World Music Pedagogy course (Americas Region)
with Dr. Jennifer Walden
Online Live course via Zoom
8 x 2 hour sessions throughout February/March 2024
6:00pm - 8:00pm (GMT-4)
(perfect for teachers in North America, Central America, South America)
After the incredible success of the first online World Music Pedagogy course in May 2023 (Asian region), we are opening a NEW intake for international school music teachers working in the Americas. This series of online workshops, seminars, and discussions examines cultural diversification in music programs, resources, and methodologies. With the inclusion of ethnomusicologists, educators, traditional artists, and culture-bearers, participants will gather to learn ways to deliver inclusive, culture-rich programs that nurture students as global citizens.
Addressing the growing number of teachers working in international schools, sessions will investigate learning from and bringing in local artists from school’s host countries. Sessions will also feature song, dance, and instrumental performance, guided by musicians and educators experienced in student engagement.
Issues of race, equity, social activism, and sensitivity to host country norms will be discussed from the standpoint of how we talk about music and deliver musical experiences to general, instrumental, and vocal classes. Participants will receive a certificate from the Smithsonian Institution in World Music Pedagogy.
Book your place in the course:
Live Online via Zoom.
Tuesdays and Thursdays in February/March, 2024. See course outline here.
6pm - 8pm (GMT-4).
Perfect for teachers working in North, Central & South America.
(see FAQ's for synchronous/asynchronous course completion requirements).
Fees:
Early Bird (until December 15th) = $295 USD
Regular (until February 16th) = $345 USD
What will you learn?
Critically examine cultural diversification in music programs, resources, and methodologies.
Interact directly with ethnomusicologists, educators, traditional artists, and culture-bearers, to learn ways to deliver inclusive, culture-rich programs that nurture students as global citizens.
Investigate how to learn from, and bring in, local artists from the host country of your school.
Experience song, dance, and instrumental performance, guided by musicians and educators experienced in student engagement.
Explore issues of race, equity, social activism, and sensitivity to host country norms from the standpoint of how we talk about music and deliver musical experiences to general, instrumental, and vocal classes.
Plus:
Receive a certificate in World Music Pedagogy from the Smithsonian Institution.
Meet like-minded international school music educators from around the world to help build your professional network.
Complete a course that is specifically designed to maximise learning by being spread out over a month. Built this way based on participant feedback and online learning best practices.
Share ideas & resources with other international school music educators.
If you have any questions about the event, please email: contact@mtiis.com
Get a taste of the course:
Course Outline
A detailed schedule will be provided prior to the course start date.
Session | 6:00pm - 7:00pm | 7:00pm - 8:00pm |
|---|---|---|
1 Tuesday February 20th | Participants - location, music discipline, expertise. WMP project review. How WMP is structured for program diversification. | Hands-on learning: West African drumming. How ideas can be integrated into General Music, Choir, Instrumental Music. |
2 Thursday February 22nd | Guest lecturer: Pat Campbell | Guest specialist: Musica Folclorica of the Dominican Republic with David Almengod |
3 Tuesday February 27th | Guest specialist: Dominican Carabiné Vocals and Rhythms | HANDS Percussion Malaysia |
4 Tuesday February 29th | Guest specialist: TBC | Guest specialist: Kalimba with Kyle Heide |
5 Tuesday March 5th | Thinking and teaching globally (How do we talk about music?): Vocabulary and concepts integrated into concert band, jazz band, orchestra, and choir. Issues of appropriation and assumption of values, tokenism and essentialization. | Guest specialist: Rafael Prato Venezuelan rhythms and vocal styles |
6 Thursday March 7th | Hands-on learning Vocal styles: throat singing, gospel songs, Bulgarian choir music, beat boxing, throat boxing. | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Racism. The physical environment, repertoire, instruments, arrangements (adapting arrangements to fit the ensemble) |
7 Tuesday March 12th | Bhangra drumming and dance/ Comparative experiences/ Quiti Plas, Culo y Puya | From pro to getting-to-know: How to transfer music from a professionally performed genre into relevant, meaningful experiences for young students. Working with host country clinicians. Creating lesson plans. Implementing ideas, warmups that reflect and inculcate diversity. Using Learning Pathways from WMP. |
8 Thursday March 14th | Project presentations | Project presentations |
Book your place in the course:
Live Online via Zoom.
