Abstract
Short-term or “one shot” professional development experiences are sometimes deemed less effective because they lack mechanisms for deep and ongoing engagement. Using the music conference as an example, I outline a simple framework on how music teachers might nevertheless use short-term professional development experiences as an impetus for long-range and high-impact professional growth.
Effective music teachers never cease honing their craft—understanding that to sustain success, ongoing professional development (PD) is all but a categorical requirement. They seek out graduate degrees and summer institutes; they ask questions of their more experienced colleagues; they participate in online forums, working groups, and professional learning communities. Most likely of all, according to a recent national survey (Schneckenburger, 2014), they attend professional conferences, a favored venue for the music-specific experiences so often missing from school- and district-provided PD (Bowles, 2002; Conway, 2007; Eros, 2013). Indeed, while content-specific PD opportunities often abound locally for teachers in high-stakes subject areas (e.g., math, English language arts), when music teachers pursue a similar level of relevant PD, they often leave not only their local site but also, in many cases, their districts and cities. Music teachers converge on state, regional, and national music education conferences for expert clinics on best practices, invited performances, and social and professional exchange with colleagues. Compared with existing nonmusic-specific alternatives, many music teachers find great value in their conference experiences (Schneckenburger, 2014; West, 2018). However, lasting a typical 2 to 4 days, “one shot” conferences have been characterized as less effective because they lack mechanisms for deep and ongoing engagement (Barrett, 2006; Richardson, 2003). Without continuing support, the impact of PD can be progressively diminished once teachers return to their classroom routines and environments (Bauer, Reese, & McAllister, 2003).
Across a wide spectrum of PD research, scholars have identified high-quality PD as that which is content-specific, collaborative, and prolonged in duration (e.g., Barrett, 2006; Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009; Desimone, 2009). The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) enumerated a set of similar characteristics, adding that all PD be “musical” and “provide opportunit[ies] for reflection in a cycle of innovation, feedback, and reconsideration” (National Association for Music Education, 2015). It follows, then, for a music teacher PD experience to be deemed high quality, it would need to focus on music-specific curricular and instructional issues, involve teachers in active collaboration and exchange with one another, happen over extended periods of time, and have built-in mechanisms for follow-through and support. While they are certainly music-specific, many traditional conferences do not offer these types of experiences. I note at least four significant drawbacks. First, given their state or even national scopes, attuning content and pedagogy needs to attendees’ local contexts is often impractical or implausible. Second, most conferences last just a few days, possibly making them too brief to induce sustained, long-term change. Third, conferences may not promote collaboration and interaction if sessions remain presenter-centered. Clinics are often lecture-style; attendees remain passive recipients. And fourth, conferences often have no formal mechanisms for follow-through. When attempting implementation after the conference, teachers are on their own.
Notwithstanding these concerns, conferences continue to be quite popular with teachers perhaps due to the absence of feasible alternatives (Bautista, Yau, & Wong, 2017). High-quality job-embedded PD, which requires considerable time and resources to implement, can be costly for schools and districts (Odden, Archibald, Fermanich, & Gallagher, 2002). Thus, such efforts are often reserved for teachers in high-stakes content areas (e.g., mathematics, English), and music teachers have to seek meaningful PD elsewhere. Can music conferences, despite their “one-shot” nature, lead to positive change? In this article, I outline a simple framework on how music teachers might use short-term PD experiences like conferences as catalysts for long-range and high-impact professional growth. My recommendations are based in part on research I conducted exploring how music teachers incorporated PD learnings into their teaching after attending conferences (West, 2018).
Setting a Clear Agenda for Change
To make the most of any PD experience, teachers have to be clear about the change they seek, align their PD engagement accordingly, and make concrete plans for implementation. With that in mind, I recommend the following strategies for before, during, and after conferences.
