SELECTED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PRESENTATION TOPICS
Robert is available to present professional development sessions for teachers at your school, district, or conference. Please see below for selected presentation topics that Robert has created. Customized and original sessions are available upon request.
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TESTIMONIAL
"Dr. Jordan's wealth of knowledge as a versatile music educator was perfect for the needs of the teachers in the sessions he led—instrumental and choral. His workshops were thorough and well executed with the right balance of planned discussion, resources, and plenty of time to address the specific needs of the educators in the room. Novice and veteran teachers alike commented on how useful attending his workshops were, and compared the sessions he led to those that they had attended at national music educator conferences."
—Rodney Long, Music Program Manager, Success Academy Charter Schools, New York, NY
Robert C. Jordan, Ed.D. in College Teaching
Assistant Professor of Music Education
Department of Music, Adelphi University
(516) 877-4119
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CHORAL
Student-Led Popular Music Arranging for Small a Cappella Ensembles
Student-led popular music arranging for small a cappella groups can infuse secondary school choirs with student creativity and choice while providing opportunities for group collaboration. In this demonstration, I introduce the project, provide planning and assessment documents, recognize students’ successes, propose solutions to challenges encountered, and report outcomes.
INSTRUMENTAL AND CHORAL
Democratic Ensemble Approaches: A Practical Approach
In this session, strategies are presented that may help develop the ensemble director’s cultural responsivity while engaging students with critical pedagogy and democratic practice. First, repertoire can be chosen using co-created criterion-based selection procedures and dialogic considerations of culture and social justice. Second, students can accomplish their own interpretive goals via co-designed rehearsals.
Note: This presentation centers democratic approaches in existing music ensembles. To do this, teachers guide students in choosing repertoire and co-designing rehearsals toward students’ own expressive goals. This session also addresses how teachers can do this while still operating successfully within state and regional structures such as NYSSMA, NMEA, and SCMEA.
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INSTRUMENTAL AND CHORAL
Common Ensemble Approaches that Help Teachers Who Teach in Both Instrumental and Choral Contexts
This presentation is for teachers who are asked to teach both instrumental and choral ensembles at the secondary level. I highlight approaches that are common to instrumental and choral contexts and make space for teachers to ask questions toward building confidence in their secondary areas. In order to customize this presentation to each new group of teachers, I begin with an inquiry session to find out more about the group’s interests, needs, and questions. I then adapt the presentation to address as many of these points as possible toward a more collaborative and responsive conversation with the teachers in the room on that particular day.
INSTRUMENTAL AND CHORAL
Infusing Ensembles with Student Creativity Through Soundtrap
This presentation presents a simple and straightforward composing project that engages ensemble students with loop-based composing and Soundtrap. Students are encouraged to record, sample, and loop material from their own ensemble classes including performances, small-group sound bites, and solo work using their primary voice/instrument.