Teachers Participate in New Music Ed Grad Program

Thirty teachers – including ten enrolled in UNCW’s new Graduate Certificate program in Music Education  – participated in a summer course in Orff-Schulwerk, a successful and widely practiced approach to classroom music. The intensive two-week course is part of the curriculum for UNCW’s new Music Education Post-Baccalaureate Certificate. The course was also offered for professional development hours to teachers seeking licensure renewal.

“This summer, we introduced a for-credit version of a nationally endorsed program that we have been teaching for more than two decades,” said Daniel Johnson, music professor and program coordinator. “Designed for in-service music educators, the Orff-Schulwerk pedagogy highlights creativity and has an international following since its inception in the 1920’s. Our program has attracted hundreds music teachers from throughout the Cape Fear region, across the country, and internationally. Collectively, this progressive and student-centered pedagogy has benefitted tens of thousands of K-12 students and is now the focus of our new Graduate Certificate Program with National Board Certification.”

The summer course culminated in an informance – an informal music performance – on campus in late June. Participating teachers described the course as enjoyable, inspirational and life-changing.

“Watching other teachers teach, participating in their process, borrowing their ideas, and making practical applications to the curriculum was truly a blessing,” said Meredith Sumner, music teacher at Silverdale Elementary (Maysville, NC). She also commented on the overall professional development impact: “I am so grateful for the connections and the creative musical experiences. I have not only grown as a musician but I have also truly grown as an educator through this course.”

“Taking this Orff course at UNCW opened my mind to a world of new opportunities and ways to do more than just teach music,” observed Gabby Dauby, music teacher at Gene Brown Elementary (Hendersonville, TN). She also reflected that “this course completely changed the way I teach! I now know how to lead students in activities that will help them experience and create music. I especially love how much it has pushed me as a teacher to give my students more opportunities to create and take ownership of the music.”

Several teachers observed that the Orff pedagogy helped to reinforce improvisation and creativity, two key features of this approach. “I was using creativity before, but now I know how to be more intentional,” said Caroline Kanzler, music teacher at Belville Elementary (Leland, NC). She reported that, “I got to feel the collaboration and creativity, and now I want my students to get that experience each time when they come to music class. Writing our own arrangements, creating an original lesson plan to share, and finally presenting it were all meaningful steps to put all of the process into practice.”

UNCW’s Graduate Certificate in Music Education with an emphasis on Orff-Schulwerk is the only program of its kind in the state and one of the few across the country that leads to an Orff Certificate of Completion accredited by the accrediting national organization, AOSA. The 18-credit hour program features three two-week intensive summer courses, followed by applied learning labs that teachers complete in their own classrooms during the following semester. Courses are led by faculty with national and international reputations as teacher-educators, and the program culminates with a capstone course in curriculum development, offered as a summer study-abroad at the Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria.

For no additional cost, students enrolled in the certificate program also have the opportunity to participate in UNCW’s National Board Certification Support program, which helps teachers attain the highest possible certification in the teaching profession and leads to a 12 percent pay raise.

Prospective students interested in joining the next cohort should apply by April 15, 2025. Classes begin in June 2025. For more information about the Music Education Post-Baccalaureate Certificate program or summer courses in Orff-Schulwerk offered for professional development hours, please visit the website or contact program coordinator Dr. Daniel Johnson at johnsond@uncw.edu.