The two strategies of instruction that I am going to really incoporate into my teaching practices more are to use more non linguistic representation in my classes, as well as having students use the “similarities and differences” concept presented in this weeks part one and part videos by Dr. Pickering. I have used the toolbox metaphor over most of my career for my teaching practices, so it was refreshing to have an expert confirm this concept for me. I have taught my students over my career that the brain works in a different way than our educational system does. We need to be able to read, write, and calculate, yet our brain operates in pictures. When we dream, usually it is like a movie being played in our mind's eye. My goal is to incorporate more mental and actual “pictures” into my classroom lessons. For similarities and differences the beginning band video from United Musical Instruments, the students are given a simple test asking the question “Is it the same or different?” for pitch, melody, and rhythm. I am incorporating more of this concept into my classroom. Using comparison and contrasting organizers in order to have students make more mental connections using the language of music I believe will be more engaging for my students. Taking two etudes out of a music book and having the students compare what characteristics are the same, and different will help cement the musical language and concepts learned into their playing.
The technology tools that will help me with incorporating these goals into actual practice will include MS office, Iwork on my Macintosh, Kidspiration/Inspiration, for creating materials and lessons, concept maps which I can create at home and use in class, as well as podcasts and as well as using Drop.io, Voicethreads.com, and Blog and wiki pages that I have already created for my classroom. This fall I will have a wikipage for each class I teach, which will be attached to my school webpage for students and parents to have access to.
To implement these concepts, I will use the Deming quality cycle of plan, do study the result, then act upon the results. Being able to plan the entire year out, I can put software tools into the plan that will assist students in learning the music materials and projects I have in store for them. During the year, as I impliment the plan, I can study the results and make adjustments to improve how the components work together. By following this cycle, I will be able to improve the quality of instruction that I am giving my students.
In conclusion, using more non linguistic representations of musical concepts, and having students engage in similarities and differences converstions and activities in my music classes, I will have the opportunity to improve my students retention of musical concepts and language development, as well as deepen their appreciation for music.
References:
DVD: Laureate Education, Instructional Strategies Part 1, 2009
DVD: Laureate Education, Instructional Strategies, Part 2, 2009
Pittler, H.,Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M. Malenski,K., Using technology with Classroom Instruction
Works, McRel Publishing, 2007, Denver, CO
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