Professional Development Spotlight: Two Weeks That Transformed My Teaching - My Level 2 Orff Schulwerk Journey

At the beginning of summer, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks immersed in something I’d been anticipating for months: my Level II certification in Orff Schulwerk. As a music educator, I am always looking for ways to grow and better serve my students. I am constantly learning and I can confidently say that what I discovered during those intensive fourteen days has fundamentally changed how I approach teaching music, and I am excited to share what I learned. 

The Level II course was exactly what the name suggests, a chance to remaster and grow on the material introduced to me the summer before. From morning until late afternoon, we were fully engaged in workshops, hands-on learning, and collaborative exploration of the Orff Schulwerk approach. In this environment, we were the students. We were experiencing the methods firsthand through playing, singing, moving, and creating together. The immersive nature of the program allowed me to truly internalize the pedagogy in a way that reading about it never could. 

One of the most valuable skills I gained was learning how to approach challenging pieces with confidence. Before Level II, I would sometimes hesitate to introduce more complex repertoire to my students, worried that they’d become frustrated or overwhelmed. Level II taught me concrete strategies for breaking down difficult pieces into manageable, teachable chunks. 

I learned systematic approaches to scaffolding. The process of building a piece from its simplest elements suddenly made sense in a way it hadn’t before, while also reaffirming strategies I had used previously. It helped me see the series of achievable steps that will lead my students to success. 

The movement component of Level II helped reassure the idea of how fundamental kinesthetic learning is in music education. I learned structured ways to teach locomotor and non-locomoter movements, how to use movement to internalize form and phrasing, and how to integrate creative movement with musical concepts. This has given me the tools to help my students experience music with their whole bodies. 

Recorder pedagogy offered engaging, sequential approaches to teaching the recorder that go beyond simply drilling fingerings. It integrated singing, storytelling, movement, and improvisation, making it a much more musical and creative experience. 

One of the main takeaways from Level II is the continued understanding of how the Orff approach naturally supports students of all learning styles. The goal of every class is to make sure each student had at least one moment of success. The multimodal nature of speaking, singing, moving, and playing offers multiple opportunities for learning. 

These two weeks of intensive study have encouraged me to bring more challenging and engaging repertoire to my students and it has also given me the tools to intentionally design every lesson to cycle through different approaches ensuring that every student has moments where the material clicks. I cannot wait to share the investment of time and energy in my classroom with confidence and inspiration.