What is the overarching research question that you hope to answer through your research?

When I first started doing research, I was fascinated by recruiting and retention and I am still very interested in that. At this point, I would say that one of the things I am beginning to become more interested in is that access piece. What I really want to know is how we can encourage more English language learners to participate in our ensembles. How can we make that a possibility for all of them, some of my more recent research has to do with that.

How did you get interested in this area of research?

I think one interest leads to another, leads to another. When I first began teaching, I was approached by a guidance counselor who said, “We’ve got this new English language learner in our school, and she’d really love to study violin, but she doesn’t speak any English. She’s really quiet and she won’t talk” and I said, “Yeah, bring her in.” It all kind of started from there. Another area I am fascinated with is teaching methods, I can’t get enough and I’m learning to be the teacher that those students need.

What types of methods do the questions you ask lend themselves to?

I really love mixed methods actually. If it weren’t for some barriers, I would do everything mixed methods. I love the qualitative aspect because I want to know how students feel, I want to know their individual thoughts. Quantitative research is generally more respected in our field though. You are more likely to be published if you have quantitative data. In my view, qualitative data is invaluable, it is priceless and completely unique, and it is what is beautiful about our field.

What are your current projects?

As a stay-at-home mom right now, when my son is asleep, I am writing books. I wrote The Music Teacher’s Guide to English Language Learners with contributors and now I am working on The Music Teacher's Guide to Classroom Management. I am also working on a book called Grumpy Teachers.

What journals do you regularly read? Who are the most prominent scholars in this area of research?

Lately, I have really moved away from reading articles. I love reading books. I will read book after book after book about teaching. I have moved away from articles because many of them are written in an overly academic tone. The majority of journals that I read now are either ASTA (American String Teachers Association) or String Research Journal.

Can you tell me more about social identity theory?

Social identity theory is basically building a sense of belonging within a musical group. Essentially, the idea is that you want all of your students to feel like they belong in their group (ensemble), and you want to make sure that your ensemble feels like they are one group, where everyone wants to be. You can do this a number of ways, but you want every single musician in your ensemble to not only feel, but also know, they have a place within that ensemble, that they have an important role to play. That they have an identity as a member of your ensemble. One of the things I’m really big on is referring to my students not only as students in front of them but as musicians or more specifically as violinists, or altos, or bassists (or whatever instrument or voice they are.) I’m going to refer to them that way because it’s going to help them build up this identity as a musician and as a contributing member to the class. Another way is to create a vast number of roles within the program so that each student, regardless of their playing ability, can feel that social belonging. For example, I would have a librarian position, not just one librarian for all of the ensembles but a different librarian for every single ensemble. Those students that often don’t feel that they belong because they are stuck in the last chair will now have a sense of importance or social belonging.

What have you learned from your research, and do you think it can be applied to other areas of music education?

One of the most fascinating things that I learned is that there is a big disconnect with teachers and recruiting behaviors and recruiting expectations. I did a survey and asked, “Who do you think should be recruiting for you?” and it seemed that they all said someone else. The high school directors said it was up to the middle school directors, who then said it was the responsibility of the elementary teachers. Probably the biggest thing I learned was that communication is key within a feeder system and everyone needs to know who is recruiting. The last thing I learned is that teacher likability is a big deal. No matter what anybody says, teacher likability really does matter. I did a study with fifth graders and found that students would quit participation in orchestra simply because they didn’t like their teacher, or they would stay in orchestra just because they did like their teacher.