Abstract:

Science and engineering universities increasingly seek to develop creativity, flexibility, and collaborative intelligence alongside technical expertise. However, integrating humanities-based methodologies into highly specialized academic environments remains challenging.

This presentation introduces a performance-based pedagogical model developed at a leading science and engineering institution, in which live musical practice serves as an experiential framework for both students and academic researchers. Designed and implemented by a former Artist-in-Residence and now Professor of Creative Arts, the initiative embeds structured performance and dialogue into academic contexts to examine parallel challenges shared by the performing arts and scientific research. In this model, music is approached not as cultural enrichment or a “nice to have,” but as a methodological lens through which core cognitive and collaborative processes can be examined and strengthened.

Music functions here as a concrete analogy for essential processes in science and engineering. The act of interpretation in performance—where multiple legitimate readings coexist—becomes a model for developing multiple problem-solving pathways rather than assuming a single predetermined solution. Improvisation, understood as composition and execution in real time, mirrors decision-making under uncertainty and time constraints. Coping with mistakes on stage reflects adaptive response, resilience, and forward momentum in experimental research.

The model also highlights a structural similarity between disciplines: in both musical performance and scientific inquiry, extensive preparation, rehearsal, and experimentation precede results that may appear concise or immediate. The visible outcome rarely reflects the depth of the invisible process. Recognizing these shared dynamics fosters interdisciplinary understanding between fields often perceived as distant.

The session will integrate brief live music performance segments to illustrate these parallels in practice. By moving between explanation and demonstration, the presentation offers participants a concrete example of how music-based performance learning can operate as a rigorous and transferable educational framework within science and engineering education.

Keywords:

Higher Education, STEM Education, Experiential Learning, Interdisciplinary Education, Creativity in Education.