Description
Bridging the Gap is a collection of short stories for use during the student teaching semester. Using research-based fiction, each story is written from a music student teacher’s perspective, highlighting possible (even typical) scenarios encountered during the internship.
Designed to promote reflection, transferability, and a sense of “that could be me” for music student teachers. Names and stories are fictional, but topics and scenarios are derived from music education research and personal experience mentoring music student teachers. Nothing “new” to music student teachers—instead, the book serves as a tool for instructors and preservice educators to connect theories from university coursework to the school music classroom.
Features
- 12 short stories on topics such as beginning the internship, student teacher motivation, classroom management in music, navigating student identities, the job search process, application for certification and licensure, and much more.
- “Debrief” section following each story, guiding the reader to consider related and tangential topics/scenarios.
- Individual reflective prompts for journaling, blogging, or other reflective writings.
- Activities for music student teaching seminar, designed to encourage pair/small group work, reflection, projection, and consider alternate “endings” to stories.
- Additional resource lists of supplementary texts, websites, and interview materials for music student teachers to “dive deeper” into select topics.
- Sample course calendar/integration of the text for both music-specific and general education seminars.
Phillip Payne –
This text examines a critical part of the teaching journey and provides an invaluable framework for all involved. The modeling of great teaching through the student teaching seminar structure is essential in building a process that includes sharing, informing, reflecting, and responding. Baumgartner excels in mapping out that collection of knowledge, skills, and dispositions for future music teachers (and their seminar leaders) using engaging anecdotes and thought-provoking reflective questions to guide a wide range of conversations. The content, activities, and resources inform and support our future teachers through every step of their journey to the music classroom. This text will soon establish itself as essential to any music educator preparation program and will become a fixture for us here at K-State.
Phillip D. Payne
Professor and Chair of Music Education
Kansas State University
Sean Powell –
This book is a must-have resource for preservice music teachers beginning their student teaching journeys, cooperating teachers who mentor student teachers, university supervisors who observe and evaluate student teachers and, most of all, music teacher educators who facilitate student teaching seminars. At long last, our profession has a structuring text for the often-amorphous student teaching seminar. Beyond a mere collection of stories, this text presents concrete learning activities that help facilitate reflective practice. Baumgartner’s creative literary approach to writing makes this book as pleasurable to read as it is useful to practice, and each fictionalized account truly “bridges the gap” between university coursework and the realities of the music classroom. This book is destined to be the standard text for the music student teaching experience.
Sean R. Powell
Professor and Chair of Music Education
University of North Texas
Margaret Berg –
This book is a comprehensive resource for student teaching seminar meetings given the breadth of topics covered that are germane to the student teaching experience. Chris Baumgartner’s storytelling approach, coupled with the individual reflection and group activities, honors the emotional landscape of student teaching while also fostering community during the transition from student teacher to professional.
Margaret H Berg
Professor of Music Education and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies
University of Colorado
Kimberly Councill –
Offering realistic insight into a complex, exciting, and at times, overwhelming experience, Dr. Baumgartner’s text shows music student teachers that they are not alone on their journey. The opportunities for individual reflection and group discussions and sharing add to the support this book provides, and make it a strong companion for music student teachers, cooperating teaching, and music teacher educators.
Kimberly H. Councill
Director of the School of Music
The University of Utah
Patricia Leavy –
Bridging the Gap: Stories for Music Student Teaching Seminar makes important contributions to the fields of education, music education, and arts research. Baumgartner’s skillful pairing of introductory materials with engaging stories keeps you turning the page. The end-of-chapter activities make this text easy to incorporate into a range of courses. This is a beautifully crafted book.
Patricia Leavy
Author of Re/Invention: Methods of Social Fiction and Hollyland