"Matters of Diversity in a Kodaly Inspired Classroom"

Participants will learn repertoire from a diverse range of cultures including Ghana, Tanzania, China and more. Considerations of how to meaningfully integrate material into an existing scope and sequence will be discussed, as well as an ethical approach to song research. Vetted aural and written resources will be explored. All of these steps are intended to help participants feel more confident in creating a more vibrant music teaching and learning environment that reimagines diversity in Kodály-inspired classroom

Dr. Howard Bio:

Karen Howard is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of St. Thomas, teaching music education methods, core graduate courses, world music pedagogy, and advising masters theses.

In addition to her university schedule, Dr. Howard is a national and international clinician specializing in children’s music culture, ethnomusicology, creative and folk dance traditions, early childhood music education, assessment, and curriculum development. She has presented at events for the American Orff Schulwerk Association, the Organization of American Kodály Educators, the Society for Ethnomusicology, the National Association for Music Education, the International Society of Music Education, and the American Choral Directors Association.

Her research has been published in the Journal of Music Teacher Education, International Journal of Community Music, and the Japanese Journal of Research in Music Education. Her other published works are available through the Association for Cultural Equity, Smithsonian Folkways Tools for Teachers, General Music Today, and The Orff Echo.

Dr. Howard earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree and Masters of Music Education degree from The Hartt School of the University of Hartford and PhD in music from the University of Washington. In 2003, she was recognized as Connecticut Music Educator Association’s Elementary Music Educator of the Year.

Bio taken from ​https://www.giamusic.com/store/artists/karen-howard

"Add More Fun to Your Formative Assessments!" As music specialists, we are charged with creating and implementing purposeful activities within a Kodály-inspired instructional sequence.  In this interactive workshop presented by Dr. Leigh Ann Garner, participants will explore practical and purposeful activities that could be employed during the assessment phase of instruction.  In addition, ideas will be presented for the applicability of these activities in preparation and practice phases as well.  Come sing, dance, and play your way into another school year!

Dr. Garner's Bio:

Dr. Leigh Ann Garner is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Prior to her appointment at St. Olaf, she taught elementary classroom and choral music for 23 years in the Hastings Public School District (ISD#200). Garner also serves as the Director of the Kodály Institute at theUniversity of St. Thomas, where she teaches pedagogy courses Levels I and II, Folksong Analysis and Materials, and KodályMaster Class. 

A sought-after clinician, leader, and facilitator, Garner teaches interactive workshops throughout the United States specializing in early childhood music, Kodály-inspired pedagogy, curriculum development, standards-based assessments, and undergraduate music pedagogy. In 2016 she was honored as a Teacher of Excellence, and respectively in 2017 as an Employee of the Semester by the Hastings School District.

Over the past 20 years Garner has served in leadership roles at the state and national level for a number of music organizations. Currently, she serves on the Teacher Education Committee of the Organization of American Kodály Educators. In 2019 she and colleagues throughout the country co-authored Kodály-Inspired Benchmarks for Grades 3-5 that align with the National Core Arts Standards.

Garner is also the co-author of Music and Movement: a music curriculum for children ages one-five. Her most recent publication, Cultivating Creative Musicians is a resource designed for elementary music teachers. In addition, she is a contributing author for MacMillan McGraw/Hill music textbook series. Garner holds an EdD from the University of St. Thomas, an MA in Music Education from the University of St. Thomas, and a BA in Vocal Music Education from St. Olaf College.

Ricky White, CEO of First National Consultants, presented the original teachings and history of the Native American Drum, Drum beats, song structure, and types of songs.

Ricky White Bio:

Ricky White, Niigonanakud, is Anishinabe from Whitefish Bay First Nations in Ontario, Canada. He is Pizhew or Lynx Clan and a lifetime member of the renowned drum group, the Whitefish Bay Singers. As a result of growing up on an isolated reserva<on, Ricky retained deep knowledge of the Anishinaabe language and culture and those teachings continue to guide his spirit and work today.

