MusicFirst’s Post

Discover the transformative power of a holistic approach to curriculum design in this November issue article, which guides you through creating connections within and beyond the discipline of music, offering students a meaningful and impactful learning experience. "Music education is a vital part of the school curriculum that promotes intellectual, physical, and emotional growth in students. When the curriculum is designed holistically, educators are primed to stimulate creativity and nurture thoughtful expression, as well as build meaningful connections. Conversely, a music curriculum can be overly specialized, emphasizing one facet of music learning such that others are inadvertently neglected. In so doing, it might not reflect the multilayered and multifaceted nature of music-making and learning. This imbalance can create a perceived disconnect between music in school and music practices outside school." - Carlos R. Abril 📕 Read the full article online at: https://lnkd.in/gPYqZ-XX #MusicEducation #SWMusicianMagazine #TMEA

Here’s the problem with many trainings on culturally responsive pedagogy: Too focused on theory. Many trainings on culturally responsive teaching only elaborate on theory and don’t give practical examples of applications in teachers’ respective content areas. Yes, educators need to understand the theory, but at the end of the day, teachers gotta teach. Teachers need practical examples of application and guided support in order to help them effectively implement in their classrooms. And when it comes to K-12 music educators? Music content specific support for culturally responsive instructional practices is few and far between… But, I’m changing that! If you’re tired of professional learning that only “talks the talk,” join me Saturday, February 10th for my upcoming virtual workshop, “Black Music Traditions”! I’ll be teaching lessons live suitable for the K-8 general music classroom PLUS breaking down the framework for Culturally Responsive Music Education so you’ll walk away with a better understanding of the pedagogy, lesson resources you can use right away, and know how to make it work for your music classroom. You’ll also get a PD certificate for 3 hours! What are you waiting for?! Register to join me today! https://lnkd.in/exnmB9mx #MusicEd

Share your thoughts and advice in the comments ⬇ and read more at tmea.org/q&a Music educators from across the state share their ideas and experience, answering TMEA division-specific questions in the latest #TMEAQA 💭 Music symbol centers are a good way to support students who are preparing to enter sixth-grade band and choir programs as centers offer good reviews for them. I have created and purchased games that focus on music symbols. I utilize 5–6 stations, depending on the size of my class. Each station has one of the following: a board game, music symbol toss, or smart board jeopardy. Students have 10-minute rotations, which keeps them on task. —Rome Smith, Ore City Elementary 💭 We work on more challenging literature in the spring. Students also participate in a music research project. They choose a school-appropriate song and research the artists. I allow students to listen to the music as they work to share their music with others working near them. Students enjoy this project; they learn how to search for information online and how to create and present a PowerPoint. For students who are too nervous to present, I allow them to partner up. —Sarah Williford, Spring Creek Elementary 💭 Fifth graders like challenges and knowing they are respected in the classroom. We work on a composition project in the spring of which they have ownership. We discuss song tales from previous lessons and years. Students then create their own stories and eventually their own compositions based on those stories. We also have a ukulele unit that we begin in the spring; this has become a huge motivator for my students. If you don’t have ukuleles, do a special drumming unit or advanced recorder unit. —Dawn Everton, New Caney Elementary #TMEA #ItStartsWithMusic #MusicEducation #MusicTeacher #MusicianLife #ElementaryMusic #Texas

Hoping for the best is not an effective teaching strategy… Too many of us K-12 music educators don’t know how to manage the diverse and ever-evolving instructional needs of our many students. So we create what we think will work for most kids, and hope for the best for the rest. This leaves out our most marginalized students to feel even more marginalized, and now with the opinion that “music isn’t for them” I see too many dedicated K-12 music educators get frustrated and burned out, simply because they don’t have the skills or support they need to manage the ever-evolving needs of today’s students. That’s why we spend one whole session of my Foundations of Culturally Responsive Music Education course learning how to design instruction through a culturally responsive lens, and the steps to ensure that it is designed for variability so that all learners will have access to comprehension. Early bird enrollment is open now through Thursday, December 14th! 🎉 Don’t forget: there’s only 15 seats for this cohort and some have already been claimed! And if you wait, you’ll pay the regular price (and if you wait until January, our 2024 price is more…). 👉🏾Check out all the info and enroll today!: https://lnkd.in/evHkhV5w #MusicEd

