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 17, 2024 - The 78th Midwest Clinic

String Pre-Conference Intensive

1:00-5:00 PM CT, McCormick Place West in Chicago, IL

String Teaching Simplified: Teaching Strings for Those New to String Teaching

Stephen Benham, Frank Diaz, Heather Lofdahl, Rebecca MacLeod, James Mick, Felipe Morales-Torres, James Ray, & Bruce Walker

From the basics of teaching strings to refining your pedagogical string knowledge, this 4-hour immersive session will provide those new to teaching strings with the information, tools, and resources needed to effectively teach orchestra. This informational and practical session will focus on the foundational principles of string playing and teaching including instrument position, tone production, shifting, and vibrato. Participants will select a primary string instrument to learn during this hands-on workshop and can elect to join either beginning or intermediate level breakout sessions based on experience and interest.  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/2024_StringPreCon

Sponsored by: ASTA, Conn Selmer, Yamaha, Smart String Teacher, Kun, Eastman, Alfred, Hal Leonard, The Ohio State University, Western Washington University, Ithaca College, University of Illinois, IU-Jacobs School of Music, University of Texas at San Antonio, Duquesne University, The Bornoff Foundation for the Advancement of String Education.

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, The Ohio State University, 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.