Music Education Lightning Talks: Erin Hopkins, Dennis Giotta, and Allison Paetz

Friday, April 22, 2022

Harkness Chapel, Classroom

Music colloquia provide a weekly forum for presentation and discussion of recent research by distinguished visitors and CWRU faculty and graduate students in musicology, historical performance practice, and music education.

All talks happen on Fridays at 4 PM and are free and open to the public. 

About the Talks

Erin Hopkins: Erin will present the results of an action research study in which she compared the effectiveness of different pitch syllable systems on second graders' development of implicit associations between pitch and visuospatial height, as measured through a novel pitch mapping task.

Dennis Giotta: This presentation will cover various aspects of undergraduate music education curricular considerations with specific interest toward neoliberal policies and the increasingly commoditized education system in the United States. Session participants will be asked to consider the ways that they value learning environments, teaching approaches, and student needs.

Allison Paetz: This lightning talk will describe the proposed Ohio House Bill 327 and its potential impacts on music education. In this talk, I pose the question: as music educators, what (if anything) is our responsibility to engage with policy outside of the realm of arts education, and what risks and benefits may come with doing so?

About the Speakers

Erin Hopkins is a current PhD student in Music Education at Case Western Reserve University, and an elementary general music teacher in the Maple Heights City School District. She graduated with an M.Ed. in Mind, Brain, & Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2015, and a B.M. in Music Education from the University of Michigan in 2013. Her primary research interests are developmental pitch perception and neurodiversity. 

Dennis Giotta is pursuing a PhD in Music Education at Case Western Reserve University and is a music teacher in Apple Creek, OH where he teaches band, music technology, songwriting, and rock band. Dennis completed degrees at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dennis' research interests include: Secondary general music, music teacher mentoring, and curricular development. He has presented at various state, regional, and national conferences for researchers and practitioners. Dennis' publications appear in Triad and Contributions to Music Education.

Allison Paetz is a part-time Ph.D. student in music education at Case Western Reserve University and a teacher at Rocky River High School, where she directs 3 curricular choirs, 2 extracurricular ensembles, teaches AP Research, and serves as district music department coordinator. Allison earned her Master of Music in Music Education from Michigan State University and is a 2012 graduate of Case Western Reserve University. Allison’s research interests include music teacher identity, secondary choral music education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in music education. She has presented at the Symposium on Music Teacher Education, New Directions Conference, Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference, Narrative Inquiry in Music Education Conference, Enacting Curricular Change in Music Education through Vernacular Music Conference, and the Ohio Music Education Association Conference. Her research has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Contributions, and Update. 


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