ASU Course Descriptions

Descriptions for courses I facilitate in the ASU Music Learning and Teaching Program open to the public for grad credit or PD hours:

Developing Online Music Courses and Content (Spring 2024)

The purpose of this course is to prepare you to envision, design, and develop music learning experiences and content for people who seek to broaden and deepen their understanding and skills outside of typical physical formal education settings. Throughout the semester we will design and develop learning experiences at different degrees of scale, ranging from informative social media posts or videos to asynchronous online courses and modules. This includes but is not limited to:

• public pedagogy
• translating research into practical resources
• curating and designing resources for online and blended learning contexts
• creating tutorials
• designing learning modules
• creating online asynchronous courses
• creating informational social media posts

This project-based course situates the development of online learning experiences, resources, and courses of varied formats as a form of curricular inquiry and development informed by aspects of digital and participatory cultures, learning theories, design, information architecture, and contemporary media. We will explore and apply principles and approaches in these and other areas to design and iterate learning experiences and resources in varied digital formats to support lifelong learning. This will also include developing an understanding of and critically analyzing the current landscape of existing online learning experiences and resources.

Students in the course will have opportunities to design and develop learning experiences and resources specific to their own areas of interest and career trajectories along with collaborating with the course learning community as a design studio to develop learning experiences and resources connected to programs in the ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre for engagement with stakeholders outside of the University.

Learner-Centered and Project-Based Teaching

Fall 2022 Tuesdays 4:30 – 7:15 PM (AZ Time)

Enroll here for PD Hours via digital commuting (Live via Zoom)

The idea of a learner-centered classroom or ensemble is often framed in terms of  “switching from being the sage on the stage to the guide on the side.” But, what are the specific frameworks, principles, and strategies that support learner-centeredness and what does this even mean? 

In this course, we explore and practice a wide range of frameworks, principles, and strategies for collaborating with learners to design and facilitate music programs that support, deepen, and widen young people’s musical understanding and development as 21st century musicians. This includes but is not limited to expanding how we invite and embrace student decision making, support student agency, amplify learners’ voices and perspectives, re-conceptualize and re-design curriculum, assess growth and learning, expand what occurs in the classroom or ensemble, or leverage technology, all through a prism of learner-centeredness and project-based learning. You will leave with a deeper understanding of how to collaborate and design for learner-centeredness, facilitate learning through learner-centered practices, learner decision-making, and a broader repertoire of teaching strategies that can be implemented immediately. 

We will address questions such as:

• What does it mean to be learner-centered? 
• When are music programs learner-centered?
• How might learner-centeredness relate to work for equity and anti-racism?
• Why learner-centeredness?
• Who are the stakeholders in supporting and maintaining a learner-centered program and what are their roles?
• What specific strategies can we employ to foster a learner-centered program?
• What types of inquiry might we engage in to support learner-centered ensembles and classes?
• What structures and aspects of music education challenge learner-centeredness and how might we re-conceptualize and re-design for learner-centeredness? 
• What is project based learning and can we design and facilitate project-based learning in our programs?
• How can we include students and stakeholders in co-designing projects?

What will we do?

Throughout the course we will:

• Co-Design and implement projects of interest to us as individuals and as a learning community
• Engage in our own passion projects to live out project-based learning as part of the course
• Pilot projects for the people in the programs we facilitate in schools and community settings
• Engage with foundational and contemporary thinking and scholarship around learner-centeredness, youth voice, and project-based learning
• Put principles and theories to practice in our own settings
• Collaborate with artists, educators, and community stakeholders
• Address the needs and interests of the people who enroll in the course
• Stretch beyond our comfort zones and imagine possibilities
• Develop our critical lenses to analyze and make judgements about existing resources
• and much more!

What are the enrollment options for this course?

This course is offered as a hybrid option for in-person attendance AND digital commuters (students attending virtually synchronously)!

• Graduate Credit for MM and PhD students
• Non-Degree Graduate Credit
• Professional Development Hours (CEU)
  • Typical PD Hour Enrollment is for 45 hours but we have 15 hour and 30 hour options available
  • Note: PD hours (CEUs) may not be converted into graduate credit

Contact Evan Tobias directly for information about the class and how to register for non-degree grad credit or Professional Development Hours.

Find out more about the ASU Music Learning and Teaching Program and consider joining our community!