Music,social learning and senses in university pedagogy: An intersection between art and academe

Abstract

Integration of music in an academic university teaching setting is an example of how artistic practice and competences have potentials to resonate beyond the immediate discipline. The article explores music activities as contributing to learning environments for university students, creating shared experiences in groups of diverse learners with different needs. The music activities are discussed in light of challenges in today's university concerning student diversity. Two empirical examples of experiments with music in university teaching at a Danish university are presented. Empirical data were collected by means of qualitative research methods (teaching logs and qualitative surveys) and analysed in a socio-cultural learning perspective. The first empirical example presents music as supporting students relate to each other in the classroom. The second example describes how music may support students' sensory awareness when practising qualitative research like fieldwork. Both examples imply interdisciplinary potentials of putting music into play in university pedagogy.