Before the Conference
Reflection is an important driver of teacher learning (Darling-Hammond, Hyler, & Gardner, 2017; Johnson et al., 2018). The capacity to think deeply about one’s practice is critical to identifying areas of needed change. When music teachers attend a preferred conference, they partake for myriad reasons—from their students’ participation in competitive statewide performing ensembles (e.g., all-state) to an informal expectation in their state or region that “everybody” goes to the Music Education Association (MEA) convention. The conference experience can become routine—with the seemingly incessant loop of sessions, concerts, and meetings allowing scarcely a moment for respite or deep thought. Teachers could lose sense of what their participation might mean for their day-to-day practice.
Many teachers do at least some amount of preconference reflection, but the depth of that mental work can vary widely (West, 2018). To spur richer reflection, I suggest teachers ask of themselves the following questions well in advance of the conference experience.
Is there an area of my teaching in which my students consistently struggle?
Is there a specific pedagogical approach or music style about which I wish to deepen my knowledge?
Am I addressing the social and emotional needs of all my students, even those whose backgrounds and experiences differ substantially from mine?
Am I meeting my professional growth needs? Do I feel satisfied in my professional life?
Answers need not be overly detailed, but they should be documented in some way. They might be written on an index card, in a smartphone’s notes application, or captured digitally via voice memo. If possible, teachers should consider these questions before looking at any conference program in great detail. With this approach, they can identify their biggest priorities and align their conference experience accordingly—instead of the other way around.
During the Conference
After a period of reflection, teachers are ready to organize their conference time and to craft a personal program. When reviewing conference offerings, useful questions to consider include the following:
Which sessions and workshops address topics important to me, pique my curiosity, or align with my growth areas? (see Before the Conference reflective responses)
What specifically do I plan to derive from each selected session or concert?
What seems most practical to implement in my classroom? What seems more challenging?
Since no single PD event will solve every issue facing a teacher, it is important to be strategic. As Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) noted, PD that offers “multiple opportunities for teachers to engage in learning around a single [italics added] set of concepts or practices . . . has a greater chance of transforming teaching practices” (p. 15). Thus, I recommend teachers prioritize a maximum of two issue areas per conference, which allows the opportunity to explore deeply and from different angles. Developing a comprehensive set of teaching tools around a couple of topics during the conference could make change after the conference much more likely (West, 2018). It can also help teachers to feel that they have deepened their knowledge beyond a handful of “tricks” to try when they return to school.
The issues areas can be broadly defined. For instance, a teacher looking for ways to better advocate for his band program might seek sessions not only on advocacy but also on recruitment and retention, student leadership, booster organizations, and any other topic that is relevant to that goal. Beyond organized sessions, he might also explore the advocacy issue informally, asking colleagues what worked for them between events or at mealtimes. The objective here is to develop a rich, multiple-perspective understanding of the topic.
After the Conference
Once the conference concludes, teachers should draft an implementation plan. Despite the urge to think expansively, the number of selected reforms should be minimal; selecting two to three potentially salient reforms for implementation is sufficient. Identifying too many action items could negate previous efforts of targeting the PD agenda. Furthermore, any worthwhile growth in teacher capacity will likely come after multiple implementation trials that happen over an extended period of time (West, 2018). Committing to such a cycle is more feasibly accomplished with deeper engagement on fewer objectives than with the opposite. Thus, teachers should narrow their list of postconference implementations in the same way they narrowed their selection of preconference goals. In practice, what are the key indicators of a successful implementation plan?
Keeping Time
It is important that the implementation plan be developed prior to returning to the classroom so that it can be put into action right away. Implementations that do not begin immediately are more likely to be deterred as performances, contests, and other demands can take precedence (West, 2018). Thus, teachers should articulate a clear timeline in the implementation plan.
Adapting Before Adopting
Attuning learning to the local setting is critical (Desimone, 2009). Teachers should practice flexibility—contextualizing what is learned at the conference to suit their students. Techniques backed by presenters should not be accepted uncritically. Teachers should ask, “What version of this approach is most likely to help my students, given what I understand about them?” What ultimately works may be exactly as the presenter outlined, but in many cases, it is not (West, 2018).
