My practicum for my Advanced Methods and Materials course was an interesting and insightful experience. I learned a lot from Mr. Star at Downtown High School, but did not feel welcomed in the classroom, which I believe negatively impacted my practicum experience. I learned first and foremost that establishing good relationships with students is essential. I am teaching people and in order for them to be receptive to what I teach, they need to trust me and know me as a person. I also need to know them and their interests to understand the best way to teach each of them according to their individual needs. From my seven practicum visits, I found common themes of what I had learned and appreciated in the teachers I observed. This included giving concise feedback, walking around the classroom to interact with students, allowing students opportunities to apply feedback and take initiative in their own learning, and assessing students individually. Some of these concepts I was able to apply in my practicum teaching experience, while others I realized my need to incorporate more of these strategies (i.e. individual student assessment, walking around the classroom). Below is the lesson plan I wrote to teach a Percussion 2 Class at Downtown High School, as well as the video of me teaching said class. Note: Names have been changed to maintain confidentiality.
On April 9th, I completed a practicum at Northwest High School with Mr. Wheat. The school day consisted of two piano classes and a music technology course. In the piano class, students were preparing for a recital, so they were just practicing their pieces for the majority of the class time. I walked around and listened to students through headphones and then provided some bits of feedback to them. It was cool to see how learning in class could be easily differentiated between students – some were playing pieces by Chopin or Gershwin, others played pieces they had composed, and some students played from a basic beginner piano book. Mr. Wheat mentioned that it is okay to just say good job to a student and not give critique because sometimes the student is not in the right mood to talk about it further and it is good to just hear a compliment sometimes. He was also excellent at gauging where each student was; he would ask questions like, “On a scale from 1-10 how are you all doing (show me using your fingers)?” and “How squishy are you feeling about this project?” In one of the piano classes, they had a jam session where they used a chord chart. Again, differentiation was key – if a student just wanted to play the bass note of the chord they could and if they wanted to improvise the whole time, they had the freedom to do that too. Mr. Wheat also did smaller group assessment during this jam time. For example, he would tell students who wore a certain color t-shirt to play. The jam session was fun, engaging, and allowed students to be creative and still comfortable. In the music technology course, students were working on a project called “New Skills” where each student co-designed a project with Mr. Wheat that would help them identify and fill in gaps in their musical skill set. The students would scatter around the music hallway and in practice rooms and work on their individual projects. I went around to different groups and asked what they were doing, listened to some of their work, and gave them ideas and feedback. You could tell this project stretched the students’ abilities because they did not enjoy it as much. I was amazed at their abilities to write songs, play multiple instruments, and use recording technology. A lot of the feedback I gave them was on how to make the music more interesting by changing up the harmonies and varying rhythmic ideas. Overall, doing a whole day practicum at Northwest High School taught me how strenuous, yet exciting, teaching is. The teacher always has to be on their toes and thinking of ideas and ways to help their students learn best according to their needs and abilities. The teacher also had to have a wide breadth of musical skills to be flexible and differentiate according to each individual students’ interest. It was a great experience and showed me what a music classroom that was not band, orchestra, or choir could look like.
This post includes a ThingLink of JMU’s campus that highlights different areas and explains their relation to access and inclusion. Below the ThingLink are my reflections based on some questions.
Access and Inclusion on JMU’s campus: What did you learn about access and inclusion on JMU’s campus through this experience?
