PLE 5 Chapter 6 Question 2 [Memory]

How might your knowledge of the memory processes guide your instructional decisions?

In the music classroom, memory can be a very important aspect of learning. It may not be as significant to memorizing math equations, historical dates or people for a standardized test, but encoding information for students in music will still benefit them in the long run.

Repetition is key. I like to think of Bruner's 'spiral curriculum' concept. 

Walker, Robert. Innovation in the Music Classroom: II The Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project. Psychology of Music, Vol. 12, No. 1, 25-33

Repetition is key and learning can be done by the sequence effect. I believe setting short term goals for information to be stored in students' minds will help them to rememeber musical concepts and skills, and repeating these skills on a daily information starts the memorization process. This will eventually be applicable as they move to each grade level. Applying music to stories and ideas has a successful impact in creating an aural image for student learning and can be easily retrieved because of its' uniqueness. 

PLE 5 Chapter 6 Question 1 [Cognitive Learning]

What are the essential skills and/or learning outcomes you want your students to know and be able to do that relate to cognitive learning?


I think in my music classroom, there will be many skills involved that relate to cognitive learning. Much of cognitive learning is the process of information that the students are learning. This process can include learning by model, listening, and reading. Listening is an essential skill in the music classroom. This includes peer interaction by listening to different musical phrases, for concepts within the music and scores, and learning together how to actively make music. The teacher can help guide students by doing clap rhythms or singing for students to hear phrases in a variety of ways. 

I also believe the use of representations help students learn cognitively. In my classroom, maybe this could be finding a story to read along with the piece of music, or a historical background that paints a picture of what the music should sound like. After writing this post on my personal thoughts, I actually found a study online that investigated children's perception of melodic construction in hope of finding clues about their broader cognitive development in nonmusical domains. 

Here is a short excerpt from the study:



"Bamberger (1991, 1994) also advocates using children’s descriptions as crucial 
evidence for understanding a child’s musical development. In Bamberger’s (1991) 
experiments with Montessori bells, children are asked not only to build a melody, but also 
to make instructions for someone else to play the melody. This type of response is 
specifically designed to produce a broader scope of children’s cognitive abilities. 
Bamberger (1994) also draws on children’s verbal descriptions, drawings, and spatial 
ordering of the bells as possible ways to externally reveal the private and internal nature of 
inner hearing, approximating a more genuine understanding of musical development 
(Bamberger, 1991; Bamberger, 1994; Hargreaves, 1986)"

http://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/v17n1/visions/article3

PLE 4 Chp. 14 Assessment

 Prompt:

Think of a lesson plan from your licensure area.  Knowing that assessment is an integral part of teaching, explain at least four informal and formal assessments that you will use in your lesson plan to provide you with feedback and involve the students in assessing their own learning.

My teaching area is music education. This includes primary, secondary and high school students. For each grade level, the National Standards for Music Education must be met, and because of this, formal AND informal assessments should be utilized throughout the school year. Below is a list of the National Standards for Music Education provided by the National Association for Music Education. (NAfME is an organization and credible website that the entire nation utilizes for music education) All music teachers must meet these standards and plan their lessons accordingly.

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.

4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.

5. Reading and notating music.

6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

7. Evaluating music and music performances.

8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

These are a few assessments I have come up with to cater to my specialty area:

Formal assessing for music students would include:

1. Individual Playing Tests (This would coincide with the performance aspect of the national standards)

- Students will show their ability of range, repertoire, technique and musicality 

2. Composer of the month essay (This would coincide with the history/culture aspect of the national standards)

- Students will write one or two paragraphs at the end of every month about the biography of a composer and his/her time period. 

3. Computerized Standardized Listening Exam (#6 and #7 shown above)

 - There are music theory technologies available in certain schools for students to use in a lab.

4. Yearly Final Exam (All standards minus performance)

- This would be a test including a composition portion, listening portion, analyzed portion, and music history portion.

Informal assessing for music students would include: 

1. Group ensembles performing in front of the class

2. Composition Project (writing your own music to share)

3. Multimedia presentations (video, group projects)

4. Relay Music games for assessing music theory and terminology

 * THIS IS A GREAT SYLLABUS I FOUND ONLINE FOR PROGRAMMING AND ASSESSMENT IS HELPFUL FOR ALL AREAS NO JUST MUSIC. Please take the time to just copy and paste the link and scroll through.

 http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CFAQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au%2Fsyllabus_sc%2Fpdf_doc%2Fmusic_710_support.pdf&ei=jEEVUbSsC4m-8ASDmoGwBg&usg=AFQjCNH8a6V8qE0rY8mFKLCXCyHgnhIzeA&sig2=pAvBgWhzkNp6HcYQPWQyVg&bvm=bv.42080656,d.eWU

PLE 3 Creating a Learning Environment

* Please note I wrote this as it applies to my area of study which is music education.

