A Report on the 2013 SMTE National Meeting
The fifth biennial Society of Music Teacher Educators (SMTE) Symposium took place at the University of North Carolina Greensboro from Thursday, September 26 through Satur- day, September 28, 2013. Douglas Orzolek, Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of St. Thomas and chairperson of the SMTE, convened the Symposium by refer- ring to its theme, “Navigating the Crossroads,” asking how we as music teacher educators can navigate through the pressing issues of the moment and act upon them to improve music teacher education.
Dr. Orzolek then introduced the Symposium’s keynote speaker, Karen Hammerness. Dr. Ham- merness is an Associate Professor and Director of Research at Bard College and received her Ph.D. from Stanford University. The theme for her keynote address was “Vision in Teaching and Teacher Education.”
She began her keynote address by defining “vision” for her purposes: images of ideal classroom practice that reflect teachers’ hopes and dreams for themselves, their students, their classrooms, and their schools. She started work on vision as part of a drastic reimaging of work with teachers and examining what they were aiming for. Over her seven years of studying teachers’ visions, she found that those teachers with vision were deeply grounded to navigate, engage, and execute their classroom curricu- lum. She also found that many teachers are not encouraged to pursue their visions and do not have access to opportunities to create their vi- sions. Many educators were never asked about vision until Hammerness asked herself.
Why look at vision? Hammerness believes that teachers’ visions shape their development, including their curricular choices, identities as professionals, and how they feel about their work. Relationships between programs’ visions (such as a school or school district) and teach- ers’ visions can either support or impede that development. Teachers need opportunities to enact their visions: to practice their vision, de-
Daniel Albert
construct, approximate, enact vision. Hammer- ness thinks that the teacher education profes- sion has not paid enough attention to teacher vision, particularly music teacher vision.
Hammerness found that many teachers’ vi- sions were vivid and concrete, turning teach- ing ideas and philosophy into something real. One teacher remarked that her vision “ . . . is something tangible. I can visualize how my classroom looks and how my students will be.” Hammerness also found that teachers feel very passionate about their vision and use it in a variety of ways, such as a guide for daily practice (“ . . . it’s easier for me to structure the class if I know where to go”). Others use vision as a measuring stick to assess progress against her goals of the day. Others take a longer view and self-assess themselves against their vision (“Am I creating the classroom that I want to create?”). Still, for others, vision can be a very important source of motivation and a fulfilling part of teaching.
For some, particularly new teachers, a gap may exist between vision and reality (one’s daily practice). How do we as teacher educators help to close that gap? The gap is particularly prob- lematic when one’s vision is disconnected from their daily practice, creating a profound sense of discouragement. Hammerness found that some educators thought about their work all the time but did not think about their vision. The most satisfied teachers had a real world context of the classroom. Instead of a vast gap between vision and reality, these teachers envisioned the steps they needed to take to move closer to what they wished for their students and class- rooms.
Hammerness stated that a teacher education program’s vision is based upon the shared beliefs of the program’s faculty and students. Vision is an important part of powerful teacher education programs, including visions of teach- ing as service and social justice. Not all pro- grams, however, have strong, clear visions. A lack of vision can contribute to fragmentation,
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Higher Education
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