Written Response 13

One of my biggest worries about being a new teacher is classroom management. Thankfully, Jill Reese discusses some simple guidelines in “The Four Cs of Successful Classroom Management,” which are commendation, communication, consistency, and content.

For commendation, Reese suggests bringing attention to a positive behavior by recognizing an individual who is doing the behavior you want the rest of the class to have. Oftentimes, this creates a ripple effect until all the students do the desirable behavior because they know that their good behavior is noticed and appreciated.

Next, she discusses communication, stressing the importance of nonverbal communication. If a student is misbehaving, some simple eye contact or standing near the student will likely solve the issue quickly without bringing negative attention to the student. If this does not work another step would be to quietly whisper “stop” or “no”. If further action is necessary, have consequences if place for breaking the rules and follow through with these consequences.

Third, is consistency. Having set procedures will save time because the students know what to expect. An example of this mentioned in class, is an orchestra director putting the bow on their head when it is times for the students to listen. The students copy by putting their bow on their head. This grabs the attention of all the students quickly and prevents students from playing while the director is talking. This procedure creates order and consistency which saves time and helps the students spend more time learning.

Lastly, is content. Let’s spend time teaching music in the classroom. One helpful tip Reese mentions is practicing tonal and rhythm patterns or singing during transitions. This makes the classroom more efficient because it keeps the attention of the students rather than having to refocus the class.

These suggestions are very helpful because they are focused on creating a good learning environment so that class-time can be spent learning rather than disciplining. While doing student observations I once asked my cooperating teacher how she deals with classroom management. She said that she keeps a fast pace because students are more likely to behave if they are engaged. I think that this article is also focused on keeping students engaged because it is easier to prevent poor behavior by keeping students interested in the content than it is to correct poor behavior.

Written Response 12

While there is no secret or magic formula for great teaching, Natalie Steele does list some attributes common to great educators in “Three Characteristics of Effective Teaching” (2010). Steele suggests that these three characteristics are non-verbal communication, self-efficacy, and servant leadership.

I believe that non-verbal communication is important because our actions communicate messages just like our words do. Everything including eye-contact, clothing, gestures, and posture sends a message. If inconsistent, students will notice and may distrust you or push the limits because they do not believe you will follow through. However, if these messages are consistent, they will likely inspire trust and respect with students and order in the classroom.

Self-efficacy is important because failure and difficulty will inevitably come. But our response to the failure is more important than the failure itself. Those with low self-efficacy may give up, while those with high self-efficacy are confident that with questioning, planning, adaptation, and hard work, success is possible.

Servant leadership is valuable because the classroom should not be a dictatorship. Servant leaders are willing to learn along with the students. They also put the needs of students first. All of the lesson plans, repertoire, and communication is done with the mindset of helping the students because schools are for students, not teachers.

No teacher is perfect, but as long as we put students first, keep trying, and refuse to be complacent, we will continue to be more and more effective educators.

Written Response 11

While the Conway article focuses on the implementation of the 1994 standards, it can also help with the implementation of the 2014 national standards. Educators approach standards in a variety of ways. One educator may only cover the standards they deem relevant to the class, leaving the others to be addressed elsewhere; Others stress over the details to ensure that every standard is thoroughly addressed and may lose the interest of their students as a result (p. 35). Perhaps balance between these approaches can be achieved by considering the “spirit of the standards.”

The article goes into depth describing how to apply the “spirit of the standards” to each individual standard, but I believe this spirit can be found by asking one simple question: What is the purpose of this standard? As educators explore the purpose of each standard they will discover the relevance and application of these standards in their own classroom. Then educators can use the standards to refine their current teaching practices and help their students become equipped with the necessary tools to make music for the rest of their lives. Standards do not need to make the lives of educators or students complicated. They simply help the educator plan and reflect on the relevance and effectiveness of their teaching.

Written Response 10

One major takeaway from Chapter 7 in the Ayers reading is that fact that teaching is very dynamic. Effective teachers do not teach in the same way twice. Why is this the case? Teaching the same way twice implies that the original method was effective and should be repeated. However, there is no such thing as perfection in the art of teaching. Even if a particular method appears to be effective in one setting, there will always be some aspect that can be changed or improved. Additionally, each student has unique abilities and learning styles, so a technique that works with one student may not be effective with another. Furthermore, if an educator teaches the same way over and over again, they are sure to become bored and unenthusiastic. It can be hard to inspire passion and excitement in the students if the educator has become complacent and lacks passion and excitement themselves. But if the educator is excited about the learning process and keeps their teaching fresh, it is easier to inspire excitement and learning among their students. Thus it is important for educators to reflect on their teaching often and make the necessary adjustments.

Written Response 9

There are many traditions deeply rooted in music education classrooms. At times these traditions exist because they are effective means of teaching, while at other times traditions continue simply because that’s the way it’s always done. The director of Williamson High School examined the effectiveness of the tradition of chair placements (Forte, 2014). She decided to end this tradition at her school because the resulting competition often divided the band. By ending this tradition she was instead able to foster unity within the ensemble and each student was inspired to work hard no matter their assigned part.

As music educators it is important to examine classroom traditions. Those that will enhance the classroom experience should be kept while those that do not should be dropped from the classroom. It is also important to note that the effectiveness of traditions will depend on both the teacher and the students in a particular classroom. Therefore, it would be useful to re-examine traditions regularly and incorporate or exclude these traditions accordingly. But, educators should never blindly incorporate traditions because that it simply how it’s always done.

Written Response 8

As a high school senior I sang in one of New Mexico’s All-State choruses. One of my fellow choir members was blind. The director adapted to her needs by having a fellow choir member tap this student whenever there was a cut-off. This was the first time I had seen this sort of inclusion and it was inspiring to see this student make music.

