Kristin Harney, a music education professor at Montana State University, announced on Mar. 17 the publication of her new book, “Integrating Music Across the Secondary Curriculum,” which aims to help middle and high school teachers incorporate music into their lessons regardless of subject area.
The book provides 20 lesson plans and over 100 teaching strategies designed to increase student engagement and learning outcomes across disciplines. The lessons were reviewed by Montana State University faculty and tested by 16 public school teachers in Bozeman. Harney said, “This is really woven into the design of this book: You don’t have to be an expert in music to do music integration. Team up with the music teacher, the choir, the band, the orchestra, and work together. Even if you’re not going to co-teach, you can partner with somebody, and it will be such a rich experience for you as a teacher and for your students.”
Harney began developing the book in 2020 after publishing her first volume focused on elementary education. She drew inspiration from various sources including performances by colleagues at Montana State University. One example involved connecting music with art using sonic interpretations of Montana rivers. Harney explained that students could listen to recordings of rivers like the Yellowstone and map them sonically—translating data points such as speed or elevation into musical pitches and rhythms.
Each lesson plan aligns with national standards in arts, English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Steve Riccio, a science teacher at Gallatin High School who tested one of Harney’s lesson plans about climate science through popular music, said that incorporating practicing teachers was important: “Teachers can add to projects like this from their perspectives on pedagogy and what works and what doesn’t. I love being involved in research like this because it makes me a better teacher.”
Harney’s work extends beyond curriculum development; she participates in national research teams studying how different groups experience music integration across educational levels. Alongside retired associate professor Priscilla Lund, she also helped create MSU’s Arts and Lifelong Learning course for elementary education students.
Montana State University leads research funding in Montana with annual expenditures exceeding $288 million according to its official website. The university contributes to communities through volunteer efforts and outreach aimed at improving lives and the environment according to its official website. It ranks among the top five percent of global universities per the Center for World University Rankings according to its official website.
Montana State enrolls about 17,165 students split evenly between residents and nonresidents according to its official website. As Montana’s land-grant institution based in Bozeman, it focuses on research, education, community outreach according to its official website, offers access to outdoor recreation amid vast wilderness areas according to its official website, and serves both state residents and broader communities according to its official website.
Reflecting on her work integrating research with teaching at MSU, Harney said: “I feel incredibly lucky that what I research is also what I teach. It’s all connected.”