Tag: Teaching
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Documenting the Journey of a Music Educator
Among my goals as an educator is helping those around me feel a sense of safety and belonging. Opportunities to build community happen in various settings, where music education happens. A key opportunity arises during concerts and assemblies. Here, students share their efforts with fellow students, faculty, staff, and parents. Additionally, my work in Equity…
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Musical Collaboration for Diversity and Inclusion: Professional Growth and Impact
My work with the adult community has seen significant growth and effectiveness through the power of collaboration with colleagues. The development of these working relationships and our joint efforts on projects, such as concerts and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I.) programming, have not only improved my current work but also enriched my personal and professional…
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Engaging Music Education: Freedom and Creativity in Performance Classes
Project-based performance classes are a fun and dynamic way to get students playing instruments that aren’t usually part of a traditional orchestra, like electric guitars and drum sets. After hearing from students that they wanted more chances to perform and be involved in music, I decided to switch to this format. Our curriculum is designed…
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The Impact of Assessments on Music Education: Balancing Understanding and Grading
As we start to wind down the end of the school year, at my school we started another round of discussions about assessments. The general questions related to the topic is centered between students knowledge and understanding vs. the actual number or letter grade students receive. In general, everywhere in the United States, students are…
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Conversations With Young Brass Players
When I find myself engaged in conversations with younger performers, the conversations tends to lead into questions of “how and who”. “How do you practice that?” and “Who do you listen to?” These two PDF’s help me in my own evaluation of my practice habits and what I listen for as I continue to develop…
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Movies and Articles
My viewing habits on streaming sites like Netflix have been varied the past few months, but after reading a NY Times article, I realize that I binge watch more than just sci-fi movies and shows. I get caught up into music documentaries and watch three or four in a sitting. The latest have been a…
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The Algorithms Got Me
Sometimes I think I’m messing with the algorithms of my media consumption when I research things for classes I teach. Recently I’ve been working with a class exploring the Blues. I know…it’s a big genre and there’s lots to cover, but like most of my classes, we find a path and we follow it and…
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Teaching Orchestra and Band in a Digital Space: Day 15
Close One and Cheers: Like most Friday’s before a break from school occurs, thing are bound to go wrong. Sometimes it’s students behaving unruly or planned events that disrupt the day, like a class parties. You never know what might come up of these days. Today my “WTF” moment happened due to poor bandwidth. Now…
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Teaching Orchestra and Band in a Digital Space: Day 14
Tired: On a typical day I feel like I get to move around a fair amount. With conducting ensembles and moving around campus, I might even say I am very active. On occasion I might get a work out before my day starts. However, since the coronavirus era of teaching started, my movements have been…
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