Name
From Error to Empathy: Improvisation as a Pathway to Collective Expression using the ILTCS-TTCT Framework
Date & Time
Thursday, July 30, 2026, 2:50 PM - 3:50 PM
Description
This workshop explores how music can act as a pathway of collective expression when embedded in an interdisciplinary framework of creative subjects. Building on the Model of Integrated Learning and Teaching of Creative Subjects (ILTCS; Mõistlik-Tamm et al., 2024) and principles from the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT; Torrance, 1966), we present a practice-based approach to improvisation, performativity, and embodied creativity. The ILTCS model is structured around four integration hubs—conception, narrative, composition, and rhythm—which provide common ground for cross-arts connections. Its “Wheel of Fortune” design enables playful recombination of hubs and realms, fostering surprising and serendipitous group explorations.The workshop extends the model through principles from the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT; Torrance, 1966), adapted for music and movement contexts (Kasak, 2017; Lait, 2018). The three principles—Use (U), Combine (C), and Complement and Expand in Space (CES)—offer systematic approaches to analysing how improvisation and performativity manifest in classrooms. For example, “U” isolates elements of a hub across two realms (e.g., rhythm in music and dance), while “C” examines how concepts combine across hubs, and “CES” studies expansion across multiple hubs in embodied, spatially distributed activities.Applying TTCT principles of Use (U), Combine (C), and Complement and Expand in Space (CES), the ILTCS model encourages embodied improvisation across music, dance, visual art, and film. Activities may involve improvising with sound and movement in tandem, combining multiple hubs across artistic realms, or expanding improvisations into performative classroom compositions. These processes embrace micro-moments of error and serendipity as solution-directed pathways and sources of creative growth (Lock & Sikk, 2022).The workshop demonstrates how such embodied, multimodal practices foster mutual listening, empathy, and shared agency, positioning music as a unifying medium that brings learners together in collective creation. The “Wheel of Fortune” design functions as both a democratic and pedagogical tool, providing structured entry points for spontaneous collaboration while reinforcing the value of music as a communal act.For the ISME community, this contribution illustrates how cross-arts frameworks grounded in music can cultivate inclusive, participatory environments, enriching the role of music as a bridge that fosters collective expression and unity across educational and cultural contexts.
Location Name
514C
Full Address
Palais des Congres - Montréal Convention Centre
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
Session Type
Workshop
Presenting Author(s)
Marit Moistlik Tamm, Gerhard Lock