Top Five Episodes From the Pass the Baton Podcast

Top Five Episodes From the Pass the Baton Podcast

Looking back, this was a great season for the Pass the Baton podcast! Since August 2021, we’ve interviewed 18 amazing music educators from all over the world. While they all have unique teaching situations, they have one thing in common: they’ve found creative ways to put students at the center so they can take ownership…

Using Technology to Promote Student Ownership
|

Using Technology to Promote Student Ownership

This week we spoke with Krystal Williams, a public school music educator in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Krystal teaches music theory and composition at Northwestern High School and also teaches at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, as a woodwind adjunct. She is a graduate of Morgan State University, where she also completed graduate work….

The Connection Between Culturally Responsive Teaching and Student Ownership
|

The Connection Between Culturally Responsive Teaching and Student Ownership

This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Ashley Cuthbertson, an elementary general music teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia. Ashley has taught music in a variety of settings, teaching private lessons, school students of all ages, and even adults at a nearby university. Ashley loves working with kids and helping them connect their learning…

The Connection Between SEL and Student Empowerment

The Connection Between SEL and Student Empowerment

This week’s interview was a real treat, as Kathryn and Theresa spoke with Dr. Scott Edgar about a very important topic: social emotional learning (SEL). Scott is an associate professor of music at Lake Forest College and also the department chair. He began his career teaching K-12 music in Dayton, Ohio before earning a PhD…

Student Ownership Through Active Thinking
|

Student Ownership Through Active Thinking

This week, Kathryn and Theresa talked to Dr. Brian Weidner, an assistant professor of music education at Butler University, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Brian spent twelve years teaching high school band prior to earning a PhD from Northwestern University. Much of his work now spawned from the various questions he asked during his time teaching public…

Empowering English Language Learners in Music

This week Kathryn and Theresa interviewed Angela Ammerman, an adjunct professor of music at George Mason University in Northern Virginia. Angela is a lifelong music educator, teaching her dolls to sing as a young child, teaching private lessons in her neighborhood as a middle school student, and working as a counselor at a strings camp…

Empowerment in the Standards

This week Kathryn and Theresa had the pleasure of interviewing NAfME president-elect, Scott Sheehan! In addition to his NAfME responsibilities, Scott is the high school band director and K-12 music department chair in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He is involved with PMEA, working with their Leadership Academy and the Model Curriculum Framework project. Scott is also a…

|

The Value of Creativity in Young Ensembles

This week’s interview features Matt Clauhs, an associate professor of Music Education at Ithaca College. Matt’s background includes degrees from Penn State University (B.S.), the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (M.M.) and Temple University (Ph.D.), as well as experience teaching band students at both the elementary and high school levels. As a jazz saxophone player, Matt…

Making the Shift Toward Empowerment

This week’s interview features Melissa Clark, a music teacher in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Currently, Melissa teaches 4th-6th grade strings and sixth grade general music. She also has experience teaching 7th and 8th grade strings. Melissa lives in the same town she teaches in, which has given her the opportunity to have her children as part…