Teaching Statement

Overview of Goals

As an educator, my purpose is to ensure that my students are actively learning through creative assignments, mindful reflection on subject matter, and open classroom discussions. I try to foster greater familiarity with music-theoretical and historical concepts, stylistic trends, and interdisciplinary connections. Through this active learning model, my students develop analytical skills which solidify their understanding of the fundamentals of music while also engaging with a diverse body of musical works and scholarship. Many of these works include music from underrepresented groups, especially women. I have had previous opportunities to teach, tutor, consult, and design courses and workshops through my roles as an Instructor of Record, Teaching Assistant, Teaching Fellow, Bass Instructor of Record Fellow, and Bass Digital Education Fellow at Duke University. Through these roles, I taught music theory classes, survey courses, special topics courses, a music technology lab, and university-wide digital pedagogy workshops. My students have included music majors and non-majors from diverse backgrounds and levels of experience. Regardless of the course, I pride myself on creating an intellectually rigorous classroom environment that maximizes my students’ academic potential.

Developing Critical Reasoning and Writing Skills in Topic/Survey Courses

Within all my courses, I encourage students to think critically, question, debate, and collaborate within the context of weekly topics and assignments. It is important to me to include music by underrepresented groups either as main topics for my lectures or as musical examples for historical reference. I endeavor to create an inclusive environment with opportunities for both collaborative and individual work. This requires a level of nuanced attention to course design, tracking individual student progress, personalized feedback, and connecting with students through the subject matter.

In special topics courses, my main focus is to help students develop their reasoning skills within their writing through a semester schedule that allows for ongoing discussion and critique. I structure these writing-focused courses to include papers with several checkpoint deadlines accompanied by individual meetings and peer feedback. Each checkpoint deadline allows students to practice a non-linear, symbiotic process of research, writing, and editing that leads to a deeper investigation of the subject matter. I further promote this investigation through curating course discussions and topics around a wide array of perspectives. For example, within my self-designed course Film, Games, Concerts & Gender: Music by American Women (including music by women of color and transgender women), we explore issues of musical analysis, history, accessibility, advocacy, feminism, gender, and performance practice. By incorporating both musical and extra-musical methodologies, students with varying levels of musical knowledge and experience are able to participate and learn. During our class discussion and individual paper feedback meetings, students expressed to me that they were amazed to learn about composers who were women and/or not white. This “amazement” began at the outset of the course when they learned about Florence Price. Many students were unaware of African American composers and were astonished to learn about the existence of multiple African American female composers. Price’s music became an immediate connection for many of my students who identified as African-American because they felt represented in my course. Their enthusiasm at being represented by Price and other non-white composers extended beyond the classroom as they enthusiastically shared Price’s music with their friends. Many students chose to focus on Price’s music for their midterm papers. Margaret Bonds, Pauline Oliveros, Wendy Carlos, Winifred Phillips, and Pinar Toprak were other favorites among my students. They appreciated the exposure to a range of styles and mediums that they would have otherwise not been exposed to prior my class. We reflected on Pauline Oliveros’s focus on deep listening and meditation through a series of exercises. Students discussed Carlos’s innovation in both film music and electro-acoustic works. Students analyzed and wrote about the Captain Marvel scenes that featured Toprak’s sweeping orchestral film score juxtaposed with 90’s pop music to evoke the story’s setting and narrative. Creating a robust dialogue focused on contextual topics for each woman composer with checkpoint deadlines, encouraged students to process their thoughts over a longer amount of time, and yielded final papers that were adventurous, organized, and insightful.

Encouraging Self-Reliance and Comradery in Theory & Analysis Courses

Some students have prior experience in theory or a musical instrument, while others sign-up for a crash-course to support their passion for music production. With such a wide range of experience levels in theory and musicianship, I recognize the need for students to develop comradery and have concrete goals to thrive. During theory lectures, students work out theory practice questions on the board individually and in teams. Groups are encouraged to sing the chord progressions together, with one student at the board helping the others to internalize the notation (Introduction to Music Theory). In the lab sections (MUS 261 Lab, MUS 361 Lab, and MUS 461 Lab), my students stand together to sight-sing or gather around the piano to observe their colleagues’ progress. I use group activities to encourage student engagement. By creating a semi-circle around a student at the piano, the students become invested in their colleague’s progress, offering words of encouragement and assistance.

