Online Content 5

This interactive slideshow was creating to help third graders practice audiating and echoing triple patterns.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cZEdKcRimR87oyp9XR3mIitRN6ViLQYpM8HCYkBU34Y 

Online Content 4

This is a second grade lesson where I use gardening inspired movements to teach a rote song.

I also did some video editing to change a few aspects of the video to make it more appropriate for third grade.

PED Observation Video 4

I thought that the peeper manipulatives were very helpful in teaching the students to give a creative response. It can be difficult for young students to sing to a peer or a teacher, but for many it is less intimidating to sing to a puppet or peeper. Peepers are also a small and inexpensive manipulative that can be handed out to every student so that everyone can practice giving a creative response, even if they are not yet ready to sing in front of the entire class. Secondly, I thought it was interesting that Dr. Giebelhausen sang  “Phoebe Crumpet” without words at first then added words later. I think this helped the students to gain familiarity with the music and audiate without the distraction of text. However, the text was later added to emphasize the concept of singing resting tone. I liked that she gave the students opportunities to change some of the lyrics by inserting some of their own names into the song. This helped the students remain engaged because they were able to make some of their own choices.

Lastly, I think that Dr. Giebelhausen gave a very clear and engaging introduction to partial synthesis. She made partial synthesis fun by saying that it was translation from alien language to musical language. She gave the students many examples by chanting first with alien syllables and then with rhythm syllables. Next, she had the students practice by translating familiar patterns that they had already heard. She also had the students move to the macro beat to make the translation into musical language a little clearer. Then after providing several examples, she allowed volunteers to translate. This allowed the students who did not understand the concept to hear even more examples without feeling pressure to respond themselves. I think that anytime a new topic is introduced, it is helpful to give many examples and even repeat familiar examples several times. It is also helpful to allow volunteers to respond to provide a challenge for the students who grasp the concept quickly but allow the students who do not yet understand the concept the opportunity to hear more examples before they are asked to do it themselves.

Online Content 3

This content was created for kindergarten and first grade. The video gives instructions on how to do the activity in Google Slides.

Instructions Video:

 

Interactive PowerPoint:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ufIrHkbk18kwmroeVI9bY9nzCRSpHv9DW2Vzi60NWs0/edit?usp=drivesdk

 

Online Content 2: Indirect Movement

This video was created for kindergarten and first grade to explore indirect movement and to hear phrygian tonality.

PED Observation Video 3

One thing I noticed is that the teacher had the students sit in small circles when they were singing a round. This helped the students to sing more confidently because they were sitting next to other people who were singing at the same time. This reminded me that teachers should be creative with classroom arrangement and choose the arrangement for each activity purposefully to help the students learn. Another thing I noticed is that the teacher used familiar procedures in teaching recorder. The students were already familiar with reading, audiating, and chanting so she incorporated these procedures into recorder activities. After displaying each rhythm pattern on the board, she had the student auditate, chant, then play the pattern on a specified note. This procedure helped me to realize that anytime a teacher is introducing a new concept or new instrument, it is best to make connections with the familiar.

A third thing I noticed was the teacher’s use of piano accompaniment in the class. I think that in many instances it is good to demonstrate live music-making, however in some cases it can actually hinder learning. In this video, some of the students appeared to be confused but the teacher may not have noticed or she may have had difficulty providing help to those students because she was on the other side of the room playing the piano. It may have been more helpful to play an accompaniment track and do the activity with the students to more immediately monitor behavior, clarify directions, and support the students. One should consider the classroom arrangement, the familiarity of a task,  behavior management, and classroom procedures when using the piano during instruction.

Online Content 1: Introduction Video

The video below is for the students at my elementary student teaching placement. The video was posted as a question in Google Classroom so the students could share their favorite way to make music after watching the video.

 

PED Observation Video 2

Over the weekend I watched Heather Shouldice’s webinar about lesson planning in the short and long term so it was exciting to see her teach in this video. One thing that I found interesting is that Dr. Shouldice reviews definitions many times throughout the class. For instance, she defines a minor tonic pattern as having “la do mi, and nothing else” and a minor dominant pattern as having “mi si ti re, and nothing else.” Later on in the activity she asks the students to identify whether the pattern she sang is tonic or dominant. Every few patterns she asks the students how they know it is tonic and or dominant and cues them to sing the corresponding definition. I felt that reviewing these definitions so frequently helped the students to better internalize and understand these elements of music.

Secondly, I was amazed at how the welcome song was used to teach music. Most educators would sing a welcome song and move on with class. I appreciated that Dr. Shouldice elaborated on this routine by having the students walk around the room, then stop at the end of the song and shake a neighbor’s hand if they heard the teacher sing a major tonic pattern. The students were also able to sing the root melody to the hello song. Another thing I found interesting is that the students used their ears to play bar instruments. Dr. Shouldice told the students that La was D then sang Mi and gave the students about 6-8 seconds to find the correct bar by ear. This helped me realize that if I sequence my instruction well, I can have high musical expectations of my students.

PED Observation Video 1

As I watched this video I was impressed that students were given opportunities to be leaders. The teacher set up the activity by having the students copy her tonal patterns, respond with a different pattern, and then sing patterns to their peers. I think it would be useful to incorporate student-led activities in my future classroom to help students be engaged and invested in their learning. It would likely be most effective if the students  do an activity or routine several times to set up expectations before they are given an opportunity to be a leader.

I also noticed that the teacher asked a question and waited for several seconds before choosing a student to answer. I liked that rather than choosing the first student to raise their hand (which is so easy to do as an educator), she allowed all of the students to take time to process and answer the question mentally before they were given the answer. In another instance the teacher had the students echo a “college-level” pattern that was longer than the other patterns they had heard up to that point in the class. I thought that the “college-level” pattern was a great way to address the students who already have grade-level skills; It was a fun, game-like way to give an extra musical challenge.

Experience 9

One of my favorite parts of student teaching is observing my CT to see how a more experienced teacher navigates the elementary classroom. My CT is very effective at helping the students to internalize music. She uses the term “audiation” often throughout each class, and almost always instructs the students to sing or chant music in their minds before they perform music verbally or physically. She also reminds the students often to take a deep breath before they sing. Her emphasis on breath and audiation help the students think about the music they hear and the music they perform. It also helps them compare the music they produce with a model so they can produce music with more accuracy.

My CT is also good at focusing the students on a specific goal and getting the students to reflect on their own actions. If the students do not perform the way she expects she says “I am noticing that [insert observed behavior or result]. Let’s do it again and see if we can [insert desired behavior or result].” She finds that praising an individual student such as “I like how Sarah is [fill in the observed behavior]” can bring undesired attention so she rarely used this approach. Instead, she prefers to say “I am noticing that some students are [insert desired action] but some students are [insert undesired action]. Let’s do it again and see if we can all [insert desired action].” If an individual student needs to be redirected she’ll often ask them a question like “Was that a responsible choice?” or “Was that a safe choice?” In most instances the students will say “no” and correct the behavior. If the student argues with her she does not concede, but rather maintains that she observed the action and it is not appropriate.

In my short amount of time in the classroom I have tried to replicate some of these approaches myself so I can develop my own method of effective teaching. Since the schools have closed due to the pandemic I have not been able to try these ideas in a traditional format, but I have been able to try them out by creating virtual content. I have also taken time to watch the virtual content of others such as the “Sing to Kids” YouTube channel by Jennifer Bailey to continue to observe experienced teachers and collect resources and ideas for my future teaching.