Joy, Community, Connection : Faculty PD Workshop

Trinity Area School District

It’s easy to get discouraged as a music educator these days. Especially when you operate on the periphery of the mainstream like I do, sometimes you can feel quite alone! This SubStack has brought a great sense of community to my work, and I hope you feel the same way. I had a similarly wonderful experience this week as I was invited to present a three-hour professional development (PD) workshop to the music faculty of Trinity Area School District here in Western Pennsylvania. In this post I’ll recap what we went over, some things that I learned, and share some resources for the folks who were there and want to dig deeper! But first…

Housekeeping:

Make sure you’re upgraded to the TEAMM Subscription so you can attend this meeting! I’ll go IN DEPTH on this idea and give all sorts of philosophical and practical thoughts on the utility of numbers in a music curriculum. The TEAMM is growing each and every week and I’m glad to welcome new members all the time! Aside from access to the substantial archive of posts you get tons of content reserved for TEAMM only, as well as individualized coaching from YOURS TRULY and invitations to the workshops/meetings every month! It’s the best $10 you’ll ever spend. (Many of the TEAMM members get their admin to pay for it…)

From the Archive:

I just wanted to thank you again for your session with our music department at Trinity yesterday. It reminded me that music should bring joy and community and connection to our lives and to the lives of our students. - Trinity Faculty PD Participant

My journey through the Dalcroze approach and my work adapting it for public school practice has taught me a great many things. I do think that it has shaped the fundamental philosophy which guides my practice, and I have observed many ways in which it has improved the lives of my students. When I get the opportunity to share these ideas with colleagues, friends, and fellow educators, I am often met warmly. The discussions that ensue are encouraging and demonstrate some deep agreement between mainstream teachers and my Dalcroze sensibilities. However, my most recent PD at Trinity Area School District was among the most exciting experiences I have had yet in this context.

The Secret Stopper Game

I began the workshop as I usually do with the Secret Stopper sequence of activities. I find this a great way to create an inviting path for participants to connect to the space and to one another. I often will pause the workshop at this point and ask people to reflect on the activities. There were enthusiastic responses in the group that demonstrated KEEN insight into the purposes of these activities. They used words like “awareness” and “engagement” to describe the objectives of the activity. There was a non-music administrator at the session, and she was SO excited by the work and saw right away the possibilities for students to practice vital developmental skills with a simple activity like this.

Now and Forever

I followed with another favorite of mine… “Now and Forever.” This activity essentially focuses on meter as a concept, but rather than encouraging an understanding of the theory behind meter, it connects students to the FEELING of meter. They were really quite good at the activity, even when we move into some mixed/odd meters.

Beat Level Circles

Since the workshop was THREE HOURS, we got the opportunity to work through some really interesting concepts like my Beat Level Circles activities. This was a great chance to focus on TIME SPACE ENERGY and illustrate how the Dalcroze approach creates good habits for rhythm and subdivision. They were VERY excited about my alternate notation system and had all kinds of suggestions for its application.

In general, the participants in this PD all found some relevance with this work to their own. Whether it was choral directors, band directors, or general music teachers; they all brainstormed various ways to suggest uses. As music educators, we all are facing the same challenges, and looking for solutions. Dalcroze work delivers some powerful propositions for a teacher who is looking to reach students deeply and focus on the TRUE JOY of music making… to create a COMMUNITY around this shared love…. and forge DEEP CONNECTIONS between students, the world around them, and artistic expression.

I’d love to visit YOUR DISTRICT and hold a professional development event! Please contact me to discuss what’s possible!