Outside the classroom, I continue encouraging comradery and help students to develop good study habits. Pairs of students are assigned peer-feedback worksheets. Each pair has weekly check-ins with each other on theory analysis assignments, keyboard skills, and sight-singing. These worksheets ask each pair to identify areas of strength, improvement, and to offer constructive suggestions for their partners’ weekly assignments. This makes accountability a group investment, and prioritizes my students’ emotional health, while fostering a supportive network that makes learning enjoyable.

I like to balance theoretical and technical assignments with creative assignments in my courses. These range from compositions based on the semester’s repertoire to partnered assignments that require students to self-reflect and create trouble-shooting exercises to practice difficult ear-training or sight-singing assignments. For Intro to Music Theory, the final project was a composition and an analysis paper. Through these two endeavors, students had to apply higher levels of learning as defined by Bloom’s taxonomy. The analytical paper required students to analyze a short selection of classical- or romantic-era music, such as a piano trio by Clara Schuman, a piano sonata by Haydn, or a short prelude by Chopin. The composition portion was a short ternary piece intended to demonstrate the students’ understanding of harmony and form. By pairing the two assignments, the final project created an authentic learning experience encompassing all learning levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. It also allowed for each separate part of their final project to inform the other, while students gained a greater appreciation of the material through an accessible deliverable.

Implementing Digital Pedagogy

My experience as a Bass Digital Education Fellow has allowed me to explore the use of a variety of digital tools in the classroom. Before the pandemic, I had already been using such tools as the classroom management system Sakai, asynchronous videos, and online forums. My students frequently collaborated over Google chat before presenting in front of the class. My students have used free notation software to compose their creative assignments in my theory courses, and music theory websites and applications.

Due to the changes mandated by the pandemic response, my classroom became more virtual and allowed for further exploration of digital tools in order to elevate my students’ experience. I discovered a number of benefits made possible by online learning during my course, Film, Concerts, Gaming: Gender. We scheduled virtual movie screenings during non-class time through Zoom, so all students would have access to the assigned movies for the second half of the course. These virtual movie screenings made it possible to pause and annotate the screen through Zoom’s secondary support features. It allowed greater clarity for the students to locate visual film terms in real time and to physically highlight sound cues on the screen. This permitted a more hands-on experience than sitting in a classroom analyzing a scene on a projector screen. As a result of this hands-on approach, the students learned more efficiently than they would have in an in-person movie screening.

This experience demonstrated for me the power that digital tools can bring to a curriculum. Through my fellowship, I have made it my goal to learn more accessible approaches and tools to continue to find creative ways to teach both in-person and virtually. This includes a proficiency with VoiceThread, various social media apps, Slack, video production, audio production, and other web-based annotation tools. During my fellowship, I have served as a consultant for department-specific needs in digital pedagogy. I have also co-facilitated and co-designed an Online TA Workshop Series and two virtual doctoral academies on online teaching.

Professional Development Based on Teaching Philosophy

My teaching thrives when I am working with a diverse group of students, who bring a multitude of backgrounds and experiences into the classroom. It can be a challenge when students begin with varying levels of experience in a course, but I thoroughly enjoy employing different pedagogical approaches to connect with my students, as previously mentioned above. I champion a classroom that serves as a welcoming community with open feedback and comradery. I implement short feedback surveys for my students as a check-in after the first two weeks, at midterms, and at the end of the course. This approach sees positive results: from students who are able to communicate anonymously for additional help, to allowing me to check-in on my students in a low-stakes manner. By the end of each course students feel heard and respected. In my course reviews, students report feeling that they had learned and grown a lot, while being challenged in my courses. They are amenable to this rigorous academic environment because I offer them the space to express their concerns and give them opportunities for additional help.

