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Carla Becker, EdD

Dr. Carla Becker

Assistant Professor

Music Education/Music Education Program Coordinator

Campus Address: EH 285

Email: cbecker [at] desu.edu

EDUCATION    

  • Ed. D, Doctorate of Music Education, Teacher’s College, Columbia University, New York, 2014
  • Doctoral Student, Percussion Performance, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Ethnomusicology emphasis
  • MM, Master of Percussion Performance, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Ethnomusicology emphasis
  • BME, Bachelor of Music Education, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI

Research Interests

Dr. Becker’s passions reside in preparing K-12th grade culturally competent educators with ultimate goals to cultivate creative thinkers. She also seeks global education opportunities through her ethnomusicology research in Ghana, Bali, The Gambia, Jamaica and the Caribbean. This field of interest influences her Global Music courses, her History of African American Music courses and each of her Education courses – seeking any opportunity to include global contexts in the education field.

She serves on advisory boards concerning Hip Hop Education, but her research broadly explores creative educational spaces through culturally sustaining practices. She claims the term “culturally self-representative” spaces. Her ethnomusicology research includes Jamaican Rastafarian Identity in Reggae Music; Ghanaian Palm-Wine Music; West African Drumming Ensembles; Griots in West African Music; Steel Pan Music of the Caribbean; American Popular Music through Black History; and Gamelan Music and Dance from Bali.

Areas of Expertise

  • Qualitative Research
  • Videography
  • Arts & Humanities

Consultation Expertise

Dr. Becker specializes in humanities research with an interdisciplinary expertise in the arts, humanities, languages, mass communications, and music therapies.

RESEARCH 

  • 2018: Reggae, Rasta and Website: Comparison of I-Tunes and Apple Music top 20 Reggae Playlists compared to Jamaican Radio top 20 Reggae Playlists. Critical Media Studies (In Progress)
  • 2018: Percussion Methods Curriculum across the USA: Compare and Contrast (In Progress)
  • 2018: Six Case Studies of Student Experience’s with Diversity and Inclusion: Collaborate with Colleagues in various institutions. (In Progress)
  • 2018: Intention Setting: How’d it go?: An end of the semester student reflection’s on first exposure and implementation of mindful intention setting. Delaware State University
  • 2017: The Effect of Organizing Creative Music Making Opportunities for Incoming Freshman: Delaware State University 
  • 2015: Critical Thinking and Creativity: Freshman Seminar Course. Delaware State University
  • 2014: African American High School Students in a Space of Creative Engagement: From Can’t to Can: Dissertation: High School for Recording Arts, Minneapolis, MN. 
  • 2000: Ghanaian Children’s Music Drum Language of the Ashanti: Kumasi, Ghana
  • 2000-2011: Reggae Music: Jamaica and various USA Reggae Festivals Press Passes granted for interviews l997 Jamaica: Montego Bay: Reggae Sumfest; l998  Monterey Reggae Festival; Long Beach Reggae Festival

PUBLICATIONS 

  • Curriculum, Creativity, and Pedagogy, Not Worlds Apart: (In Review)
  • Hip Hop or Not: Critical Lyricism through a Freedom of Expression (In Review)
  • Hip Hop Music Education: Co-creator of Website: http://www.hiphopmusiced.com/
  • Journal of Negro Education Book Review: (Published, 2016) Fasching-Varner, K. (2012). “Working through Whiteness: Examining White Racial Identity and Profession with Pre-Service Teachers.
  • Teachers College Press Book Review: (Published September 26, 2015) John Finney, Felicity Laurence and Contributors (2013) “MasterClass in Music Education: Transforming Teaching and Learning” http://www.tcrecord.org/content.asp?contentid=18127
  • American Orff-Schulwerk Association, Orff Reverberations: (2014), “Ghanaian Children’s Games and Songs for the Elementary Music Classroom”