No child should be excluded from participating in music ensembles. Adaptation may be necessary to include students with disabilities and this can be difficult at times for educators. But we need not reinvent the wheel as we try to figure out how to best include these students. In “Collaboration and Access for Our Children: Music Educators and Special Educators Together,” McCord and Watts list many resources to help educators. They suggest that educators be involved in IEP teams or work with paraprofessionals and administration to figure out how to best help these students. Furthermore, the article lists many books and articles which address this topic. Educators can turn to these individuals and texts to gain a better understanding of how to aid these students. These students matter and educators must do their part to include these students and give them the best education possible.

Written Response 6

One important thing to consider as an educator is what to teach within the classroom. How do we determine the curriculum? The state provides standards to guide curriculum, but lesson plans should not be limited to these standards alone. William Ayers states, “Eventually I realized that no curriculum or text could ever suit the needs of everyone. We all more or less assume that curriculum will sum things up, and that’s a mistake. In a dynamic forward-charging world, there is no final word, no ‘the end.’ Instead of pursuing definite answers, I began asking questions” (p. 69, “To Teach, the Journey in Comics”). No school year, week, or day should look the same. Each lesson plan should based on the unique needs of the students. Each student is different in terms of ability, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and so forth. This does not mean that we as teachers should be “colorblind” and confuse equality with sameness (Bridget Sweet, “Diversity in the Classroom”). We cannot treat students the same way because they are unique individuals. But all students should be treated with equal respect. At the completion of each lesson, educators should reflect and make sure the standards and individual student needs have been met.

I know I need to improve in this area. I teach private piano lessons and I use the same method book for all of my students. I have a tendency to have my students go through the book page by page and learn every song in this one book. My lessons look largely the same from day to day and from student to student. I can improve by asking myself what each specific student needs to learn. Then I can personalize games, activities, and assigned repertoire to each individual student. After each lesson I can to continue to ask questions to refine and individualize the lessons. As I take this approach, both me and my students will have a more exciting, active, and effective learning process.

Written Response 5

How are musical preferences formed? Daniel Levitin states that our preferences “…have a large social component based on our knowledge of the singer or musician, on our knowledge of what our family and friends like, and knowledge of what music stands for” (p. 246, This is Your Brain on Music). While nature can play a role in musical preferences, my musical preferences are largely based on the social aspects of my life.

Take for example, my preference concerning opera. My mother absolutely hates opera, so growing up I did too. However, when I began to study music at the collegiate level, I found that most of my friends were vocalists. These friends loved and often participated in operas. As they exposed me to more and more opera I grew to enjoy it. There are still some operatic works and vibrato-heavy voices that I cannot stand, but in general I now like opera because of the influence of my friends.

Levitin also states that “Researchers point to the teen years as the turning point for musical preferences” (p. 231) and “our early exposure is often our most profound” (p. 246). This is also true for me. In high school I was exposed to the piano guys. I watched many of their music videos, bought their albums, and attended one of their concerts. They became my favorite group and to this day I keep up-to-date on new music videos and album releases.

Since musical preferences are formed early and are largely social, that means that music educators can largely influence the musical preferences of their students. Therefore, it is important to expose student to a variety of genres so that they will not close themselves off to musical opportunities for the rest of their lives. There are other influences of course, but educators do play a role and as such should strive to have variety in their curriculum.

Written Response 4

While there are many reasons to teach music, its aid in childhood development is one reason why music education is important. The research in this area is still new and not yet thorough, but existing research points towards music’s positive role in aiding development. So, how can parents and educators use music to help childhood development? Donna Fox’s article “Music and the Baby’s Brain: Early Experiences” addresses some ways to do so. Fox suggests that educators should focus on actively engaging their students rather than trying to entertain or merely have their students listen to music (p. 25). I agree with this idea because passive learning may lose student interest and does not allow students to explore music. Rather, educators can actively involve their students in the learning process through singing, movement, and playing instruments. It is through these actions that their development is aided.

Now for parents. The more we practice and do, the more we learn. So, students will more effectively progress if they are learning and experiencing music both in and outside the classroom. This does not require parents to be musicians themselves. Parents can simply add music to their existing routines by playing music during play time, listening to music with their children (in a concert or on the radio), and so forth (Fox p. 26). Ultimately, music educators have limited say on what occurs outside the classroom and can only encourage parents to further expose their children to music. But, if parents will do so, they can also actively aid in the development of their children through music.

Written Response 3

I found the article “Groove” by Victor Wooten to be very interesting because it compared learning music to learning language. Two elements that help us learn language are 1) being surrounded by it and 2) jamming with the pros (pp. 24-25, Wooten, 2006). As infants we were immersed in the English language because we were surrounded by English speakers. We began by repeating some of their phrases and eventually began to “jam” as we experimented with the language and began to formulate sentences on our own. We “jammed” with the pros by conversing with those who had already mastered the language.

We can also learn music by being immersed in it and by “jamming” with the pros. We immerse ourselves in music by listening to it on the radio, attending concerts, practicing, and so forth. “Jamming” is a little more difficult in traditional music classes because there is typically one professional to an entire group of students. The slow progress of one individual can also limit the entire class. Private lessons can help one “jam,” but it is not guaranteed to work. Just because one plays an instrument does not mean they are “jamming.” “Jamming ” is the formulation of new music in a conversation of sorts, rather than rote repetition (just like the formulation of new sentences). This is often done through improvisation.

How do I encourage this new kind of musical learning? I can immerse my students with music while they are in my classroom, and encourage them to attend concerts, take private lessons, and listen to music in their free time. I can encourage “jamming” by allowing my students to improvise in the classroom and encourage them to converse through singing or playing an instrument when listening to music in their free time. It is my hope that as I teach using this approach, that my students can learn to converse through music just as they do with language.