Professional Development for the Beginning Teacher ASPA
Fall Virtual Meeting Notes
September 10, 2014
ASPA Members in Attendance
Melissa Baughman, Chris Baumgartner, Vanessa Bond, Jennifer Greene, Bryan Koerner, Morgan Soja, & Vanessa Bond
Old Business
- Reviewed proposed ideas from NAfME 2014
- No updates on the possible survey led by Ken Dye. Project tabled.
Projects to Investigate
Efficacy of Beginning Music Teacher Mentoring Programs as Perceived by First-Year Teachers
- Checking with NAfME on acquiring email database for mass emailing
- Vanessa Bond & Sarah Stanley
- Electronic survey to determine:
- Types of mentoring programs that exist
- Beginning teacher perceptions
- How findings align with those from our NAfME (2014) investigation
An Analysis of Music Education Social Media Communication: The Content of and Use by Beginning Music Teachers
- Content analysis of (specified timespan) of posts, questions, etc. listed on social media pages/groups/etc.
- Analyze content of posts (keyword identification)
- Descriptive statistics for elements such as:
- Focus of posts/questions
- Compare times of year for postings/specific issues
- Responses by experienced teachers
- Possibly adapt methodology from current investigation of band directors facebook attitudes by Rickles & Brewer
- Bryan Koerner
Other Ideas to Consider
- Monthly university-led webinars (Google Hangouts, Zoom, etc) designed around recent graduates’ needs
- Beginning inservice teachers could email/list their concerns prior to each session (to make sure it doesn’t become a rant session)
- Podcasts designed to discuss research-based best practices
- A list of “top” practitioners articles could also potentially aid these young teachers
Future Projects
- Possible cross-ASPA “pollination” with new teacher assessment IF the above projects lead toward a logical collaboration
- Not pursuing collaborative work just for the sake of doing so; wait until we have a meaningful project