Timeline
After the published advisory report of Susanne van Els there was a need to develop programs around the physical and mental health of the young learners, becoming resilient, autonomous and self-regulating musicians. A structural musical learning program supportive of autonomy, intrinsic motivation and student involvement was not yet developed.
Implementation of this structure would incorporate:
- The triangular teacher, student and parent dialogue.
- Creating an autonomy supportive learning environment.
- Implementing Quality practice and learning to learn.
- Creating digital learning environments supporting collaborative teaching practices.
Music staff meetings were organized to create consensus on a new program.
In January 2023 Susan Williams, Irma Kort, Anna Daalmeijer and Annick van Gennip (head of music Young KC) met to discuss a timeline to develop content for a structure within the curriculum of theYoungKC that would incorporate these four elements.
In June 2023 the same team came together to discuss the development and implementation of LearningLAB. A program supporting meta-learning, quality practice, autonomy in students’ learning and peer learning. A structure to enhance collective teacher efficacy within the school was also developed.
In July 2023 the content of the first generation LearningLAB folder was created by Susan Williams and Irma Kort. The content was a combination of Quality Practice, the Tutor program at the bachelor education of the Royal Conservatoire years 1,2 and 3 and the ‘Learning to learn tools’ of Autonomy and active learning in blended oboe classes was translated and tailored to the age groups of the YoungKC.
From January 2022 to January 2023 Irma Kort developed a plan to incorporate Collective Teacher Efficacy in the LearningLAB program with preliminary research into: Collective Teacher Efficacy in Music Education. Albert Bandura described self-efficacy as: ‘the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to attain designated types of performances’. Efficacy in the context of a teacher group (CTE) can de described as the believes of a teaching team in the groups' capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to impact students' development and learning.
In June and July 2023 the content of the LearningLAB folder was derived from the Tutor program in the bachelor degree of the Royal Conservatoire, to be translated and tailored to the young musicians of the preparatory program at YoungKC.
From September 2023 until July 2024 the LearningLAB program was implemented.
In January 2024 until January 2025 the LearningLAB program was evaluated and tested through research within the Royal Conservatoire Lectorate.
From September 2024 until July 2025 the second version of the program was implemented.
Implementation
The LearningLAB program was developed for students’ well-being and learning but was structured to also enhance collective teacher efficacy.
After the advisory report of Susanne van Els there was a clear incentive to create changes in the curriculum of the Young KC. The head of music, Annick van Gennip, created a situation in which all teachers could meet and exchange ideas on possible approaches, creating goal consensus in the teacher team.
A smaller cohesive staff team was formed with a specialist in conservatoire education and research (Susan Williams), a specialist in music education for youths and research (Irma Kort) and a music educator that had experience in building new programs within the school (Anna Daalmeijer). In meetings we decided to connect to the conservatoire program on meta-learning and well-being, the tutor program. The four categories of this tutor program (foundations, intention, attention, reflection) were translated and tailormade for a younger age group. The combined research of Susan Williams and Irma Kort formed the base of this new program. Teacher groups were asked regularly to give feedback on the material.
Susan Williams gave a course on quality practice in the first week of the season to interested teachers of the YoungKC.
In September 2023 the program was implemented. At the beginning of the year there were presentations to inform teachers, parents and students about the program and its content. From the start of the program there has been an active community of teachers that give feedback and ask questions. In the hallways there are conversations on ‘learning to learn‘ and teachers help shape the next edition of the program after students’ needs. In music staff meetings and during exams there are also conversations on how to develop the program further. The Teams environment is used for quick and personal questions on students’ learning and trigger change. There is expertise sharing between teachers through the LearningLAB folder, through student interaction and a more lively communication within the staff team. The program develops through the combined knowledge and expertise of the teaching team of the YoungKC.
Management supports the program in the YoungKC and the wider music education community. There are regular meetings to monitor the program and to decide next steps. The management of The Royal Conservatoire supports the program by giving us the opportunity to research the development in the lectorate and letting us organize events to disseminate the program and the research outcomes.
Program content 2024
In September 2024 the program content consisted of a LearningLAB folder, Tuesday morning meetings with the student group and practice room facilitation between 8.00 and 9.00 on weekdays. The audition preparation program became an integral part of the LearningLAB.
The LearningLAB folder is an A4 folder with a front page, a table of contents, a year calendar with important school and music dates, goal description pages, lesson notes, practice notes, repertoire, reflection sheets, information sheets and practice cards.
The practice cards (artwork Erica Roozendaal) connect activities to the four pillars of the program: Foundations, Intention, Attention and Reflection. Together they form the learning spiral.
Participation is obligatory. All students need to attend the Tuesday morning sessions and need to book rooms in the morning between 8.00 and 9.00 at least 3 times a week.
Students have a meeting with Anna Daalmeijer in the beginning of the year, to help them plan practice hours and book rooms during MUST (MUziekSTudie) hours in the beginning of the year.
Master students of the Master Musician Educator have followed a training with Susan Williams to become a coach and have internship hours within the program.
Coach Training
To provide people who could provide coaching for the students of the YoungKC in the LearningLAB program, a coach training program was set up. Coaches needed to have knowledge about how to help young musicians with their organising, to set goals and come up with strategies, help with their motivation, be able to help them develop tools for practicing and to document and reflect on their process. Teachers were asked for their interest and availability and were offered a staff development course to prepare them for the task. A general program about teaching Quality Practice was offered by to all teachers in the KC in 2023 and in 2024.
A coach training course connected with LearningLAB was offered to teachers in the YoungKC. This took place during the KC ‘Start UP’ week at the beginning of the conservatoire school year on 28-31 August. The course was taught to six participants by Susan Williams and Irma Kort. Over four 3-hour seminars the participants discussed student needs, were offered information about self-regulated learning, the foundations of learning, musicians’ motor learning, attentional focus and explorative practice methods. In addition to information, the participants experimented with applying the theoretical information to the practice room, practicing coaching, and sharing case studies. The last seminar was devoted to discussing how connectivity, and collective learning can be enhanced with collaboration between teachers, parents and management. The student folder and information materials that had been developed by Irma Kort were shared with the participants and they were shown how to use them.
In September 2024 the need for more coaches had expanded as more students were asking for coaching and the morning practice time for students had become compulsory (minimum 3 times per week). In addition to teachers, master students were invited to participate in the course and 4 students from the master program The Musician Educator were trained specifically to coach the YoungKC students within the LearningLAB. The 2024-25 course took place over 8 months and consisted of six 90-minute information seminars and six 3-hour exploration sessions where the participants could explore the material and their ideas in depth by coaching each other.
Program content 2023
In September 2023 the program content consisted of a LearningLAB folder, Tuesday morning meetings with the student group and practice room facilitation between 8.00 and 9.00 on weekdays.
The LearningLAB folder was an A5 folder with a front page, an introduction to the use, a table of contents, a year calendar, goal description pages, lesson notes, a week planner, practice notes, reflection sheets and information sheets.
Participation was voluntary.
During the school year an additional program was developed to help students in their final year with the preparations for video and live auditions. We created recording sessions and reflected on the quality of the presentation. Students used the recordings to reflect with their teachers on their performance. Students created well recorded videos and uploaded them to platforms to participate in the entrance exams of the conservatoires. The second part consisted of practice auditions with a jury and jury forms. Students both performed and took part in the jury. These sessions were also recorded for reflection with instrumental and vocal teachers.
