11.30District Conferences
District Conferences are continuing-education events for teachers of all instruments and voice. They are opportunities to share ideas with our colleagues from all over Central Ohio. No attendance fees for non-members.
Spring Conference and Annual Membership Meeting
Date: Monday, April 16, 2012
Registration: 9:15 a.m.
Conference Begins: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Graves Piano and Organ Company, Columbus
Program (Updated Topic): Music, The Brain, and the iGeneration: Teaching the Acoustic in a Digital Age
Guest Speaker: Dr. Andrea McAlister, Oberlin Conservatory of Music
What is your play personality? The brain learns best in a state of play and play is assumed when one makes music. Children can be found singing, dancing, and experimenting with music with no rules to follow and no outside forces to please. We encourage this behavior because play is how children learn about the world around them. But what about our adolescent students? Do we allow them to play music, find new ways of learning through technology, ask questions and uncover their own answers? Time is precious in the 21st century and today’s students are heavily scheduled, academically pressured, and socially active. While play may be considered a luxury, neuroscientists and psychologists are proving that this luxury is actually a necessity.
Today’s play is much different than it was just ten years ago. Technology has advanced rapidly and play now translates to spending time online, playing video games, and texting. But the rise of technology also means that our students have access to a wealth of information, the ability to virtually visit any location in the world, and watch performances of musical masters at the click of a button. Dr. McAlister’s presentation will explore the use of technology by adolescents, the impacts of music study and technology on neural development, new technology for music education, and how teaching to a student’s play personality can result in more motivated and engaged students. The session will also examine Dr. McAlister’s survey of independent music teachers and their use of technology in the studio.
Dr. Andrea McAlister, NCTM, is Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy at Oberlin College where she teaches piano pedagogy and class piano. In addition to her teaching activities, she coordinates the class piano program and the secondary piano lesson program. She earned her DMA at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music where she held a graduate assistantship.
Dr. McAlister’s research in piano pedagogy and technology, and their effects on neural development has been featured at international and national conferences, and she is active as a clinician for state and local teacher activities in Ohio. In 2011, she presented at international conferences at Michigan State University and in Barcelona and Valencia, Spain and also at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in Lombard, Illinois and the 2012 MTNA Conference. Presentations for the International Society for Music Education in Thessaloniki, Greece as well as the Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Conference in Austin, Texas will be upcoming in the summer of 2012. She has published articles and reviews in the MTNA’s American Music Teacher, the MTNA e-journal, and Keyboard Companion.
As a performer, Dr. McAlister has appeared in festivals and recitals throughout the United States, Europe, and Canada, including performances at the Aspen Music Festival, the Rome Festival, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, and Opera Cleveland on Tour.
Dr. McAlister is an active member of the Music Teachers National Association and serves as the Vice President for Membership with the Ohio Music Teachers Association. Before joining the faculty at Oberlin, she taught piano pedagogy and class piano at Capital University and Ohio Wesleyan University.
Note: Dr. McAlister’s presentation will follow the annual district membership meeting.
Chairperson: Tim Huffman, NCTM
2544 Glenmawr Avenue
Columbus, OH 43202
(614) 268-0220
Fall Conference
Date: Monday, September 12, 2011
Registration: 9:15 a.m.
Conference Begins: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Graves Piano and Organ Company
Program: “Technology and the Teaching Profession in the 21st Century”
Guest Speaker: Dr. Courtney Crappell, NCTM
Click below for a copy Dr. Crappell’s Powerpoint presentation:
21stC Technology Crappell Workshops
Dr. Courtney Crappell, NCTM, is Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) where he teaches piano, piano pedagogy, and class piano. In addition to his teaching activities, he coordinates the class piano program and maintains the music department’s Piano Pedagogy Resource Center. A native of South Louisiana, he earned his BM in Piano Performance at Louisiana State University and then traveled to the University of Oklahoma to complete his MM and DMA degrees in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. During his graduate studies, he was a winner of the OU concerto competition, and also a contributing recording artist for the CD accompanying the text, “The Music Effect Kindergarten,” by Dr. Joy Nelson.
Dr. Crappell’s research in piano literature, piano pedagogy, and ethnomusicology has been featured at international and national conferences and he is active as a clinician for state and local teachers inTexas. In 2008, he was invited to join the executive steering committee of the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum. He has published articles and reviews in the Music Teachers’ National Association journal, “American Music Teacher,” and he is author of a regular column geared toward young professional music teachers for that journal. He has also published articles in the online journal, “Piano Pedagogy Forum.” His current research focuses on exploring non-Western pedagogical paradigms within the oral tradition.
An advocate for the seamless integration of technology in the teaching studio and classroom, Dr. Crappell has presented workshops for collegiate and independent music teachers introducing pedagogical techniques using digital keyboards, computer software, Internet utilities, and SMART Board technology. He is also co-creator and designer of the website www.findpianoworks.com. The site aims to systematically catalog piano teaching repertoire and anthologies in an effort to simplify the literature search process.
Dr. Crappell is an active member of the Music Teachers’ National Association and serves locally as the 1st Vice President of the San Antonio Music Teachers Association. Before joining the faculty at UTSA, he taught piano pedagogy and class piano at Oklahoma CityUniversity. As a graduate teaching assistant at OU, he taught courses in class piano, secondary applied piano, aural skills, music theory, and world music. He has maintained a private studio and taught pre-collegiate beginner, intermediate, and advanced students since 1998.