The Future of Music Teacher Education Is Explored in Collaborative Action for Change: Selected Proceedings from the 2007 Symposium on Music Teacher Education
RESTON, VA (January 22, 2010) – Collaborative Action for Change: Selected Proceedings from the 2007 Symposium on Music Teacher Education, a new book published by MENC: The National Association for Music Education and Rowman & Littlefield Education (RLE), presents new directions in the preparation and lifelong professional development of music educators.
The book is based on effective presentations from the 2007 Symposium on Music Teacher Education. The Symposium focused on examples of successful partnerships and collaborations between music teacher educators, classroom teachers, school and district administrators, and other individuals and organizations. The new book includes:
- Addresses by Marilyn Cochran-Smith (Boston College) and Don Gibson (Florida State University) raising important questions for music teacher educators to consider in shaping and assessing preservice teachers’ learning experiences and curricula.
- Three chapters encouraging expansion of college curricula to facilitate genuine interaction among preservice teachers, teacher educators, and the musics and cultures of their own and their students’ worlds.
- Exploration of beginning teachers’ socialization and skill development.
- Examples of two effective university-school partnerships, as well as a collaborative effort among university faculty, discussing the challenges and rewards encountered in pursuing such cooperative ventures.
- Descriptions of two different mentoring programs for novice and experienced music teachers, and suggestions for better preparing future music teacher educators.
Margaret Schmidt, associate professor of music education at Arizona State University (ASU), is the book’s editor. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and is director of the ASU String Project. Schmidt’s own research focuses on ways teachers, particularly beginners, think about teaching.
Together, the book’s contributors present concrete visions of music educators engaged in music teaching and learning, growing from discussions in classes, over coffee, and/or meetings, and taking individual and collective action for change in music teacher education.
“This collection of papers from the Proceedings of the SMTE 2007 conference represents some of the best thinking in music teacher education today. Built on issues related to practice, research and philosophical concerns, the authors capture differing perspectives and areas of interest, while putting forth ideas that articulate conceptual and curricular possibilities for music teacher education. That teacher development and collaborative partnerships form the core of papers is of no surprise. What is remarkable is the manner in which the collection is able to portray the complex nature of music teacher education, and how important it is for the profession to be informed and solidly grounded in a knowledge base that is itself complex and diverse. Well-organized and carefully edited, the Proceedings are a valuable professional resource for curriculum work and policy study and formation, as well as a guide for thinking about professional development in music teacher education.”—Mark Robin Campbell, professor of music education, Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam
Collaborative Action for Change: Selected Proceedings from the 2007 Symposium on Music Teacher Education is available from RLE in paperback for $44.95 and clothbound for $90.00. MENC members receive a discount of 25%. To order or for more information, call 800-462-6420 or visit www.rowmaneducation.com.
MENC: The National Association for Music Education, among the world’s largest arts education organizations, marked its centennial in 2007 as the only association that addresses all aspects of music education. Through membership of more than 75,000 active, retired, and pre-service music teachers, and with 60,000 honor students and supporters, MENC serves millions of students nationwide through activities at all teaching levels, from preschool to graduate school. MENC’s mission is to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music by all. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC’s activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education. MENC is located at the National Center for Music Education in Reston, VA.
