The Pedagogy Study Group warmly invites all teachers of music history to attend “Pedagogy Fridays,” held approximately every-other week during the academic year. At these virtual gatherings, we discuss varied teaching-related topics, share resources, and provide support to each other. There’s no need to register in advance; all are welcome to attend, even if only for part of a session. This fall, Pedagogy Fridays will take place on the dates below from 4 to 5 p.m. EST via Zoom at this link. Topics include:
26 September: “Teaching Demonstrations 101: From Prep to Presence,” Facilitator: Kendall H Winter, Assistant Professor of Musicology, University of Kentucky
The pre-recorded teaching video and live teaching demonstration are an opportunity to show search committees who the job seeker is in the classroom. Yet the teaching demonstration can feel like the most daunting and unpredictable part of the academic job interview. Join us this Pedagogy Friday for a workshop on how to turn uncertainty into confidence by clarifying the function a teaching demo serves, why it matters, and how to approach it with purpose. Designed for graduate students and early career scholars in music studies—as well as the faculty who mentor them—this session will walk through effective preparation strategies, practical classroom management techniques, and common pitfalls to avoid. Participants will leave with the tools to present—or help others present—their authentic teaching self and make a lasting impression.
10 October “Teaching with Roles: The Musician in Society”
About a decade ago, curricular reforms at their university led Brett Boutwell and Blake Howe to develop a course called “The Musician in Society.” The course is organized according to the complementary roles played by different people in the creation and reception of music—for example, the roles of the listener, instrument maker, teacher, performer, composer, patron, disseminator, and more. In this presentation, Brett and Blake will talk about their approach to the course, its development and implementation, and a new textbook based upon it (forthcoming from W. W. Norton).
Bios: Brett Boutwell and Blake Howe are musicologists at Louisiana State University, where they developed a first-year course for music majors called “The Musician in Society.” They are the recipients of several instructional awards from LSU for their undergraduate teaching, which spans small honors seminars, surveys of music history, and large courses in LSU’s general education catalog.
31 October
21 November
5 December
Any member of the PSG is welcome to lead & facilitate a PSG Friday discussion; if you are interested in facilitating a workshop or have an idea, please contact the PSG chairs!