Entry #4

The candidate understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates content-specific learning and literacy experiences that make the discipline accessible and relevant to assure mastery of the content.

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As a music educator, I display a thorough knowledge of music and its related studies that have been cultivated through my experiences in my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I am a very curious person who has pursued degrees and certifications in almost all areas of traditional music study. I excelled in music theory and aural skills which I then went on to teach as a graduate student. I achieved a Certificate of Music Theory pedagogy as a result of my teaching and additional research and application of contemporary and traditional pedagogical techniques. I frequently use these techniques in front of ensembles in addition to the music theory classroom. As part of my graduate study, I pursued many research projects that covered subjects ranging from a comparative analysis of pulitzer winner composers to ethnomusicological field research of communities in Appalachia. My specific area of compositional research focused on the composition of educational works for concert bands and the inconsistencies of the difficulty scales set in place systematically and by publishers. All of these research projects put into practice the entirety of my education, from my undergraduate studies and graduate studies, while pushing my research into more specific areas of focus. Beyond my more specific studies, I also excelled in music history, counterpoint, instrument techniques, brass performance and pedagogy, and of course composition. 

Students will benefit from my comprehensive education, because I can offer students knowledge gained from studies beyond the fundamentals covered in an undergraduate degree. I put almost all of my knowledge to use in front of the classroom using one subject to inform another and creating cross curricular connections from my experience. Music literacy is of prime importance in my classroom and my music theory background will help students learn music fluently at a fast pace. My knowledge and experience in research will assist the development of my lessons to ensure that students are getting the most comprehensive music education experience they can receive.