Erin Zaffini

Classroom ManagementCurriculum DesignExceptional Students / Special EducationGeneral MusicInstructional DesignLesson PlanningLevel: ElementaryLevel: Post-Secondary/UniversityNetwork BuildingPeer LeadershipSmall SchoolsLifestyle Management
Written By Dr. Elisa Janson Jones
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Dr. Erin Zaffini (DMA) is the Director of Teacher Education for Longy’s online and on-campus Master of Music Education degrees, where she teaches practicum seminar and licensure, and advises the master’s final project. She is also a faculty member for the University of New Hampshire’s Professional Development Department, where she teaches in-service teachers how to integrate music and movement into their classroom, as well as teaches Early Childhood Music and Movement. She has taught preK-8 general music, choral and instrumental music, adaptive music and musical theater.

As a specialist in teaching music to students with identified disabilities, access, equity and inclusion in music education, Dr. Zaffini is an active clinician and consultant around the world. She has served as the Eastern Division Representative for NAfME’s General Music Council, is the Collegiate Coordinator, General Music Chair and Mentor Program Coordinator for the New Hampshire Music Educators Association and sits on the Advisory Committee for the Music Educators Journal. Dr. Zaffini is an instructional coach for music educators and administrators and is the project leader for instituting music educator mentor training within the Society for Music Teacher Education and the National Association for Music Education. She has developed and enacted numerous music educator mentoring and induction programs and is currently the Director of the New Arts Teacher Mentoring Network for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

She is the recipient of the Keene State College Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Performance Awards. She has recently published articles in General Music Today, Music Educators Journal, Qualitative Research in Music Education, and Update: Applications of Research in Music Education.

 
 
 

  • My teaching approach is to simply value progress over perfection. Changes to teaching are not achieved in big, sweeping reforms that are often forced on teachers. It's about focusing on the next thing, and focusing on that really well. We also know this approach is supported with research related to teacher growth, efficacy, and professional development models that we provide teachers. When I select learning activities for the teachers I am coaching, I select them based on the context they are teaching in. Their schools, their students, their standards, their instructional goals. We center everything on what the students need, and we collaboratively work through coaching and next steps all in an effort to make small, incremental growth that manageable and not overwhelming for beginning teachers. I also heavily to teaching reflection and reflect-in-action skills for teachers. I want all the teachers that I work with to have the skills to feel confident in their abilities to help themselves through reflection and action.

  • I have designed and implemented music educator mentoring and induction programs for the NAfME, Society for Music Teacher Education, NH Music Educators, and MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. I have also been a consultant and contracted as an instructional coach for NYC Success Charter Schools, Everett Schools. In my capacity as Director of Teacher Education at Longy School of Music, I have done 1:1 mentoring, coaching and instructional coaching as well. In all of these programs and work, I have 1:1 experience with approximately 120 teachers.

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Dr. Elisa Janson Jones

Dr. Elisa Jones designs and scales learning systems for organizations and individuals. With an EdD in Instructional Design, an MBA in Strategy, and 20+ years building education platforms, she combines strategic thinking with hands-on execution experience.

She works at the intersection of people, systems, and technology—helping leaders and learners see what's actually working and what needs to change. Her approach is diagnostic, grounded in real-world constraints, and focused on outcomes that stick.

Learn more about her work at sovereign.plus, elisajones.ai, and the Music Teacher Guild.

https://elisajanson.com
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