Recent years have posed significant challenges for students and teachers alike. Schools have become focal points for the continued emotional and psychological fallout of the many public health crises, social upheavals, wars, and economic struggles.
We believe music has the power to help.
Music Workshop’s online, self-paced, and video-based professional development courses teach educators and administrators at all levels how to use music as a tool for healing and growth. With music in our classrooms, we can make our schools a place to thrive.
Courses
$129
Music for Well-Being for Music Educators
This course transcends traditional approaches to music education, exploring how music relates to identity, connection, and emotion. You’ll discover new ways to empower students with music and teach them to use music listening and engagement as a tool for well-being. Join us as we explore new opportunities and techniques for music teaching and learning.
We don’t want there to be barriers for teachers to benefit from our professional development courses. If you can’t afford the enrollment cost or receive reimbursement from your school or district, please send us an email to request a scholarship.
Students Are Struggling
Anyone who has spent time in a classroom or school recently knows that many students are struggling. Children today face a constant barrage of challenges that interfere with their development and academic performance.
Music can help mitigate the effects of these challenges and improve well-being for children through personal connection and social reintegration.
Teachers Need Support
Educators are in an ideal position to help students, given the amount of time they spend together during important developmental years. But in this period of educational and social uncertainty, many teachers feel overwhelmed and underprepared to support a traumatized student body.
Music Workshop’s new professional development courses equip teachers with instructional tools they can immediately put into practice to improve their students’ well-being and support their own.
Useful, Engaging and Empowering
Here’s what a few of our teachers say about Music Workshop professional development.
“This course hits the mark in many areas of well-being. It gave useful tools for both teachers and students to use. It helped create a deeper understanding of why music is so important and why students may be acting out. It validates that music is essential to the well-being of us all. Engaging and empowering course that I will recommend to other music teachers.”
Candace Kruse-Makowski, Music Specialist at Mabel Hoggard Magnet Elementary
“The main host was so positive in a time we need it so much. She was so hopeful and her joy was contagious.”
Colin Klippenstein, Elementary Music Teacher at Erin Woods School in Calgary Alberta, Canada
“I think the way we are opening up the discussion of how our jobs are so taxing and exhausting and just acknowledging this is a great step! Some districts/campuses/principals understand how important it is for their teachers to have a balance and some, unfortunately, do not.”
Valerie Byrd, Verrado Elementary in Buckeye, Arizona
Music Is a Tool For…
Resilience
By integrating music listening into their learning environments, we can help students learn to socially and emotionally regulate themselves through music.
Connection
Engaging with music together fosters a sense of human connection between students, their teachers, their families, and communities. These healthy relationships are vital to a teacher’s ability to manage challenging student behaviors.
Focus
Playing music in the background while students do solo work or transition between activities can help maintain order and focus in the classroom. Setting this example at school empowers students to use music as a tool to focus at home, as well.
Motivation
Music is fun! So, we can use musical activities to incentivize and encourage positive behavior – whether it’s a class dance party or a chance to be the DJ of the day. In time, these experiences can motivate students to build lifelong relationships with music.
These are just a few of the ways that music can be an agent of healing in any learning environment. Music Workshop’s professional development courses for K-12 music teachers, general education teachers, and pre-service teachers provide actionable plans and tools to enrich the student learning experience.
Meet Our Expert Advisors
Music Workshop works with some of the leading experts in music education practice and research to develop professional development courses grounded in real-world evidence and experience.
Each of our advisors are research and practice trailblazers within music education, especially through well-being, social justice, access, and equity. Their research and guidance have been instrumental in our mission to empower educators with practical, evidence-based ways to improve their students’ well-being through music.
Dr. Sarah Bartolome
Associate Professor at Northwestern
Dr. Sarah J. Bartolome is a children’s music specialist with an interest in world music for the classroom. She earned degrees in music education from Ithaca College (BM), Northwestern University (’02 MMus), and the University of Washington (PhD).
Carlos R. Abril is Professor of Music Education and Associate Dean of Research at the Frost School of Music, where he teaches courses in philosophy of music, general music methods, and equity, access, and diversity in music education.
Beatriz Ilari (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Music Teaching & Learning at the USC Thornton School of Music, where she teaches graduate courses in music psychology, the sociology of music, cultural diversity in music teaching and learning, and research methods.
Dr. Cat Bennett is an assistant professor of music education at Oakland University, where she teaches undergraduate introductory and capstone music education courses, choral methods, student teaching seminar, and supervises choral education student teachers in their internships.
Coty Raven Morris is a proud alumnus of Texas State University-San Marcos where she studied with Drs. Lynn Brinckmeyer, Jonathan Bacock, and Joey Martin.
