While at SRU, music education majors participate in a four-stage field experience process that begins during the freshman year. Field Experience 1: Observation involves 20 hours of observing in five areas of music education - elementary general music, elementary instrumental music, secondary general music, secondary vocal music, and secondary instrumental music. Field Experience 2: Exploration involves 20 hours of assisting in the field of music education. In this experience, students work with one music educator to assist him/her, for example, by running sectionals, demonstrating motions for a song, providing extra support to a student who needs assistance, or sharing a special musical talent with the students. Field Experience 3: Pre-Student Teaching is the traditional field experience, where students are placed in area K-12 schools to observe, assist, and teach in partnership with a practicing music educator. Finally, Field Experience 4: Student Teaching is a 16-week experience, which includes two eight-week placements, with practicing music educators in both an elementary and a secondary placement. Field experiences provide benefits both to the pre-service music educators and to the schools in which they complete their field experiences. Pre-service music educators benefit by having the opportunity to practice their teaching skills in real teaching situations and by learning from a variety of experienced music educators. The schools benefit by having a lower student-to-teacher ratio in their classes, as the field experience students take on some of the work typically done by the teacher, and by having the new perspective of the pre-service music educator.
Santa Fe Field Experience Immersion in Music
Field Experience Immersion in Music in New Mexico is a partnership between the SRU Music Education program and several entities in New Mexico held every odd January (2015, 2017, 2019, 2023). It includes three elements: observing, assisting, and teaching in the schools; engaging in professional development, most notably at the New Mexico Music Educators Association conference; and participating in cultural experiences. New Mexico was chosen for the location because of the opportunity to work alongside strong music educators with experience teaching in schools with diversity not common in western Pennsylvania (Hispanic/Latino, Native American), in different areas of music education (ex. guitar, mariachi), and in school systems that are quite different from those in our region. This immersive experience addresses SRU Strategic Goal 3, “Fuel learning with powerful pedagogies and transformational experiences in and out of the classroom.” Building intercultural competence goes beyond learning about the music of other cultures, which is one reason immersive experiences are so powerful. Partners in this experience typically include the Santa Fe Public Schools, the Santa Fe Indian School, New Mexico School for the Arts, and the New Mexico Music Educators Association. This is an optional experience students can choose to apply for once they have been admitted to Teacher Candidacy at SRU. As a result of this course, students have come to profound and frank realizations about hidden prejudices they had, the reality of socio-economic diversity, the differences in music education, the cultural differences that made New Mexico feel like a different country at times, and the aspects of music education and people that are the same everywhere.
SRU Undergraduate Music Education Student Research has been featured as part of the poster session at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Conference, including:
- LaBella, Michael. “Music Education in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Schools.” PMEA 2023
- D’Egidio, Hannah. “Social Emotional Learning and Culture.” PMEA 2022
- Caplea, Aaron. “Communication and Conducting High School Choirs: During COVID-19 and Beyond.” PMEA 2022
Michael LaBella and Aaron Caplea’s research both also were featured in articles in PMEA News.
1:1 Online Teaching Partnership
Students in the Flute, Oboe, and Bassoon Methods and Instrumental Methods courses Woodwind Methods course at SRU are paired with students in grades 7-12 to teach 1:1 instrumental lessons asynchronously through video. The partnership began in 2015 with the Karns City Area School District, under the direction of Mrs. Amanda Walters, and has grown to serve more than 175 different students in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Delaware, and Virginia, and more than 70 different music education majors since then.
Through this partnership, SRU music education majors have developed essential skills for teaching instrumental lessons through distance-learning and the students in grades 7-12 have received had the opportunity to develop their musicianship through a one-on-one lesson experience. Following the eight-week teaching experience in the teaching partnership, students are invited to SRU for a day to experience activities in music and physics and to tour the campus.
If you a 7th-12th grade instrumental music educator who is interested in getting involved in this partnership, please contact Dr. Melago at kathleen.melago@sru.edu.
