PRE-MIDTERM- Teaching "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
In watching my recording of teaching 6th grade clarinets, I noticed a few things.  
Pacing- I believe my scaffolding approach was very consistent and well planned. I was very thorough in my instructions verbally and visually on the slides. I was able to revisit areas that students struggled with to clarify rhythms and pitches. Students were more confident at the end of class than the beginning. 

Procedure- My procedure consisted of modeling the full piece, singing small sections, modeling small sections, put everything together. This allowed for students to slowly and thoroughly comprehend and practice the notes and rhythms of the piece. As we pieced together the small sections, I was able to back track and review sections that students struggled with.  

Adaptation- Some students were not thriving in the "by rote" environment and really needed the notes spelled out and fingerings shown blatantly on the screen. I was able to model the fingerings on camera while other students sent the note names in the chat. This allowed for a more student centered classroom and helped other students gain confidence in their own practice. 

Modeling/Content Knowledge- This was the biggest area for growth. We teach students to have their embouchure set before they breathe and play. Every time I counted off, I was not preparing my own embouchure.  I also noticed the angle I held by clarinet was too steep and I needed to hold the clarinet farther away from my body. Lastly I noticed I was squeaking on some of the higher notes, I later attributed that to using hot air instead of cold air.  My knowledge of fingerings was well executed and prepared. 


PRE-FINAL Teaching "Seven Nation Army"
In watching my recording of teaching 6th grade saxophones I observed a few things. 
Pacing- My pacing again was very consistent and well planned for. I felt and looked confident in my teaching. My pacing was a bit optimistic but I still reached my goal by the end of class. Students had issues when trying to remember the order of the notes. 

Procedure- My procedure consisted of modeling the full piece, singing small sections, modeling small sections, put everything together. This allowed for students to slowly and thoroughly comprehend and practice the notes and rhythms of the piece. As we pieced together the small sections, I was able to back track and review sections that students struggled with.  

Adaptation- There was a LOT of adapting in this class.  Seven nation army includes triplet rhythms which were not covered in rhythm practice yet.  Students modified the rhythms to be more duple as dotted eighth notes. We also had to modify the piece to be the same line twice rather than learning the second line.  instead of "la la do la sol fa mi, la la do la sol fa sol fa mi" we just repeated "la la do la so fa mi".  Students also struggled with the lower octave.  I modified the piece to start in the top octave and towards the middle-end of class shifted things back down to the bottom octave. This allowed for them to hear the correct notes and get the fingerings correct so that they could focus on the lower octave.  Luckily on saxophone you just have to press/release the octave key. Another adaptation students required was written down pitches.  Instead of the solfege "la la do la so fa mi", I adapted to note names. 

Modeling/Content Knowledge- I was confident in my solfege, note names, fingerings, and playing.  I was able to consistently produce and good sound on the saxophone in both octaves. I had been practicing saxophone quite a lot so was very proud of myself. 

MU:Cr.1.E.Ia.; Compost and improvise ideas for melodies, rhtyhmic passages, and arrangements for specific purposes that reflect characteristic(s) of music from a variety of historical periods studied in rehearsal. 

SMART Goal: In 3 class periods, students will develop an 8 bar melody in 4/4 time signature with a tempo of 70-140bpm. Students will then play each others melodies and work on historically accurate ornamentations. 

 Wind backward: Students will add dynamic contrast while ornamenting the melodies written by their peers. 
Wind forward. Students will ornament their own compositions and write out the ornamentations for others to follow and analyze. 

This post is here to provide some reflection and summary of Dr. Hammel's Winding it back ideas.

Hammel, A. M., Hickox, R. A., & Hourigan, R. A. (2016). Winding it back: A framework for inclusive music education. In A. M. Hammel, R. A. Hickox, & R. M. Hourigan (Eds.), Winding It back: Teaching to individual differences in music classroom and ensemble settings. New York: Oxford University.

Winding it back- is to "adjust the expectations and skill level requirements to an earlier observable competency in a learning sequence."  This means in terms of scaffolding a lesson plan, to take it back a step to where the students understand or are comfortable with a skill level.  It might mean when teaching a major scale, if 6 notes is too much, to wind it back to5 or 4 notes. How can winding it back be used in musical elements such as phrasing or shape?

Harvey, S. A., & Stringham, D. A. (2016). Moving, chanting, and singing for all students. In A. M. Hammel, R. Y. Hickox, & R. M. Hourigan (Eds.), Winding it back: Teaching to individual differences in music classroom & ensemble settings (pp.269-307). New York: Oxford University Press. 

