Reflection for 6711

Being exposed to new educational research and learning theories has been very beneficial to me as an educator. The concepts of constructivist and constructionist learning theory will create a dynamic and engaging classroom for my students. Project based learning is part of music, as the performance is the goal we are striving for. With music being very repetitive or behaviorist in nature, this addition of learning theories will certainly add to my toolbox.

Two technological tools that I will be using in my classroom will be voicethread and Smartmusic. Voicethread will be used to convey information , as well as have student dialogue and input into the lesson. The “lesson” information can be created allowing students access to the lesson at home to refresh their memory of how to play their instrument. Smartmusic will be used as a practice tool, an evaluation tool, and as a visual feedback station for my students to utilize. I plan on purchasing Smartmusic for each student in my band program this year.

My long term goals and changes in my instructional practices include creating a system that allows students to use technology to become more successful on their instruments via web sites links and assignments, as well as using Smartmusic to kick start the students playing abilities. I can give a weekly assignment to my students that must be completed on Smartmusic. Students that do not have a computer at the house, can come into the room before and after school. Students will also have opportunities in class to access Smartmusic. Friday’s will become a Smartmusic day to allow students to perform on the program. The challenge will be to have access to the gradebook portion of the program on the network we currently use in the school system. I will contact the technology head for the system to discuss the issues and problems we can fix, so the students have access to this part of the program.

Tools for the Teacher's Toolbox

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