Preparation JMUke is a participatory music making experience for members of the JMU and Harrisonburg community where individuals can learn how to play the ukulele (strumming patterns and chords) and are then invited to participate in a jam session. The point of JMUke is to provide low barriers and a fun, safe environment for individuals to make music regardless of their age or ability. Experience Design Advertising Materials Reflection This JMUke event (Strum and Sing at the Court Square Theatre) was a community event hosted during Disability Awareness Week by JMU Office of Disability Services and the Center for Inclusive Music Engagement. It was a fun jamming and learning experience following Dr. Lubet’s (keynote speaker of the week) performance. From the perspective of an outside viewer, this event was an open time where facilitators were available to help participants learn the basics of the ukulele in the first 30 minutes followed by a jam session filled with a variety of songs. There was a good amount of ukulele strumming, singing, and laughter. Videos and Pictures
See above in the Preparation section for designed materials, including our experience design, song slides, and event poster. Reflective Commentary
For community members, I think it was an engaging event where they could sing and learn a new skill or practice one they already knew (playing the ukulele). There was an extremely low barrier to entry and I think that the open, welcoming, friendly atmosphere allowed for learners to feel comfortable with making mistakes and learning music where they did not have to perform and have knowledge on what to do. I know this because people were honest and open about asking for help and asking questions. I interacted with one couple who would say something along the lines of “I’m not a musician. I don’t know anything about music.” However, they were open to learning chords and by the end of the time they were jamming and had a good grasp on ukulele basics. Another woman had such a great time at the last JMUke event she attended that she joined in again on this one. She told us that even though it was past her bedtime, she wanted to participate in such a fun experience again. As a leader, designing and facilitating this experience taught me the importance of scaffolding in facilitating an experience. I knew beforehand that there was a lot of scaffolding involved with teaching music, but I made assumptions about the background knowledge and skills of those in MUED 273 and did not set them up as well for success in their products as I could have. I learned the importance of setting clear guidelines and expectations in what the final product should be, meeting in person, and explicitly stating and then leading by example of how to create a positive environment in this participatory community music making event. I also understood more about how to address an issue by bringing it to their attention, rather than calling them out. For example, some of the initial slides from the MUED 273 students were not very accessible in their color choices – so I had to explain to them the importance of fonts and colors (modality). As a musician, I more fully understood the importance of song choice selection. When we reached the event, I was satisfied that we had chosen a variety of songs from different genres that were appropriate for our audience members. However, I failed to remember that tempo of songs when placing them in a set list is also just as important as genre. We would sing a couple of songs in the same tempo and I could see the audience members start to get tired and bored because it was at a more relaxed tempo. As a scholar, I got to see project-based learning in action and apply what we had learned in class to this event. I saw the some of the elements of project-based learning (real world connection, core to learning, structured collaboration, student driven) in this experience. My biggest takeaway from this experience was learning how to facilitate a project-based learning activity. Prior to this, I had an understanding of project based learning, but did not fully grasp that guiding others through this process would take a lot more work on my end than if I had just done the event myself. In order to help students grow and push them towards success, I had to be willing to do the hard preparation work beforehand. I made a lot of assumptions about who I would be working with and instead of just starting them from scratch and assessing where they were initially, I jumped to conclusions and that led to more stress for me. For my MUED 371 Engagement/Field Experience Project, I decided to learn the banjo through the informal learning process described by Lucy Greene in her book, Music, Informal Learning, and the School. My desire is to become a well-rounded music teacher for my future students, and for me this means experiencing as many different musical activities as possible so I can better understand their musical backgrounds. I was already obtaining public school experience through my Honors Capstone Project at Keister ES with Maggie Hagy, so I decided on a musical experience out of my comfort zone. I also had never learned an instrument informally, so I thought it would be a good experience trying it out and seeing its affordances and constraints. I obtained a banjo from my housemate and found bluegrass jam sessions that I could attend. I went to jams at the Elkton Community Center and the Plains District Museum Bluegrass Circle Jam. The people who attended were a mixed bunch from the community, along with some JMU professors who lived in the area; I also went with my fellow MUED peer, Sophie Harrison, so that I had a buddy with me.
