Amplify Inspiration Showcase

Assessing Beyond Presenting a Polished Performance

Amplify Inspiration Showcase

Glenn Nierman

For decades music educators have focused on assessing the finished product of students’ musical learning—the performance. Using the Musical Selection and Rehearsal Rubrics from the NAfME Ensembles Model Cornerstone Assessment (MCA) tasks for the National Music Standards Common Anchor Standards #4 and #5, Showcase attendees at this display will be engaged in hands-on practice in evaluating actual students’ preperformance component processes—selecting, analyzing, interpreting, rehearsing, evaluating, and refining.

But Is He a Real Musician? A Single Case Study

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Kate Miller

What defines a person as a musician? As music educators we are concerned with music literacy; after all, the National Core Arts Standards include iconic and traditional notation beginning in first grade. This research study examines a popular musician, his lack of formal music training, and his ability to read standard notation. Is he still a “real” musician?

How Do Music Educators Use Student Voice and Choice?

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Christine Weatherman & Wendy Barden

Action research! Educational best practices include student-centered learning. We want to learn if—and how—music educators engage student voice and choice in their classrooms. We’ll survey music educators across the country. Showcase participants are welcome to answer the survey, too. Take away compiled teaching strategies along the voice and choice continuums.

Gender Inclusivity in the Music Classroom

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Briana Nannen

Variations in gender presentation in American culture are continuously changing. Music educators need to be aware of the shifting landscape in K–12 school settings with regard to gender and how they might alter their teaching practices for such diversity. This line of research is focused on presenting past and current trends concerning gender in the music classroom, along with recommendations for how music educators might create a more gender-inclusive environment in their own classrooms.

Music & Literature as a Springboard for Exploring Diversity

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Suzanne Hall

Music and literature (Language Arts) have the powerful ability to reflect cultures and can transmit both shared and varying stories that validate one’s lived experience. Using music and literature, in tandem, can support educators in creating a learning environment that is culturally inclusive. This presentation will discuss various approaches and tools, through which educators can create an inclusive environment where all students’ voices are heard, validated, and included in the music classroom.

Field Trip Soundscapes

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Janice P. Smith & Michele Kaschub

This is a composition project for a whole class based on a field trip or other experience the class has shared.

An Opportunity, Not a Chore! A Modern Approach to Teaching

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Carol Lynn Shansky

This poster/table offers an alternative approach to teaching Music Appreciation that is relevant to our students’ musical experience and inspires classroom engagement and critical thinking. Through a thematic approach, different musical genres, origins, and styles are explored through what they have in common. With this approach, a curriculum can be developed that is interesting for both the teacher and the class.

Children’s Literature: Create, Perform, Respond, and READ

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Rebecca Birnie

Singing picture books and books with a beat, rhythm, or rhyme are highly motivating to students. This session will explore hands-on strategies for implementing children’s literature through creating, performing, and responding, combined with reading. Strategies will be demonstrated and shared, including hands-on activities, lessons, teaching activities, manipulatives, assessment, and performance—all from successful classroom experiences. Connections will be made to the National Core Arts Standards and a resource list of take-back-to-the-classroom ideas to implement.

Differentiation Strategies in Secondary Choral Ensembles

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Allison Paetz

Secondary choral ensembles often contain a variety of ability levels when participation in private lessons, membership in other secondary ensembles, and years of in-school music instruction may vary between individual students, even in an auditioned ensemble. Appropriate differentiation is crucial for keeping students engaged and addressing these differences in ability levels. This poster will address strategies for differentiating instruction and assessment to mixed-ability secondary choral ensembles, drawing from both music education and general education literature.

Stories of Cooperating Teachers: A Framework for Mentorship

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Melissa Ryan

The results of this qualitative research study suggest that there are certain approaches that successful mentor teachers embody as they guide future teachers in their student-teaching experiences. This presentation will outline several tactics and approaches used by two experienced and successful cooperating teachers. These results, in turn, could inform future research in this area and provide a possible framework for mentorships across various music-teacher professional development contexts.

Every Student Is a Musician. Every Student Is a Composer.

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Michael Albertson

At the Geffen Academy we have designed a secondary music program around student composition and songwriting. I will share how we integrated composition of diverse musical genres into every grade and course based on student interest, allowing every student to participate in our music program, regardless of prior musical experiences. Participants will leave with activities they can implement immediately in their own classrooms as well as suggestions for getting support from all stakeholders.

Intersections: Music Teacher Preparation and Community Music

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Melissa Ryan

Some suggest that the values of community music and music education are at odds. However, I propose that the values of community music align with the goals of music-teacher preparation programs. A literature review revealed intersections of practice between music-teacher preparation and community music programs. Research suggests that preservice music teachers’ experiences in community music settings served as transformative learning events that operated as supplemental or alternative environments for the overall growth of teachers.

