Teaching Teaching to Undergraduates: A Case Study of an Independent Study in Music History Pedagogy

Authors

  • C. Nicholas Godsoe Mount Allison University
  • Elizabeth A. Wells Mount Allison University

Keywords:

Independent study, Teaching development, Teaching practicum, Teaching in the humanities, Music history teaching

Abstract

Teachers at the post-secondary level are not taught to teach, except in rare cases in which graduate programs offer teaching training as part of their coursework. With no previous training, many students who go on to graduate school are often asked to teach undergraduates. For those who go on to teach in high school, middle school, and elementary school settings, education degrees prepare students for certain kinds of pedagogy, but miss out on the rich opportunities that are afforded by the university environment and its particular way of engaging with adult students. For those who go on to business, the arts, or science careers, the supervision of direct reports, junior colleagues, and employees is changing from a top-down authority-based relationship to more “teaching”—an exploring, developing and sharing relationship of peers. As well, students who are seeking graduate school acceptance need an arsenal of skills and competencies to compete for places, and training in teaching undergraduates strengthens the dossiers of these students. This paper outlines an independent study course in pedagogy that transformed both participants. Course objectives, assignments, feedback, and evaluation as well as caveats for those wanting to design a similar course, are described.

Author Biographies

C. Nicholas Godsoe, Mount Allison University

C. Nicholas Godsoe is currently pursuing a Masters in Musicology at the University of Toronto. He graduated from Mount Allison University with a Bachelor of Music in spring 2015, with concentrations in tuba performance and musicology. Nick is interested in the study of popular music, specifically its intersections with classical music and the cultural implications of such intersections. In the summer of 2016 Nick will be working as an administrator for the International Federation of National Teaching Fellows, and will travel to London in September to assist with the federation launch. As a tutorial instructor at the University of Toronto, Nick strives to bring new meanings, relevancy and applications of musicology into the classroom.

Elizabeth A. Wells, Mount Allison University

Elizabeth A. Wells is Pickard-Bell Chair in Music at Mount Allison University. She has authored over twenty presentations, workshops, and papers on teaching and learning. Her research interests include American and British musical theatre, opera at mid-century, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She is former Chair of the Council of 3M National Teaching Fellows.

References

Davis, J. (Ed.). (2012). The music history classroom. Farnham: Ashgate.

Natvig, M. (Ed.). (2002). Teaching music history. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

Palmer, P. (2010). The heart of higher education: A call to renewal. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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Issue

Vol. 19 (2015)

Section

Articles

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