Unforgetting and Imagining: Student-Created Albums as Investigation of In-Service Music Educator Identity Augmentation - An Ode to [Anonymous Addressee]

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:45 pm - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Spaces of Sound, Memory, and Meaning in Hip Hop Education

Abstract

This qualitative case study investigates how creating musical albums functions as a transformative assessment for 14 in-service music educators in a graduate Hip-Hop pedagogy course. Drawing on Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Self-Determination Theory, we analyze how educators use artistic creation to articulate evolving professional identities and critique societal inequities. Findings indicate that album creation is a powerful assessment tool that fosters critical consciousness. The process supports educators' autonomy, competence, and relatedness, catalyzing profound identity augmentation. This work validates Hip-Hop as a rigorous pedagogy and offers a model for arts-based teacher education that is authentic, culturally sustaining, and liberatory, honoring the legacy that made the work possible.

Author

• Drew Xavier Coles, Teachers College, Columbia University