A Year of Learning
Last year with the support of Jackdaws and the Royal College of Music, our Artistic Director, Saffron van Zwanenberg embarked on a postgraduate university qualification, the Post-graduate Certificate in Higher Education, at Middlesex University (part-time). Following successful completion of the course and acceptance as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she reflects back on her experience and how it impacts her practice.
I last graduated from an academic institution in 2000, following many years training as a singer, culminating in a junior fellowship at the Royal College of Music. There was not much in the way of essays written, but lots of songs sung..! So to say I was nervous about undertaking an academic qualification is a bit of an understatement.
As well as the multiple layers of education I am involved in at Jackdaws, I am fortunate to also work at the Royal College of Music teaching on the masters course. So, I was familiar with the demands of modern higher education settings such as Middlesex, but all of my practice and indeed the learning that happens at Jackdaws & RCM is focused primarily on performing of course. Which I thought was probably very different to what my future classmates were likely to be delivering.
I knew the cohort I would be part of would all be from very different areas of work and I was very curious to see what, if anything, our experiences had in common.
I arrived at the Middlesex campus for my first class on a very chilly January morning and was pleased to find that there were around 30 people in my class. I discovered that in this group there were social workers, mental health specialists, nurse practitioners, midwives, army officers and graphic and textile designers, all now teaching other adults their specialism, as I was. Would we have any common ground?
We went through the different modules and assessments that we would have to complete:
- Pedagogy — an introduction
- Psychology of Learning
- Philosophy and Policy
- Pedagogy and Practice
The assessments would include lesson observations, essays, a presentation and a final project.
Classes and discussions began and it was so fascinating to hear about the remit of my peers, often what their students were learning was literally the difference between life and death! Which did give a bit of a different perspective I have to say. But what was really interesting were the similarities in the approaches and the successes/challenges experienced across all disciplines.
This was the biggest revelation for me, whether it was learning how survive in sub zero temperatures (the army), how to give the correct dose of medicine (nursing), how to deliver a baby (midwifery…), or how to stand on a stage and sing, the methodology, approach and aims were basically the same, as was the way this information was received, processed and adopted by students.
The passion that everyone felt about helping their students progress and succeed was very tangible and affirming, but everyone felt there was room for improvement in their approach, that was why we were there after all.
As we started to unpick what it meant to be a teacher of adults and what the challenges were, we considered how we could tailor our teaching to be more inclusive, supportive, individualised and ultimately successful. We looked at different pedagogical approaches and weighed the benefits of each, thinking about what we already incorporated, perhaps without realising it, and what we might be able to draw on in future. We discussed access and how to support a diverse range of students. We delved into the philosophy of why we taught and why we learn. We thought about how we gave feedback and how it was received. And so much more, from lesson planning to learning preferences and how policy, be it from the Government, an institution or a legal framework, impacted and shaped our practice. It was a truly rich course.
For me a broad and unifying theme emerged which really was the essence of what I believe is really valuable when teaching. How do we achieve “Practice to application”? Often people can do it (whatever it is..) then and there, with their teacher on hand giving support and guidance in real time, but they struggle to replicate this in “the real world”. This was true for nurses, soldiers, midwives, graphic designers and indeed singers.
As we progressed through the course we discussed often what we could do to help our students increase their self efficacy and self directed learning in our absence, supporting them so they really could put their practice into application as soon as possible. I was already a great believer in tangible takeaways, breaking things down into useful tools that can be implemented wherever and whenever. This course reinforced that and helped me think of so many more ways that I can do this. It gave me many insights into the way knowledge is shared and received, how to maximise engagement for all learners and into my own reasons for teaching. It also really helped me understand what my position is within the greater structure, a position of great privilege which I love. I am very grateful to be able to support singers of all ages to access and develop skills, something I undoubtedly do better following this course.
I am very grateful to all of the tutors and the course director at Middlesex for my own great learning experience. I am also hugely grateful to Jackdaws for enabling me to undertake this qualification and to the College for supporting my lesson observations and providing a mentor.
Sadly I was not able to attend the graduation day at Middlesex, so the picture at the top of this story is of me graduating from the College instead, some time ago… and the more recent picture on the right shows me as part of the academic party at the most recent RCM graduation with Jackdaws Alumnus Stanley Talman who graduated with first class honours.