Winding it forward is a=t basic principle of progression with scaffolding. Instead of just playing 4 or 5 notes of a major scale, adding 6 or 7 total to challenge the student and allow them to grow.  Something that is important to note about winding it forward is to allow students to wrestle at first instead of immediately winding it back. When allowing students to work towards a goal, where do you draw the line with allowing them to struggle? 

There are three types of questions teachers can ask students, open, guided, and closed questions.  Open ended questions are ways the teacher may look to discover what the student knows.  There are no wrong answers in open ended questions. (ex. How did the piece make you feel? What did you imagine visually while listening to the piece?) A guided question is used be teachers to help students listen for something that is important that may have been missed in the initial listening.  (ex. Where did the dynamics go immediately soft? When did the type of sound drastically change?) A closed question is used by the teacher for the student to evaluate if the students understand the concept.  A closed question does have a right answer.  (ex. what key signature is the piece in? How do we subdivide in the time signature 6/8?) 

The three different question frameworks for music according to this article are analytical, judicial, and creative.  Analytical framework is asking questions that directly relate to the musical aspects of the piece. (ex. What is unique about the time signature of this piece?) Judicial framework is a way to ask students about their feelings towards the piece. (ex. What did you like about the piece?) Creative framework is reliant on what students would do differently or think of.  This framework is very challenging in that you have to scaffold questions starting with analytical through judicial to finally creative to fully grasp creative.  (ex. What would you do differently with the percussion parts in the ballad section?)

Questioning allows for students to be the ones responsible for their own growth and holds teachers more accountable.  If you are a teacher and you teach by lecture, if you don't have opportunities for questions throughout the lecture there is no way for you to know what the students retain or not.  I think it is important to use the socratic method of teaching because it allows students to broaden their understandings through more personal examples through questioning.  The socratic method can run into issues if students don't buy into the idea and are very introverted.  It also runs into issues if students are very enthusiastic and it hinders your ability to get through all of the material. 

FOR CREDIT: Make a new Scholarship blog post under the category MUED 371. Begin the post with the APA End Reference citation (copied from above) and then a line break. Then, paste your proofread response.

This reflection of informal learning and integration of popular music in public schools is based off of the studies of Lucy Green and Jesse Rathgeber.  The pedagogical applications of these ideas of informal learning will be discussed in the reflection below. 

Rathgeber, J. (2017). A place in the band: Negotiating barriers to inclusion in a rock band setting. In G. D. Smith, M. Brennan, P. Kirkman, Z. Moir, & S. Sambarran (Eds.), Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music Education (pp. 369-381). London, UK: Routledge.

UCL Institute of Education (IOE) (2011, November 11). What can teachers learn from popular musicians? | UCL Institute of Education. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r8zoHT4ExY  

Lucy Green's principles of informal learning are explicitly student centered.  This is shown through Dr. Green's pedagogical approach which she lists in 5 areas.  1: Students learn by choosing their own music (music they enjoy and identify with), 2: Learn by playing by ear, 3: Students work by themselves and with friends, 4: Student learning is idiosyncratic, individual, and haphazard (no specific chronological steps, no help from teachers or professionals), 5. All processes of learning by ear, composing, performing, and improvising happen throughout the process of creating music.  It is important in the beginning to allow students to explore on their own while teachers step back.  Some of the pedagogical applications in high school band could include, one of the techniques carried out by the Eastman Wind Ensemble.  One of the workshops carried out was to perform a piece without any formal director or conductor.  Players in the ensemble have to work together to work out cues, dynamics, shaping, and phrasing, all without anyone becoming the center focal point.  Another application of this specific popular music idea is to allow students to create small ensembles in the beginning or end of the year (not near assessment season) and allow them to create their own arrangements while providing them with the 5 key concept areas Green presents.  I'm interested to know of ways to help recenter a classroom that may turn chaotic with many groups rehearsing, and how to deal with that.  I also would like to know how to incorporate popular music in ways other than just large ensemble projects or group activities. 