Creating a conducive learning environment is a significant component for classroom management. I know that classroom management will be my biggest struggle as a first year teacher, especially in the music world. Not only do I have a classroom full of students, but also expensive instruments, stands, and stacks/files of music to store. 

Organization
First, in order for my students to have an effective learning environment, it is important to have an organized classroom setting. Instruments should be easily accessible and chair set up should be in place before students arrive to class.  Students will assume the teacher is disorganized if the classroom is disorganized. Space is always an issue in music classrooms, especially if the classroom is shared for general music, strings, choral and band. Music classrooms should have a specified place for instruments and book bags. Storing school supplies, sheet music and folders underneath chairs can sometimes get messy. It is more practical to have a space where the students can store instruments throughout the school day. Purchasing shelves for students’ music folders to prevent the students’ loose sheet music from getting lost also might be a good idea! This also can start a music library for the classroom.

Some teachers overlook the significance of keeping track of students in a music setting like orchestra for example. This is especially prominent in high school orchestra when students seem to wonder in late to class. No matter what grade level the orchestra is, it is probably a good idea to have an organized grade book with every student’s name and dates across each row. This ensures that you have a clear record of class attendance and tardiness. The instructor may even want to assign duties to certain students to keep them on their toes. Electing secretaries to take attendance and librarians to organize and hand out music is a great benefit. This helps out the teacher and is also fun for the students so they feel they hold some sort of power.

Fun and Helpful Learning Atmosphere 

I think for any grade level, students love coming into a classroom that feels positive and is exciting to be in (instead of boring).  Posting images on walls of instruments, historical composers, and musical notes adds character to the classroom. In addition students should know what is expected of them in a positive way instead of a demanding way.If one student is talking or playing their instrument while the teacher is talking, it spreads like wild fire and soon you have a big mess. This can be shown as easily through a behavioral chart or outline posted in the classroom. Margaret Merrion in her book, "Instructional and Classroom Management for Music Educators" provided a chart for classroom management for music. This can be arranged for any subject.

1.     In assigned seat when the bell rings

2.     Is prepared for class with all materials, (Instrument, music, pencil)

3.     Demonstrates proper posture when playing.

4.     Is quiet during rehearsal when not playing.

5.     Shows respect for self and others

6.     Shows respect for all instruments.

7.     Participates appropriately during rehearsal.

8.     Goes above and beyond.

TI think these things will help students to interact, learn well, and reduce behavioral problems. 

CCSEL Study

I I chose to look at the middle school case study. There will be many cases in a music class where I'm sure students will act out like Cherie. In most cases, I feel these students are looking for attention, so the best thing to do would be give them attention, but not necessarily the attention they want. I would use tasteful remarks to the student ensuring them and convincing the class that what they are doing isn't funny. In hopes that the class would respond, I also think moving the student to the front of the orchestra (or classroom) would help them be more attentive instead of goofing around. 

PLE 2 Motivation

Now that I have somewhat figured out how to work blogger, I can share my thoughts we discussed in class on the topic of motivation. Assuming our class knows the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, I will share my thoughts as a future educator on this topic. 

In my field of teaching, intrinsic motivation in music students is something that I am constantly, and will constantly strive for. Music class is a speciality area. Some view music as a less important subject area, or maybe a class that is not necessary in the school system. It is the first thing that is on the chopping block when budget cuts are brought to the table. It is my responsibility to promote advocacy for music in public schools, and show administration why it is significant in a student's education, (this is a whole other realm/topic!) therefore instilling personal autonomy, and self determination in a student is equally as important. 

Once students pass middle school, they are free of "general music" or "general art" classes. It is high school when they have options as to what classes they can take, and what ensembles to participate in. Connecting with students and applying what is taught in class to things they enjoy, or skills they can relate to will intrinsically motivate them. It is extrinsically motivating activities or rewards that cause a burn out in students desire for musical involvement. This can be assumed for any educational subject area. Habitual practice of music scales, or assigning book assignment math problems every class doesn't necessarily boost creativity. 

"If you pay somebody to just stand on a golf course, for example, you undermine intrinsic interest, but if you pay them to learn how to play golf, you enhance intrinsic interest."

However, the thoughts I have are, should there be a balance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the classroom, and if so, what should that be? I thought the article I found that included a study done on motivation was quite interesting. Feel free to share thoughts.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/who-we-are/201005/motivating-students-learn

PLE 1 Introduction401

My name is Lydia Kabalen and I am a second year grad student in Music Education. I missed the first day of class due to scheduling issues, but I am very excited to learn and work with all fields of education in this class.