My passion for teaching comes from seeing my students develop into critical thinkers as well as good human beings. The vehicle I get to do this through is music. Seeing the students grow as people, musicians, and teachers is very rewarding!
Lecturer
My passion for teaching comes from seeing my students develop into critical thinkers as well as good human beings. The vehicle I get to do this through is music. Seeing the students grow as people, musicians, and teachers is very rewarding!
At the heart of my teaching philosophy is the belief that we learn through a process of independent discovery, guided by individuals that strive to support and encourage their students. I believe my role as an educator is to create opportunities for my students in which they can actively engage in the learning process, guided by their personal interest and autonomy. In order for this to happen, developing relationships with my students is important. Through building such relationships, students feel empowered to take control of their own learning paths. My own teaching benefits from these relationships as I have the opportunity to better understand my students’ prior experiences, knowledge, beliefs, and cultural practices, leading to instruction that has a more personal fit to each student.
Another integral component to my teaching philosophy is cultivating a community of learners. Again, students come to the classroom with valuable knowledge, experiences, and beliefs that can bring insight to each person in the classroom, myself included. Students can offer perspectives that nurture understanding among their peers, especially if there are not shared lived experiences between them. Through the development of community, relationships can nurture safe spaces where sharing differences can be achieved. Fostering these broader world perspectives invites critical thinking into the classroom which can be used to examine the institutional and societal structures we engage with in music education.
Another goal for my teaching is that my students recognize and appreciate the importance of reflection and feedback within the teaching process. When learning occurs in the classroom, it is not only the students who are learning, but the educator as well. This is valuable information that can be used to tailor lessons, activities, and experiences that support, encourage, and inspire the students we teach. Through our students’ successes, we find our own success.
Of course, all of these practices are accomplished through the vehicle of music. Overall, I believe that putting the student at the center of these processes you can develop both skills as a performer and creator as well as teaching skills and dispositions. By working on these abilities simultaneously, the musician can be interwoven with the teacher thus cultivating music educators who are prepared to provide meaningful, culturally responsive learning experiences to the students they serve.
Kristen Kuder Lynch is a dedicated music educator and researcher with a deep love for teaching music. With a wealth of experience in the field, Kristen spent 20 years teaching elementary music in public schools in Kansas, Missouri, and Georgia. She enjoys creating engaging and interactive music lessons that inspire young minds to explore the world of melody, rhythm, and harmony. She believes that early exposure to music can have a profound impact on a child’s development, fostering creativity, cognitive skills, and a lifelong appreciation for the arts.
Lynch’s research interests center around culturally responsive pedagogy and music teacher identity development. Her research endeavors to cultivate the understanding of the intricate connections between culture, identity, and musical instruction in order to foster inclusive and equitable music education practices. Her research has been presented at both state and national levels, including the Georgia Music Educators Association In-Service Conference and the National Association for Music Education national conference.
Lynch holds both a master’s and a Ph.D. in music education from the University of Georgia. She currently teaches music education courses and supervises student teachers in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. Lynch has completed Level II Orff training and holds certificates for Conversational Solfège Levels 1 and 2. She is a member of GMEA, AOSA, Feierabend Association of Music Education, OAKE, Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, and Phi Kappa Pi Honor Society. When not teaching, Kristen enjoys reading, hiking, and exploring new things! She resides in Athens with her loving husband, Michael, their two sons, Parker and Zachary, and their three beloved dogs, Charlie, Ella, and JJ.