Diversifying Community Connections
About the Presenter(s)
Courtney Belt, PhD, MT-BC Senior Lecturer Department of Music
Location
Kennedy Union Room 222
Start Date
January 2024
End Date
January 2024
Abstract/Description
The focus of this flash talk is a description of how our music therapy program faculty have been striving to build authentic relationships with a wider variety of community partners toward greater collective impact and equity in our practica courses. During my time as Clinical Coordinator, we have added 11 new practica placement sites with one additional starting Spring 2024. The addition of several of these sites stemmed from music therapy faculty discussions about the desire to serve a greater diversity of clientele in our music therapy practica courses. I believe the addition of these new sites has brought greater diversity and equity to the service we provide the community and enhanced student learning. Marianist education calls us to be adaptable, flexible, and continuously changing. This change may be uncomfortable, but to truly embrace the integral, diverse, and inclusive education the Marianist tradition calls us to do, we must be continuously reflective of our choices and evolve our practices.
Goals for Attendees
The primary goal of the session will be to inspire and encourage others who engage in experiential learning in the community to consciously reflect on their practices and consider ways in which they might strive toward greater diversity and equity in their work. Participants will also be encouraged to think about how they can strive for this diversity while defying the white savior narrative in community experiential learning that may emerge for students at predominantly white institutions (Harrell, 2022) which emphasizes the theme of authentic collaboration.
Diversifying Community Connections
Kennedy Union Room 222
The focus of this flash talk is a description of how our music therapy program faculty have been striving to build authentic relationships with a wider variety of community partners toward greater collective impact and equity in our practica courses. During my time as Clinical Coordinator, we have added 11 new practica placement sites with one additional starting Spring 2024. The addition of several of these sites stemmed from music therapy faculty discussions about the desire to serve a greater diversity of clientele in our music therapy practica courses. I believe the addition of these new sites has brought greater diversity and equity to the service we provide the community and enhanced student learning. Marianist education calls us to be adaptable, flexible, and continuously changing. This change may be uncomfortable, but to truly embrace the integral, diverse, and inclusive education the Marianist tradition calls us to do, we must be continuously reflective of our choices and evolve our practices.
