and staff, the report highlights some key findings:

1. Build on existing strengths

   1. Staff, parents and young musicians all have existing, transferable experiences, skills, knowledge and understanding that can be used and built upon to support new initiatives and formats

   2. Existing relationships, infrastructure and processes can be built upon and developed, even in challenging circumstances

   3. Facilitate and support the sharing of adapted good practice and learning experiences

2. Community is key

   1. Support is all around us — colleagues, family members

   2. This support supplements, but is not a replacement for clear and concise guidance

   3. Sharing emerging good practice, both formally and informally helps to support staff and families, and further opportunities to do this should be found

3. Simplicity enables speed

   1. Selecting a single platform allows for quicker training, support and troubleshooting

   2. Platform specific pre-existing skills are broadly low, and the transferable knowledge and understanding which accompanies these skills are quickly built upon

   3. Complicated technical setups do, sometimes, result in higher audio and video quality, but we have not gathered enough evidence to support the assertion that this improve learning outcomes for young musicians

4. Challenging circumstances are increased, but can also be reduced

   1. For children, young people and families already facing challenging circumstances, moving music lessons online has resulted in a reduction in their engagement — a deeper understanding of the causes of this reduction is needed, and both the adaption of existing strategies and the introduction of new strategies for engagement will be needed

   2. For those able to engage, learning music online has provided many improvements to wellbeing, including:

      1. A comforting sense of connection to “normal life”

      2. Improved, transferable confidence 

      3. Increased parental engagement

5. Exceptional circumstances lead to exceptional responses

   1. Across staff, parents and young musicians there is wide acknowledgment of the exceptional context in which this work takes place, and the willingness to undertake exceptional actions as a result

   2. However, there are some transferable principles that would apply beyond the current period:

      1. Parents and young musicians highly value regular music lessons, including developing a learning relationship with an individual teacher

      2. Staff, parents, and young musicians may not have experience of specific technologies or activities, but are willing to use and build upon existing transferable skills, knowledge and understanding to achieve successful outcomes

In responding to the report, Matt Brombley, Development Manager for Southampton Music Hub, says:

In compiling this report, I was overwhelmed by the extraordinary amount of effort, goodwill and energy that had been shown by our young musicians, their parents and teachers in exceptional circumstances.

To staff, your resilience is truly incredible. In teaching, we often talk about modelling, and usually, mean playing music for our students in a way that demonstrates excellence. But to me, this report shines a light on how you have gone further: modelling resilience to the young musicians you teach, demonstrating what huge challenges can be overcome when we approach them with a willingness to learn and adapt. I cannot include every thank you that came in the responses from our families, it would be many pages long, instead, accept just one on their behalf — thank you!

To parents and guardians, as this report shows, your existing skills and confidence have been vital in getting online music lessons taking place. But, beyond that, you have been on a learning journey of your own — developing new knowledge and understanding, as well as building on your skills and confidence, and this progress should not be lost or underplayed. It has not always been easy, or simple, but you have made it work. For many of you, this experience has brought you closer together as a family, making you more engaged in the musical lives of your children. On behalf of the young musicians you support — thank you!

To our young musicians, I am delighted that we have been able to provide you with music lessons at a time when so much else is being lost. You have shared how comforting it is to be connected with “normality”, with your music teachers, and with music as a place for creative self-expression. Your energy and passion have driven us all forward, wanting to allow you each to develop to the fullness of your potential — thank you!

We continue to learn together.”

Responding to the reports key development areas, Kath Page, Manager for Southampton Music Hub, says:

“We have already started to respond to the key development areas highlighted by this report. We are committed to helping children overcome the barriers and challenges which may prevent them benefiting from the life-changing power of music. I’m delighted that we have already moved to:

1. Deliver physical music resources to children who find they don’t have the right technology to access music lessons online. Starting with shielded children, and expanding over the coming weeks, boxes of music activities will help them continue making music at home.

2. Working with schools to expand our online music lessons offer, including a digital version of our incredibly popular SoundBites project, which can be done both at school and at home

3. Re-imagining our inset programmes for the rest of the year, and the year ahead, to allow time for the team to share, and build upon, the new and adaptive practices which they have so quickly deployed”