MusiCounts Professional Development for Educators
This fall, MusiCounts is proud to offer a suite of virtual workshops free of charge for all educators in Canada. All of the workshops are led by specialists in their field, and are intended to support educators in engaging their students with diverse perspectives through music.
Four different workshop topics will each be offered at 2-3 different days/times throughout October and November 2024, allowing teachers from different time zones across Canada to participate.
How It Works
- Explore the workshop offerings below. Each workshop topic has its own registration form. All workshops will be administered via Google Meets; attendees will receive a link/ calendar invitation after they sign up.
- Following each workshop, teachers will be equipped with what they need to engage their students with the workshop contents; each workshop will equip teachers with actionable and curriculum-aligned lesson plans and activity suggestions for use in the classroom.
- Teachers that engage their students with the workshop contents and circulate a brief survey to their students to complete about their experience will be entered for a chance to receive 1 of 15 $1,000 MusiCounts micro grants to support music education at their school.
Workshop Topic 1:
Decolonizing Music Education: Guidelines for Building Respectful Partnerships with Indigenous Communities
This virtual workshop is geared towards K-12 educators who wish to bring Indigenous music into their school programs, but are unsure about how to begin this process. In this session, Cree and Métis music educators Sherryl Sewepagaham and Nicole Schutz will introduce teachers to steps to consider when inviting and working collaboratively alongside local Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, or Culture Bearers in music education and community music contexts. It will provide teachers with helpful and practical approaches to seek and build respectful and meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities that are necessary to consider and implement when seeking to integrate Indigenous music and knowledge in their classrooms. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the session.
Sherryl and Nicole’s workshop will be offered at the following times. Click here to register.
- Monday, October 28 at 7:00pm ET
- Monday, November 18 at 6:00pm ET
Workshop Topic 2:
Singing in Indigenous Languages in the Classroom
Join Kristi Talbot, the author of the MusiCounts & CBC Music resource Singing in a Indigenous Languages: A Practical Guide For Educators for an informative workshop supporting this year's CBC Canadian Music Class Challenge. Participants will explore how to use this resource in the classroom and will learn in detail how to respectfully share an Indigenous song with their students. Participants will also learn more about this year's Indigenous submission, written by Juno nominated singer Shawnee Kish.
Kristi’s workshop will be offered at the following times. Click here to register.
- Wednesday, October 23, 6pm ET
- Wednesday, October 30, 8pm ET
- Monday, November 4, 4pm ET
Workshop Topic 3:
#BlackMusicMatters: Hip Hop and Social Justice in Canada
Join Dr. Darren Hamilton for a virtual workshop will explore how all music educators can incorporate music by Canadian hip-hop artists into their classrooms using the free MusiCounts resource, #BlackMusicMatters: Hip Hop and Social Justice in Canada. Interdisciplinary teaching tools, lesson plans and activities will be discussed so educators can broaden their students' understanding of Canadian hip-hop music and social justice themes. Educators across various disciplines (not just music) who teach students in grades 7-12 will benefit most from this workshop. By the end of the workshop session, virtual attendees will:
- Participate in a lesson from the #BlackMusicMatters resource
- Explore the components of the #BlackMusicMatters resource
- Understand the pedagogical approaches for using #BlackMusicMatters in their classes
Darren’s workshop will be offered at the following times. Click here to register.
- Monday, October 21, 5pm ET
- Monday, November 4, 6pm ET
- Thursday, November 14, 8pm ET
Workshop Topic #4:
Musical Creativity and Collaborative Composition: A Tool for Culturally Responsive Teaching
This virtual workshop, led by Dr. Hussein Janmohamed, will explore how all educators can incorporate creativity and composition into their classrooms as a tool for cultural understanding, identity formation and unity. Through stories of Ismali Muslim experience in Canada we will explore how music and sound can serve as a pathway to bridge diverse cultures and lived experiences. Participants will learn practical strategies and tools to foster a supportive and inclusive environment for musical expression and inquiry. Accessible step-by-step student-centered music creation and singing activities and lesson plans will be shared that can be easily adapted to various grade levels, classroom settings, and learning objectives. Educators will gain insights into strategies that can help broaden their students’ understanding of pluralistic cultural expression and engagement within their own local contexts. Open to all, educators across various disciplines (not just music) who teach students in grades 4 - 12 will benefit most from this workshop.
