Assignment 5

Lesson Video:

https://youtu.be/5bhcHpqAcOk

I had the opportunity to teach a full 50 minute third grade general music lesson. I began by greeting the students at the door. The transition into the classroom was a little disorganized so next time I would give them instructions at the door to sit in their testing rows. It made me very happy that the students complimented me on my singing voice after singing my hello song.

I was pleased with the LSAs. My goal was to test a third of the class in teacher mode and evaluation mode. This is not the class that I normally work with so I do not know the names of the students, but my cooperating teacher was keeping track of the grades. I felt that I had a good balance between class and individual patterns, I remembered to do teacher mode and evaluation mode, and I chose the students randomly so that they could not predict which student would be tested next and thus remained engaged.

After sitting and testing during the LSAs I felt that it was a good choice to jump right into a movement activity. The students responded well to the train whistle and each train-related movement. I do not think that the students quite understood the idea of direct motion and many of them moved to their new spot before I even started singing. Next time I will need to be more clear in my directions to ensure that students are moving directly and that they take the entire song to move there. It might also be helpful to repeat the activity several weeks in a row until the students understand direct motion.

“Happiness” is in unusual unpaired meter and so I struggled to sing the preparatory sequence. In the future I will need to practice this preparatory sequence because the unusual meter does not roll off my tongue easily. Otherwise, I felt that my sequencing and directions were clear for this activity and the students were successfully able to sing the entire rote song on their own. One contributing factor to this success is that my cooperating teacher went through the rote song process last week. The students were not successful then but the repetition of the same activity a few weeks in a row helped them to achieve success this time.

In both the xylophone and the rhythm reading activities I was trying to be creative while choosing students to perform a task by asking students with a specific color of shoes or a name beginning with a certain letter to do something. At times, however, my choices were a little too complex. For example, I instructed the students wearing white shoes to echo me. They were unclear as to what counted as white shoes. If it has just a little bit of white does that count? In the future I will need to use very simple instructions to ensure that the class maintains a quick pace. For instance, I might ask students with the favorite color purple to do something because favorite color is a clear category that students can respond to instantly.

At times I struggle to maintain an enthusiastic voice while reading, however I feel that I am improving in this area. I think I can read “Green Eggs and Ham” with even more energy, however I am making progress. I also think that the process of singing the excerpt several times before having the students join in works, but I wonder if I might also achieve success by teaching the excerpt using the line-by-line process before starting the book. I also think that the process for my audience participation activity worked well. I started by asking the students about good audience participation and then we reflected together after they listened to me play the piano, which helped to keep the students accountable. It was so fun to teach for an entire class and I am looking forward to student teaching!

Now that I am finished with my placement, the following are questions I have about teaching general music in elementary school:

• What books and resources can I use to gain further familiarity with MLT?
• When is it appropriate to use the same activity for several grade levels and when should activities be grade specific?
• Should I plan back-up activities in case an activity does not go as planned or my pacing is faster than expected?
• How much repertoire do I need to plan and know for a week’s worth of elementary school lessons? How far in advance do I need to plan and learn these?
• How can I learn names more quickly when there are so many students to know and remember?

Field Work Reflection 13

At times I wonder if I am making a difference. Are the students learning anything? Am I being an effective educator? Is this all worth it? With it being the end of the semester I found myself asking these questions at the community center. Thankfully, I got a glimpse of hope and a positive answer to this question.

For the last few field experiences I have been working with the same student on the ukulele. The first time I worked with her, she only wanted to improvise her own songs. The second time I worked with her, she was much better at following directions and even though chord changes were still difficult for her, she was getting better at forming each individual chord. Yesterday, as I worked with her I was noticing further improvement forming chords, strumming on the macro beat, executing a strum/mute pattern, and increased confidence playing the ukulele on her own.

I know that I am not the perfect educator and I have lots of room for improvement. However, I can take satisfaction in knowing that I am helping at least one student improve. I am helping that student to coordinate movement, navigate her instrument, and feel the pulse of the music. It is these small glimpses of success that keep me going even when I feel discourage or wonder if I am making a difference.

Assignment 4

My cooperating teacher uses the following grading scale:

4-Above grade level

3-At grade level

2-Almost at grade level

1-Below grade level

The majority of his grades come from LSAs. He alternates between tonal and rhythmic LSAs and takes about 2 to 3 weeks to get evaluate the entire class. For LSAs, one point is awarded for an inaccurate response to teacher and evaluation mode, two points are given for responding accurately in teacher mode, three points are given for responding accurately in teacher and evaluation mode, and four points are given for responding accurately in teacher mode and evaluation mode with good posture and tone of voice.

My cooperating teacher mostly uses informal assessment throughout his lessons but will usually take a formal assessment once during the class period. He makes sure that the students are familiar with the material he is assessing them on before giving them a grade to help the students feel comfortable and be successful. In addition to LSAs, my cooperating teacher also grades instrument playing and evaluates the students’s ability to play the correct notes or rhythms with good technique. The first and second graders often play xylophones, the third and fourth graders often play ukulele, and the fifth-graders often play recorder.

In another instance, my cooperating teacher was discussing what it looks like to be a good audience member with his second grade class. Following this discussion, the students listened to some music from Brazil and were graded on their ability to listen attentively and be a respectful audience. One point was awarded for three or more disruptions, two points were awarded for one or two disruptions, three points were awarded for no disruptions, and four points were awarded for no disruptions and accurately moving to the pulse of the music. Thus, my cooperating teacher uses the four-point scale in all of his grading, but adjusts the requirements based on the content that is being graded.

