Teacher Education Chair continued from page 24
The Studies In an effort to learn more about the needs of Wyoming’s rural music educators, I embarked on a journey. Over the past year and a half, I — with the help of my colleague Dr. Holly Dalrymple — conducted three research studies specifically designed to examine the lived experiences of rural music teachers. In the first study, entitled “Establishing Communities of Musical Practice in Rural Locales,” I hoped to learn how rural music teachers were affected by the isolation in which they were immersed, to examine the effects of their environment on their opportunities to be musical, and to outline their
interactions
with administrators, members of the school and community, and other music teachers. The second study, entitled “Perceptions of Music Teaching, Socialization, and Efficacy in Rural Settings,” served as a follow-up to the first.
Dr. Dalrymple and I identified benefits and the challenges experienced by rural music educators and examined how these affected their socialization and efficacy in the music classroom. Finally, I worked closely with a single rural music teacher to develop a narrative inquiry, entitled “Navigating the Climate: Perspectives of a Rural Music Educator.” This teacher and I worked together to share her story of teaching rurally, and the ways she learned about her students and herself. Many Wyoming music teachers contributed to these projects, and their contributions have proven very beneficial to developing the music teacher education curriculum to better prepare future rural music teachers.
What We Learned A thorough examination of the data from
Fall 2018 |
www.wyomea.org
these studies led to the emergence of several key points that will help to shape the way we approach music teacher education at UW. This process also included examining current pedagogical practices at UW and juxtaposing those practices with the shared perceptions of the contributors regarding the knowledge, skills, and teacher competencies needed for the rural teaching environment.
Current Pedagogical Practices The UW Music Education Program of Study currently pays very little specific
to expect placement in teaching positions in more metropolitan locations upon graduation.
These components all interact with each other to create a complex situation where students with preconceived notions of working in “big programs” are receiving input from our program that doesn’t emphasize the benefits of teaching in smaller ones. Nor do we explicitly inform them that they have more employment options if they open their hearts to rural music teaching, or that those communities may need them.
In-service Rural Music Teacher Perceptions Because the teachers in our state have been candid in sharing their thoughts and experiences teaching music rurally, we have learned several key concepts which can shape the way we interact with these teachers, and how we can better prepare pre- service music teachers.
attention to rural music teaching. Several courses (for example, Introduction to Music Education and Elementary/ Secondary Methods) provide what could be characterized as “lip service” to the complexities of teaching music in rural locations, but there are currently no known units, chapters, or segments specifically dedicated to the topic. Likewise, we make only a superficial effort to expose pre-service music teachers to rural music teaching experiences. Practical experiences are limited by distance and time; while we have reached out to nearby rural music teachers, the opportunities have been difficult to arrange due to logistics. Additionally, an informal polling of current UW music education students reveals that our students have a tendency
While a number of rural Wyoming music teachers have expressed feelings of isolation and a desire to better communicate with colleagues, several teachers explicitly described feeling “ignored” by teachers in larger metro areas and also by UW and other regional community colleges. Similarly, these teachers expressed an interest in having outside preforming groups make an effort to reach out, to “stop by” when they drive through these tiny communities as they travel to their more populated destinations.
Communication with other music teachers tends to be limited to e-mail. Some rural music teachers also explained that their membership on the WMEA listserv has helped to provide opportunities to
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