[MADE BY CRAMGO]

            Curriculum Development 

 

A working group, consisting of members of all partner institutions, was engaged in the development of the Joint Master’s curriculum. Seven meetings of the Curriculum Development working group took place: from 15-17 December ‘06 the first meeting took place in Groningen, and from 9-12 June ‘07 the members have met in Iceland for the second time. The third meeting has taken place 6-7 October ’07 in Jyväskylä, the fourth on 19-20 January '08 in The Hague and the fifth meeting took place on the 16-18 of May 2008 in Iceland. The group has come together in Groningen for a sixth meeting on 20-23 November 2008, and on 6-7 of June 2009 in Leiden for the seventh time.
 
Modules
The headings and lay-out of the four compulsory modules, optional modules, Personal Integration Project (PIP) and Mentoring have been standardised by the Curriculum Development working group. For a detailed description of these parts of the programme, please click on the titles below:

 

  1. Action Research: a focus on the application of research skills, as well as research methodology and literature.

  2. Leading & guiding: an introduction to the skills and knowledge necessary to be a competent workshop/laboratory practitioner and creative leader.

  3. Performance & Communication: intensive encounters with best practice of innovative performance practice in a variety of contexts.
  4. Project management & Entrepreneurship: the conceiving, implementing and realising of project/business ideas.
    It has been decided that the four compulsory modules will cover the whole programme for the first semester, together with mentoring.
     
    Next to the compulsory modules the student will be able to choose optional modules. For the second semester (the students’ exchange period) electives have been developed which students can choose to take in the institution where they spend this semester. As each institution offers education within specific areas of interest, the electives will differ from school to school. The students thus make a conscious choice for that school abroad that will support their pathway in the best way. For all modules descriptions have been developed for the study guide.
     
    During the second year the students will carry out their Professional Integration Project (PIP), and will take optional modules that underpin the PIP. The students work on their plan for the PIP throughout the two years, together with their mentor. In collaboration with external professional and educational organisations the students carry out their project during the fourth semester, which will culminate in a final performance event at the end of the academic year.
     
    Mentoring will play a significant role in the master. Each student will have a key-mentor that will be a mentor all year (online during the second semester). During the semester abroad the student will have a local contact person in the institution that will be involved during the first period as well. The students themselves will also be a co-mentor of other students. Moreover, people from other disciplines and/or professional organizations will play a mentoring role. The role of the key-mentor will shift through the year: the students will more and more start to act as a mentor for themselves.
     
    Assessment
    All modules have an own way of assessment. For Leading & Guiding the assessment takes place at a certain moment during the module when the student leads an event (this can be for peers or during a field study). The Performance & Communication module is assessed during a performance moment, where new audiences are involved. For the Project Management & Entrepreneurship module the student is asked to submit a 1500 word project proposal, related in some way to his/her professional integration project and/or to the performance that takes place during the Performance & Communication module. Action Research is assessed by a 15 minute presentation, followed by a discussion with the rest of the group. The optional modules of the second semester will be assessed seperately. The way of assessment should be in line with the spirit of the programme.
     
    The assessment of the PIP will include the following:
     
    - a performance element
    - a Viva presentation related to the performance event
    - a discussion of the final portfolio of the student
     
    Important is that the assessment is tied to the skills that the students have gained during the action research module. The optional modules of the second year will be assessed separately.
     
    For the assessment of the mentoring the students will be asked to run a peer group assessment. They will give feedback on the own process and the rest of the group is asked to reflect on this. The student writes down his/her own responses to this reflection and submits this in a written format. Continuous assessment is made of the student’s proactive participation in the mentoring module by the key mentor, and is on a pass/fail basis. In addition, the student is required to complete a self-assessment profile following the final Viva assessment of the programme. In this the student reflects on their own personal and professional development through the programme and evaluates their engagement with the mentoring module. The self-assessment profile has to be completed and added to the Professional Portfolio for the student to complete the Joint Masters, but carries no assessment mark.
     
    Personal development plan
    A personal development plan will be set up by the student and his/her mentor. In this plan the exchange institution will be described, as well as the optional modules that the student would like to take. Also a plan for the professional integration project will be included, in which the 30 EC for this project will be broken down and all activities will be mentioned. The student can choose to do one substantial professional integration project of 30 EC, but can also carry out two smaller projects of 30 EC in total, or add extra substance to a project of e.g. 15 EC. Already at the end of the 1st semester, a detailed version of the development plan should be ready as part of the mentoring process. The students will be able to choose to lay emphasis on specific elements of the skills they have gained during the first semester. When a student is behind schedule during a certain module, the student and mentor will together see how this can be fixed. 
     
    IT environment
    Because a virtual learning environment will play an important role in the Joint Master’s education, the working group started the development of a suiting IT environment through the Hanze University/Prince Claus Conservatoire. Some of the courses will (partly) be taught virtually, and videoconferencing will be used to stay in contact with teachers and students from the other countries. Furthermore each student will have a digital portfolio, and also for the mentoring process the IT environment will be of importance. During the pilot year the schools of Groningen and The Hague tested the Blackboard environment. The system supports the digital portfolio as well as the communication between students and teachers. Currently we are looking into the opportunities for webconferencing (Skype/Surfgroups).
     
    Summer school
    The CD group has developed plans for the content of the first summer school. These consist of a mixture of introductions to parts of the Joint Master’s programme, ensemble work and collaborative composition processes, presentations of the students and their home institutions and other work focusing on innovative practice and getting to know each other. The summer school will culminate in a local festival that is organised by the students during that period.
     
    The first summer school will take place in August 2010. This means that the students of year 1 and 2 will meet during the summer school, and can inspire each other. The first summer school will be hosted by the GSMD.
  5.  
    Programme schedule
    Please find below an overview of the whole programme:
     
    External partners
    The external partners play a pivotal role in the execution of the students Personal Integration Projects: each student will be mentored by a professional or educational organisation in order to carry our their project, which will cover a preparation period of half a year. Because each project will be highly individual, the five home institutions have started to expand the external partner networks of their schools, in order for the students to have a broad choice of collaboration. Already at the start of the programme in 2009, when the first students will have been admitted, negotiations will start with the external partners for their involvement in the year to come. Two agreements are being drawn up at the moment: a general ‘legal’ contract that will be signed initially between a home institution and external partner (valid for all student projects) and an educational agreement between the student, external mentor and key mentor for each individual project.
     
    It has been decided that the external partners may also play a role in the assessment of (some of) the compulsory modules. Moreover, it will be looked into how co-mentoring can be developed between the mentor in the home institution and the mentor in the external partner institution.