In Greene’s book, Music, Informal Learning, and the School, she discusses the importance of informal learning and students experimenting with learning on their own, with the teacher present but only helping if the student is struggling a lot or asks for a little bit of guidance. To apply this content, I tried learning the banjo on my own, watching some Youtube videos and then asking for help at the jams that I attended if I really needed it. I had to apply the skill of winding it back for myself in this field experience. My aural skills are not that good, so when I went to the jams I felt really incompetent. After attending my first jam session, I learned that I had to do a lot more listening to their “unspoken list” of standard songs that they would play. Then I had to finger out a simple strum I wanted to use and at first the most I could do was find tonic and finger the chord and strum whenever tonic came. Eventually, I got to the point where I could strum along to the whole song, but it took me a bit of time. As a teacher, I learned the difficulty and beauty in informal learning. I had a harder time than if someone had taught me and given me notated music, but I feel as if I learned more from my experience and improved my aural skills because I was challenged to do it without notation. I was also shocked by cultural differences within Virginia – I can honestly say I experienced culture shock. I came back after one jam with a lot of questions about my perception of myself and others perceptions of me and it made me realize that being different can be hard. Even though people at the jams were super nice, I felt like an outcast because I was a younger aged person, as well as racially different, from the rest of the people in the jams. This experience made me more aware of myself, in addition to what my future students may feel being in a new culture. My final Engagement Portfolio Project was to create a poster about my practicum experience in the community this semester demonstrating what I had learned about a) the practical responsibilities of being a music educator; b) the tools, skills, and knowledges I need to engage with, and c) how to document music learning. This will help me show future employers my growth and skills as a pre-service music teacher. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching at the Creative Kids Co-op this semester. I loved getting to collaborate with my fellow sophomore Music Education Majors at JMU on developing experience designs and appreciated that Jesse, our professor, gave us full responsibility of the practicum placement. It was nice to get a glimpse of what student teaching would be like in a way that was slightly uncomfortable, but not too hard because I had my peers helping me out too.
As a leader, I had to help coordinate weekly group meetings to outline our lesson, and had to be responsible in contacting the main teacher, Maria, at the Creative Kids Co-op. Being JMU students made it even more important to create a "college-positive" experience for the middle school students so that they would see JMU students being a part of the Harrisonburg community and giving back to it, rather than simply invading. As a scholar, I had to delve deeper into the Virginia Standards of Learning and understanding what it means to create "I can" statements, goals that are "SMART" (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely), and how to demonstrate evidence of learning. As a musician, I learned how to play a variety of songs such as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "Pass the Shoe". I learned how to figure out the chords aurally to "Pass the Shoe" because there are no tabs for it online. I also learned my C pentatonic scale and how to teach it, as well as how teach beginning students how to songwrite. Lastly, I loved engaging with the community and getting outside of the "JMU Bubble". It reminds me that Harrisonburg is full of different and exciting people who I can learn a lot from; I just need to be willing to get out of my comfort zone to meet them. On January 26, 2018, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the Illinois Music Educator’s Conference to attend different music education workshops, as well as present a session entitled “Tinkering with Music through Technology” with four other sophomore music education majors (Cassie Coss, Sarah Dodge, Julia Picchiottino, and Erica Unroe) and our professor, Jesse Rathgeber. This was our second run of the presentation (the first being at VMEA), so I was less nervous about presenting. After receiving feedback from our presentation at VMEA, we tweaked it a little bit to include a time of reflection and question asking at the end. The room we presented in was much bigger, so there was more room to design projects. My favorite part was working with a teacher at the end and seeing his excitement to learn how to use Makey-Makey and Scratch. Initially, I was trying to tell him how to use it the way I would have, but then I was struck by the realization that we were tinkering! He was fully capable of engaging with the technologies himself and I could just provide support when he asked for help.
