Challenge

Student musicians often come to university feeling apprehensive about their possible future selves. In the first year My Life as a Musician course, an assessment item scaffolded on the Conservatoire Student Lifecycle (developed further from the Lizzio Student Lifecycle framework), was introduced to enhance students reflective and career management capabilities with an emphasis on researching their future opportunities. In understanding their possible career paths, students are equipped to make strategic and informed choices about their career.

Approach

What does it take to be a professional musician? This is often not initially considered by first-year student musicians. To address this, a 30 per cent assessable item was introduced into the My Life as a Musician (1020QCM) course.

The aim of this assessment item is to encourage students to consider their degree transition, degree engagement and subsequent transition into the music profession in a manner that aligns with their career dream while strategically laying its foundations. In doing so, student musicians “recognise and understand the opportunities and risks” of their career path and “research all opportunities that [they] can work towards within [their] degree” (1020QCM Course Profile). This enables student musicians to plan their career pathway throughout their student journey.

Students are provided with a guided template embedded within PebblePad that invites students to consider the Strengths, Developments, Opportunities and Challenges (SDOC) of themselves and a SWOT of the profession/s they are aspiring to follow. Within this assessment item, students are required to draw upon the course readings and/or informational interviews to inform their perceptions of the industry rather than simply “guessing” and creating their own assumptions. Following this they then input their proposed activities for years 1-3 centred around 5 categories - Core Skills, QCGU (degree engagement), Network/Self, Enterprise and Finance. Years 4 and 5 require the students to discuss their options in paragraph form, and following this process they are invited to reflect on the career planning process and describe any changes of perspective or new knowledge they will apply.

Support resources
Student musicians are provided with two assistance sheets - one for the process of the plan and the other with web links to possible opportunities. Within the comprehensive instructions for the assessment, suggestions include: conduct an Internet search; read other musicians biographies and critically reflect upon how they achieved their current career; ask peers and teachers for advice; and review the noticeboards throughout the campus that advertise scholarship opportunities.

1. Marking
2. Student are assessed on the following components:
3. Clear communication;
4. Outline a realistic 5 year plan;
5. Apply critical analysis and industry planning / management tools;
6. Highlight a range of other career opportunities outside of what is outlined within class;
7. Analyse and critique your own career planning.

Furthermore, the course profile provides a range of hints and questions to consider when students are developing this assessment item.

Outcomes

Overall student musicians have expressed a clearer understanding of the opportunities that are available for them to enhance their employability. SEC commentary includes:

“I'm really glad that it has facilitated things like the 5-year plan or career investigation, because without this push I probably wouldn't have done so and it's been really helpful”,

“I also thought the assessment was very useful in helping us to map out our career plans, and even though it was a daunting job to plan the next five years of my life, I found it was very helpful in clarifying ideas for me”, and

“I loved that the assessment was useful beyond receiving a grade. It helped me to better understand my future and create a solid plan”.

Enabling Technology

This assessment used PebblePad.

Implement

If you are thinking about implementing this approach, consider the following:

• Introduce this assessment item into the first year of the program - preferably the first trimester. This will be provide ample time for students to adopt a proactive approach and search for opportunities throughout their program.
• Provide students with prompting questions or a framework to consider when developing their Career Plan.
• Invite industry professionals (e.g. employers or alumnus) to present guest lectures. Ask them to share their own experiences concerning the challenges and successes.
• Be sure to emphasise that the plan is malleable and that the purpose of it is to research potential opportunities so that when opportunity does present itself - it is recognised for its true potential (and not overlooked).

Griffith Graduate Attributes

This assessment item aligns with the following Griffith Graduate Attributes:

1. Knowledgeable and skilled with critical judgement;
2. Effective communicators and collaborators;
3. Innovative, creative and entrepreneurial.

This assessment item requires students to reflect and critically analyse their chosen industry and occupation and clearly communicate what their career goals are for the next five years while understanding themselves to be working within a highly networked community of professional musicians and the need to be independently enterprising.

Contributed by

• Arts, Education and Law
  Queensland Conservatorium
  Diana Tolmie
  (07) 373 56357
  d.tolmie@griffith.edu.au
  Griffith Experts profile
• Learning Futures
  

Preferred Citation

Tolmie, D., and Learning Futures (2019). Exploring career aspirations via assessment. Retrieved from https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/exlnt/entry/5746/view