Teaching

Below are video excerpts of an Introduction to World Music course I taught in autumn, 2023. I designed the course in summer of 2020 as an online course. The course is highly interactive and implements embedded examples from Spotify and YouTube. In addition to this course, I have taught MUL 2010: Experiencing Music, and introductory music appreciation class, online to 350 students while managing four GTAs. Courses I would like to teach include: Black Resistance and Afro-Brazilian popular Music, Audiovisual Fieldwork Methods, and Music and Afrofuturism in the Americas. 

I can also direct a samba-reggae ensemble and Afro-Brazilian popular music ensemble (see www.blocognv.com), and have 20 years of experience in singer-songwriting, production, and live audio-recording. Scroll further down for my teaching statement. 

MUH 2501: Introduction to World Music

Semester: Fall, 2023

This course is a survey of global musical traditions with an emphasis on the social, political, and cultural contexts that make each unique. It is also an exploration of how music, as a human phenomenon, may be used to express different ethnic, spiritual, economic, and political viewpoints. To this end, students will develop the vocabulary necessary for critically discussing the fundamental building blocks of music. 

Teaching Statement

I am an accomplished educator with five years of successful teaching experience in several diverse communities. Five core pedagogical methods to my teaching philosophy are: (1) engage in experiential learning, (2) communicate clearly and frequently, (3) build a culturally respectful and intellectually challenging environment, (4) meet students where they are, and (5) creatively incorporate multimedia technology. Apart from prior experience teaching language and music in secondary schools—a helpful background to teaching undergraduates—my teaching and TA experience at the University of Florida has granted me the necessary experience to refine these methods.

Experiential learning and communication are essential in my classroom. In addition to critical listening, reading, writing, and analysis in these classes, I frequently implement participatory, experiential learning activities by bringing instruments and inviting guest artists. I either lead experiential workshops in different music from my experience in African, Near Eastern, and Afro-Brazilian music or request a colleague specializing in other genres or parts of the world. As an avid instrument collector, I own many instruments to feature and play in class. Further, I assign concert reports encouraging students to experience, record, and write about fieldwork.

In conversing with students, I practice frequent, positive, and clear communication via email, Canvas, and class announcements. I tailor this communication to a positive mentality that, proven through evaluations, inspires students and maintains a healthy academic environment. Establishing and maintaining a positive, culturally respectful environment of kindness, care, and intellectual rigor is paramount, occasionally necessitating in-person conversations with students to address concerns and follow administrative protocols. When possible, I always aim to resolve inevitable problems in person.  

My faculty nominated me twice for the GTA award in 2020 ad 2021, applauding my initiative to redesign and rebuild the Introduction to World Music course in Canvas as a second-year doctoral student in 2020. I have received excellent evaluations for the course since then. In the fall of 2023, I successfully taught a 15-student in-person version of this course. Moreover, I taught an online introductory Experiencing Music course of 350 students while managing four TAs and all administrative issues to receive highly positive evaluations in Summer of 2023. I have worked as a TA for this class in spring, summer, and fall of 2024—typically grading and communicating with 90 students per semester. From teaching large-scale online survey courses to small in-person classes, I can effectively teach in various class settings and to students with diverse backgrounds, thanks to years of working with underrepresented communities.  

I heavily implement multimedia technology in lesson plans. For larger classrooms, this involves online polling and brainstorming using online services like Kahoot!, Mind Maps, and Wordle. Throughout my teaching, I borrow extensively from online multimedia technologies to meet digital native students where they are. The courses I teach incorporate Spotify playlists and YouTube videos; I often embed links into quiz and test questions in Canvas. Innovative technologies are critical to my teaching and meeting student needs. I look forward to teaching specialized courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Apart the standard curriculum, I propose Audiovisual Fieldwork Methods, Black Resistance in Brazilian Popular Music, and Afrofuturism and Music in the Americas. I would excitedly direct a samba-reggae ensemble to music and non-music majors, just like I am currently doing here in Gainesville Florida between UF students and community members. After two decades of teaching, performance, and working in administration, these five methods of my philosophy—matched with extensive intercultural experience—make me an excellent candidate to successfully teach in varied course formats and on eclectic, cutting-edge topics in ethnomusicology.