Welcome to Aleksandra's Teaching
Educational Philosophy
Pedagogy
Influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach and holistic philosophy, Aleksandra believes that learning needs to be focused on relationships, exploration, creation, support and respect between children, teachers, parents, staff and the community.
Adults involved in the child’s learning process should aim at helping them be the most that they can be, developing their intellectual, emotional, social, physical, artistic, creative and spiritual potentials. A teacher must not be just an instructor, but a facilitator of student’s learning, engaged in the activities alongside the students.
Learning is better if the teacher has a freedom to modify a curriculum and plans lessons based on the student’s interests and capabilities, respecting the diversity and the uniqueness of each child. HOW someone teaches is as equally important as WHAT one teaches.
Music Teaching
Aleksandra draws from and combines various music educational methods including Orff -Schulwerk, Kodály, Dalcroze, Yamaha, Suzuki, making a unique approach to a specific child, a group of children, a school or a culture. Using child-centered way of learning, Aleksandra treats music as a basic system such as language and believes that every child is capable of learning it by using an appropriate approach. She integrates music, movement and drama into lessons that reflect the child’s world of play and sparks their imagination.
Children are introduced to musical concepts through experiences such as listening, singing, games or movement, beginning with what is known, usually drawn from their environment, and progressing to the abstract. Rhythm, structure and form are reinforced by body movement, allowing the student to gain physical awareness and experience of music through all of the senses. Improvisation and student self-discovery is encouraged.
Although Aleksandra focuses on the creative and expressive side of music education, at the same time she thinks that is important to instill music literacy into children. The development of performance skills should take its place alongside working on reading music notation. Solfège, ear training, music esthetic, theory and history are an important part of general music culture and essential for well rounded, independent musicians.
Management
Aleksandra knows that school leadership directly influences the effectiveness of teachers and the achievement outcomes of students. At her music school “Melodium” she practises instructional leadership, building and maintaining trust, collaboration and respect among the teachers. She fosters effective communication with parents by providing verbal and written reports on individual musical progress of children, as well as holding introductory music curriculum speeches at parent meetings.
Aleksandra believes that, in pursuit of quality, principals should create natural and enjoyable learning environment. Quality learning requires high quality space, where the environment is designed to communicate a message of creativity and sense of belonging.
Her original approach to music education was successfully implemented into the school’s curriculum and has been shared for the past eight years. Teachers employed at “Melodium” continued with her mission and vision, enriching it with their own ideas and practices.
Lifelong Learning
Aleksandra is convinced that all educators need consistent professional development to improve their teaching strategies and satisfy their professional desires and cravings. Thus, their students shall also have the quality of education they deserve. That is why Aleksandra is continuously learning; attending and lecturing at conferences, seminars, workshops, courses and trainings for music, teaching and managerial subjects. She has also been enrolled into post-graduate studies, to enhance her skills, knowledge and expertise.
Educational Experience
Just after her graduation, Aleksandra accepted a position as a music teacher of grades sixth to eight at Primary/Secondary School “Žarko Zrenjanin” in Novi Sad. As a young teacher with fresh ideas, she effectively applied the National curriculum for general music education using both conventional and unconventional methods and resources. Besides regular music lessons, she established the "Small Choir" for children eight to ten years old incorporating movement, which was one of the first choirs of that type in Novi Sad at that time. After the first year as a teacher in centralized governmental educational system Aleksandra decided to pursue other opportunities to explore possibilities to use what she had learned in her music education and apply it to other fields of work (Biography).
Besides regular jobs at marketing agencies, radio and TV stations, Aleksandra worked as a private tutor for piano and music theory, teaching and preparing children for music carriers. At the same time she was composing and writing songs for children (Opus) that were performed at many children’s music festivals.
In 1998 Aleksandra founded a preschool "Piccolino" which she managed and worked in as a music teacher. Development of successful business was partly halted by NATO bombing of Serbia when Aleksandra decided to sell the business, leave the country and work abroad.
She was offered a music teaching position at "The Early Learning Centre" family of international schools in Bangkok, Thailand, to share the joy of music with toddlers and up to nine years old children. In a very warm and welcoming atmosphere she developed innovative music curriculum, successfully integrated Reggio approach into the music teaching methodology. She emphasized the importance of music throughout the school.
After almost 5 wonderful years at the “E.L.C.” school, influenced by the Reggio philosophy, Aleksandra decided to go back to Serbia and pursue her lifelong dream to have a School of Music that is crucially different from any other in Serbia and even region. She started the School of Music “Melodium": at first small, with one employee and just a few students, but it started to grow very quickly. At that time, "Melodium" was the only music school in Serbia to work with preschoolers using child-centered approach and nurturing children’s creativity. Eight years later, it is a respectable, successful music school, still one of the most innovative and the only one in Serbia offering group classes for one to three year old children and their parents.
At each school where she worked, Aleksandra sparked enthusiasm and inspired faculty, families and communities toward musical innovation and creativity. She is still doing that. Wherever she goes and whatever she does.