We are thankful to Mary Ellen Pinzino for agreeing to share with us in this forum. What follows is the beginning of a series of interviews covering a range of topics with one of the original minds in the field of early childhood music and movement. We begin by discussing several of the key issues driving the conversation about online music teacher education.

Rick: Hello Mary Ellen. Thank you for agreeing to share your thoughts about online teacher education. What prompted you to develop an entirely online program to prepare early childhood music teachers? It must have been an enormous undertaking.

Mary Ellen: I have devoted many years to early childhood music and am still in awe of the artistry of the young child and the process of music learning. Many years of working with children and training teachers led to the conclusion that conference presentations, short-term workshops and seminars, valuable as they are, could not adequately address the wonder of the unfolding artistry of the young child in the process of music learning. I set out to create an opportunity for teachers to witness that unfolding in their own children, over time, with ongoing pedagogical “coaching” in their own classroom through online materials and direct access to me throughout the term.

Yes, it was quite an undertaking, but in the process, I believe a new model for teacher education in early childhood music has emerged. Week by week, over a 10 week term, teachers and children are introduced to new material, with the children demonstrating the principles addressed online. Children grow as musicians throughout the term, while teachers grow as early childhood music educators—all in the convenience of their own settings, and on their own schedules, while earning professional development hours, CEUs, or graduate credit.

Rick: Many curriculum developers share your goals, and have worked within a well-known face-to-face model that has served the discipline well through the years. Why did you decide to develop your model entirely online?

Mary Ellen: Technology offers accessible, convenient, and affordable options for music teacher education, but the challenge is in creating an online learning environment for teachers that is as alive as face-to-face classes. I find that process very exciting. The online learning environment can become one of intimacy, reflection, and challenge, stimulating new insights, inspiration and professional growth through the design of the online courses. The combination of weekly activities with children, online materials, and direct access to the instructor provides for a dynamic that is not characteristic of face-to-face classes. Teachers explore new dimensions with their own children throughout the term, and in the process, witness the principles of the online materials coming to life in their own classrooms, with pedagogical support throughout. Teachers and children grow together, with each leading the other to new horizons.

I believe in the creativity of early childhood music teachers, and their ability to charm little children in music and movement activities. I believe in their love for little children and their ability to adjust their techniques to meet the needs of their children. I embrace the skills teachers bring to the online courses, while taking them further into the artistry of the young child—a most beautiful, yet essentially untapped reservoir within every child.

Reverence for the artistry of the young child is all but non-existent in this world of glitz in the entertainment industry, hype that music makes a child smarter, and proliferation of musical toys, games and videos. The popularity of music for learning overlooks music for music learning, and it is through music learning that we reach the beautiful artistry of the young child.

Rick: If you were to develop your own perfect world of early child music and movement teacher preparation, what would you consider to be an ideal balance between online and face-to-face teacher education opportunities?

Mary Ellen: Ideally, assuming the highest quality of instruction for both online and face-to-face courses, the one great advantage of online instruction is that it can empower teachers with knowhow while embracing their creativity and teaching them to learn from children’s responses, rather than providing a model for them to imitate. Too many well-meaning teachers try to teach like respected face-to-face models, wanting to “do it right,” rather than understanding and witnessing the principles of music learning unfolding in their own children, and activating their own creativity and “classroom research.” I would rather a teacher discover and uncover children’s artistry by his or her own power, with my ongoing coaching, than to have that teacher go through the motions of imitating my teaching. If I can lead teachers to the soul of children’s artistry, then that artistry will speak for itself, guiding teachers to become better teachers.

You asked for the “perfect world,” which assumes the highest quality of instruction, whether online or face-to-face. In the more typical world, online instruction too easily becomes static—simply a repository for articles, assignments, and tests. The greater value of online instruction is in its potential to become every bit as alive as the face-to-face classroom, with additional dynamic opportunities like mentoring teachers in an ongoing manner in their own classrooms.

Rick: Teacher education moved past the "teacher-educator-as-model" many years ago, so your comments should resonate with many teacher educators today - most of whom seek to become coaches, trying to develop the "inner teacher" in each of their preservice teachers.

You did not address my concept of a "balance between online and face-to-face teacher education opportunities." It sounds to me like you consider "good" online experiences to be "face-to-face teacher education opportunities."

Mary Ellen: The field of photography grew up on SLR cameras, with all their manual adjustments. Technology moved the field to digital cameras that are based on SLRs, but many teachers who grew up on SLR cameras continue to teach in the same way they did with SLR cameras. As one with a digital camera who never used an SLR, I long for a teacher to address digital photography as photography, without assuming that one has to first understand an SLR.

Similarly, educators have grown up on face-to-face classes. Technology has moved education to online instruction, which is necessarily based on classroom experience, but it is time that we as a field address online instruction with the same creativity with which we approach the classroom and the same commitment to the process of music learning, without assuming that the original model is more valid. Yes, the online experiences have provided some of the best “face-to-face” teacher education that my students and I have ever experienced.

Rick: Thank you for sharing with us today. We look forward to more discussions about topics in early childhood music and movement.

Comments or questions for Mary Ellen?