Dr. Sarah J. Bartolome is a children’s music specialist with an interest in world music for the classroom. She earned degrees in music education from Ithaca College (BM), Northwestern University (’02 MMus), and the University of Washington (PhD). She is also a fully certified Kodaly educator, having received all three levels of certification from the New England Conservatory’s Kodaly Music Institute and serving on the faculty of the Kodaly Levels Program of Seattle.
Dr. Carlos Abril
Associate Dean of Research University of Miami
Carlos R. Abril is Professor of Music Education and Associate Dean of Research at the Frost School of Music, where he teaches courses in philosophy of music, general music methods, and equity, access, and diversity in music education. Dr. Abril has served on the Research Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts and is Chair of the Society of Research in Music Education. He has also served on over ten editorial boards in North America, South America, and Europe. Prior to joining the University of Miami, Dr. Abril was an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at Northwestern University. He received his Ph.D. in music education at The Ohio State University, an M.M. in performance at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a B.M. in music education at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. He is also a former general music and choral educator in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where he was named the Region V Teacher of the Year and awarded the Cervantes Outstanding Educator Award.
Dr. Beatriz Ilari
Chair of Music Teaching & Learning at USC
Beatriz Ilari (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Music Teaching & Learning at the USC Thornton School of Music, where she teaches graduate courses in music psychology, the sociology of music, cultural diversity in music teaching and learning, and research methods. She has conducted extensive research with babies, preschoolers, and school-aged children from the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Japan, and Mexico. In her work, she uses a variety of approaches to study different aspects of musical development and growth of infants, children, and adolescents. Her research is interdisciplinary in nature. Beatriz Ilari collaborates regularly with researchers from USC’s Brain & Creativity Institute and Bionic Ear Lab, and with scholars from different research centers and universities across the globe.
Dr. Jennifer Mellizo
University of Wyoming Laboratory School & Curriculum Developer at Smithsonian Folkways
Jennifer Mellizo has been the K-8th grade music teacher at the University of Wyoming Laboratory School in Laramie, WY since 2002. She is also an independent researcher and a curriculum developer for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. She has been recognized as a Wyoming Arch Coal Teacher of the Year in 2014, the Albany County School District Teacher of the Year in 2016, and a 2021 Fulbright U.S. Scholar (Spain).
Dr. Cat Bennett
Assistant Professor at Oakland University
Dr. Cat Bennett is an assistant professor of music education at Oakland University, where she teaches undergraduate introductory and capstone music education courses, choral methods, student teaching seminar, and supervises choral education student teachers in their internships. Over the past 15 years, Cat has taught and studied vocal music in many countries around the world, teaching K – 12 general and choral music in Japan and Thailand, and working as a volunteer music teacher in Honduras and South Africa. Prior to completing her PhD at the University of Miami, she studied vocal jazz and Creative American Music. Cat also has a BME from Ithaca College and a MME from Indiana University.
Coty Raven Morris
Assistant Professor at Portland State University
Coty Raven Morris is a proud alumnus of Texas State University-San Marcos where she studied with Drs. Lynn Brinckmeyer, Jonathan Bacock, and Joey Martin. She received her Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University in the Spring of 2020. She is currently the Hinckley Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Education and Social Justice at Portland State University. She has presented at educational conferences and professional developments across the country including the American Choral Directors Association, Texas Music Educators Association, and the National Association for Music Education.
Professional Development You Can Actually Use
We want teachers to walk away from Music Workshop professional development courses with everything they need to put what they learned into practice – the very next day.
Resources and Templates
At the end of each professional development course, teachers receive takeaway materials to continue their learning and apply their knowledge in the classroom immediately.
These resources may include:
Links to further explore topics introduced in the course
Unit review sheets to revisit the material later
Teacher worksheets to extend their own learning
Lesson plans
Worksheets to use with students
Learning activities for the classroom
Free Music Programming for K-8 Classrooms
Music Workshop has a rich library of free classroom content that is ready to bring music to life in any K-8 classroom. Our free classroom curriculum is customized by grade level and covers musical genres, instruments, careers in music, and music from cultures around the world.
Course materials include high-quality videos, teacher-led question and answer sessions, active listening exercises, and movement activities. These materials are also perfect for substitutes as they are ready to go, easy to manage, and continue students’ musical learning even in the absence of the music teacher.
By completing Music Workshop professional development courses, teachers can earn continuing education credit toward their certification, recertification, or salary advancement requirements. We provide course completion certificates and standards documentation that meet the requirements of most states.
The principles we teach in Music Workshop professional development courses are even more effective when applied holistically. We train educators across all disciplines on how to incorporate music into their own parts of the school day in different ways. Working together, you can make a significant difference in your students’ lives and learning.
Ask us about how you can bring our Music for Well-Being professional development program to your school as an in-person workshop or by purchasing the self-guided course for a group, school, or district.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Welcome! We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.