Making Repeated Attempts
Successful implementation often comes after several trial-and-error cycles (Desimone, 2009; Garet et al., 2011; West, 2018). If the reform is not a resounding success the first time, teachers should make adaptations and try again the next day. Enacting change may be neither quick nor smooth, but teachers should work with diligence nevertheless—for they never know what a bit of patience and persistence can ultimately deliver.
Talking It Out
All deep learning is social (Wenger, 2000), and social PD is often deemed most effective (Battersby & Verdi, 2015). Thus, teachers should try not to move through the implementation process alone. One strategy is to team up with a fellow conference attendee, or a larger group of attendees, to discuss the successes and setbacks of change. One of the benefits of attending conferences is the interaction with like-minded colleagues. Keeping those conversations going could be the difference between short-term and sustained professional growth.
A Concrete Example
Consider a hypothetical high-school choral director who is planning to attend her state MEA convention in one month. Let us call her Ms. Smith. Before perusing the conference offerings, she ponders the four questions in the Before the Conference section and develops the following response: I feel like I can adequately meet the social and emotional needs of my students. They feel cared for as individuals in my choral program, and I perceive genuine affection between me and my students. However, I think I can improve the way I approach vocal pedagogy. Some students can demonstrate proper singing technique, but many do not. I have trouble explaining issues like breath support and forward resonance in ways that “click” for students over the long term. I am particularly concerned about the link between warm-ups, where I harp on technical issues, and repertoire, where the students are ultimately supposed to perform with limited in-the-moment feedback from me. Students consistently have difficulty making those crucial connections, and their level of performance suffers.
After some reflection, Ms. Smith is ready to review the sessions, workshops, and concerts being offered at the conference. She highlights quite a few. However, understanding the need to target her efforts, she ultimately articulates the following conference agenda:
Attend vocal techniques session and think of useful metaphors and imagery that could be used during warm-ups and reinforced in literature.
Informally survey fellow attendees on what has worked for them.
Participate in conducting session and explore how gesture could reinforce desired links between warm-ups and repertoire.
Pose a question during featured conductor Q&A session asking about her approach.
Note how the conference agenda extends beyond a simple listing of sessions. Instead of merely planning to attend the vocal techniques session, Ms. Smith articulates the specific goal of identifying useful instructional devices (i.e., metaphor and imagery). This provides focus and stands to make whatever comes of the session more valuable when it is implemented.
Also note how the items reflect the full conference experience (i.e., not exclusively tied to traditionally organized sessions). This is crucial because, while teachers may not identify enough standalone sessions on one or two topics to form a coherent program, they will certainly find, or could create, conference experiences that address their needs. Teachers have commented that interactions with colleagues between sessions and after performances are just as, and sometimes more, fruitful as the sessions themselves (West, 2018). Why not provide some focus to those interactions to augment the more formal elements of the conference program?
The conference concludes, and Ms. Smith is now ready to think about implementation. She reads her notes and identifies two items she wants to put into practice right away: (a) incorporating student-friendly metaphors she learned at the vocal techniques session and in dialogue with colleagues and (b) developing warm-up sequences based on the vocal demands of the performance repertoire using a planning tool she also acquired at the vocal techniques session. She commits to sustained implementation, taking note of what works, what does not, and making alterations along the way. She also selects an informal “implementation partner” with whom she discusses her ongoing efforts. Ultimately, she finds that many of the metaphors were not straightforwardly understood by her students and decides to stop using them. Meanwhile, the planning tool proves a big success. She makes it a permanent part of how she prepares for teaching.
Concluding Thoughts
Given its limited duration and removal from the local teaching setting, the traditional music conference may lack several critical features of effective teacher PD (Desimone, 2009). Nevertheless, with some planning and reflection—using the strategies I outlined here—music teachers can situate conferences as a source of meaningful PD that sustains professional growth.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.