Amplifying Your Reach in Music Utilizing the STEAM Framework

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Melissa Hammonds & Heather McKeen

Come and experience the working model of a STEAM school where classroom teachers and music teachers share their curriculum and students have greater access to music. STEM is a nationwide driving force in education. Few states have incorporated STEAM (fine arts included) as an important part of the STEM framework. The STEAM framework offers fine arts an equal seat at the table. Leverage the momentum of STEAM, and provide greater access to music.

Interdisciplinary Activities to Scaffold Ensemble Readiness

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Katherine Willow

Several years ago, I found that I had scaffolded the musical content knowledge needed for my students to succeed in a group composition project but had not prepared students for the emotional or interpersonal elements of the process. I will present some of the interdisciplinary activities I have used in class in recent years that have helped scaffold students’ readiness for ensemble-based activities by developing their emotional intelligence and interpersonal skillset.

Help, I’m Stuck! Unfreezing Students with Trauma Histories

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Erin Price

Attendees will learn about engagement strategies for elementary general music education students with trauma histories and intense emotional-support needs. An overview of pedagogical, curriculum, and classroom management strategies will be provided, as well as insight on how to make meaningful music with students with challenging behavioral needs.

Who Are We Leaving Out? Marginalization in Music Education

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Kristofer Olsen

What does music education “look” like in your school and community? Has the field changed to reflect the vast diversity of our musical world, or are students learning the same methods of musical creation that have been around for centuries? This project challenges the historical approach to music education that privileges a small geographical region of musical creativity and offers resources for introducing students of all ages to diverse musical voices.

The Value of Creativity in Secondary Ensembles—Research

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Marissa Guarriello & Kevin Feher

This session will discuss current research on creativity and composition being completed in the secondary ensemble classroom. Presenters will discuss student benefits, challenges from their project, and how students and school community value the act of creating in a secondary ensemble setting where recreating is heavily emphasized.

Inquiry/Problem-Based Learning Utilizing the 4Cs

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Richard Frank

With the help of a live, high school jazz ensemble, we will directly apply inclusivity, inquiry-based and problem-based learning, and creative music-making in an engaging and thought-provoking workshop. With “modern” rhythm section-based music, traditional methodologies generally do not translate well. We are solving for this with innovative methodologies that are firmly grounded in the National Core Arts Standards. While rehearsing a composition, we will demonstrate these attributes as well as collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.

Sequential Activities to Develop Pitch Sight-Singing Skills

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James Reifinger

Reading printed music notation and then producing the represented pitches by singing is a complex task involving many subskills. It is a skill that eludes most of the general population, though it could be taught to all students in general music. Addressing the stages of skill development, this session demonstrates a sequence of easy-to-use activities to teach and assess the development of pitch sight-singing skills in a general or choral music setting.

Improving Rehearsal Efficiency with Score Study

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Justin Antos

Effective score study practice is paramount to a successful rehearsal. But with so many definitions and techniques of score study in our field, it is sometimes difficult for us to step back and evaluate whether our score-study processes are rooted in common practice or best practice. The purpose of this presentation is to share a specific music-theory-based approach to score study that can significantly improve rehearsal efficiency in instrumental music classrooms.

Music Educators’ Perceptions of Teaching Improvisation

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Casey Collins

This engaging poster session investigates the challenges and successes of teaching improvisation in the elementary music classroom. In the true nature of improvisation, this session is intended to spark unique ideas among music educators to improve and increase improvisation in the music classroom.

Motivation through Visible Progress—The Instrumental Levels

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John McLellan

This session will demonstrate how music educators can motivate those participating in instrumental practice by making progress more visible across instrumental levels.

Empowering the Individual Voice: Celebrating Inclusiveness

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Nicole Sonbert & Meg Stohlmann

This session provides insight into how we can work collaboratively to empower our developing singers in the classroom. Hands-on activities, tools, and examples will be provided that help educators create a safe space for vocal exploration where each individual voice can be confident in contributing to the community and the ensemble. By creating this safe space for singers to explore their individual sounds, a community of inclusiveness and diversity can be amplified beyond our current understanding.

Inspiring Elementary Students into Secondary Arts Electives

Amplify Inspiration Showcase

Daniel Fear

Our Inspiration Showcase idea is an elementary fine arts tour with local professional musicians and a painter, a dancer, and a poet, integrated into a 45-minute assembly geared towards fourth and fifth graders. Our mission is inspiring students to continue to make art of all kinds at the middle school level. The program also provides live examples of instruments and musical elements that are found in the state end-of-course exam for elementary students.

