I have taught at the UBC Faculty of Education for 14 years (GTA, Sessional Instructor, Lecturer) and have thoroughly enjoyed contributing to the growth of teacher candidates by teaching and supervising secondary education cohorts in the B. Ed. program. As a Music Education specialist, I instruct teacher candidates in both secondary and elementary education, instrumental and choral instruction, counseling psychology, multimedia education, and autoethnographic approaches to qualitative research inquiry. In particular, I have delighted in the faculty’s development of courses that advanced and transformed into the CREATE program, initiated by Dr. Rita Irwin.
In addition to instructing the Teaching Initiative for Music Education (TIME) cohort, I have also taught three generalist cohorts, supervised secondary practica in different subject areas (MUSIC, ENGL, SS, PE, ART), 3 week CFE placements, served on various committees, and taught 4 graduate level courses in both online and traditional classroom contexts for The Faculty of Education, UBC MET program and Boston University. With a strong desire to continue research along the lines of my doctoral dissertation, Riffs of Change: Musicians Becoming Music Educators, I have published related articles involving my research interests.
My commitment to advancing research into curriculum and pedagogy involves a variety of interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning. Currently, I pursue research in the areas of music/teacher education, performance ethnography, memoir, women’s life histories, writing practices, and autoethnographic approaches to qualitative research. As a musician, writer, teacher educator, and researcher, I have published in the following refereed journals: Qualitative Inquiry, Reflective Practice, Families Systems & Health, Journal of Loss and Trauma, Iowa Journal of Communication, Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung: Qualitative Social Research, Lifewriting, Action Criticism and Theory for Music Education, Teacher Education Quarterly, English Quarterly, a number of other journals as well as several chapters in peer-reviewed books.
My teaching philosophy has many facets as I believe student learning can be nurtured and facilitated by engaging varied instructional and assessment tools. I am an energetic and innovative constructivist instructor who provides teacher candidates with intellectual, psychological, and emotional learning frames that encourage transformation and critical thinking. Thus, I have found that trust, respect, and a sincere interest in student personal development creates a safe and positive educational environment for growth and change with teacher candidates. While teaching, I incorporate several pedagogical strategies: student-centered lessons, self-directed learning, small group collaboration, collective learning, research projects, and self-evaluation measures to enable students to create their own meaning from curriculum as well as opportunities for deep self-reflection. From a constructivist perspective, students construct meaning based on their own interpretation of experiences. Thus, students connect the past to present and become cognizant of the importance of educational change.
Alongside my UBC teaching responsibilities, I engage in musical endeavors to maintain my own musicianship: piano accompanist for school choir performances (senior homes), assisted with African Drumming workshops and CD production of Getting Started book (Milton Randall). Over the years, I have engaged in private instruction for piano, theory, flute, clarinet, cello, ballet, tap dance. From these experiences, I believe curriculum can incorporate creative measures from the arts (dance, drama, music, visual, literature). Regardless of activity, I firmly consider language and writing to be the cornerstone of curriculum. Essays and journals are excellent means of self-reflecting on thoughts and opinions which encourage students to organize ideas, think critically, make judgments, take positions, and evaluate educational events.
I have an earned doctoral degree from UBC (2004), experience teaching K-12 in schools, instructed UBC courses in Music Education, and familiarization with the BC education context. As a home-grown Vancouverite, I understand the BC education system, have a teaching certificate, and have gained experience with inquiry-based teaching and facilitating collaborative curriculum inquiry with a focus on bringing diverse critical perspectives to education.