Tuesdays and Thursdays in February/March, 2024. See course outline here.
6pm - 8pm (GMT-4).
Perfect for teachers working in North, Central & South America.
(see FAQ's for synchronous/asynchronous course completion requirements).
Fees:
Early Bird (until December 15th) = $295 USD
Regular (until February 16th) = $345 USD
Meet your course host
With a PhD in the field of cultural diversity in music education, many years of experience teaching music in international schools, and presentations at over 50 conferences around the world, Dr. Jennifer Walden has mastered the craft of engaging students in musical activities that span many cultures and generations. Her approach is truly global, teaching culturally diverse understanding, awareness, and appreciation through music.
Jennifer’s teaching style is complemented by her ability to play a multitude of instruments from every corner of the world. She has also studied diverse singing styles and trained with dance professionals in many different genres of movement. Taiwan was Jennifer’s first international school experience – it continued with Colombia, Syria, Malaysia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Canada, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. For Jennifer, the learning never stops: in each location she studies the language, instruments, vocal styles, and movement.
What people say about the course:
"Exposure to all kinds of new musics, endless encouragement and inspiration from Jennifer & connections for years to come" - Leslie (Japan)
"I loved the diversity of the content, the high level of professionalism and enthusiasm of everyone involved, the great ideas, and the motivation I always felt after every session" - Stefanos (China)
"I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of genres/cultures represented and the great guest artists" - Jared (South Korea)
"Sharing ideas, hearing what others are experiencing, different cultures presented! Also really enjoyed the sessions with guests, that was awesome!" Sanja (China)
"I found most useful the "hands-on" presentations related to various music cultures. I also Iiked the discussions concerning values, assumptions, bias etc.; they were very thought-provoking." Yiouli (Greece)
"I enjoyed Jennifer's enthusiasm and passion. You are such an inspiring teacher, Jennifer. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge with us. I love so many different types of world music and I didn't realise that other people share the same amount of passion (if not more) for it too. Thank you. I also enjoyed meeting other music teachers. I am the sole teacher at my school and have been for 15 years. It made me want to network and collaborate more. Or even move to where there might be more face-to-face connections happening. It made me want to get back into my drumming classes too, which I hadn't kept up with." Claire (Australia)
Course FAQ's
The course has been designed for live participation and we believe you will get the most out of the course this way. However, sessions will be recorded and shared with participants soon after each session. It is hoped that all attendees can attend the final session to deliver their presentation live to the cohort. However, if you cannot make the final session in-person, you may deliver your 5 minute presentation as a video recording the day before. Basically, we know music teachers are hectically busy people, so we want to make things as flexible as possible for you!
No. Any music teacher who feels they would benefit from the content presented in this workshop may choose to attend.
Smithsonian Institution is the national museum of the United States. The Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. The organisation is dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound. They believe that musical and cultural diversity contributes to the vitality and quality of life throughout the world. Through the dissemination of audio recordings and educational materials they seek to strengthen people's engagement with their own cultural heritage and to enhance their awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of others. Learn more here:
No, you do not need to bring an instrument to this workshop. Since the workshop is via Zoom, all music will be performed by the guest ethnomusicologists, educators, traditional artists, and culture-bearers.
Please contact our team at contact@mtiis.com to discuss any changes to your booking.
Please also re-read the Terms & Conditions to check how changes to your booking may impact you.
Your registration fee includes 8 x 2 hours sessions of live online interaction hosted by the MTIIS team and led by Dr. Jennifer Walden.
Your registration does not include any other expenses incurred during the completion of this course.