Michael Parker

MUED 380
Jesse Rathgeber
10/23/16
Practicum Observation #3
Location: Stone Spring Elementary School
Grade Level: 3rd grade
Block period: 9:45-10:45
Teacher observed: Niki Miragliotta
Teacher:
Mr. Parker:
- Led coordinated movement sequence
- Prefaced movement with a few statements:
o This mixes rock music with some other cultural music.
o If you ever feel lost, just go back to keeping the big beat on
your laps.
o Watch me and Ill guide you through.
- Encouraged playfulness and awareness of music
o Performed all movements with students
o Made sure students moved slowly to understand the musical
concepts
- Struggled to maintain attention of students at times
o During new activities, especially when the tempo was fast
o Experienced difficulties having students stay with the tempo
(many wanted to go faster)
Mrs. Miragliotta:
- Took into account students energy levels from very beginning of class
o Had class show her when they were calm enough to begin lesson
- Remained conscious of students energy levels
o Had to remind them multiple times to refocus
o Always directed focus towards end goals of class
We need to focus so that we can play our special game at
the end
o Matched their energy throughout, just directed it in the right
direction
- Excellent transitions
o Used earlier material to help ease into next activity
o Sometimes just jumped into next activity
- Encouraged inquisitiveness
o Tried to solve problems with students

o Used guiding questions without students knowing they were

being asked
o Put herself on same playing field as students when learning
Always remained positive
o Even when students were unfocused, she still smiled and
addressed students respectfully
o Addressed what they could do better by suggesting

Learners:
- A bit rowdy at the beginning of class
o Had just finished a new, fun activity in their homeroom
o Slowly regained focus as period went on
- Very receptive to new movement experience
o Laughed a bit at the foreign language they heard
o Great job following movements
Took multiple repetitions of patterns for some to fully grasp
Some students opted to revert back to only the steady
beat
All students seemed to be trying their best to master
sequences
o Some struggled with faster tempo
Many of them actually went too fast!
Could be due to excitement
- Energy level was high but easily redirected
- Some male students attempted singing in lower octaves
o Many did not make the full octave leap down
o Many ended up singing incorrect notes
o Practicum student tried to encourage falsetto singing through
modelling
- Students seemed to really care about the information
o During assessment, if students missed a repetition, they
immediately asked for it to be repeated
- Very eager to try new things and be playful
- One student even helped put teachers supplies away without being
asked
Content/Music:
- Warm-up movement sequence
o Practicing big and small beats
o Used many different parts of the body
o Allowed for improvisatory movements

o Practiced call-and-response rhythm syllables

Coordinated movementpracticum student
o There Will Be Time by Mumford and Sons
o Practiced slow movement to counter faster warm-up
o Addressed slower tempo big beats
o Moved to little beat later in the song
o Alternating big and little beats
o Combined series of movements
Laser pointer warm-up
o Teacher used laser pointer on the wall to warm up voices
o Students had to follow contour of laser pointer
o Many vocal sighs and vocal sirens produced
Skin and Bones
o Halloween-themed song
o Teacher transitioned by reintroducing melodic pattern students
sing
o Students played game associated with song
Very well managed
Students played honestly and focused on musical aspects
o If time had allotted, the students would have revisited the game
at the end of class
Ah Poor Bird
o Reviewed two-part canon
o Teacher directed towards introduction of half note
Rhythmic dictation of notes with class
Some of these notes are longer than just a quarter note.
One child blurted out half note!
o Mostly review from previous year
Tied two quarter notes together
Incorporated movement for students to feel the longer
notes
Introduction of staff
o Had students look around room for staves around the room
On the vocab board
On the rug
On the whiteboard
Even used their hands as staves
o Transitioned into
Steps and skips
o Had students review sol, mi, and la
Sang and wrote first letters on the board
o Students looked at spacing between letters
o Teacher wrote notes on the staff

First introduced skip of sol-mi

Had students move around notes and place the other note
above or below, respectively
o Special kits with cloth staves and bingo chips for notes
Students had to count spaces and lines
Had students choose which lines to place notes on
Other students had to put other notes a skip above/below
Great assessment tool!
o Then introduced step to la
Same activities repeated, incorporating la
Formal assessment
o Teacher labelled it as a survey
o Front of page:
Students had to listen for rhythm dictation
o Back of page:
Students had to visually distinguish between steps and
skips
o All of this would be checked later by teacher

Milieu:
- Students homeroom teacher made Mrs. Miragliotta aware of potential
classroom management issues
o Students were very rowdy earlier in the day
o Having trouble maintaining focus
o Mrs. Miragliotta had students show their focus before entering
the classroom
- Focus seemed to be an issue during the whole block
o Overlap from earlier in the day
o New practicum student teaching most likely added to commotion
o Teacher effectively refocused energy of the class
- Very respectful classroom
o Everyone always addressed their peers respectfully
o Activities were kept safe and fun
- Classroom was decorated to fit needs of lessons
o All supplies were at the ready when needed
o Posters were colorful and matched content
o Vocabulary cards were referenced often
Questions for the teacher:
- How would you follow up the lesson on steps and skips?
- How long does it typically take students to transition to standard
notation?
- When do you incorporate rhythm stems with the note heads?

How could the practicum teaching be improved and altered for

younger grade levels?