Creative COMMUNITY Engagement

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Music Professor Dean-Jobin Bevans has long been interested in music therapy in geriatric care. So he is delighted that the synergy between Lakehead's Music department and School of Social Work has resulted in a new third-year course, Creative Community Engagements in Music.

This interdisciplinary teaching and research partnership between himself and Social Work Professors Mary Lou Kelley and Marg McKee is challenging students to become more engaged with their community. And it's working, says social work student Stacy Saukko.

As part of her master's degree, Saukko accompanied eleven music students as they led sing-alongs with seniors from two long-term care facilities in Thunder Bay. Her job was to observe and coach the students as they interacted with the residents - some of whom were suffering from dementia and had limited physical mobility. "Sometimes the seniors' reactions, foot-tapping, and facial expressions, were so small that the students didn't realize what a positive impact they were having…by the end of the course, many of the students I spoke to could really see the value of what they were doing. They had grown more comfortable working with the elderly and some said they would volunteer on their own time, to bring music to long-term care residents."

Through her observation and analysis, Saukko will be helping researchers at Lakehead's Centre for Education and Research on Aging and Health (CERAH) study how music activation can be used to enhance the quality of palliative care programming in Canada's long-term care facilities. Her work is part of a larger five-year Community University Research Alliance (CURA) research project led by principal investigator and Lakehead University Social Work Professor Mary Lou Kelley. Saukko's supervisor, Professor Marg McKee, is a colleague of Mary Lou Kelley's and a former professional violinist.

Saukko studied painting and sculpture at Lakehead so this course fits well with her interest in the arts. Although she was originally looking for a master's project using the visual arts to engage older people, she jumped at the opportunity to be part of research with a related focus.

She thinks courses like Creative Community Engagements in Music combat ageism and help young people become more comfortable interacting with the elderly. "Many students I've talked to have come to see that the creative side of people endures." Saukko is optimistic about the future and confident that the work she is doing as a student will help to improve the quality of palliative care programs in long-term care facilities.

Lakehead students taking Creative Community Engagements in Music this year also had the opportunity to work with French Immersion and English Stream Grade 7 and 8 students to explore the concept of conflict through music. They were led in this endeavour by Dean Jobin-Bevans and Lise Vaugeois, a professional musician and sessional lecturer in Lakehead’s Faculty of Education.

One hundred and forty students from École Gron Morgan in Thunder Bay were divided into groups and led by teams of Lakehead music students. Their objective was to explore four types of conflict - interpersonal, strike, revolution, and war - and develop a song that could be performed in front of the entire school at an assembly.

The exercise was meant to stimulate critical thinking among younger students and to create an environment where they learned how to collectively solve problems. Along the way, the elementary school students gained insight on how to build community and appreciate the unique contributions of individuals within the group.

"Conflict is a big concept for students and is also the main theme for the Grade 7 and 8 history curriculum," says Denise Baxter, principal of École Gron Morgan. "This type of learning is real for students and provided an opportunity to engage their critical thinking and creativity."

Lakehead University values social justice and civic responsibility. By engaging with the community in learning and discovery, scholars like Dean Jobin-Bevans and Lise Vaugeois are helping to forge a stronger society.