Tanya Allen is the acting department chair and Associate Professor of Music Education at Texas Southern University (TSU) in Houston, Texas. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Tanya attended the University of New Orleans, where she received her bachelor’s degree and teaching certification. She taught general and choral music for five years in St. Charles Parish before completing her Master's and Doctorate degrees in music education at Florida State University.
Before assuming her role at TSU, she taught general music and choir in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at which time she had the pleasure of being a cooperating teacher for a pre-service music educator. Tanya also has experience observing and evaluating educators in various disciplines completing their alternative certification to teach with TNTP.
Since coming to Texas Southern University, Tanya has had the responsibility of ensuring music majors interested in becoming certified to teach, have the knowledge, understanding, and support to complete the process. This includes teaching music pedagogy courses as well as observing and evaluating pre-service music teachers during their final semester of student teaching. Beyond music teacher preparation, Tanya has taught online asynchronous music courses, piquing her interest in pedagogy through Web 2.0, including effective collaboration in the asynchronous online space and cost-effective resources for online learning. This experience led her to explore open education and open educational practices, with a primary focus on the use of open educational resources (OER) in music. In addition, Tanya has begun examining the role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in music teacher education and their contribution to diversifying the music teaching landscape.
Tanya has presented at regional and national conferences and has publications in Update and the Music Educators Journal.
Tanya Allen, Ph.D. | R.S. Music Center, Rm. 113 | 713-313-7326 | tanya.allen@tsu.ed