Rooted in culturally responsive teaching—to engage your entire classroom!

This one- or two-year degree program (your choice!) can be completed without taking time off from your teaching career.

This 10-month degree program fully leads you to your initial teaching license in Massachusetts public schools.

Culturally Responsive Teaching
in the General Music Classroom

Lorrie Heagy • Tuesday 11/15/22 • 8:00pm ET
How can you authentically connect with your students’ musical backgrounds and cultural identities? This session views that question through a few lenses. Learn about the three levels of culture by exploring the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Study Kodály’s pedagogy at its roots to avoid the pitfalls that come from employing it without full context. And gain a wealth of resources—both online and off—to help engage your entire classroom.

Centering Students in Rehearsal Prep:
Routines and Expectations for Beginner Strings

Michal Shein • WEDNESDAY 12/7/22 • 8:00pm ET
Beginner string classes have so many moving parts. Between instrument care, posture, and sound production—to name just a few—it’s a lot to keep track of. This session offers several ways to optimize the classroom experience for young learners, merging these different elements into a classroom culture that fosters self-motivation through musical incentives and healthy routines. Leave with ideas on how to cultivate a student-led rehearsal flow that bubbles with enthusiasm and discovery.

Technology and Music Education

Garo Saraydarian • Tuesday 1/10/23 • 8:00pm ET
In modern music classrooms, technology and the Internet are capable of opening new pathways for educators and students to learn and express themselves musically. Yet without scrutiny, technology has the potential to harm students by upholding structures of exclusion in our schools. This session dives into practical ways we can use technology for good while addressing issues of access, cultural assumptions, and racial equity.

Expanding Our Repertoire
Ensuring Diversity and Equity in Band Programming

Heather Cote • Wednesday, 2/8/23 • 8:00pm ET
As music educators, the repertoire we choose has the power to shape our students’ relationship to music. This requires us to be thoughtful and intentional in selecting music that represents the students in front of us. But how do we do that? This session offers concrete ideas, exploring the many resources available to music educators who want ensemble curricula that reflect values of inclusion and equity. You’ll also learn strategies for welcoming student input during the decision-making process—giving them a say in the music they study and perform.

Teaching Gender-Expansive Singers

Christopher Sierra • Wednesday 2/22/23 • 8:00pm ET
When it comes to supporting gender-expansive singers in our classrooms and studios, valuing gender diversity and inclusion is just the beginning of what we can do. This session uncovers new methods for honoring and addressing the needs of gender-expansive singers in the applied voice studio and choral classroom. By reframing our understanding of vocal pedagogy, we can dismantle the binary norms that have long dominated the field and identify new teaching tools for a more equitable classroom.

Adaptive Music for Accessibility and Inclusion

Sarah Fard • Wednesday 3/8/23 • 8:00pm ET
Who are we including in instrumental music? Is it accessible to all students who wish to participate? Offering inclusive practices for instrumental teachers at any grade level, this session prompts you to analyze your practices through the lens of culturally responsive pedagogy, with emphasis given to adapting instruments and visuals for students with disabilities. Learn how to utilize low- and high-tech tools to facilitate music making, adapt notation, and accommodate student learning needs in the music classroom.