Over the last 22 years, Ricky has served as an Ojibwe Language and Culture Teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, Executive Director of Education, and Superintendent of Schools. He was exposed to world class professional development, especially in the area of school improvement, school climate, and reaching students that our school systems struggling with.

Ricky has shifted his professional career to generously sharing the blueprints of best practices for student success and working to help turnaround schools, programs and communities. He started a consulting company fittingly called “First Nations Consultants ” and is now sharing his strategies all over Canada and the United States to inspire and unite his methods and messages for enhancing education.

Ricky’s accomplishments go far beyond schools and classrooms. He was recognized as the next leader of the Anishinabe Nation of Treaty #3 (1989), Minnesota Indian Education Teacher of the Year (2001), Minnesota Indian Education Administrator of the Year (2013), and is now a sought after emcee for pow- wows, gatherings, conferences, keynote addresses, radio, television, and other public speaking engagements.

Ricky White is prepared to help you and he is proud to serve and share during this virtual professional development experience.

The ukulele is an amazing tool for teaching in the elementary music classroom but getting started can be a daunting task.  In this workshop we’ll talk through ukulele basics, what and where to buy, lesson scaffolding, tips, tricks, and a lot more.  By the time we’re done you’ll be playing along with ease and will have the skills and knowledge to get going with students.

David Row Bio:

From David's Blog makemomentsmatter.org

​

"I love teaching music to kids! This school year marks my 10th full year as an educator in public schools.  I make music with 500 brilliant, elementary school students on a daily basis at Prairie Ridge Elementary School in the DeSoto School District just outside of Kansas City.

I’m a Nebraska native and Midwesterner at heart.  I graduated from Greenville College (IL) in 2008 with a Bachelor’s Degree and then went to the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory where I earned my Master’s Degree studying Choral Conducting and Music Education (2011).  I completed my Orff Schulwerk certification at Baker University in KS and I can’t say enough about how happy I am to have taken all three Orff levels and a master class!

​When not teaching or writing about teaching here on the blog, I do my best to connect with other music educators around the country.  I have presented clinics and workshops throughout the country at the local and state levels.  I am a past president of the Mid-Michigan Orff Schulwerk Association and am an active member of the American Orff Schulwerk Association.  Check out my newest adventure by looking in Apple Podcasts for 'Make Moments Matter:  A Music Education Podcast!'"

This Bio was taken from David Row's Blog https://makemomentsmatter.org/about-me/​

October 10th, 2020

“Let’s Improvise: Using Traditional Materials to Elicit Student Creativity”, presented by Dr. Michael Chandler, will allow us to explore traditional folk songs, speech materials, and playground games that offer endless possibilities for music making and for developing student creativity through play. It was through such materials that Zoltán Kodály nurtured the music education of children in Hungary. Participants in this fall workshop will experience using the media of Orff Schulwerk (speech, singing, movement, and instruments) to encourage student creativity and improvisation through using similar traditional materials. We’ll explore techniques that encourage and motivate students to enjoy that which is traditional while also making music that is their own.

Dr. Michael Chandler Bio:

Michael Chandler is an Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Education at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in music education and supervises student teachers. Michael taught music and movement to children in Texas public schools for 16 years and was named Teacher of the Year at two different elementary campuses. His student ensembles have performed by invitation at the Texas Music Educators Conference in San Antonio in 2013, 2007, and 2005. Michael has taught workshops and conference sessions in 38 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Australia and has taught all three levels of Orff Schulwerk basic and recorder in AOSA-approved teacher education courses across the United States. He is the author of Everyday Recorder, Recorder Everyday! a classroom resource for introducing the recorder in Orff Schulwerk classrooms. Michael’s publications have appeared in The Orff Echo, The Southwest Musician, and Update: Applications of Research in Music Education.