The National Institute of Education invites suitable applications for the position of Research Assistant on a 24-month contract at the Visual and Performing Arts Academic Group.
Project Title: Developing Collective Free Music Improvisation Pedagogy to Engage Diverse Learners in the 21st Century
Project Introduction: This research project seeks to explore and develop Collective Free Music Improvisation (CFMI) pedagogy that aligns with 21st CC and the Primary and Lower Secondary (PLS) Music Syllabus outcomes, as well as engage diverse students in Singapore’s PLS Music Programme.
In this classroom intervention project, Ministry of Education (MOE) music teachers will first develop CFMI skills and pedagogy in a professional development workshop, and then craft and implement suitable CFMI pedagogies for their classes. The project will have two phases. In the first phase, up to 18 MOE music teacher volunteers will first learn CFMI skills and pedagogies in a CFMI workshop the PI conducts. In the second phase, up to five teacher volunteers from the workshop will create and implement a CFMI course for their respective classes to explore ways CFMI may be effectively delivered in various music classroom contexts in MOE schools.
These exploratory case studies will address the following research questions:
1) How do teachers design and conduct the CFMI programme to engage students and meet the PLS Music Syllabus outcomes and the 21st CC?
2) How do students learn to improvise in the CFMI programme designed by the teachers?
3) What are the learnings gained from the CFMI programme from the teachers’ and students’ perspectives?
4) What are the responses of the teachers and students to the CFMI programme?
5) How do teachers’ experiences implementing the CFMI programme inform the professional development needed to support the implementation?
Requirements:
- At least a good honours degree in the relevant fields (social science, music, education/music education)
- Proficient knowledge in qualitative analysis
- Relevant skills in academic research (e.g., conducting literature review, interviews)
- Prior experience in research either at the undergraduate or postgraduate levels
- Technologically competent: able to exploit hardware and software for qualitative data analysis
- Good communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to relate to children /teenagers
- Ability to work independently
Responsibilities:
- Conduct literature review in the relevant fields
- Obtain consent from research participants
- Conduct field work at MOE sites
- Administer student/teacher/parent survey forms
- Conduct interviews with selected research participants
- Analyse all qualitative data
- Code, organise, analyse, and present the respective data
- Assist with the final report on the findings
Application
Applicants (external and internal) will apply via Workday. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.
Workday Job Requisition ID: R00016471
(https://ntu.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/Careers/job/NTU-Main-Campus-Singapore/Research-Assistant--Visual-and-Performing-Arts-Academic-Group---NIE-_R00016471)
Closing Date
Closing date for advertisements will be set to 14 calendar days from date of posting.
