The Music Educator – MUSC 820

Course Description

This course is a study of the social, psychological, and spiritual formation of the music educator as leader and practitioner. This course assists the music educator in analyzing their career and establishing a professional development plan. The course emphasizes pedagogical application to spiritual formation within the contexts of music-learning.

Rationale

It is important that each music educator analyze the factors in their social, psychological, and spiritual formation. Once these factors have been analyzed, the music educator can evaluate their career and establish a professional development plan. This plan will include pedagogical application of guiding students in spiritual and character formation during the music-learning process.

Course Assignment

Lecture presentations, Assigned Reading, & Teaching Announcements

The elements of the course are supported by the lecture presentations, assigned reading, & teaching announcements. Therefore, the student is required to complete the assigned readings, discussions, and the teaching announcements by Thursday of each module week in order to prepare for submission.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

The student will complete 4 Discussions in this course. The student will post one thread of at least 300 words. The student must then post 2 replies of at least 200 words. For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least 1 scholarly citation in Turabian format. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation in Turabian format. 

SWOT Analysis Assignment

After viewing “Watch: SWOT” in the Learn section of Module 5: Week 5, the student will conduct a self-evaluation using a SWOT analysis with regard to his or her professional teaching arena. Students will complete the SWOT analysis chart and then in narrative form (1,000-1,500-words) list some of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to them in their professional context. This will include both internal (personal) and external (environment or system) factors. (Use the template provided and include: Title Page, SWOT Template, and explanation of findings in narrative form).

Annotated Bibliography Assignment

The Annotated Bibliography must consist of at least 20 references from peer-reviewed and scholarly journals or books written within the last 10 years.

Book Review Assignments (2)

The student will write two book reviews in the course.  Using the Summary, Analysis, and Application format, students will make specific application to their teaching context. Each part of the book (Part 1: 500-750 words, Part 2: 500-750 words, and Part 3: 500-750 words) should be reviewed for a total of 1,500-2,250 words and follow the Summary, Analysis, and Application format: for each major section (Part) of the book, write a Summary (what the author said), Analysis (what it means), and Application (how does this apply to my context?). This book has 3 parts. Use of headings is recommended.

Final Project Assignment

Professional Development Plan. (2,500-3,000-words) Based on the content of this course and additional research, students will formulate their own professional development plan including the following:

1. Brief 3^rd person biography (include demographic information, educational and professional background, current teaching context, etc.). No more than one-page.
2. Strengths. Articulate 2-3 key attributes where the teacher excels. Include examples. No more than one-page.
3. Weaknesses. Identify 2-3 areas in need of immediate improvement. Include examples. No more than one-page.
4. Plan of Action. Develop a specific plan discussing short (within 1-2 months), medium (6 months-2 years), and long range (3-5 years) goals with action steps. This plan must be specific and address areas covered in the previous sections of the project. This can (should) become a road map to professional development, growth, and success.