Running head: MUSIC ROOM VISITATION

Music Room Visitation Josh Borders Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

MUSIC ROOM VISITATION The music classroom that I chose to visit is located at the Perry Meridian Sixth Grade Academy. I have worked at this school for the past few years and have seen the

way the music room is operated. However, this year is the first year for the schools new music teacher (the previous music teacher retired). I would like to discuss, not only, the way this room is managed, but also I would like to compare it to the music classroom of old. This particular music room is used for choir class only; the band and orchestra have their own, separate, classrooms. The first thing that strikes you upon entering the music room is the way in which it is arranged. Much like every other music classroom Ive ever seen, this room comes equipped with a large set of risers with music chairs positioned along each row. The music chairs are your standard chairs utilized in a music room (I was in choir from Sixth grade through graduation) that help students maintain correct posture for effective singing. The teacher positions himself at the front of the class, with his piano ready to incite the choir. The students are arranged in a manner similar to most, if not all, choir rooms: From left-to-right, the students are arranged Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass. In the sixth grade, the choir teacher apparently doesnt split them up any further than that. During a regular class period, the students come into the room with their music folders and find their assigned areas. Once the bell has rung, the teacher takes attendance, and then begins to corral the students to prepare to begin singing. For the first 5-10 minutes of the class, the teacher goes through a variety of vocal warm-ups for the students. This is surely to avoid any damage to the vocal chords from starting singing full-force right off the bat. Once the teacher completes, what he feels is, an

MUSIC ROOM VISITATION adequate amount of warm-up exercises, they begin to practice the songs that they will be singing for the next concert. One thing that I have found to be true for most all music classes at this level, is that they spend the large majority of their time practicing the songs they plan to sing at the next school concert or big event. There are very few instances where a music class is learning a song that they wont perform in the near future. I can recall times in choir class where we studied how to read music, but did not focus on one particular song for

an extended period of time. Once a concert has come and gone, the students may have a day or two to enjoy some relaxation before its time to start preparing for the next event. Usually the teacher takes this time to make a final decision on what will be sung at the upcoming concert. Now, this is where I think it is important to compare the classroom now to what it was in years past. Students conduct in the music classes is usually very appropriate, because it is a privilege to be a part of the choir, band, and/or orchestra. Students that enroll in these voluntary music classes tend to excel in the school atmosphere, over all. However, the former choir teacher did not seem to have a solid grasp on classroom management. It was almost a given that you could walk by that classroom at any time and find students off task, noisy, and even roaming the halls. Considering my position at the school was behavior, turning the other cheek was something that I struggled with when going near this room. The new music teacher seems to have a formidable understanding of how to conduct the class, because the problems that we faced with choir students previously, is now obsolete. I am unsure what exactly changed, other than the teachers themselves, but I cant help but wonder if it had to do with gender

MUSIC ROOM VISITATION differences; the previous teacher was female, while the new teacher is male. Also, I

thought it could have been because the previous teacher new that she would be retiring soon and didnt feel it necessary to rule with an iron fist. Students really seem to respond in the music classes. I like to think that a large part of my success in school was due to my involvement in music. Not only does the class fill a void in a students schedule (usually replacing a fluff class), but it also teaches them the importance of keeping a routine. Everyday the students come into class and hear the same directions: Sit up straight, backs against the chairs, feet flat on the floor, etc. Compound that with the feeling of accomplishment they acquire upon completing a concert and hearing the approving cheers from their peers and you have hopefully fostered a passion for learning within the students (PTE 4). Finally, the pound-for-pound hardest part of teaching music class is finding a way to assess the students. In all of my years of choir, I never really felt like my teachers found a formidable way to assess what we were learning in that class. However, this can work to a teachers advantage, because there arent clear-cut, defined methods of assessing that music teachers are confined to. This wiggle room allows the music teachers to do much of their assessing through mere observation. By assessing through observations, the teachers have the ability to see, firsthand, what is working and what is not working. By not having to rely on standardized tests and being able to make adjustments on the fly, music teachers can easily become the standard for reflective practitioners (PTE 2).

MUSIC ROOM VISITATION Principle 2: Reflective Practice Definition: The ability of teachers to step outside of the experiences that make up teaching and to analyze and critique from multiple perspectives the impact of these experiences and contexts. This principle is demonstrated by the ability to Collect information through observation of classroom interaction.

Principle 4: Passion for Learning Definition: The ability of teachers to continually develop their own complex content and pedagogical knowledge and to support the development of students habits of continual, purposeful learning. This principle is demonstrated by the ability to Provide all learners with equitable access to meaningful learning opportunities.