”Tää on ollut ihan paras mupevuosi mitä mulla on koskaan ollut. Hauskoin.” : toimintatutkimus 11–15-vuotiaiden oppilaiden tablet-laitteiden yhteistoiminnallisesta käytöstä musiikin hahmotusaineiden opetuksessa

Abstract

This dissertation is set in a time of historical change in terms of curriculum reform and the use of technology in education. The collection of data for this study took place in 2017, shortly before the new curriculum was officially launched and a few years before the COVID19 pandemic accelerated the inevitable use of technology in education. The dissertation explores aspects of student engagement highlighted by the collaborative use of mobile devices, the ways in which collaborative use of mobile devices enables the integration of practice and theory in music perception subjects, and the role of the teacher in this learning environment. The dissertation examines the data from a holistic human understanding and a social constructivist view of learning, in the context of a collaborative technological learning environment. The study was carried out as action research in a Finnish music institute. The research data consisted of video material collected from the music perception lessons of five groups of students during one semester. The students (N = 24) were aged between 11 and 15 years. The video material was transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis and abductive reasoning. The findings were categorised from the observed empirical data – the transcripts and tabulations of the video lessons. The students worked listening together around a tablet device table. The study results show that the compact size and ease of use of the tablet devices enabled active verbal and non-verbal interactions in the students’ work. This collaborative interaction fostered students' critical thinking, reflection and creativity, as well as lowering their threshold to express themselves, ask questions and comment. The students were highly motivated. A significant observation was that collaborative work with the mobile devices also encouraged more active participation of the quieter students, helping their understanding of musical concepts and bringing out their personalities. The continuous audiovisual material integrated theory and practice and increased the students’ attentiveness. The tablet devices enabled the equal participation of all the students in the joint activities. From the teacher’s perspective, it made it easier to guide the students. Working this way involved the teacher taking the role of technical problem solver. Successful lesson activities required careful and proactive planning on the part of the teacher.