Department of Music Welcomes Dr. Donna Hewitt

The Department of Music is pleased to welcome our newest faculty member-Dr. Donna Hewitt who will coordinate all our Music Education programs. Welcome Donna and we look forward to your time here at VSU!

Donna Hewitt is the newly appointed Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at Valdosta State University. She brings with her thirteen years of public school teaching experience and a wealth of skills, knowledge, and expertise from her doctoral studies at the University of Miami (FL). As a graduate student, she has taught classes such as Elementary General Music Methods and Folk and Modern Classroom Techniques. Her professional experiences include assisting with field placements as well as the supervision of student teachers and the collegiate chapter of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). She received both her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Education from Rowan University (NJ).

As someone always fascinated by different approaches to music teaching and learning, she holds certifications in Orff-Schulwerk and Music Learning Theory. She has also conducted quantitative research on parent attitudes and child aptitudes in order to better understand the musical lives of her elementary students both in and out of the classroom.

Hewitt has a publication on informal music learning in press with Music Educators Journal and has given presentations both nationally and internationally. In the summer of 2016, she presented a qualitative case study on a popular music curriculum at the International Society for Music Education in Glasgow, Scotland. Her dissertation on the impact of professional development in popular music education on a music teacher’s values, beliefs, and practices will be defended in the fall of 2017. Additional research interests include curriculum, well-being, and culturally responsive teaching.