Professional Growth Plan

This past semester I have been enrolled in three methods classes; Secondary General

Music, Elementary Music, and Vocal Techniques. Each of these classes have given me a better

understanding of my content area and pedagogical knowledge; aka how I can be an effective

music educator. I have learned that there are many ways to adapt a lesson to your students needs

while still maintaining the integrity and the purpose of instilling good music literacy in said

students.

I like to think of music literacy throughout different grade levels as different fonts.

Elementary music is simple, easy to read and comprehend; Secondary gets more complex and

begins to refine the skills students have learned; and it continues to develop as the student grows

and decides to expand their musical experiences (theatre, choir, band, orchestra). Vocal

Techniques has taught me tried and true methods that have been found to produce the best

results, and as a music educator I intend on producing the best instruction for my students so that

they may develop into the best musician they can be no matter what age they start.

These same classes have given me very detailed structures to base my lessons on so that

they remain at the appropriate level for my students to be successful in their development.

Especially with younger students, it is my responsibility as the educator to not trick them or test

them on things that they would have no other way of knowing. They will not know better unless

they are taught better, so I should strive to do everything in my power to help them be successful.

I learned in Elementary Methods how to teach sound-before-sight most effectively to

young musicians and have evolved my creative thinking through finding new ways to introduce

topics in ways I had never previously considered. In Secondary General Methods I learned how

these concepts can be further expanded on in more sophisticated ways with more intensive

exercises and plans. At the base of all of these are the methods I have learned from reading
Professional Growth Plan

Sound Connections in my Vocal Techniques class. Everything is sequenced to ensure student

success.

Before this year, I was not very confident in my abilities as a music educator. I felt like I

had no idea what I was doing and that I just wasn’t fit to be a music educator no matter how

passionate I am about it. Even with my previous experience working with middle school choirs

and children’s theatres, I felt like I was inevitably going to crash and burn and that it was only a

matter of time before someone told me to give up. I have been fortunate enough to have mentors

who have shown me this is not true. I have learned to trust myself and to be forgiving with

myself, as I am and forever will be learning how to be the best educator I can be. I am going into

my second year of directing at a summer theatre camp and I have never been more excited to

work with students and apply the skills I have learned from my courses.

I was once told by a professor at my first undergraduate institution that I should not

“practice until [I] get it right, but rather practice until [I] can’t get it wrong”, and these words are

some that I have carried with me throughout my college career. I can get “it” right one-thousand

times, but there will never be a chance that I will never get it wrong. I know that there is still

much for me to learn and many ways for me to grow in my knowledge and skills as a music

educator. I need to overcome my fear of performing, I need to refine my skills as a pianist, and I

need to get better at public speaking. It is one thing that I don’t feel as scared as I do in front of

an audience as I do in front of students, but I can not be afraid of messing up and allow it to

paralyze me in the moment.

Being able to recover from my mistakes and think on the fly while still maintaining the

integrity of my lesson/goals is a valuable skill to have as an educator. Being more confident in

my piano skills will allow me to rely less on my written lesson and more on the application on
Professional Growth Plan

my lesson. If I can not play parts for my choir, or model an idea for my students, then I can never

be an effective music educator. My plans to develop these skills lie in my future individual

practice and the learning I will do in my future education courses during my undergraduate

studies. I will forever be learning and developing my skills as an educator, but I think these are

good places to start.