Extracurricular and interdisciplinary collaboration:
fostering research and enterprise beyond a formal academic
setting
Dr Elizabeth Dobson (Music Technology)
Dr Janette Martin (History)
Martyn Richardson & Jon Crook
‘Punk in Huddersfield’
Hands on History: voice, film & material culture
Second year history module - practical application of historical
research to create public history outputs (exhibitions, websites, audio
podcasts, film brochures etc)
• Community engagement (partners include, Tolson
Museum, Colne Valley Museum, HLHS, WYAS and
Mental Health Museum)
• Emphasis on the non-textual – voice, film, objects
• New skills (technology, creativity, design, team
working, writing for popular audiences)
• Employability – something tangible to show
potential employers. Traditional assessments such
as essays = limited creativity and scope for
experimentation
• Innovative assessment criteria
Hands on History: voice, film & material culture
2013/14 HoH projects (exhibition board and audio soundwalk on aspects of
Huddersfield history)
Soundwalk = blend of oral testimony, navigational information, music,
sound clips (street sounds etc) narration and analysis. History students
great at researching content – less confident with sound technology
Partnership with Collabhub and music technology students very
appealing –sound walk an output which beautifully combines
historical research and sound
Interdisciplinary working - matching history students with music
technology students and pooling expertise
HoH assessed soundwalk makes an
interesting contrast to Collabhub
philosophy- What would be the experience
of a student participating in both?
A collaboration hub
Meetings advertised on Facebook
2-5 minute pitch
Guest speakers
Work in progress
Not just undergraduate students
Emphasis on:
Freedom from assignments
Experimentation, or ‘permission to play’
Collaborative learning (Vygotsky)
Enterprise
“It combines creativity, ideas development and problem solving with expression, communication
and practical action. This definition is distinct from the generic use of the word in reference to a
project or business venture.”
“Enterprise education aims to produce graduates with the mindset and skills to
come up with original ideas in response to identified needs and shortfalls, and
the ability to act on them. In short, having an idea and making it happen. Enterprise
skills include taking the initiative, intuitive decision making, making things
happen, networking, identifying opportunities, creative problem solving,
innovating, strategic thinking, and personal effectiveness. Enterprise education
extends beyond knowledge acquisition to a wide range of emotional, intellectual, social
and practical skills.”
Group work and assessment - risk of compromise
“The students’ approaches to group work projects are, in part,
constructed by the assessment tools employed. The tensions
that exist between student collaboration and student competition
arise within a context where students are sometimes unsure
about the extent to which they can trust their fellow students and
the assessment methods employed. Risk-taking is central to
creativity.”
Orr, S. (2010). Collaborating or fighting for the marks? Students’ experiences of group work assessment in
the creative arts Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 35(3), 301-313.
Creativity research
Creative Collaboration
Vera John-Steiner
John-Steiner, V. (2000). Creative Collaboration. Oxford and New York: OUP
Began - October 3rd 2012
Website: collabhub.org
Facebook: 528 members
CollabHub News (plus static and animated
logo)
Games audio collaboration
Motion comic book
Sound installation
New WW1 reconstruction idea
New music festival
New Computer game development jam
Interactive music generation app
Music software games to teach theory
Music instrument teacher and student network
Live free improvisation workshops for non-musicians
Sound Walk Project
Huddersfield Creative Arts Network
Client’s brief
‘An
audio realisation of Huddersfield, which will support a walk around
Huddersfield town centre (this can include historic, creative, commercial,
leisure, political, sporting or any other themes that you feel are most
appropriate to the town centre). The walk should take between 45 and
75 minutes.’
Launch event:
lectures by Prof Steve Poole – Ghosts in the Garden
Simon Bradley Holbeck sound walks
Audio recording and Audacity session (networking),
students teaching students
Sound Walk 1
Martyn Richardson & Jon Crook
‘Punk in Huddersfield’