ISME is the International Society for Music Education.

ISME believes that lived experiences of

music, in all their many aspects, are a vital part of the life of all people, and therefore, all
individuals have a right to music education. The focus of ISME is to foster global intercultural
understanding and cooperation amongst the worlds music educators. Present in over eighty
countries, ISME holds world conferences every two years and this summer Dr. Sharon Davis,
who teaches General Music at Cool Spring Elementary School, will be presenting in two
symposia at the conference. Each symposium consists of a set of integrated spoken papers
related to a theme. In the first symposium entitled, Dimensions of Music as Points of Entry for
Music Learning, Dr. Davis will discuss teaching approaches in a general music classroom
through a constructivist lens, which endeavors to shift the paradigm from teacher-centered to
learner centered musical activities. Fostering an environment where learners can engage in
musical problem solving as they interact musically and socially connects to students musical
understanding and provides opportunities to develop independent musicianship. The second
symposium is entitled, Broadening Expertise: A Panel Discussion on Informal and Vernacular
Musicianship in Music Teacher Education. Here Dr. Davis will describe the nature of the
learning processes that emerge in elementary music settings where children actively engage with
popular music and the pedagogical approaches used by the teacher to support the childrens use
of informal learning processes. The intent of this discussion is to inform teacher education on
teaching approaches for current and popular music. These presentations are based on her recent
publications.

The event is from July 20
th
-25
th
and will take place in Porto Alegre, Brazil. For more
information and registration, please go to http://www.isme.org/.

Davis, S. G. (in press). Informal Learning Processes in an Elementary Music Classroom. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music
Education.

Davis, S. G. (in press). Children, popular music and identity. In G. E. McPherson (Ed.), The child as musician: A handbook of musical
development (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University

Davis, S. G., & Blair, D. (2011). Popular music in American teacher education: A glimpse into an American secondary methods course.
International Journal of Music Education, Practice., 29(2), 124-140. doi: 10.1177/0255761410396962