Introduction to Academic Skills Building

You will join us online in September to build your academic skills to master’s level. You will bridge the gap between undergraduate and postgraduate study, providing a comprehensive induction and preparation for the MA pathway.

Module 1 - Foundations of Voice Pedagogy: Exploring and Evaluating the Research Literature

Within this module, you will inform your learning by attending a series of live online structured lectures on voice pedagogy. The aim is to provide an overview of the multidisciplinary influences and core research studies that have shaped our understanding of voice teaching and practice.

You will follow structured content either live online or on playback and you will examine:

• Voice and the Brain
• Respiration
• The Vocal Mechanism: Anatomy and Physiology
• Acoustics and Pyschoacoustics
• Alignment
• Vocal Health

Module 2 - Developing Research-Based Voice Pedagogy: Applications in Designing Tools and Resources

The purpose of this module is to build on module 1 through the translation of theory into practice. It provides an opportunity to design a teaching tool or useful aid that can be used in a practical context. It may take the form of a teaching curriculum, a scheme of work, a strategy/toolkit, digital media, compositions, or any other practical aid that facilitates professional development.

Below are examples of some of the study options, and these can expand and evolve to suit your needs:

• The development of the male voice and implications for training
• The development of the female voice and
• implications for training
• Working with neurodiverse students
• Gender-affirming voice and communication training
• The evidence base for singing and health: Is singing good for us?
• Vocal health
• Reflective Theory
• Evaluating learning and development
• Research-based design and practice

Module 3 - Coaching, Mentoring and Teaching: Pedagogical Theory and Applications

This module will develop the pedagogical aspect of your practice. It will enable you to engage with a range of theoretical perspectives, including the definitions and scope of the terms 'coaching', 'mentoring', and 'teaching’.

The purpose of the module is to explore the extent to which these processes shape a pedagogical strategy giving due consideration to shifts in approach that occur through the coaching or mentoring process.

You will draw on neuroscience and motor learning to understand vocal skill development. Broader education theory and an understanding of recent primary research into neurodiversity will also inform practice. You will focus on the specific needs of the performer, garnering an in-depth understanding of their psychology and the issues they experience.

The syllabus is broad to give you a range of options. You’ll be able to focus on just one or a combination of areas to suit your own practice:

• What is coaching and mentoring?
• An exploration of the similarities and differences between coaches and mentors and the responsibilities of teachers,
• coaches, and mentors
• Who are we coaching? You will explore the psychology of the performer, looking at the specific issues performers face,
• such as career instability, resilience, performance anxiety, self-efficacy and burnout
• An examination of learning theories and learner motivation, and the selection of appropriate coaching/mentoring
• styles to meet the needs of diverse learners
• Neuroscience and motor learning theory
• Developing practical skills coaching informed by research-based evidence and/or support from the literature
• A review of differing theories, perspectives and approaches, and the different models and methods available within
• coaching and mentoring
• Group coaching
• A consideration of the need for and the importance of reflective practice, coaching supervision, and the role of critical
• evaluation of personal performance in identifying areas for improvement

Module 4 - Research Methods: Understanding and Applying Research Methods in Voice Practice

The aim of this module is to provide you with a theoretical and practical foundation in qualitative and quantitative research methods.

The module aims to support the development of practical skills for conducting qualitative and quantitative research using methods and approaches key to your respective fields of study.

It will support and facilcitate your research literacy and skills in critiquing and evaluating qualitative and quantitative research.

Alongside furthering your practical and evaluative skills, the module aims to support your understanding of the theoretical and conceptual foundations of qualitative and quantitative research.

Module 5 - Dissertation: Completing and Reporting an Original Research Project

This module is the culmination of the MA Voice Pedagogy, allowing you to develop and present a substantial dissertation.

This module is an opportunity for you to develop theoretical perspectives, ideas and practices that have emerged in your studies within the context of a dissertation. You will synthesise previous learning and develop new perspectives to address a problem within your professional practice.

You will hone a research question, scope out appropriate peer-reviewed and practice-based literature and select a research approach to garner valuable data regarding an aspect of your professional practice. You will apply qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods methodologies to execute a research design. Effective methods will be applied and evaluated, having regard to the moral and ethical implications of their processes. You will develop data analysis strategies, present data, and evaluate the relevance and impact of the data on your professional practice and wider field.

Master's Degree Voice Pedagogy

180

24 months