I Love My Job, but It’s Killing Me!

Amplify Inspiration Showcase

Lesley Moffat

You have the best gig ever—but it can be exhausting. If chronic stress and sickness are affecting your quality of life and ability to do your job, then look no further than my new book for strategies that will soon have you recharged and ready to go. This session will share a number of techniques from the book.

Amplify Student Voice with Flipgrid

Amplify Inspiration Showcase

Rebecca Jontos

Learn how to amplify student voices in your classroom. Flipgrid is a social learning platform on which the teacher poses a question/task and students record video responses. Students then watch and respond to other students’ posts. This has huge possibilities in the music room, including presenting compositions/projects, discussing topics, performing independently for assessment, and connecting with families. Participants will see examples of student work and have a chance to record their own video.

Composition Games for the Modern Band Classroom

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Kristen Gilbert

Participants will be able to see examples of how to use composition in the classroom—specifically, the Modern Band classroom. Enhance your students’ inner creativity to create and compose their own works in a Modern Band setting.

Music Citizenship—How to Build Your Modern Band Program

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Courtney Powers

In this session we will discuss how the School District of Philadelphia put on its first Modern Band Summit for high schoolers, the Philly Modern Band Summit, and how we attained active audience participation in our own mini version. Students made introductions, formed ten bands, and produced a song for a performance in just one hour! This was project-based learning using the Little Kids Rock model with student-led instruction.

Expert-Novice Differences in Music Reading in Eye Tracking

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Yue Luo & Hang Su

Visual information processing through music reading is a critical skill for music learners, yet most novices have difficulties in reading music. This study tested expert-novice differences in three areas using eye-tracking technology to test: (1) how novices are less effective than experts, in reading music, (2) differences in visual-auditory integration and information processing, and (3) differences in working memory and “chunking” processability. Findings promote our understanding and improve music sight-reading instruction.

The Song Map: A Community Approach to Global Music

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Sara Zur

The “Song Map” is an interactive collection of songs from around the world that is shared by students, teachers, and the families in our school community. In my music room, we use this map to explore a wide variety of global connections and questions.

Engaging Brass Players with Music Technology

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Bryan Powell

Traditional approaches to teaching brass instruments are often music-staff-notation-based and rely on instrumental method books to sequentially walk students through learning the instrument. This presentation will demonstrate ways to start beginning band students off while incorporating iconic notation and popular music in the beginning band classroom. Videos and iPads will be used to demonstrate these approaches.

The Dorseymer: Promoting Music Literacy

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Kevin Dorsey

The Dorseymer is a one-stringed musical instrument designed to promote student engagement through simple technique, student choice, differentiation, and cultural responsiveness. Stop by to play one, see how they were made and developed for my classroom, and come away with an idea for a musical instrument for your students!

Alternative Notation to Support Students with Autism

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Jacqueline Smith

Some students with autism have difficulty with abstract concepts. In this session, I will share an alternative music notation system developed in Finland that I have used with success for students with autism and with other students who struggle with traditional notation. Figurenotes uses shapes and colors to help students connect the aural to the visual so that they can progress to traditional notation. Teachers can use the idea to create their own visual adaptations.

School-Community Partnerships in Community Children’s Choirs

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Elizabeth McFarland

This descriptive study examined community children’s choirs’ participation in K-12 school-community partnerships to describe characteristics of these organizations and their partnerships, and to examine what the directors believed to be the benefits and challenges of such partnerships. The purpose of this study was to provide researchers and educators with a nationwide picture of community-based children’s choir participation in K–12 school-community partnerships to describe characteristics of these organizations and how they work together.

All for One and One for All

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Michael-Benjamin Minotti

This session shares how a general music classroom can use cooperative, collaborative, and project-based learning in the curriculum to produce many benefits to the students.

General Music in Concert: An All-Access Pass

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David Dashefsky

Create general music lessons with topics that engage technologically diverse students. Develop learning activities and assessments that promote an accessible and device-friendly classroom. Students of all backgrounds and learning styles will embrace the variety of modern music content that incorporates curriculum-based music standards. Through the use of online and streaming music technology resources, students will develop a new perspective on the relationship between all genres of music and their daily lives.

“Bossa Nova” Brazilian Rhythms in the Group Piano Classroom

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Ricardo Pozenatto

Bossa nova is a traditional rhythm that was born in Brazil, specifically in Rio de Janeiro. This attractive rhythm can be effectively used in group piano instruction, enhancing creativity, coordination, cooperative learning, and cultural exchange among students. A variety of activities that involve pairs and small groups of students in the class piano setting will be showcased as examples of how to implement bossa nova in your class piano teaching.