MSC SE's Band Instrument Repair conquers campus COVID closure challenges

Instructors create take-home kits, online instruction to promote hands-on learning

By Steve Gardiner, August 9, 2020

RED WING -- When schools across the nation closed down in March, teachers were left to plan ways to deliver their content to students through distance learning. For some, it was an easy transition, but for the three instructors in Minnesota State College Southeast Band Instrument Repair program the switch was a challenge.

"The trick is that it is a hands-on program," said instructor John Huth. "You can't just read a book about how to repair an instrument. When everything happened, we knew there was no way we could have students on campus. We had to prepare to deliver the learning part via video conferencing on Zoom, and then do as much hands-on as they could in their homes."

The instrument repair program at MSCSE is the largest of three such programs in the country, so students come from all over. When COVID-19 shut down the campus, most of those students returned to their homes, often a long distance from Red Wing.

Read the full story at Rivertowns.net