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Exploring the relation between teacher autonomy support and children’s musical creativity

In primary music education a key question is what teachers can do to stimulate students’ musical creativity. For the answer, delving into teacher-student interaction during the creative processes in the naturalistic setting of primary music lessons is required. Twenty-six music lessons from thirteen teachers and their classes of seven Dutch schools were recorded to explore the relation between teachers’ autonomy support and students’ divergent and convergent thought & action. Quantitative sequential analysis and thematic analysis were combined to examine this relation, using a framework offered by Complex Dynamic Systems theory and Enaction theory. In contrast to classical correla-tional analysis, sequential analysis focuses on the dynamics, and thus on the temporal relation in classroom interaction. The results show that mostly lower-level autonomy support was offered. Es-pecially in creative lessons, higher-level autonomy support is more likely to lead to higher-level student divergent thought and action. For convergent thought and action, the results were less con-clusive. An implication of the findings is that (research into) music education could benefit from interventions aimed at enhancing autonomy support in primary school music.

Psychometric properties of the School Participation Questionnaire: Testing a measure of participation-related constructs

AIM: To explore concurrent validity, convergent validity, interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, and Rasch model analysis of the School Participation Questionnaire (SPQ), a tool for teachers to assess personal and environmental determinants of school participation.METHOD: Teachers of children with additional support needs, including intellectual disability, autism, and learning difficulties completed measures. Data were collected using the SPQ and the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY). Test-retest and interrater reliability were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's alpha. Concurrent and convergent validity were explored via correlations with the PEM-CY. Further psychometrics were examined using a Rasch model.RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-seven children (136 [72.7%] male; mean age 9y [range 5y 6mo-12y 10mo, SD 2y]) were assessed by 67 teachers. Cronbach's alpha, test-retest, and interrater reliability were acceptable-excellent across each SPQ scale (alphas=0.89, 0.9, 0.94, 0.79; test-retest ICCs=0.64, 0.61, 0.78, 0.62; interrater ICCs=0.85, 0.71, 0.90, 0.81). Concurrent and convergent validity were confirmed with significant positive correlations between SPQ and PEM-CY. After Mokken and Rasch model analysis, person and item reliability were good, and unidimensionality was confirmed. Mean administration time was 8.2 minutes.INTERPRETATION: The results suggest that the SPQ is a rapid, reliable, and valid tool for assessment of participation-related indicators in schools.

Creativiteit in de maakplaats

De maakplaats is een plek waar kinderen leren. Kinderen kunnen er na schooltijd komen of bezoeken de maakplaats samen met school. Het leren is heel breed: nieuwe technologie, creativiteit, samenwerken. Maar ook zoiets als leren omgaan met tegenslagen, want vroeg of laat lopen kinderen tegen moeilijkheden aan.Als begeleider in de maakplaats ben je een duizendpoot. Je helpt kinderen met ontwerpen en veilig gebruik van de machines, springt in als ze hulp nodig hebben, je prikkelt hun fantasie en voorstellingsvermogen met uitdagende vragen en let erop dat ze goed met elkaar omgaan. Deze handleiding gaat in op de vraag hoe je de creativiteit van kinderen in de maakplaats kunt bevorderen.

Rethinking Design Thinking: towards High Design 4.0, or Design beyond Design

Biomimicry design thinking education

Preliminary empirical research conducted by the leading author has shown that design students using biological analogies, or models across different contexts, often misinterpreted these, intentionally or unintentionally, during design. By copying shape or form without integrating the main function of the mimicked biological model, students failed to consider the process or system directing that function when attempting to solve the design need. This article considers the first step in the development of an applicable educational model using distant analogies from nature, by means of biomimicry thinking methodology. The analysis examines results from a base-line exercise taken by students in the Minor Design with Nature during the Spring semester of Industrial Design Engineering at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in 2019, verifying that students without biomimicry training use this hollow approach automatically. This research confirms the gap between where students are at the beginning of the semester and where they need to be as expert sustainable designers when they graduate. These findings provide a starting point for future interventions in biomimicry workshops to improve systematic design thinking through structural and scientifically based iterations of analogical reasoning. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-020-09574-1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/

Design-thinking & Frugality

This full paper works towards merging ‘frugality’ and ‘design thinking’ into a simplified framework for a workshop routine as a stepping stone for SMEs in developed countries to create and capture value of frugal innovations. Innovations which are born out of the notion that we can do more with less, or for less. This framework is aimed at reaching a specific group of SMEs, in this paper called the peloton of SMEs, a large group of SMEs which generally have lower growth ambitions and growth potential in comparison to the frontrunners. This group is often overlooked by (regional) governmental innovation programmes due to a primary focus on the same industry’s frontrunners. The framework was first tested with students, discussed with experts and eventually tested with SMEs from the Agribusiness sector in the Netherlands. Frugal Elements added to the design thinking process are; (a.) a Frugal Lens (b.) Frugal Business Model Patternsfor BMI (c.) Frugal leadership development (d.) Frugal Validation of the solution (e.) Frugal Intervention (limited time, limited theory, vertical learning community, practical tools). Although the first Pilot has been a succes in terms of helping participating SMEs to create innovations, more research is necessary for the design of a final framework which is expected to contribute to the frameworks that are currently available to SMEs in frugal and sustainable business modelling.