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
Growing Young Professionals: An Introduction
Hello, and welcome to F-Flat’s new blog, Growing Young Professionals! The purpose of this blog is to answer practical and logistical questions young professionals, more specifically new teachers, have when entering the work environment. Often, the [...]
Musicast Episode 7: Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser- Chicken Soup for the Music Teacher Soul
Dr. Tim Lautzenhesier drops by to talk about motivation, inspiration, and keeping music alive and well in our schools during tough times. If you need a boost in your teacher morale, this one is for you! [...]
The New Normal: Advocating for students
I hadn’t seen my students since March 10th. I hadn’t heard them sing together or in public since we closed down back in March. In fact, I was at an American Choral Directors Association Southern Conference [...]
Musicast Episode 6: A Nod to Marching Bands, Part 2 with Aaron Dugger- Balancing Process and Product
High school band director Aaron Dugger returns to the podcast to discuss process and product in secondary marching bands. in the Texas UIL system, it can feel like your teaching to a test but Aaron offers productive insight as to how to take the system and make it work for students and programs of all kinds. [...]
The Essential Work of the Arts: A Productive Response for Teachers
This post is a response to the post "The Essential Work of the Arts". Taking Action If you can agree that arts, in general, are important, then we can move to action items: what do we [...]
Musicast Episode 5: Young Band Directors Panel- Finding and Remembering Your “Why”
\A panel of high school band directors who have been teaching for 6 years or less come together to discuss the good, the bad, and the inspirational parts of being a band director. The discussion includes topics about leadership, COVID era teaching, and finding and remembering why they became music teachers. This episode will feed your soul! [...]