NAfME collegiate advisor


After reviewing your tracked time, look ahead to the following week. In what blocks of time can you fit musical preparation? When will you focus on lesson planning? On work related to your student teaching seminar? During the weekend, can you block off time for resting, socializing, and work as needed? Match your goals and tasks with the time available. This process allows you to feel in control of your time, set priorities and adjust from week to week.


New Professional, Social and Peer Relationships


During student teaching, your relation- ships change. Rather than interacting with your cohort of peers on campus each day, you connect daily with your cooperating teacher and their fellow educators. Below I recommend approaches to navigating these changing relationships.


Professional, School-Based Relationships Consider how you can build strong profes- sional connections with your cooperating teacher and their colleagues. Ask questions, seek advice and demonstrate curiosity and interest in their work. Join in social conver- sations when appropriate. These practices will allow you to feel more connected to others on a daily basis, teach you about the life of an educator, and help you grow professional networks that can support you in the future.


Social Relationships


To nurture your existing social relation- ships, you might need to explain that your responsibilities now match those of a professional educator more than those of an undergraduate student. Before student teaching, talk with your friends, partner or family members, and work with them to create new expectations for rest and social time. For instance, can you create a weekly Sunday afternoon social activity to look forward to each week? As you commute home, can you decompress by talking with a good friend? Your relationships are vital to your sense of self and happiness; carve out ways to adapt and sustain them during this unique time.


Majoring in Music Education? Join NAfME today!


• Engage in professional learning opportunities • Network with music educators nationwide • Showcase leadership skills on your resume • Get a head start on your career • Participate in the annual Collegiate Leadership Advocacy Summit


• Advocate for music education at the local and national levels


nafme.org/collegiate | collegiate@nafme.org | 800-336-3678 Wisconsin School Musician 35


College/University-Based Relationships On campus, discuss challenges with peers in your student teaching seminar, as they can most easily sympathize with your day- to-day experiences. And engage actively with your university supervisor and semi- nar instructor, who are eager to advocate for you and invested in your success. When you share your struggles, your goals and your accomplishments with others, they can offer invaluable support.


Conclusion


The start of student teaching is a major life event, with changed surroundings, routines, and relationships – not to mention the teaching and learning with students! Taking concrete steps to make the transition more manageable will help you feel competent, effective and in control. With understand- ing and action, you can complete student


teaching with pride in your achievements and a group of supporters who will help sustain you in the profession.


References:


Baumgartner, C. M. (2019). Student Teaching. In C. Conway, K. Pellegrino, A. M. Stanley, & C. West (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Preservice Music Teacher Education in the United States (pp. 509–541). Oxford University Press.


Clements, A. C., Watts, S. H., & McCall, D. C. (2021). A Field Guide to Student Teaching in Music. Routledge.


Conway, C. M., & Hodgman, T. M. (2006). Handbook for the Beginning Music Teacher. GIA Publications.


Dr. Jenny Hutton is an assistant professor of choral music education at the UW-Milwaukee.


Email: huttonj@uwm.edu.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57