Children's collaborative music composition : communication through music

Abstract

The present research looks at peer collaboration and creativity, an area largely neglected by previous peer collaboration researchers, where goals are ill-defined and measures ambiguous. In previous (science based) peer collaboration research, the crucial factor promoting group productivity appears to be the 'social instrument of language'. Groups achieving intersubjectivity, or mutual understanding, through dialogue out-perform those groups who do not. The returning theme is one of sharing ideas verbally with other group members, arguing through alternatives and providing justifications for accepted and rejected solutions. It was suggested that in collaborative music composition tasks an alternative medium exists for the communication of ideas and for the establishment of a shared understanding of the task, namely communication through the music itself. It was hypothesised that, rather than talking about their ideas, children would be more likely to try them out directly on the musical instruments. It was also predicted that this form of interaction would be significantly related to group productivity.;The present research also considers three key gender issues: firstly, the recurring finding by previous researchers that boys in mixed gender groups take control of the task by dominating verbally and non-verbally over the girls; secondly, suggested differences between the genders in communicative styles; and thirdly, the relative productivity of single gender and mixed gender groups.;Three studies were carried out with children aged 9-10, working in groups of four of varying gender compositions. Each study involved a distinct type of music composition task. Evidence was provided for the occurrence of interaction through music, and its importance for group productivity was found to be dependent on the nature of the task. Important gender differences were observed, including female domination in mixed gender groups. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to previous peer collaboration research and classroom practice.

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