As applied in my Internship:

Throughout my college experience and internship I have often sought ways to improve my teaching and knowledge of my career field through professional development. Attending American Choral Directors Association conferences or reading books that pertain to music history, vocal pedagogy, etc. and attending masterclasses have all aided me in the development of my teaching. During my internship I attended the SWACDA conference and attended an interest session about how to create better warm-ups that focus on detailed vocal technique improvements. I took what I learned from that interest session and developed more meaningful warm-ups that were both fun and highly effective for my students vocal techniques. During college I was president of the student chapter of ACDA and often hosted masterclasses. One masterclass that was beneficial to my teaching was a masterclass about how to figure out your students voice types and how to place students in various different formations. (risers, chamber choir style, SATB blocked, etc.) This masterclass allowed me to learn how to arrange the choir based on different aspects during the concert whether it be concert venue, size of the choir, size of a section, importance of a section, etc. This is beneficial because I did not learn how to arrange voices or the choir as a whole during any course in my undergraduate. Engaging in professional learning improves both teacher and student; teachers should always look for opportunities to read or take class on personal development.

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