Courses
Spring 2026
EDU 595 Music in Early Childhood
May 1&2, 8&9, 22&23, 29&30
Friday 5:00 pm -8:30 pm
Saturday 8:30 am - 12:50 pm
Instructor: Dr. Kathryn Smith
This early childhood music course will explore the many ways that young children (pre-K - Grade 3) can experience music in both the general and music classrooms. Classroom and music teachers will have opportunities to engage with many aspects of early childhood music teaching including playing classroom instruments, singing, moving, and listening. This course will include opportunities to explore musical play, cross-curricular integration, children’s literature within a musical context, and current research. Performance ideas and music for primary choirs will be incorporated.
Summer 2026
EDU 595 / EDEL 495 Kodály Level I: Musicianship, Pedagogy & Choral
July 6-17
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily
Instructors: Anita Perlau and Marni Strome
These courses are designed for in-service and pre-service teachers and community musicians interested in strengthening their teaching skills to foster love and understanding of music through literacy. With singing as the foundation, pedagogical principles and practices to support children’s musical growth in the primary and elementary grades will be explored with a special emphasis on culturally sensitive, contemporary pedagogy inspired by Zoltán Kodály. The creation of a positive classroom environment for the development of musical understanding will be explored with daily hands-on experience of learner-centred materials, resources and teaching strategies appropriate for each grade level. Choral repertoire and vocal pedagogy suitable for children will be examined. Students will have the opportunity to develop and refine their personal singing, musicianship and conducting skills in the context of daily course activities.
Note: some pre-course work is required.
Prerequisite: The ability to read, write, and analyze music using staff notation.
EDU 595 / EDEL 495 Orff Schulwerk
July 20-31
9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily
Level I
Instructors: Sue Harvie, Andy Funke and Laurel Nikolai
The Orff approach to music education is holistic, experiential and process-oriented. Students learn by active participation as they experience music through moving, speaking, singing, performing body percussion, and playing non-pitched and pitched instruments. Level I explores basic Orff techniques, including the use of the pentatonic scale, ostinato, bordun (drone) accompaniments, and the elemental style developed by composer Carl Orff and his colleague, Gunild Keetman.
Prerequisite: The ability to read, write, and analyze music using staff notation.
Level III
Instructors: Kim Friesen, Andy Funke and Laurel Nikolai
In this newly devised two-week Level III course, students will put all of the elements of Orff pedagogy and media together to build a deeper understanding of the Schulwerk. Students will progress through duple and triple meter to chang- ing meters. Bordun arrangements move from shifting to functional (I-IV-V) harmonies. Pedagogy is an essential aspect of Level III. The movement and recorder components will also extend your skills, repertoire, and pedagogical understanding through an Orff Schulwerk lens.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Orff Level II after 2022.
Registration
All of these courses are offered for three graduate credits and can be taken as a non-degree graduate student, through Open Studies, in our new Graduate Certificate in Elementary Music Teaching and Learning or in the Master’s program. All courses are offered at a higher domestic tuition rate of $1549 per course.
Priority registration is given to students in the graduate certificate. For all others, please see this page for enrolment options.
For course content information, contact Kim Friesen at kjfriese@ualberta.ca. Enrolment questions can be directed to gcesinfo@ualberta.ca.