Hussein’s workshop will be offered at the following times. Click here to register.
- Thursday, October 24: 4:00pm ET
- Wednesday, November 6: 6:00pm ET
- Thursday, November 21, 7:00pm ET
About the Workshop Leaders
Sherryl Sewepegaham
Sherryl Sewepagaham, a dynamic Cree-Dene artist from the Little Red River Cree Nation, Northern Alberta, blends her heritage with artistry, composition, and education. She is a current PhD student at UBC and holds a 2024 Vanier Scholar title, and was awarded a SSHRC Doctoral Award and a UBC Indigenous Graduate Fellowship award all in the same academic year. She has devoted over two decades to K-6 music education infusing Indigenous musical traditions and creating Indigenous-focused teaching resources for MusiCounts, the Music Alive Program with the National Arts Centre, and the Alberta Orff Chapter. She is a passionate advocate of Cree language songs contributing to the resilient work of Indigenous language preservation and retention in communities, education, and academic scholarship.
Nicole Schutz
Nicole Schutz is a Métis music educator from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan based in Edmonton, Alberta. With over 20 years of experience as a music specialist with Edmonton Public Schools, she is also an assistant Lecturer of Elementary Music Curriculum and Pedagogy and Orff Levels Movement at the University of Alberta. Nicole holds a Master of Elementary Education in Curriculum and Pedagogy from the University of Alberta, a B.Arts degree, and a B.Ed degree. Nicole holds a Level III Orff certification and a certificate in World Music Pedagogy from the Smithsonian Institute. She is president of the Alberta Orff Chapter and a teacher advisor for MusiCounts Canada. She co-created the Indigenous Music Educator’s guide titled “Nithota” for the National Arts Centre’s Arts Alive Program.
Kristi Talbot
Kristi Talbot is a Registered Early Childhood Educator with over a decade of experience serving her Indigenous community in Fort Erie, Ontario. She has dedicated much of that time to reclaiming her culture and language so that she may pass it on to the children and families of her community. Kristi has formal training in Early Childhood Education, Visual Arts, and the Mohawk language. The combination of these skills has allowed Kristi to create a unique and modern approach to the teaching and sharing of traditions. Recognizing that children learn best through a hands-on approach, Kristi works to create culturally rich activities that are engaging and allow the learner to explore and investigate the knowledge.
Dr. Darren Hamilton
Dr. Darren Hamilton is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and directs the University of Toronto Faculty of Music Gospel Choir. Prior to his appointment at the University of Toronto, Dr. Hamilton was a high school music teacher for 15 years with the Peel District School Board. Dr. Hamilton’s research interests lie in formal gospel music pedagogy, popular music pedagogy, hip hop music education, anti-Black racism in music education and equity, diversity and social justice in music education. He is the visionary and co-author of the national MusiCounts teacher resource, #BlackMusicMatters: Hip Hop & Social Justice in Canada. He is also the co-editor of the forthcoming edited volume, The Why and How of Popular Music Education: A Canadian Perspective. Dr. Darren Hamilton was the recipient of the 2022 JUNO Award for MusiCounts Teacher of the Year, recognising his commitment to equity and diversity in music education and his professional contributions to the field of music education.
Dr. Hussein Janmohamed
Dr. Hussein Janmohamed is a globally renowned educator, choral clinician, conductor, and composer with over three decades of experience transforming communities through music. Passionate about making music accessible to all, Dr. Janmohamed has a proven track record of empowering educators and students to explore their creativity and foster connection. His unique perspective on the intersection of music, culture, and education stems from his personal experiences navigating Ismaili Muslim musical identities. Dr. Janmohamed holds a PhD in Music Education from the University of Toronto and Masters degrees in Choral Conducting and Opera Production. He has performed with prestigious ensembles such as Chor Leoni, the Phoenix Chamber Choir, Elmer Iseler Singers, and the National Youth Choir of Canada. Additionally, Dr. Janmohamed has led diverse choirs, including UBC Choirs, the Nai Syrian Children's Choir, Vancouver Peace Choir, Canadian Ismaili Muslim Youth Choirs, and global music ensembles.
This project is funded by