I can’t believe we’re already halfway through our fall cohort! Our fall cohort of the Foundations of Culturally Responsive Music Education course has been going so well, I can’t believe it’s already time for our third session. Here’s just a few of the things the cohort participants have shared about their learning: “Finding out where the foundation of my music program could grow from, allowing students to have a voice in the classroom environment and resolve barriers that could affect a sense of belonging in the music classroom.” “Retention!! And a better relationship with my students on a personal and educational level.” “This session laid out easy-to-digest steps, making the whole process towards creating equitable change feel less daunting and confusing.” I could not have asked for a better, more committed group 😀. And we’re already preparing for our next cohort in winter 2024 from February to March. For the next cohort, we will only be taking 15 participants so that we can keep the conversations intimate and ensure full support for each participant. ❓Want early access to enrollment so you can secure your spot in the upcoming cohort? 👉🏾Check out all the info about the course and get on the waitlist ASAP! Group rates are available! https://lnkd.in/evHkhV5w #MusicEd #ProfessionalDevelopment

Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser has often said, "When you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got." But what we like better: "If you want what you haven't had, you had better do what you haven't done." With statistics surrounding music teacher attrition continuing to plummet, it's time to do what we haven't done. The Music Teacher Guild is ready to pioneer teacher support in a new way: through mentorship, more effective professional learning models centered around skill development (not knowledge acquisition), and a community of collaboration that is intentionally designed for this exact purpose. Learn more about our mission and why we're doing everything we can to bring it to fruition as soon as possible: https://lnkd.in/ghMJNsW4 Remember that if we want more students to learn and love music, we need more music teachers to teach them. #musiced #musiceducators #musiceducation #musicteachers #musicindustry #professionaldevelopment

I appreciate it is a tight turnaround, but it would be great to talk Year 7-9 curriculum, pedagogy and assessment with you next Thursday 19 October at Flinders. See the post below for more detail. If you can't make this one, then there will be more to come!

Desta Olds is such a vibe! 'Community'...a tricky concept to define in this weird hybrid in-person/online world we exist in. Our 9 community principles at Music Teachers In International Schools make a big deal out of it. The word #community sits at the core of 4 of them: Principle 1️⃣ "Music-making is deeply connected to #community-building, within both the school and surrounding #communities. We actively promote the participatory nature of music" Principle 2️⃣ "We can leverage our role as the artistic face of the school (in collaboration with the other artforms) to reflect the historical place of the arts as the expressive heart of #community" Principle 3️⃣ "We should actively pursue connections with others, both locally and globally, to create bridges within a global music education #community. This builds collegiality and professional learning, and reduces the impacts of geographic and curricular isolation" Principle 8️⃣ "We can resist the forces of human capital theory, which suggests that music education is only valued according to its contribution to the economy or employment potential. Instead, music educators focus on the inherent value of music as an expressive and #community-building force in society" So, when Desta and I started chatting about having her on the podcast, it seemed like the obvious choice of topic! Desta has cracking stories, tips and ideas for connecting to local and global communities around international schooling and music education. Get it in your ears! Link to episode and show notes: https://lnkd.in/gPBCdWeQ

What is the biggest challenge for educators right now? >> Probably a challenge that's been around forever, especially in the primary sector. Being pulled in so many different directions curriculum-wise. The #curriculum, the timetable, is the biggest pressure in a lot of ways because you're trying to cover off so many different subjects. -- Josh Cadman, Director of Operations 🎺 🥁 🎺 In the six years since our founding, Sing Education has worked successfully to meet a wide range of #music provision needs. For example, we’ve had experience with #schools with absolutely no music provision in place before we arrived. In these instances, we’ve worked from scratch – and in close consultation with the school’s leadership team – to develop a musical ethos within the #school, to introduce curricular music lessons and to embed a love of music in the pupils themselves. Fantastic outcomes. 🎺 🥁 🎺 But we’ve also worked in schools where there was already a really deep love for music in place – a love of #singing or a high level of #instrumental tuition perhaps. But for whatever historic reason, the school just didn’t offer whole #class curricular music. In those instances, we really strive to boost music accessibility across the entire school so that it wasn’t just music for #children in private instrumental tuition or singing in extracurricular choirs, it was a case of music for all. 🧑🏫 LEARN MORE: https://ow.ly/YGh250Qn8FU

80% of students who started with us in FY23 returned this fall. The benefits of intensive music education are most pronounced in the context of a multi-year student journey. Simply put, our data shows that the longer students remain in our program, the deeper and more sustainable the impact, in particular given the learning disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in our student community. Read more about our dedication to #studentretention: https://lnkd.in/gj8JCK52