Assignment 3

My cooperating teacher generally interacts with students only during their scheduled class time. If students want to visit outside of their normal class time they must ask permission. He generally uses the break between classes, prep periods, and lunch to plan and re-charge so that he is mentally rested and prepared to teach to the best of his ability. If students come to class early he instructs them to wait in the hall until their scheduled time. He reserves that personal time for himself so that he can be emotionally, mentally, and intellectually available while he is teaching.

My cooperating teacher maintains a respectful and professional relationship with his students. He knows each of the students by name and calls them by name whenever he asks them to respond or participate in class. In the past he has tried various relationships with his students. Sometimes he has tried to be the easy-going teacher and other times he has been the extremely strict teacher. Currently, he is striving for a balance so that he and his students can have fun but also take their learning and interactions very seriously. This frequent change in approaches is often hard on the students and can make their interactions strained or difficult at times.

Generally, the students are consistent in interest, interactions, and behavior from week to week. The fifth grade class I observe generally responds somewhat reluctantly to the activities and to the instructor. The second grade class I observed generally has some distractions but they participate very willingly. The first grade class I observed generally responds very willingly to the musical tasks they are asked to do and they behave very well with the exception of one student.

This student consistently disrupts class by talking, disregarding instructions, and rolling around on the floor. The cooperating teacher does his best re-focus this student and promote motivation and learning, however the student often causes so many distractions that he must be removed from the classroom by administrators to allow the rest of the students to learn. This student’s behavior has become increasingly worse over time. A month ago he was disruptive but would still participate, but within the last few weeks his behavior has been so bad that he has not been able to stay in the classroom for the full 55 minutes. Although parents have been contacted multiple times regarding behavior they have not supported the school. That particular class also has a student teacher now which may be contributing to classroom management issues because of a change in routine or a lack of respect.

Within the duration of each class period I have found that students remain the most interested if the activity level is varied varied from task to task. In classes where the students alternate between high movement and low movement activities they have remained the most interested. If the students have to sit for too long they lose interest, do not respond very willingly to the instructions of the teacher, and their behavior becomes worse.

This particular school has a schoolwide acronym of POWER to promote good behavior which stands for polite, organized, wise, engaged, and responsible. Each classroom has a Promethean board and uses Classroom Dojo to promote a good behavior. Within this program, each student has a little monster icon and they earn points through good behavior or lose points for bad behavior. Parents can view their child’s personal point record and receive notifications when their children are gaining or losing points. The cooperating teacher uses this system because it has been promoted by the school.

My cooperating teacher has only one rule for the classroom: use your POWERs for good (referencing the school acronym). The teacher chose this rule to maintain simplicity and because he uses the school’s acronym the students are very familiar with the expectations and because they apply to every class. This rule is posted above the door in his classroom and another poster with the acronym is also posted near the same door so that it is a visible and frequent reminder.

My cooperating teacher tries to maintain a balance between positive reinforcement and and negative reinforcement. He mainly uses classroom dojo to provide this positive and negative reinforcement. Another strategy he uses is to assign one student to take note of the focus and behavior of the entire class. He typically uses this method for third, fourth, and fifth grade to promote peer accountability. The students are given the following scale and then report their numbers to my cooperating teacher, their usual teacher, and the rest of the class.

10. Everyone is on task, using their powers for good, and participating fully in the activity.

9. Only a couple of people are off task or not participating. The rest of the class is participating.

8. Multiple people are not participating, but everyone is following the safety rules and no one is acting out.

7. There are minor behavior issues with one or more students. The rest of the classes on task.

6. Multiple people are not participating and there are behavior issues.

5. Half of the class is not participating and/or there are major behavior issues.

4. Only a handful of people are on task.

3, 2, or 1 The class is out of control and the teacher has to get to the principal or vice principal into the classroom.

One strategy he used more recently was for the students to earn a fun activity at the end of class. He used this strategy for first and second grade and so he used a different scale than the one above.

No disruptions or reminders to stay on task 😊

1-2 disruptions or reminders to stay on task 😐

3 or more disruptions or reminders to stay on task ☹️

At the end of each activity the teacher or a selected student reported which kind of face the class earned. If they received any frowns they could not do the fun activity at the end of class. If the students received smiles for every activity or one neutral face they could do the fun activity at the end of class. This exercise helped the students to remain aware of their behavior and focus and to remain accountable.

Written Response 12

The Atwell chapter challenged my beliefs about teaching and especially about middle school classrooms. If you asked me to describe my ideal teaching experience I would probably give details of a well-behaved class where students are silent, follow my directions the first time, and I am the authority of the classroom. I think that many other teachers share in my worry for classroom management, order, and productivity.

However, these views are much more focused on the teacher than the student. I may feel a need for order, but Atwell points out that students need movement, social experiences, and exploration. And who can blame them? If you were to ask me about my most enjoyable experience as a student, I would not cite a lecture where the teacher talked the entire time and I silently took notes. Even as an adult, my most enjoyable learning experiences have occured when I had opportunities to collaborate with my classmates and when I had a say in what I was doing and learning.

Atwell’s solution is to hold workshops in class where students can access resources such as books and technology, collaborate with peers, move around the classroom, and ask questions. The teacher does not stand at the front of the classroom but moves around, answering questions and guiding students in their work and research. Atwell is an English teacher, but no matter the class it is important to “help kids find meaningful ways to channel their energies and social needs instead of trying to legislate against them.” We cannot set students up for failure by creating a stifling environment and then become angry when they are not focusing and learning.

Perhaps, in a music classroom this would look like increased student input. Maybe the students have some say over the repertoire that is rehearsed. Maybe a student who understands the material well can lead the class in warm-ups or run a sectional. Perhaps students can share videos of music they like or even teach their peers how to sing or play that piece on an instrument. But to no matter the application it is important for educators to have a student centered-classroom rather than a teacher-centered classroom.