Musicianship, Leadership, and Relationships: Reflections of Four Elizabeth A. H. Green Award Winners

Professional development is essential for practicing teachers throughout their careers, and string teachers require specific professional development due to the constantly changing nature and pedagogical demands of their profession. The purpose of this multiple case study was to describe best practices in string teaching by examining the careers and teaching practices of four Elizabeth A. H. Green Award winners. Research questions included: (a) What are the teacher’s goals for students? (b) How does the teacher prepare for teaching? and (c) What best practices has the teacher developed for teaching school orchestra classes? Data consisted of semi-structured interviews with Denice Haney, Scott Laird, Alison Mayes, Jim Palmer, and 15 of their alumni; materials these teachers created for their students; and other documents written by or about these expert teachers. We coded the data and identified five emergent themes: relationships, leadership, musicianship, core philosophies, and systems. We hope that by sharing best practices of outstanding string pedagogues, we can contribute to the professional development of string teachers and offer ideas for implementing these practices in the classroom.