Module 2 Samples

Module 2 – Discussion Forum 1 - Philosophical Statement Discussion

How does revising and updating a pedagogical statement over time reflect growth and development as an educator?

Revising and updating a pedagogical statement over time reflects growth and development because educators receive feedback every time they teach and understand how students respond to their lessons and strategies. No educator will remain stagnant over the course of their teaching career. Even from day-to-day, educators should reflect on how successful the class was with the criteria of success, including how effective their classroom management was, how engaged the class was, how they assessed their students, and how frequently feedback was given in addition to positive reinforcement. As educators learn from their professional learning committee, attend professional development sessions, consult advice online, and reflect on their own practices through recording their lessons and rewatching, they will make changes and adjust accordingly. This is necessary because "music education is not a static enterprise; it is a site of ongoing negotiation where teachers must reimagine and re-create the conditions of musical learning" (Allsup, 2016). 

For example, I created a teaching philosophy in my very first music education course in undergrad. At this point, I was very naive and lacked concrete and formal teaching experience. The ideas and beliefs I had were not wrong, but they were out-of-teach with reality and what was actually achievable with the constraints in the classroom. 8 years have passed since then, and my teaching philosophy has significantly changed. I still hold firm to beliefs, including that every child deserves to feel safe in the classroom, but now understand on a deeper level how to achieve that and create a classroom culture that reflects those values. This also includes my current developing knowledge of how to use and teach music technology in class. Learning how to incorporate and embed these pedagogical practices will change my teaching philosophy. Whether it is using "theory drill software and notation programs" in music theory class  or [embracing] loop-based DAWs and collaborative online platforms in digital music class, I am continually receiving new feedback to help enhance my teaching. (Cremata, 2017; Green, 2008). Ultimately, educators should not remain the same as when they started. The journey of learning what motivates students to create robust and relevant student-centered instruction should be a primary driving factor to ongoing professional development and growth.

Module 2.2 – Artifact Forum - Make and Share from Sound Trap