Mentor Program
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What is the ASTA Mentor Program?
ASTA is dedicated to providing support to string educators throughout their careers. Whether you are a beginning teacher, new to strings, or want to sharpen your skills, the ASTA Mentor Program can connect you with an experienced string education specialist.
The ASTA Mentor Program Committee matches mentees with a qualified mentor based on mentee areas of interest and mentor background. The mentee and mentor communicate through email, telephone, video chat, or in some cases face-to-face. Teaching observations (live or via video) may be included in mentor-mentee discussions. Some mentor-mentees also meet at the annual ASTA National Conference.
Applying to the Mentor Program
Mentee and Mentor Application Periods
- Summer: Call opens mid-May and closes late June; Notifications will be sent by late July
- Winter: Call opens mid-November and closes late December; Notifications will be sent by late January
*Applications also accepted outside of the periods listed above!
*Mentors are selected based on prior mentoring experience and ASTA mentee needs. Mentors are required to participate in at least one of the online mentor training session scheduled several times throughout the school year.
ASTA Mentor Program History
ASTA's national mentoring program grew from the expressed needs of ASTA members, many of whom are the only string/orchestra teacher in their building. The program launched with a pre-conference session in Spring 2016—“Preparing To Be An ASTA Mentor.” During this session, experienced string teachers from across the country learned about the teacher development continuum, mentoring styles, communication strategies, and string/orchestra specific teaching challenges through discussion, video observation, and hands-on activities. Pre-conference facilitators were Dr. Margaret Berg, Dr. Colleen Conway, and Mr. Bob Phillips.
Previous & Upcoming Events
December 19, 2023 - The 77th Midwest Clinic
String Pre-Conference Intensive
1:00-5:00 PM CT, McCormick Place West in Chicago, IL
String Teaching Simplified: Teaching Strings for the Secondary String Player
David F. Eccles, Heather Lofdahl, Rebecca MacLeod, and David Pope
From the basics of teaching strings to refining your pedagogical string knowledge, this 4-hour immersive session will provide non-string specialists with the information, tools, and resources needed to teach any string player. This informational and practical session will focus on the foundational principles of string playing and teaching. Instrument position, tone production, articulation, bowings, and fingerings will be presented. Participants will select a primary string instrument to learn during this hands-on workshop. The Midwest Clinic and American String Teachers Association have come together to sponsor this exciting opportunity.
Attendees will be able to add registration for this event at the end of their Midwest Clinic Conference Registration. Due to limited seating, only Professional and College Student registrants are eligible to attend.
Registration Fees:
- Directors $100
- College Students $50
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER: https://www.midwestclinic.org/2023_StringPreCon
Sponsored by: ASTA, Conn Selmer, Yamaha, Smart String Teacher, Kun, Eastman, Alfred, The Lovett School, Ohio State, Hal Leonard
March 18, 2023 - ASTA eLearning Webinar
Mentoring Conversation Strategies
Margaret Berg
This webinar is designed for ASTA mentors who serve as student teacher/teacher candidate supervisors, instructional coaches, or ASTA Mentor program mentors. Learn how to be a more effective mentor by using different types of questions during conversations with your mentee that are aligned with their level of teaching experience. During this webinar, participants will evaluate the effectiveness of sample mentoring dialogs and also get a chance to role play different questioning approaches.
December 18, 2022 - The 76th Midwest Clinic
Supercharge Your String Teaching: Strings for the Non-String Specialist
John Clinton, David F. Eccles, Rebecca MacLeod, and David Pope
From the basics of teaching strings to refining your pedagogical string knowledge, this 4-hour immersive session will provide non-string specialists with the information, tools, and resources needed to teach any string player. This informational and practical session will focus on the foundational principles of string playing and teaching. Instrument position, tone production, articulation, bowings, and fingerings will be presented. Participants will select a primary string instrument to learn during this hands-on workshop. The Midwest Clinic and American String Teachers Association have come together to sponsor this exciting opportunity.