Edutopia (2017, April 6). Thinking studio: Supporting self-directed learning [video post].
-Thinkering Studio- The Thinkering Studio is an elective class that students can apply to take as part of their curriculum.  This class allows students to study and complete projects on anything they are interested in.  The mission of the Thinkering Studio is to prepare the kids to be lifelong learners.  When they come up with a project they have to submit the stats.  
Challenge- what is the overall challenge
Learning Goal- what do you expect to learn  
Evaluation- how to evaluate the success of the project,
Resources- who/where to go to for help 

Teachers help facilitate problem solving skills rather than just giving the answer. 
After completing their individual projects they complete a reflection which is about what didn't go well in the project and how they could fix it.  
One of the problem solving skills that the students indirectly are learning are to reach out to other peers for help.  They help record each other, help guide people through unfamiliar technology, and many other ways. Students are SELF DIRECTED LEARNERS.  This type of learning is close to the middle but leaning more towards the informal side of learning.  I believe this because while students have complete opportunity to pick their own topics and projects, they still have to fill out formal reflections and templates set by the teacher.  
Little Kids Rock. (2017, Feb 2). What is “Modern Band” 2016 [video post].
This video explores what we consider to be a modern band and what place the modern band has in our educational system.  While people may argue that the modern band has such a wide variety of genres, this video points out that genres are usually based off of instrumentation.  For example, Beethoven is very very different from Chopin but they are both considered classical in terms of genres.  The same goes for the modern band.  You may have rock, hip hop, pop, and rap, but the instrumentation is pretty consistent; guitar, drums, keyboard, vocals, and computer.  Little Kids Rock is pushing to include modern band classes in addition to the classical wind band classes in public schools.  I believe this learning is more formal than informal.  This is because while students are able to access more common instruments that they might hear in popular music, the way of teaching is still very formal, learn this note, then the next, so on and so forth.  

wwozneworleans. (2016, June 23). Congo square drum circle [video post].
In this video, many people have come together on sacred grounds to dance, celebrate, and make music.  One of the most amazing things to me was watching people from different cultural and geographical backgrounds come together and make music.  People jump in and out saying lyrics, playing drums, and dancing all in celebration. I believe this music making is completely informal.  While some drum patterns may have been taught in the past, they are being passed around audible and visually as opposed to one on one.  Also there are no limits for joining and no formal instructor/director.  

This project focuses on the ways we as educators can combat cultural appropriation, especially in "World Drumming".  I researched and found that appropriation is constant and happens everywhere.  The difference between appropriation and arrangement or borrowing is based off your ethical values, perception, and meaning behind all of your methodology.  If you have ill intent and don't give credit to a different cultures music, it is clearly appropriation, when you give credit where it is due and obtain materials will consent from those cultures it can be labeled as borrowing or arrangement.  

An analyzation of the 3 articles I've read, and their major overarching themes.

In Bauer's Music Learning Today, Project-Based Learning is "...an approach to instructional design that operationalizes contemporary learning theories...".  He further explains this through 8 elements.
1) focus on significant content that is derived from the standards and other concepts that are central to a discipline
2) develop 21st century skills such as creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration
3) engage students in in-depth learning where they ask questions, utilize pertinent resources, and ultimately come to conclusions 
4) are organized around an essential question, which is often ill-structured and open-ended
5) motivate by helping students understand their need to have the knowledge, concepts, and skills that will be necessary to complete the project
6) allow students freedom to make choices in how they approach the project, an element that will vary according to the developmental level of the students and their previous experience with PBL
7) include opportunities for students to receive feedback in order to revise and reflect on what is being learned
8) present students to an audience beyond classmates and the teacher
These 8 points are very important because as a teacher you always want your students to stay engaged and excited in and outside of the classroom.

Backward Design is a teaching tactic that when you start a concept you have the end in mind.  Bauer mentions the three stages of backward design. 
1) learning outcomes
2) means of assessment
3) activities and structural procedures
I find this useful as an educator because it is important that I view my students as individuals rather than a group.  Each student will have individual needs and if you plan ahead then you should be more efficient.  
Technology differentiates students paths to success.  Differentiation helps students have a more individualized and personalized path.  In a performance ensemble differentiation can help bring different expressive elements to the creative process when figuring out the emotion of a piece. In an innovative music learning setting differentiation can help students and teachers learn from each other from different viewpoints and possibly different ways of looking at things.  

Learning is defined by Bauer to be contextual, active, social, and reflective. Learning is contextual  as stated by Bauer: "Students make sense of new material in terms of the context within which it is presented, which is informed by their prior knowledge of the topic." (147) The most important part is that they have prior knowledge. Learning is active because people learn by creating and making their own ideas..  Learning is social because you can talk to your professor or colleagues. Learning is most effective in the transactional rather than linear model; instead of being lectured at, having a conversation about the topic. Learning is reflective because once you reflect on a topic you can begin to apply it. ​