NWU Open Educational Resources (OER) Fellowship

Your Music, Your Way: Grade 10 Interactive Music Module

Description of the project:

The CAPS Music curriculum for the Further Education and Training (FET) phase is divided into three streams: Western Art Music, Indigenous African Music, and Jazz (Department of Basic Education, 2011). Although schools choose which stream they want to focus on, learners can “mix the style of the chosen stream with a different style in the practical” (Department of Basic Education, 2011, p. 10) if they prefer. However, most South African schools offering Music as a subject at the FET level choose to focus on Western Art Music only since most teachers are Western-trained (Lategan, 2022; Msimango, 2023). Consequently, Indigenous African Music appears to be the stream that schools choose the least, in which teachers feel the least competent, and for which schools lack the most resources (Msimango, 2023). Therefore, South African FET Music is dominated by Western perspectives and pedagogy, while indigenous knowledge systems are underutilised. We, consequently, aim to address this gap by developing resources for Grade 10 Music teachers and learners focused on the content of Grade 10 Indigenous African Music. These resources will not only provide what is currently lacking but also encourage active engagement with curriculum content, while developing technological proficiency and celebrating indigenous knowledge systems. In addition, the resources will address multilingualism goals as they will be made available in isiZulu, Setswana, English, and Afrikaans.

This project proposes the development of an interactive digital Open Educational Resource (OER) that covers the first term of Grade 10 FET Music, with a specific focus on the Indigenous African Music stream. The resource will serve as a supplementary learning and teaching tool, providing accessible, engaging, and culturally relevant content to both learners and educators. Despite the inclusion of Indigenous African Music in the CAPS curriculum, a severe shortage of teaching materials remains that reflect the richness and diversity of Southern African musical traditions. This module aims to address that gap. We are starting with the first temr in Grade 10, since this will be the pilot programme for a larger, more expaned programme addressing the entire FET IAM stream.

The OER will take the form of an interactive module on Moodle, designed to go beyond static content. It will incorporate a mix of multimedia elements, including recorded performances, visual illustrations of instruments, audio quizzes, drag-and-drop activities, and formative assessments with immediate feedback. Learners will be able to navigate through sections independently, explore different traditions through story-based case studies, and test their understanding interactively. Teachers will benefit from downloadable lesson plans, printable worksheets, and access to customisable assessments.

The module will be multilingual, available in Afrikaans, English, Setswana, and isiZulu to reflect South Africa’s linguistic diversity and ensure broader accessibility. This multilingual approach supports learners’ comprehension and affirms the linguistic heritage that is often overlooked in mainstream music education.

Aligned with the CAPS Grade 10 FET Music curriculum, this OER ensures that both content and assessment practices directly support curriculum outcomes. This is necessary because the outcomes in the IAM stream are vaguely defined, and teachers, who are often trained primarily in Western art music, lack the experience and knowledge to interpret these outcomes effectively.

The School of Music and the Centre for Digital Humanities will collaborate to bring this project to life. This collaborative effort is necessary to ensure that the needs for digital infrastructure as well as subject knowledge and expertise are met. This interdisciplinary collaboration is essential not only for technical execution but also for realising a transformative, accessible, and contextually grounded educational resource that can be shared freely and adapted by schools across South Africa.

Principal Investigator: Prof Ewie Erasmus

Co-Principal Investigator: Prof Janelize Morelli

Project Title: Digital competencies and training needs for learning technology integration among North-West University lecturers

Project summary: 

A significant shift in education has occurred due to the prominent role of ICT in institutions. However, literature has established that this integration has often lacked corresponding capacity development programmes for instructors. Even where attempts for capacity development exist, this problem is compounded by the fact that while the expectation for lecturers in higher education institutions to integrate digital technologies into the curriculum is increasingly recognised, there appears to be no consensus on the specific competencies that higher education lecturers must possess to accomplish this objective. The central problem addressed in this inquiry is the need to identify specific training needs required by NWU FHUM teaching staff to develop the competencies essential for effectively integrating technology into their teaching practice. Capacitating academics with digital competency skills is imperative for NWU to uphold its commitment to blended learning.

The purpose of this study is to identify training needs of and develop capacity enhancement interventions for North-West University (NWU) Faculty of Humanities (FHUM) lecturers to develop and apply digital competencies required for the effective integration of technology in the workplace.

In alignment with NWU's initiatives, Teach-In-Touch commenced in 2022. This is the name of a community of practice in the NWU FHUM. Recently, the organising committee of Teach-in-Touch has embarked on this project to generate scholarship aimed at informing the application of digital technologies in the FHUM. As part of this process, the proposed study is a multiple-phase and mixed-method action research (AR) aimed at identifying competency gaps and designing and implementing targeted interventions to enhance lecturers' digital competencies. Through AR methodology, the study will pursue four research questions and objectives aimed at:

• Exploring digital competencies among lecturers in the faculty,
• Drawing insights from the survey to determine their training needs and identify or design continuous professional development (CPD) program/s to address the competencies gap,
• Implementing the designed program/s, and evaluating the effectiveness of the program/s.