PRESENTATIONS  

  • “Creativity, Identity, and Curricula: Tri/Partisan Agreements” March, 2019, Enacting Curricular Change in Music Education through Vernacular Music Conference. OH
  • “Improvisation Samples across Genre’s:  Closing Distinctions of Hierarchy” May, 2019, International Society for Improvised Music Conference: Minneapolis, MN
  • “Implementing Popular Music Ensembles in 6th-12th Grade Settings” March, 2019, Delaware Music Educators Professional Development Day: Dover, DE
  • “Diversified Learning in Dalcroze and Orff Methods” March, 2019, Delaware Music Educators Professional Development Day: Dover, DE
  • “Showing your Real Self: Voice of Identities in Culturally Reflective Expression” May, 2019, Visions of Research in Music Education Conference: Westminster Choir College, NJ
  • “Rasta, Reggae, and Websites” Feb., 2019, Global Reggae Conference: Institute of Caribbean Studies & Reggae Studies Unit. University of the West Indies, Mona
  • “Implementing Intention:  A Semester of Intention Setting, how’d it go?” Oct. 6, 2018, 10th Annual Ass. for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education Conference.  Amherst, MA.
  • “Dalcroze Eurhythmics for Performing Groups and General Music” Oct. 4, 2018, Delaware Music Educators Association Annual Conference. Middletown, DE
  • “Hip Hop or Not:  Critical Lyricism through a Freedom of Expression” July, 2018, International Society for Music Education. Munich, Germany 
  • “High School Students’ Self-Representation through Popular Music” June 24-27, 2018, Association for Popular Music Education Conference. Middle Tennessee State University, TN 
  • “Freedom, Liberation, and Justice in Creative Arts Education” April 28, 2018, Liberation Education Conference.  San Jose State University, CA 
  • “Freestyle or Pre-Composed Critical Literacy” March, 2018, Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference. Atlanta, GA 
  • “STEM to STEAM: Music Technology in a High School for Performing Arts” April, 2018, International Technology and Engineering Educators Association. Atlanta, GA
  • “Just Give Me a Beat and We Can Create: Creative Music Making K-12”  Oct. 2017, Delaware Music Educators Conference. Smyrna, DE
  • “De-Africanizing the Multi-Cultural Classroom:  The Privileging of European Aesthetics Despite Good Intentions of Music Education.” June 28-July 3rd, 2017, Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education: Mbabne, Swaziland.
  • “Transforming K–12 Music Curricula for the 21st Century: How College Music Educators Can Help” Oct. 27- 29, 2016 College Music Society. Santa Fe, NM
  • “Critical Thinking in Creative Ensembles” June 3 -5, 2016, College Music Society. 21st Century Music School Design. Columbia, SC 
  • “Voices Often Unheard.”  Nov 6th, 2015. College Music Society Conference, Indianapolis, IN 
  • “Becoming”: The Powers of Creativity in Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Learning for High School Students of African American Decent.” Oct. 26th, 2015. Nafme National Conference. Nashville, TN 
  • “Something Old-Something Re-Created:  Wrestling with Student Interest and Creative Pedagogy during demands of Teacher/Student Assessment.” Oct 2nd, 2015. Delaware State Music Education Conference. Smyrna, DE 
  • “STEAM with Music: Interrelations with Learning” November 6th-8th, 2014. International Conference on Urban Education. Kingston, Jamaica 
  • “Orff Workshop”  November 19th, 2013. Teachers College, Columbia University
  • “Reflective Identities and the Programs of Engagement”  March 19-22nd, 2014. New Directions in Music Education Conference: Michigan State University, MI  
  • “Hip-Hop Education Pedagogy: Why and Why Not?” November, 2013. Hip-Hop Think Tank 111 Series. (Panel) Schomburg Center for Research, NYC
  • “Reflective Artistry: African American High School Students’ Artist Identities and the Programs of Engagement” March, 2013. National Association of Study and Performance of African American Music: Birmingham, AL 
  • “Gender Stereotypes in Instrumental Music Preference Choice” April, 2013. Research in Music Education Conference: England 
  • “Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for the World’s Minority Students” July, 2012. International Society for Music Education: Thessaloniki, Greece  
  • “Orff Workshop for NYC Public School Music Teachers” October, 2011. Harlem Children’s Zone, NYC
  • “Gender Stereotypes in Instrumental Music Preference Choice” April, 2011. Graduate Students Conference, Pennsylvania State University 
  • “Percussion Workshop for the Non-Percussionist Music Educator” 11/2010 & 3/2011. Teachers College, Columbia University, NY,
  • “Ghanaian Children’s Games and Songs for the Elementary Music Classroom” May, 2009. Arts Time Conference: Tukwila, Washington

Grants

  • ACLS: American Counsel for Learning Societies 2024, Small Financial Stipend as a Runner Up. Female Bandleaders from West Africa.
  • Delaware Division of the Arts: Performance Grant: 2021-2022. West African Drumming Grant

Teaching Experience

COLLEGIATE TEACHING

  • Delaware State University, Dover, DE: Music Education Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Music Education
  • Teachers College, Columbia University, NY: Director of Student Teaching
  • Teachers College, Columbia University, NY: Student Teacher Supervisor for the Music Program 
  • Shoreline Community College, Shoreline, WA: World Music Instructor
  • North Seattle Community College, Seattle, WA: World Music Instructor

Professional RECORDINGS & Music Performance

Professional Recordings

  • 2000: Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble: DMP Label: Far More Drums, My written transcription of Wangarisi-Waa, from John Chernoff’s compact disc entitled, “Master Drummers of Dagbon.”
  • 1993: Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble, DMP Label: Lift Off 
  • 1991: Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble, DMP Label: Different Strokes

Percussion

Dr. Becker has played percussion in Washington and Michigan based symphonies and the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble. She has played in multiple West African and Caribbean ensembles, notably with Chief I.K. Dairo from Nigeria, Koo Nimo from Ghana, and Senegalese ensembles. She has played Steel Pan with Ray Holman Steel Pan Ensemble and Okinawan Taiko with Shinjo Sensei. Jazz drumset is another preferred medium of expression for Dr. Becker.