This experience has greatly motivated me as an educator. I am always learning and adapting to further meet the needs of my students whether in an in-person or virtual setting. My professional development has included the Certificate in College Teaching, Preparing Future Faculty, and multiple Bass Fellowships. As I advance in my career, I plan to continue investigating additional tools and approaches to enhance my students’ education. This will allow me to continue building an inclusive environment within and outside the classroom through synchronous and asynchronous engagement, so my students’ needs can be met.

Please click here to see CV under "About Me"

Teaching Interests

  • Music Composition

  • Music Theory

  • Women in Music

  • Music in Film & Video Games

  • Sexuality and Gender in Music

  • Orchestration & Collaboration

  • Music Technology

  • Global Studies

  • Digital Pedagogy

Teaching Experience

Duke University Music Department Teaching Assistantship

  • Fall 2021
    Bass Teaching Assistant Fellow for Intro to LGBTQ Studies
    Substitute Lecturer, Co-facilitated Group Discussions, and Assisted Students

  • Spring 2020
    Bass Instructor of Record for Film, Concerts, & Gaming: Gender
    — Music by American Women
    Teaching, Lecturing, Grading, & Leading Self-Designed Course

  • Fall 2019
    Teaching Assistant for Hip-Hop/Rap Music Appreciation
    Grading, Recording Attendance, Assisting Students, and Managing Equipment

  • Spring 2019
    Instructor of Record for Intro to Music Theory (Beginner)
    Teaching & Introducing Foundational Concepts in Music Theory, including Notation, Tonality, Harmony, Analysis, Counterpoint, & 4-Part Chorales

  • Fall 2018
    Teaching Assistant for Music in East Asia
    Graded, Recorded Attendance, Assisted Students, and Managed Equipment

  • Spring 2018
    Music Theory Tonal Practice II Lab Instructor
    Taught Lab portion of Music Theory Sequence, including: Sight-singing, Aural Skills, Dictation, Keyboard Skills, & Score-Reading

  • Fall 2017
    Music Theory Tonal Practice I Lab Instructor
    Taught Lab portion of Music Theory Sequence, including: Sight-singing, Aural Skills, Dictation, Keyboard Skills, & Score-Reading

  • Spring 2017
    Teaching Assistant for Hollywood Film Music
    Substituted as Lecturer, Graded, Recorded Attendance, Managed Equipment, & Designed Exams

  • Fall 2016
    Music Theory Tonal Practice I Lab Instructor
    Taught Lab portion of Music Theory Sequence, including: Sight-singing, Aural Skills, Dictation, Keyboard Skills, & Score-Reading

Carnegie Mellon School of Music Graduate Assistantship

  • 2013 — 2015
    Graduate Teaching Assistant in Computer Music
    Tutored students in Finale, Reason, Logic, ProTools, & Max; Managed the Music Technology Center

Smith College Jacobson Center / Music Department

  • 2011 — 2013
    Peer Tutoring Staff: Music Theory and Piano Skills Tutor
    Tutored Students, including: Score Analysis, Four-part Harmony Writing, Composition, & Keyboard Skills

Faculty Development

Texas Woman’s University Center for Faculty Excellence

  • April 2022 to Current

    Coordinator of Teaching, Learning, & Academic Excellence
    Mentors, Teaches, and Provides Pedagogical Consultation Services for faculty & graduate students from All Academic Disciplines.

    Creates and Publishes Internal Blog Posts about faculty development, pedagogical strategies, and leadership.
    Research current topics and approaches in higher education.
    Develops workshops and Facilitate trainings.
    Provide Representation at accreditation meetings to represent faculty support initiatives upon request.

Duke University Learning Innovation

  • Fall 2020 and Spring 2021
    Bass Digital Education Fellow for the 2020 Duke Summer Doctoral Academy, 2021 Duke Winter Academy, Online TA Workshop Series, & Individual Department consultations
    Provided Consultation Services for faculty and graduate students.

    Designed, Facilitated, Taught, and Co-Hosted TA Workshop Series on Online Pedagogical Practices

  • Summer 2020
    Teaching Fellow for Duke Learning Innovation
    Provided Consultation Services for faculty and graduate students. Designed, Facilitated, Taught, and Co-Hosted TA Workshop Series & Summer Doctoral Academy on Online Teaching.