by Aileen Miracle
Reprinted with permission from Mrs. Miracle’s Music Room.
With summer here, you may be wondering which classes and professional development to take, to further your certification and continue to better your practices. In this blog post, I’m detailing five ways to continue to professionally develop this summer.
#1: Book Study with Music Teacher Coffee Talk
Carrie and Tanya from Music Teacher Coffee Talk will be doing another book study this summer, about the book “Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education: From Understanding to Application,” by Lind and McKoy (note: this is a referral link.) I’m super excited to participate in this book study, as this is a topic I’m very interested in (and what a great way to learn–with other music educators!) Tune into their podcast this summer to participate!
#2: YouTube videos for long-range planning
If you’re itching to start planning out your year, check out this playlist of videos, all about long-range planning–from creating a song list to writing a year plan. Here’s one of the videos, about creating a year plan:
#3: Katie Wardrobe’s Webinars
Katie Wardrobe from Midnight Music has SO many great webinars, about different tech platforms. Here are a couple of my favorites:
#4: Folk song research
Summer is a great time to research folk songs! Here are some of my favorite new and old resources:
- Chinese Folk song Website (includes notation, history, and recordings for lots of Chinese folk songs!)
- Kenya Sing and Dance by Tim Gregory (includes notation and video field recordings of Kenyan folk songs)
- Roots and Branches by Judith Cook Tucker, Ellen McCullough-Brobson, and Patricia Shehan Campbell (includes folk songs from all around the world, with historical notes and recordings)
#5: Tech Tools workshop
I’m super excited to be hosting a workshop, called “Tech Tools for the Music Classroom,” on July 20, at 5 p.m. Eastern, and July 21, at 3 p.m. Eastern. In the workshop, I’ll offer thoughts about what we’ve learned this past year, and will explore four of my favorite tech tools for the music classroom. Sign up here. I hope you have a restful summer…while also improving your craft through these exciting professional development opportunities! Happy Summer!
About the Author
Aileen Miracle teaches K-5 general music and choir in the Olentangy Local School District near Columbus, Ohio. She has also taught K-7 general music, band, choir, and strings over the course of her career. This is her twenty-second-year teaching music. She is an accomplished Kodaly educator and presenter. She completed her Masters Kodály level at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemet, Hungary. She is a past President of the Midwest Kodály Music Educators of America. She has taught Level I and III Kodaly for DePaul University, Level I Methodology and Folk Song Research for Colorado State University, and Level III Methodology and Folk Song Research for Capital University. She opened her TeachersPayTeachers store in the summer of 2012, where she has available teacher tested and student approved general music lessons, activities, units, and classroom decor. Be sure to follow her onFacebook and Instagram to find out more about her projects! You can also email her with questions at mrsmiraclesmusicroom@gmail.com.
