ment. A breakfast before and a break during each workshop provide opportunities for networking and exchange of ideas. Learning from one another will be formalized in our “chapter share,” when the members become the presenters of one entire 3-hour workshop.
With regard to a diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints, the board made a conscious decision not to create a chapter of a national group such as Orff, Kodaly, or GIML. FAME presenters this year come from Orff, MLT, and Dalcroze backgrounds—and one presentation will be on folk danc- ing. The organizers as a group hold multiple certifications in several methodologies and use a variety of approaches in their classrooms. FAME aims to bring together people from a variety of backgrounds for rich, respectful discussions of successful practices. FAME members and attendees include undergraduate students, novice teachers, experienced teach- ers and seasoned veterans, who teach in rural, suburban, and urban schools.
I love the idea of having colleagues who are music teachers, who teach in all types of situations, so I can run ideas by them or ask questions to them when I hit rocky terrain or unfamiliar territory… Having friends who are experts in other areas really helps to pull in new ideas. Furthermore, I love the idea of spicing up my teaching. Sometimes I feel that I get into a rut and TOO MUCH of a routine, and that the kids (and I) get bored. Having new ideas and changing things up helps it stay fresh for them and for me. And yes, it’s already happening! I have already incorporated ideas from the first workshop in my lessons. (GC)
Goals of the FAME Community
I hope that by creating a professional community of practice that elementary music teachers will feel like they have somewhere they belong. I hope to create a large network of teachers who can reach out to each other any time they need an idea, help with a lesson, or just a sounding board for questions. I also hope that as elementary general teachers we start to feel empowered, that we are taking our learning in to our own hands and seeking opportunities to better our teaching. (LD)
In speaking with the organizers of FAME, it becomes clear that their main purpose is to improve elementary general music instruction, both in their own classrooms and in the area. The professional development workshops provide new ideas and ways of approaching material, but more importantly to many of the participants, they provide access to a community of practice for elementary music teachers. FAME organizers mentioned already utilizing this com- munity for pedagogical support (such as troubleshooting, getting new ideas, sounding boards) and for professional
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support (assistance with comprehensive examination re- search, job searches, help with negotiations). In addition, the FAME community of practice allows members to share ideas, to help others, and to “give back.” The community seems to be about giving as well as getting.
We are so inundated with information about school improvement in reading, math, writing, behavior, etc. and are expected to be so on top of everything going on in our buildings, sometimes the music educat- ing part of it feels like it’s being put by the wayside. Having a professional community really helps with the need to express ideas and ask questions about what is really important in MY classroom, not every- one else’s. Being the only person in my building who teaches music, I rarely get the opportunity to run ideas by colleagues, and with FAME, I feel like I have that opportunity. I also feel that it’s nice to find some new ideas and new ways to teach old ideas… GC (Italics added).
Wenger (2012) confirms that this “giving back” is an inte- gral part of the learning community. According to Wenger, community activities could include any and all of the following types of interactions among members, and are characterized by a give and take.
Activity Problem Solving
Requests for Information Seeking Experience
Reusing Assets Coordination and Synergy
Discussing Developments Visits
Examples (Modified from Wenger by Karen Salvador) “I’d like new ideas, I’m stuck”
“What is the Michigan Music Conference?”
“Has anyone taught music to early childhood special education classes?” “How do you balance performance expectations and music learning?”
“We just rewrote our district music curriculum. I could send it to you to tweak for your district.”
“Would anyone like to share busses to the elementary choral festival this winter?” “Let’s combine our choirs so we can afford some string players to sing Whitacre’s Five Hebrew Love Songs”
“What do you think of this value-added teacher assess ment?”
“Can I come and see your bell choir? I’d like to start one at my school…”
(Wenger, 2012; adapted by Karen Salvador)
Give and take was also integral to Froehlich’s (2009) de- scription of musical communities of practice: Colleagues with different viewpoints and backgrounds sharing together in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
Organizing a Community of Practice I thought it [FAME] was going to be very difficult to start and it was in fact pretty simple. I’m interested to see our attendance throughout the year. We had a decent number of people at our first meeting, and it seems that there is interest in the group, although not everyone who expressed interest comes to the meet- ings. It will be interesting to see how we take our group from the first year successes to growing and becoming a staple in teachers’ schedules. LD
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