{"id":14498,"date":"2023-05-22T13:12:10","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T17:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/?p=14498"},"modified":"2023-05-24T15:52:59","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T19:52:59","slug":"elizabethtown-college-celebrates-inaugural-master-of-music-education-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.etown.edu\/index.php\/2023\/05\/22\/elizabethtown-college-celebrates-inaugural-master-of-music-education-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabethtown College Celebrates Inaugural Master of Music Education Graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three years since the launch of the Master of Music Education (MME) program at Elizabethtown College, six students from the inaugural cohort have completed the requirements for graduation and were recognized at the College\u2019s 120th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 13.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels pretty special that we were the first cohort,\u201d Sara Alipanah \u201923, who is currently a Performing Arts Teacher at Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School in Washington, D.C. said. \u201cThis was a fantastic group of people and we were excited to help shape what this Masters program is and will become.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Elizabethtown College\u2019s innovative MME program is the only one of its kind in the country to combine a focus on social-emotional learning, world music drumming, trauma-informed practice, and peacebuilding. It is a low-residency program with over 90% of coursework delivered online with one in-person week each summer. As a result,\u00a0 program students and alumni reside in states all across the country including Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia\/D.C., Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a unique program unlike any other Master of Music Education program currently available,” Alipanah explained. \u201cIt incorporated ideas and subjects that I was passionate about bringing into my classroom, including peacebuilding, ethnomusicology, and social emotional learning. The classes that were being offered were also unique and different from what I learned in my undergraduate music education degree.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With a tagline of \u201cReclaiming Space for Connection and Care,\u201d the program was designed to speak to a teacher\u2019s desire to recenter what matters most to teachers and students within their classrooms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAmidst the demands of standardized testing, many teachers often feel as if they want to reclaim classrooms as places of connection and care,\u201d Kevin Shorner-Johnson, Elizabethtown College Dean of the School of Arts & Humanities and Associate Professor of Music Education said. \u201cWe also drew on research that demonstrated that families and caregivers were becoming increasingly disconnected from children because of the distraction of electronic devices.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic where students are returning to the classroom, the need to support social and emotional needs within schools has rapidly increased.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe elementary music classroom is a place of collaboration, so learning how to implement peacebuilding tools has been integral in helping my students treat each other with kindness, dignity and respect,\u201d Alipanah said. \u201cStudents need ways to self-regulate and understand themselves as well as those around them. They also had so much time where they couldn\u2019t interact with each other that now they are re-learning how to function with others in a classroom setting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The program culminates with a capstone project that challenges candidates to implement practices of social-emotional learning, trauma-informed learning, peacebuilding, and\/or diverse cultures into teaching practice. Capstone projects from the cohort include:<\/span><\/p>\n