In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating many Music Education Associations (MEAs) cancel conferences, NAfME offers the following professional development resources:
- 5 webinars from NAfME Academy (links are below, free and open to all).
- LIVE Professional Learning Community webinar series to deliver timely and targeted topics (free and open to all).
- 104Music Educators Journal featured articles are complete with a brief survey (for NAfME members only, free with member login).
All NAfME professional development is peer-reviewed and specifically developed for music educators by music educators.
Upon successful completion of the article/quiz and accompanying quiz (75% or higher), you earn a certificate of completion valued at “one contact hour.”
Questions? Contact John Donaldson (johnd@nafme.org).
14 Music Educators Journal featured articles thought to be directly applicable for teaching online during COVID-19
Simply follow the link at the end of an article title, read the article, and complete the quiz to receive a certificate of completion valued at “one contact hour.” NAfME members only — login required.
- Fostering Musical Independence – By Eric Shieh and Randall Everett Allsup (Volume 102 Issue 4, June 2016)
- Applications of Peer and Self-Assessment in Music – By Christopher Valle, Heidi Andrade, Maria Palma, and Joanna Hefferen (Volume 102 Issue 4, June 2016)
- Software-Based Scoring and Sound Design: an Introductory Guide for Music Technology Instruction – By Daniel Walzer (Volume 103 Issue 1, September 2016)
- The Music of the Spheres: Cross-Curricular Perspectives on Music and Science – By George L. Rogers (Volume 103 Issue 1, September 2016)
- Music Listening is Creative – By John Kratus (Volume 103 Issue 3, March 2017)
- Concept-Based Arts Integration: Lessons Learned from an Application in Music and Biology – By Terry Wolkowicz (Volume 103 Issue 4, June 2017)
- Mixing Formal and Informal Pedagogies in a Middle School Guitar Classroom – By Matthew J. Rescsanszky (Volume 103 Issue 4, June 2017)
- Realizing Entrepreneurship in K–12 Music Education: Inside or Outside the Box? – By Josef Hanson (Volume 104 Issue 3, March 2018)
- It’s All about the Voice … for Wind Instrumentalists, Too! – By Valerie Trollinger and Robert T. Sataloff (Volume 105 Issue 2, December 2018)
- Music Education Meets Critical Literacy: A Framework for Guiding Music Listening – By Pamela Beach (Volume 105 Issue 2, December 2018)
- An Emerging Process of Assessment in Music Education – By Phillip Payne (Volume 105 Issue 3, March 2019)
- The Tanglewood Symposium: Popular Music Pedagogy from 1967 to Today – By Ruth Gurgel (Volume 105 Issue 3, March 2019)
- Health and Wellness for In-Service and Future Music Teachers: Developing a Self-Care Plan – By Christa Kuebel (Volume 105 Issue 4, June 2019)
- Fund-a-mental Grant-Writing: Opportunities for Teachers and Researchers – By Jennifer Bugos (Volume 106 Issue 3, March 2020)
Free NAfME Academy® Webinars
Simply watch a NAfME Academy webinar below and complete the associated quiz to receive a certificate of completion valued at “one contact hour.” Subscribe to NAfME Academy for just $20/year for members ($100 for nonmembers).
Learning Targets using Google Classroom – By Karla McClain & Cathy Sullivan
Students are motivated to persist when given the autonomy to engage as leaders of their own learning by working through learning targets to meet benchmarks and achieve goals. Sequenced learning targets and a system for leveled benchmark assessments can provide students with clear and realistic expectations for self-regulated progress. Google Classroom can be used as a tool to provide interventions and Google Forms to collect data on student progress.
Click here to complete the quiz.
Mindset, Grit, and Determination: Keys to Success for Music Teachers and Students of All Needs – By Paul Young
All music teachers can benefit from understanding research findings touting the need to increase students’ character skills, particularly growth mindset, grit, and motivation. Participants will learn how music classrooms can become ideal environments for teaching and developing those skills, and while doing so, increasing their value within schools where these skills will soon be assessed as part of ESSA requirements. Attendees will learn how to model and teach growth mindset and grit traits and discover how perseverance strategies increase academic performance and lead to higher retention rates in music programs. The session content is applicable to all music teachers.
Click here to complete the quiz.
The All-Inclusive String Ensemble: Activities and Exercises to Make Every Student Succeed in Strings – By Vivian Gonzalez
Getting Fit for Strings Strength, flexibility and agility are key components to string instrument readiness and success, but many times studio and classroom teachers neglect to focus on these skills. In more than fifteen years of public school teaching and private studio teaching, I have developed specific exercises that target posture and left and right had issues, so that students can acquire new skills faster and with less frustration, tension and injury. These exercises have proven to be especially effective with special learners, who sometimes have fine and gross motor control issues. In this session, I will gladly share the exercises that my students do regularly in my classroom (elementary strings) and private studio (elementary through college) to enhance their overall playing ability.
Click here to complete the quiz.
Alternative Techniques for Teaching Middle School Band – By Todd Mahaffey
Some specific teaching strategies will be shared that are proven effective for Middle School Band. Additionally, technology resources will be discussed that aid in the implementation of these strategies. Discussion will include, but not be limited to: non-traditional seating charts, strategies for developing well-rounded percussionists, using drones to help with playing in tune, and incorporating chamber music into your curriculum.
Click here to complete the quiz.
Fostering Independent Musicians in the Choral Classroom – By Karla McClain
This webinar will give participants classroom-tested ideas to help students on their path to being independent musicians. Topics such as tools for music literacy, student engagement, assessment and self-evaluation tools, and incorporating the new Core Arts Standards will be covered.
Click here to complete the quiz.
Essential Time Management Strategies for Teachers – By Emily Schwartz
Without excellent time management skills, even the strongest teachers can become overwhelmed with all of the extra “stuff” that comes with teaching. In this webinar, Schwartz shows new teachers how to set themselves up for success by implementing simple time management strategies from Day 1. Taken from her book, Life in Cut Time: Time Management for Music Teachers, and her professional development workshops, this webinar shows new teachers how to stay organized, develop a plan, avoid common time management mistakes, and stay motivated when unexpected work starts to pile up.