Belinda Dolan

Nominated by Sherree Cudney

2024 Award Recipient for Excellence in Australian Kodály-inspired Music Education: Innovation

1. Demonstrated personal teaching and musical excellence
Belinda Dolan is an enthusiastic and passionate music teacher who thrives on the challenges and the diversity within a music classroom. In 2019, Belinda was approached by Earnshaw State College, Banyo to create a strings immersion music program. The school was struggling academically, and the administration team had heard about the transformative power of music education and learning an instrument. Belinda was able to use a Kodály-inspired teaching pedagogy to teach violin to children from a low socio-economic school. Through her program, she was able to have children consistently attending school, learning an instrument and care for this instrument through a play-based, Kodály-inspired program. In 2023, she developed an aural pedagogy approach to the Year 5 immersion music program at St Joseph’s Nudgee College. This was aimed at increasing engagement in music, and actively changing the culture of Nudgee College through singing. In 2024 she created a competition choir that sees 50 boys from Year 5 and Year 6 come together to sing.

2. Demonstrated contribution of work to Australian Kodály-inspired music education
Belinda has used a Kodály-inspired approach to music education in her Years 5 and 6 classes at Nudgee College. She enjoys mentoring her staff to adopt a Kodály approach to learning and teaching, and to inspire the hearts and minds of their students. Belinda presented her findings of this integration and mentoring at the ASME national conference in 2023. Here, along with one of her colleagues, she spoke about the impact that a Kodály-inspired approach to boy’s music education has had on the culture of the college. In 2023 she developed an ‘open classroom’ to showcase the Kodály method to the parents and wider community of Nudgee College. Here, parents get to participate in the singing and game-based activities that occur in the classroom prior to listening to them play their instruments. This opened the eyes of the parents and grandparents to the impact that a Kodály-inspired program can have on their boys.

3. Demonstrated impact of work on Australian Kodály-inspired music education
When teaching at Earnshaw State College, Belinda was praised by her administration for her ability to create active engagement and change in her students that came from different socio-economic backgrounds (including EAL/D students). The students were able to actively engage in singing and playing and had regular performances on assembly to showcase their learning. This positive effect showed large retention rates of students from the Year 2 program to the Year 3 program. Whilst at Nudgee College, Belinda has been able to see active change in the increase of the number of boys continuing with music/instrumental music from 19% in previous years to 35% in 2023. She sees boys wanting to sing, and has heard that the boys are singing on the cricket pitch and cross-country starting line. She is continually seeking ways to increase engagement in the cocurricular program through Nudgee Colleges’ beginning bands and string ensembles. Her own ensemble has more than tripled in the last 18 months.

4. Potential model for others Belinda Dolan is a mentor to all
Be it presenting at whole college staff meeting to mentoring the music staff, she is able to pass on her love of Kodály-inspired music education to all. Belinda has worked closely with music teachers from other schools to set up music clusters to learn and grow together as music educators. She has presented at ASME professional developments as well as KMEIA Qld and Music Ed Net Daytime series. She is a committee member of the ASME Qld chapter and has been in charge of Professional Development and in 2024 co-organiser of the Young Composers Competition. In her spare time, she tutors at the University of Sunshine Coast where she teaches and mentors in Arts education for early years and middle years education. Here is where she sees that she is able to instigate change in our education system through pre-service teacher education.