It was eye opening to attend a music education conference in a different state because different topics were highlighted. I also appreciated the fact that there were more presenters of different ethnic backgrounds; as an Asian-American, I truly appreciate seeing people like me who are thriving in the music world and using their backgrounds to shape their teaching philosophies. The workshops I attended were related to teaching music in urban settings, music and social justice issues, and even using yoga in the music classroom! I have been so thankful for these experiences to present at these many different conferences. I am also so blessed by my growing friendships with the other music education students in my class; they have many great ideas and passions and I absolutely love gaining more insight from them! This semester, I did practicum observations at the following schools:
Something new that struck me was the importance of the classroom atmosphere. Creating a welcoming space is important and a lot of that is done through how the classroom is decorated and organized. Mr. May’s piano lab was sad and drab; it did not seem like an exciting place of learning, even though it may have been. However, Mrs. Carpenter and Mr. Todd’s classrooms were bursting with colors and it made the whole room feel happier and more welcoming. Even though as music education majors, the classroom décor may not seem as important, it still really makes an impact and highlights what your goals are. For example, what if instead of displaying trophies in the classroom (emphasis on placement), it was filled with pictures of students learning and laughing (emphasis on relationships built through music)? I also saw new innovative ideas being used in music, whether or not that included technology. There were elements that I appreciated, such as allowing students to take charge of their own learning and be independent, but there were also elements that I could respect but did not want in my future classroom, like Mr. May’s lack of face-to-face, personable interactions with the students. The students were also doing multiple activities that kept their minds engaged and allowed them to understand the concepts in different styles. Having these options of learning styles and ways of assessment helped students feel comfortable in the setting and allowed their personality and creativity to blossom. Even though I’ve only been out of public school for a little over a year, there are so many new things occurring. I’ve found that music is much more than band, orchestra, and choir, and there are different ways to incorporate all the different subjects into your classroom so that students can relate what is being taught to their personal interests. They have even used tools that I would only think to put in a core subject class, like Kahoot and Quizlet, into the music classroom. Growing up in Fairfax County where everything is based on assessment and standards, it was nice observing schools where standards were there and needed to be accomplished, but they are not the main driving purpose behind learning. The objectives were incorporated, as well as the ability to write well and critically think, like in Mr. Todd’s classroom, and music was another connector to help foster learning in a way that is more interesting than sitting in a lecture. I’m very grateful and impressed by what the teachers in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County are doing and I cannot wait to keep observing and interacting with them. On November 17, 2017, I attended the Virginia Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference. I got listen to different sessions about areas of music education that we do not always have the time to cover in classes at JMU. Some of the onnes I went to were: “Creating Lifelong Patrons of the Arts In Our Classrooms” with Jeff Lehman, “I’m Sorry I Thought You Were a Student” with John Rine Zanabal”, and “Classroom Instruction to Improve the Lives and Education Of Our Students” with Sandy Goldie. My favorite session that I attended was “Instrumentos Arriba! Engaging English Language Learners” with Angela Ammerman. Angela teaches orchestra at Annandale High School and has found a way to include English Language Learners in her classroom. She does this by using hand motions in conjunction with simple one or two word directions so that it is easier to understand what she is asking. She even arranged simpler parts of her pieces so that these students could perform at assessments and be proud of the work they have accomplished.
I also got to present “Tinkering with Music through Technology” with Cassie Coss, Sarah Dodge, Julia Picchiottino, Erica Unroe, and our professor, Jesse Rathgeber. We began by allowing the audience to tinker with the different Makey-Makey projects we had developed last year in our MUS 150 class. Then we discussed the different pedagogical concepts behind our tinkering with technology such as project based learning and constructivism. At the end, we invited everyone to come tinker and design their own musical projects. Attending and presenting at the VMEA Conference was an amazing experience for me. To be honest, I was extremely overwhelmed at first; being surrounded by so many knowledgeable, capable music educators was nerve-wracking. There were a lot of personal identity questions like, “How on earth am I supposed to become a great teacher like all these people?” and “Am I really supposed to be here and doing this?”. Thankfully, I was surrounded by several JMU NAFMEc members and one of my best friends, Erica Unroe, who gave me support and friendship along the way. Here’s a link to our website and presentation, as well as a picture of us there!
Our experience will be for Kindergartners and we hope to help them understand what emotions they feel when they see different images and hear different sounds. We have five pictures, each having three buttons that contain a different sound clip. The kids will look at the picture and be prompted to say what they feel when they see the picture. Then they will click whatever button they want and say if the music fits the emotion they described and why they think it fits. There is a handout and video below that explain and demonstrate the experience in further detail!
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Davina MiawHere I will share experiences of my engagement in community. Archives
December 2019
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