The above linked document includes; resume, statement of teaching philosophy, 3 references, degree and accreditation certificates and accreditation report.
Though everything else may appear shallow and repulsive, even the smallest task in music is so absorbing, and carries us so far away from town, country, earth, and all worldly things, that it is truly a blessed gift of God.
- Felix Mendelssohn
Music can inspire its listener to contemplate the heavens, consider eternity, or plunge into the depths of despair; such is the power of music. When even the smallest task in music is engaged with passion, the above quote by Mendelssohn becomes a transcendent reality. My aim as an educator, therefore, is to achieve five goals:
- To inspire students to emotionally and intelligently engage with music through listening, composing and performing, so that they may develop a lasting comprehension and enjoyment of this excellent art form.
- To establish a safe and supportive learning environment based on mutual respect between students and teacher, as well as respect for the discipline of music, and where expectations and responsibilities are clearly established.
- To facilitate transformative learning. Positive learning experiences are generated by the provision of a wide range of learning activities that are designed to engage individual learning styles and needs. Being aware of diversity, I can better facilitate the development of musical potential in all students.
- To create authentic learning experiences through the promotion of a contextual understanding of music. In order to do so, I draw from contemporary as well as culturally relevant world music sources whilst integrating methods such as ICT.
- To participate in continuing professional development in order to ensure consistent advancement of my own professional capacity and teaching strategies. I wish to lead by example and to encourage in my students a life-long love and respect for the majesty, beauty and diversity of music.
1. A student may listen and imitate the actions of a teacher. However, an educator can inspire their desire to learn.
My students and faculty describe me as a dedicated, enthusiastic and innovative educator with an attitude towards helping students. I interact positively with all my students, listening to their experiences and getting feedback on my own units of work. This has enabled me to develop rapport and to reconsider ways of making course material engaging and purposeful. I utilise games, multi-sensory activities and sequential teaching plans for all genres of music. These plans have a spiral structure, i.e. they start with engaging activities and progressively lead into more complex musical theories and creative tasks. This allows for the reinforcement of taught concepts and a consequent extension of opportunities for those with musical aptitude. I am passionate about finding the most effective ways of cultivating student engagement because enjoyment of the activities and tasks we undertake is a critical aspect of positive learning experiences.
2. In the right environment, students can learn as a community, edifying its members and fostering inquiry.
I believe that any classroom that seeks to foster learning must be built on respect for the teacher, for individual students and for the subject itself. Placing my expectations in writing and explaining the reasons behind them, adds uniformity and legitimacy to the class from day one and benefits the learning of those in the classroom, regardless of their musical ability. Along with setting standards for students, I believe that the outlining of clear expectations for the teacher promotes fairness and rapport in the classroom. I have developed the habit of supplying students with a clear outline for each assessment task, including the goals to be achieved. My students know that I am highly organised and able to provide feedback before their assessments, which improves their comprehension of the task. My students finally receive a clearly marked assessment with their achievements mapped to marking outcomes. My classrooms are inclusive of all students, respectful of individual ideas and seek to promote the enjoyment of music.
3. Transformative learning is most likely to occur when students become personally engaged with the material.
I believe that music education can take many forms and has the inherent flexibility to address multiple learning styles. Zoltan Kodaly, Carl Orff and Shinichi Suzuki each had various methods for imparting musical knowledge and developing the art of performance in their established pedagogies. I seek to engage the minds, ears, eyes and hands of my students through content rich lessons that enhance and engage student participation and overall achievement. I have accomplished this through integrating technological innovations and software for aural training, arranging and composing, mind mapping genres or musical eras, audio productions or recordings, and online learning tools such as WebCT or school based equivalents. My students, faculty and other schools I have presented at, are aware of my ability to create new and exciting ways for students to engage with music productively via technology, in the classroom, or through the Internet. Understanding the diversity of learning styles and experiences is a crucial factor in enhancing this personal engagement of students.
4. As members of an increasing global community music can be our universal language.
World Music is another facet of my teaching that I integrate into almost every unit. The music of another culture can be fascinating and give my students an appreciation for other cultures and a more balanced view of music as an art form. I have taught and arranged works for my classes/ensembles that derive from China, Latin America, Bulgaria, Africa, Indonesia and India to name a few. These lessons are exiting and allow for creative exploration of elements such as the rhythms of Latin America or the close harmony of Bulgarian singing.
5. Leaders should not only be up the front of the classroom but serving the needs of those in their care.
In order to lead by example, I participate in continuing professional education to ensure consistent advancement of my own professional capacity and teaching strategies. This is important because I wish for my students to follow the pattern of leadership modelled by their teacher. My own conduct and presentation of academic content should therefore be reflected by their attitudes and achievements. I have seen this philosophy result in success when I arranged a senior student to tutor a junior class on the compositional devices of an Australian composer. This one lesson provided the senior piano player with the encouragement to become a teacher herself; and the juniors benefited greatly from her insights.
In conclusion, I am a dedicated professional educator who enjoys teaching students with all types of learning styles and needs. I believe that music is uniquely suited to foster creativity both in the mind and on the instrument; and it is to this end that I am continually devising new methods for the engagement of students’ imagination and the facilitation of authentic learning experiences. Professional development is therefore a constant part of my repertoire and classroom methodology. I never forget however, that enjoyment is an extremely important factor in playing or listening to music, and that it is best enjoyed when it is understood and ‘under your fingers.’
© Samuel Wright, 2008
