Robert Starace Student Teaching Seminar 3/11/14

ORID Reflection

The lesson that I am reflecting on took place on Friday 3/7/14 during a concert band rehearsal.

What?
There were a few keys to the lesson. We talked a lot about texture and balance. During this lesson we came to better understanding of the musical textures involved. When thinking about what I observed during the lesson, I realized I hadnt observed enough. My head was down so I couldnt visually assess students. I had to do everything aurally, which is also important, but you must assess visually too. The one big negative thing I observe more than anything else is that breathing is a problem. We dont play rhythms very well; I think it is because of our breathing habits. Some of the other over-arching trends I noted were poor intonation and good musical style.

What about The What?

The lesson went very well. The students were receptive and played the music better than when we started. The most successful thing that I noted was the discussion we had tying the piece to James Bond Music. Something that seemed to not work was trying to build a question asking community has been difficult. Students dont have parameters for answering questions, and I didnt do them any favors by not spelling out how I wanted questions answered. I speak in the vernacular as an inroad to higher level vocabulary. That was very effective. The hardest part was trying to address rhythm without teaching the parts by rote. We are always involved. But, getting students to answer questions about other students playing is always very effective

So What?
I learned that I need to find a better source of classroom management. I dont want to be a jerk, but I wont always be in a situation where students will quiet themselves down. I think that if I had planned specific visuals to say to illicit the response I wanted, I could have accomplished more and increased productivity. What I tried to do was to ignore the talking and distractions, then the students tried to quiet themselves, but that didnt always work. I should have said something to get the students attention. Come to class and state the goal of the lesson in writing. In terms of my future planning, for the most part it means that I can teach to higher understanding as opposed to base knowledge. Assessment is always the tricky in band. Individual assessment is time consuming and not always practical. I try to have sections play by themselves or in small groups so that I can assess smaller groups of students. I could always use entrance/exit slips.

Now What?
Planning is always a weakness of mine. I should also come up with aesthetic examples in order to illicit proper response. I will always keep my personal demeanor on the podium. We must remember that even though we take ourselves and our art very seriously, for many of our students, this is an elective and they come for the community. There is a skill I feel that I need to further develop and it is how I lead classroom discussions. I love asking questions, and believe that it is key to assessing student understanding, but am not always sure that the students understand the question or the concept. I think that pacing is key for a good lesson. Students must play. That is what I think a good and successful lesson should be focused on. My goals are primarily about learning how to communicate with students. Find a better way to communicate my instructions. Find a better way to communicate what my expectations are. Find a better way when I do not approve of the behavior of the class. I think I need to be simpler. It is a process.

Robert Starace Student Teaching Seminar 4/22/14

ORID Reflection 2 What?

What I remember most vividly about my band lesson on 4/16 is that students were very excited about everything and would not stop talking. During the class we talked a lot about transitional phrases in Sea Shanty Variation. The students accomplished the ability all the way through a piece of music without stopping. Before this lesson they werent able to accomplish this. What did you observe during the much of what I observed was poor playing technique. I had to make sure students were in the right key signature. I was also trying to make sure that they were keeping eyes on me to ensure that the entire ensemble stayed together. Students had very poor rehearsal skills. Their posture was not great. I continually had to remind the students to sit up and help them to remember how to breathe properly. I noticed at times that students were occasionally frustrated that I kept reminding them about actions they have heard about many times. I could see in in their body language and occasionally hear it in their playing.

What about The What?

The rehearsal went fairly well overall. I was able to achieve my goals for the ensemble. Even though behavior wasnt the best, I felt successful. The students really understood the frame work of the variation that I was teaching that day. They demonstrated proper dynamics, articulation, and counted rhythms well. The trombones did not do very well though. They had poor playing habits. They even talked over every instruction I gave. The part of this that makes me the most happy is that as we move toward the concert, we are improving, despite behavioral issues. The most effective part of my teaching this day was just getting the kids to play properly. As a beginning musician, you have so much working against you that the best thing a teacher can do is to remind the students about posture and breathing so that students can work toward a goal. The best and worst part of the lesson was that it worked. I was concerned from the moment the

students came to the room that they would be too antsy to be productive, but through mutual patience and good work we achieve what we needed to. I am sure that the most difficult part of this process has been getting the students to communicate with me. I feel that the most effective way to educate is through questioning, and the students just plain dont respond when questions are asked of them.

So What?
I learned that if I keep a level head and continue with my lesson there is very little that can stop the learning process all together. In order for young students to follow directions, I am going to have to give the directions more than once. That is still frustrating to me, but I am just going to have to learn to live with it. I think the way to handle inappropriate playing or style is by modeling. I just dont know how that looks in a 5th grade band class. The students have a hard time digesting and having thoughts about audio data that they are given in modeling situations. I have to work that out still. I have been experimenting with using 8th note subdivision in small group lesson settings. I think this could have worked in the transition I worked on. I think that if they understood the change in tempo at the 8th note level they may comprehend it at the quarter note value. I think that there are better ways to set up students for success than I used in my warm up period on this particular day. I have begun to look at how I can better use my warm up. I have added considerations such as key signature, time signature, accidentals, and tempo change.

Now What?
I am working on building a set of skill to get me out a situation. That is what I felt like happened during this lesson. I just couldnt get my trombone section to do what I wanted them to be able to do, and I wasnt quite sure how to manage that. The best part of this lesson was how I push aside many of the behavioral factors that could have grounded a young teachers lesson. I was very fast a not at all demeaning as I moved through different issues. I am going to continue to work on the attitude that I set for the rehearsals. I havent quite learned how to take the attitude of the group and make it my own by using my words. Maybe that isnt exactly possible when you only work with students for 1 year at a time, or in my case 7 weeks. To ensure that I will continue to

have success during my lessons, I have started to write down different pedagogical tools that I can use during rehearsal if specific things go wrong in the music. I will continue to use the advice of my colleagues as I move forward. That has been my greatest source of knowledge and growth. The goals that I have set for myself have already begun to help. The first goal was to make the list of pedagogical tools. Another goal I have made for myself was to think about why we are covering specific sections of music. If I can prove that I know why, then I can begin to understand the future steps necessary to continue growth.