March 28, 2024
Music educators, who says 40 minutes isn’t enough time to learn to better connect with your students? This year’s free virtual Changemakers workshops at Longy delivered so many great insights for the music classroom, but these are the moments we just had to share!
Changemakers is an interactive professional development workshop series that offers insights, skills, and resources to transform your classroom and engage students through cross-cultural exchange that centers on their lived experiences. Find out more here.
Use the Power of Affirmations – Alice Tsui
We all could benefit from being reminded that we are worthy of safety, respect, and love. In her Changemakers talk, “Inclusivity of AANHPI Voices in the Music Classroom,” Alice Tsui reinforced the role that personalized affirmations can play in empowering youth to feel secure and confident as their most authentic selves.
Embrace Popular Music – Michael Coelho
Finding a way to incorporate popular music into your curriculum is a great way to engage young musicians who want to see themselves reflected in lesson plans. Here, Michael Coelho discusses how he embraced program variety and brought “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo to his middle school orchestra.
Support Needs for Students with Disabilities – Sarah Fard
The best way to spark a lifelong love of music is to make music education accessible for every student. Sometimes, all it takes is color-coding piano keys in a way that correlates with the pitch of each note. Sarah Fard described how she designs her music lessons to accommodate students with working memory and fine motor skill impairments and more support needs in her session.
Bring Authentic Music to Your Students – Lorrie Heagy and George Holly
How can you be sure the music you’re using in your classroom is authentic? Lorrie Heagy and George Holly demonstrated how using the Smithsonian Folkways interactive map can help you find lesson plans featuring music from around the world. The best part? This music has been verified to ensure its authenticity and that it belongs to the people it claims to represent.
Making Classroom Goals Visible and Interactive – Missy Strong
While making music is the overarching goal in any music classroom, what about promoting the equally important values of kindness, respect, and patience? Taking inspiration from Parks & Recreation, Dr. Strong devised a Pyramid of Music Greatness, which turns the act of fostering a welcoming community into a process in which all students can be actively involved.