Are you a student or early career teacher? We know that it can be hard for new teachers to “break into the scene” at conferences and find their people. Which is why this year we are organising a breakfast for you to meet people at similar points in their careers, have some social time, and share the joys and challenges of being a student/early career teacher in the wild world of music education.
Visit the Conference FAQ for details
23-26 Sep 2024
Day 2
Honouring Our Elders – How do we keep this classical tradition alive and resilient for our changing world?
- Pedagogy: Primary – Kate Tyson
- Pedagogy: Secondary – Jenny Gillan
- Pedagogy: Kokas – Kata Kortvesi
- Dancing on the ceiling: Valuing other perspectives in the music classroom – Andrew Pennay
- 3 Steps to Motivation in Early Years Music (2-6 years) – Julie Logan
- ‘Junggara Pelican’: Learn to sing and dance the pelican’s song (and other First Nations song materials) – Candace Kruger
Daily interactive sessions covering engaging activities for all years of Primary that promote the development of musicianship through both rigor and creativity. Explore modes of learning and assessing to ‘turn on’ the most ‘turned off’ students. Sessions will include new activities for familiar tunes, lesser-known folk repertoire and songs from outside of the folk and classical genres with a focus on effectively fostering students’ understanding and skills through active music making.
There is a unique educational approach, where music is a great tool for the learning-teaching process, where we can step closer to ourselves using full attention, self-expression, openness, acceptance, silence and last, but not least creativity.
This path has been set by one of Hungary’s most inspiring music pedagogues, the late Klára Kokas, who proved that the Kodály concept of music education is not a closed educational system, but it can be complemented by various creative pedagogical approaches. This experience-based pedagogy has its roots in the Kodály philosophy. An encounter with the most beautiful songs and lyrics of folk music, the active, profound reception of classical masterpieces is the most authentic manifestation of Kodály’s idea that “music is everyone’s”.
The principles of Klára Kokas’ music pedagogy lie in her realization that the best way to guide people towards concentrated attention and an absolute perception of classical music is through movement, activity, and creative work. Her pedagogy uses an age-appropriate, holistic approach with both children and adults to help them perceive music in its totality.
Come barefoot, bring comfortable clothes😊
As we perform, listen to, and move to music, we might well ask: What does this music say about me, as well as those around me? Let’s explore ways to leverage cultural forces so we might transform our classrooms into vantage points. Through exposure to strategies drawn from Harvard’s seminal Project Zero work, participants take a deep dive into a range of music activities that promote the valuing of their own perspectives alongside those of others. In performing and interacting with works by popular First Nations artists Thelma Plum and Baker Boy, we uncover hidden stories, back stories, and our own stories. Through “True for Who?” experiences, we reflect critically on our own assumptions about the Western canon. These key questions are investigated: How might teachers model broad perspective-taking for their students? What questioning strategies and learning opportunities are helpful in pushing students beyond the familiar?
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