Casey Collins
Casey Collins is a clinical assistant professor of music education at Purdue University Fort Wayne. She teaches undergraduate courses in elementary and secondary general music methods, introduction to music education, freshman success seminar in music education, elementary music for the elementary educator, and is the student teaching coordinator for the School of Music. Prior to PFW, Dr. Collins taught PK-5 elementary general music in North Carolina where she was awarded Teacher of the Year and honored as an Excellence in Education district finalist. In 2018, Collins was awarded the Global Teacher of the Year from Participate Learning. Though elementary general music is her main passion, Dr. Collins has a love for playing the flute and can often be found jumping in on university flute ensemble rehearsals when she can, and spends her summers working with high school marching bands as a woodwind tech.
Dr. Collins holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Elon University, a Master of Music in Music Education from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Michigan. Her research interests are on topics such as teaching general music in high-poverty schools, trauma-informed pedagogy practices for the music educator, vocal health and hygiene for music teachers, positive psychology applications for music education spaces, and improvisation in the general music classroom. Her dissertation research was centered on elementary music teachers in high-poverty schools, aiming to shift the deficit paradigm surrounding these spaces. She has presented on these topics internationally, nationally, and regionally at various research and practitioner conferences. When she is not teaching, Dr. Collins can be found reading, cooking, or snuggling up with her two cats, Opa and Anabelle.
eBooks by Casey Collins
Posts by Casey Collins
Research to Practice: Informal Music Teaching
Action research is a great way to break into thinking about ways to improve what you teach, how you teach, and how students learn. I would even go as far as to suggest that most teachers are already doing this in their classrooms. Action research doesn’t have to be formal or fancy. It just starts with a spark of wonder or an idea. [...]
Musicast Episode 15: F-flat Family Chat- Engagement and Motivation of ALL Students
This week, Marissa and Kevin welcome F-flat family members Sarah Gulish and Chelsea Dehner to the chat to discuss a tricky topic: motivation. In this context, the group refers to a guitar class that attracts students of all ability levels. [...]
Musicast Episode 14: Musicast Meetup Year in Review- Reflect Behind to Look Ahead
Marissa and Kevin chat together and reflect on the school year so far and set goals for the remainder of their teaching year. Read more here! [...]
From Self-Published to Oxford
I am passionate about music education, specifically Popular Music Education, Creativity, and Informal Learning. So passionate, in fact, that I have written two books under my own publishing company, Steve's Music Room Publishing, and have been [...]
Musicast Episode 13: Abbie Van Klompenberg- Trauma-Informed Teaching
A PhD student from the University of Kentucky, Abbie Van Klompenberg, joins Kevin and Marissa for a conversation about trauma-informed teaching! As we return from break with the first episode of the new year, this is a wonderful reminder for teachers of any grade. [...]
Growing Young Professionals: Contracts
For this installment of Growing Young Professionals, we will discuss contracts with none other than Dr. Jenny Neff, Associate Professor of Music Education and Director of the MM in Music Education & Summer Music Studies Program [...]