Planning and Preparation
The best-laid plans always work the best, and coming from experience, I know that teachers who come in and wing the lesson for the day do not teach as well as the ones who have a routine for the week that they know works. Preparation is key in effective education. Adjustments and adaptations are inevitable, but starting strong in the first place will make implementing those changes smoother and easier.
1a: Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
Score Study
A successful director should become very familiar with every part of whatever music they are presenting, whether it be for general music, choir, or an instrumental ensemble. Whether I am directing a large ensemble or teaching private lessons, I strive to learn every aspect of the piece in question, including any historical context that may be necessary or useful.
Attached is a detailed score study that I completed for Arthur Sullivan's "A Rainy Day."
1d: Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources
Technology
In my teaching, I like to incorporate as much technology as I can. Technology, especially music directed technology such as GarageBand and Smart Music, can be and is an extremely useful tool in music teaching. This is useful to both average everyday learners, as well special education and ESL students. The use of technology in the music classroom is efficient and necessary. In my high school placement, I was able to use GarageBand to record my students' orchestral rehearsals, as well as use videos to help aid in my instruction of guitar classes. SmartMusic was also used by every musical ensemble to aid in the assessment of student progress on their scales as well as their repertoire for their concerts. This provides a grade for the students, as well as a reality check, without being disruptive or wasting class time to perform such assessments. If you would like more information on these two technologies, please use the links I have provided on this page.
1e: Demonstrating knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
Scripting
I demonstrated knowledge of content and pedagogy through teaching music history and the performance aspects within it. I explained the key aspects of each musical era, and created performance tasks designed to apply those newly learned aspects. With these aspects, my students then completed performance tasks based on this knowledge. Some of the tasks were written, such as writing their own musical compositions based on the era of knowledge, or performing a short excerpt on the keyboards. During my placement at Central Dauphin Middle School, I was provided with a template for the district wide require lesson plan, and adopted a "scripting" method for my instruction. Please see my included lesson plan for the details of this process, and the information given during the lesson.
1f: Designing Student Assessments
Written and Playing Performance Tasks
Throughout the course of my placements, I have learned how to effectively create, apply, and execute student assessments in a variety of ways. From written assignments to performance tasks, these assessments are most effective when written concisely and specifically, but also in a manner that is easy for students to understand what is expected of them. During my time at Central Dauphin Middle School, I created a variety of rubrics for different kinds of performance tasks required by the students. Each one was specific toward the requirements of the project. I have provided two examples on this page. One is a written task to be handed in and graded, and one is a musical performance task to be presented on the keyboard. I also made a new worksheet for my sixth grade general music class to aid them in their new unit with rhythm.