Background This past year, I spent a lot of my time investigating and researching student perceptions of composition projects that they were completing in their band class. This research was for my master’s field project but the entire process was incredibly enlightening and informative. The research showed [...]
When my husband and I decided to stay in Philadelphia after graduating from college, we always got the same questions: "Are you going to stay in the city long term?" "What will you do when you have children?" "Where will you send your kids to school?" In our [...]
Theresa Thomasulo In recent years, it has become increasingly common for choral teachers to have transitioning and gender-fluid singers in their choirs. A quick online search will reveal some excellent literature centered on vocal pedagogy and transitioning voices. However, we should also consider the statistics [...]
There was a subtle but noticeable change when I received my PhD. I was not treated the same. I noticed parent emails were slightly more forgiving, and my opinion seemed to be more valuable than before those three letters followed my name. I noticed a similar change with [...]
A few weeks ago, I was on a Facebook forum for music teachers. Someone posed a question about popular music education—the essence of the post was prodding at the philosophy of music educators and whether or not they view popular music as a valid area of study. And, [...]
Dr. Martina Vasil is the Assistant Professor of Music Education at The University of Kentucky. In this post, she shares lessons learned from a research project she completed during her doctoral studies. During that study, she observed children at play to learn more about their musical interactions [...]
Creating music is one of the four artistic processes that guide the national core standards for music education, yet many teachers report they spend very little time teaching improvisation and composition in their classes and rehearsals. Most of the best-selling band methods emphasize notation and theory over [...]
"I'm on sabbatical." I said these words over and over again this past year, explaining to folks why I was suddenly home with my kids and not in the classroom. Since graduating from college in 2007, I have spent every year teaching. Teaching, conducting, writing, studying, planning. [...]
My background Theresa Thomasulo I am the type of teacher who will go to great lengths to minimize transitions. Because I love to keep things moving, I try to equip students with helpful resources ahead of time. In my choir classes, one way I do [...]
Some of Steve's student's performing Change can be difficult. But oftentimes, challenging the status quo yields remarkable results. As our traditional definition of teaching and learning continues to transform, what are a few ways we, as music educators, might be able to facilitate these modifications [...]