Reflections of My Experiences with Online Music Education Design and Administration

Online music education.

When one ponders the notion of this concept, online music education, they probably think, “How can you teach music online?”  This question is usually the result of a bit of a limited view of what music education actually is and can be.  For instance, many people consider music education merely students learning how to play and sing songs.  On the contrary, while performance is an element, being a musician involves the ability to read music (literacy), developing critical listening skills, studying music’s impact and influence on culture, interpretation, composing, and much more, all of which can be addressed in a vibrant online learning environment.

I have been engaged in the development of online music learning environments for the last five years. It has been no easy task.  However, I must say the challenge has been invigorating and motivating and has quite honestly made me a more confident, capable, and complete educator. In reflecting upon my experiences thus far and considering where I hope to continue to grow in developing and administering online music learning experiences, there are several challenges and observations I have encountered which in turn have evolved into current and future goals for my online instructional and learning designs.  Two particular areas have been on my mind of late:

Connection to Previous Knowledge and Experience

When I initially started brainstorming how music concepts could be taught online I was quite overwhelmed and had difficulty conceptualizing how I could lead students through the abstract and often personal interpretation of musical elements.  It could be quite easy for students to fall through the cracks when I steer down a path as to the lens through which I look at a musical concept, when they may approach by an equally correct yet quite different means.  However, I have been reminded that students’ motivation and connection to learning can be augmented if and when new learning is linked with their prior knowledge and experiences.  Therefore, through discussion forums and strategically worded questions on assignments, I have found that leading students to first bring to the surface previous experiences or encounters with similar topics then makes the new learning more relevant. I look forward to experimenting with this as I continue to refine my course designs.

Welcoming Environment for Communication of Challenges

One of the struggles I have found of online learning is simply the perceived “distance”. In a face-to-face class, while students often seem to desire independence, they sometimes falter in the what may seems like too much freedom in an online environment. Similarly, educators are often able to sense and judge when a student is struggling in a face-to-face class by their nonverbal disposition and cues as opposed to relying upon students taking initiative to communicate difficulties. However, when this regular physical presence is removed in an online environment, the educator has the responsibility for creating a welcoming environment of trust where students can feel free to reach out and communicate when they are having difficulties. I have become much more aware and sensitive to this challenge innate to online environments as of late, and have the goal of experimenting and finding ways to combat this difficult nature in my online learning designs and administration.  One approach I plan to incorporate is creating a twitter or blog environment that is much more casual where students may feel led and comfortable to simply enter and interact with each other and in that, expressions of course difficulties or frustrations may come to the surface.

Online learning environments undoubtedly have their own set of challenges. However, in same way that educators face and creatively strategize as how to approach the diversity of challenges in face-to-face classes, we are quite capable of brainstorming, experimenting, and refining approaches to make online learning environments engaging, motivating, and remarkably effective environments in which students can learn!

AP Music Theory Reflection

Here’s an overall reflection of the lesson and analysis revealed in my previous two posts with my Advanced Placement Music Theory courses:

As previously mentioned, AP Music Theory students have a tendency to be so motivated to gather and learn new information, that they approach lessons such as this one with a great deal of seriousness.  As a result, in looking back, there was not as much self-initiated comments and questions as I desire.  However, I am confident that the students learned the material, and during the application portion of this unit I adapted and constructed cooperative opportunities inspiring greater student interaction.  Furthermore, in an effort to provide the volume of content that I did in the 47 minute lesson, there was little room for the intensity of the class to settle.  While I am certain greater interaction could have been fostered through a variety of strategies such as sharing computers, a fill-in-the-blank note guide to be cooperatively completed, or allow them to work through the presentation in small groups, I am content with the productivity of this lesson.

The AP Music Theory classroom is a reservoir of assessment, and in reflecting upon this lesson modes of assessment were integrated that I would not alter if I would teach the lesson again.  I purposefully implement a curriculum that establishes clear expectations for student learning based on what the students need to know and be able to do.  Each lesson provides opportunities for assessment and this environment inevitably enables me to reflect how successful I am in helping students to learn, and thereby improve the ways I teach.  I use assessment to set instructional and learning standards; motivate individual performance, evaluate and assess individual, class, and program progress; provide diagnostic feedback; and communicate progress to individual students, parents, administrators, and the community.  Logically, not every lesson can accomplish each of these goals, but the strategies and methods of assessment in each lesson provides a piece of the entire puzzle inevitably revealing growth in student musicianship and understanding.

In reflecting upon this particular lesson, embedded is an expectation that the newly learned concepts will be eligible material on future “Celebrations of Knowledge.”  Additionally, students are aware that the information presented will be applied in a variety of composition and analytical music activities.  Whether it be through the classroom assessment routines established and maintained throughout the course or the website which allows students to peruse the upcoming assessment activities, students are consistently aware about what they will be doing and ways in which they will be expected to do it.  Each lesson clarifies the curriculum objectives, and the instruction is designed to provide opportunities to gather information about what and how well the students have learned.  The ways in which students’ knowledge and understanding of melodic principles will be applied are through activities that are used to assess.

As this lesson reveals, I believe AP Music Theory students are aware of the qualities that define success and understanding.  The students are presented musical materials that provide multiple ways for them to succeed and accommodate many intelligences and learning styles.  Furthermore, the web-based portfolio in which students work cultivates the students’ ability to self-assess and self-improve, inevitably fostering a motivating independence and metacognition so important to being a successful musician.

As students entered the room the next day, a music recording of Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe (Op. 48) was playing.  Students were asked to pick up a “Melodic Principles Listening Checklist” and begin completing it.  This document guided the students to identify the five characteristics of melodies from the presentation the day before, and make written comments regarding their use.  This eight minute activity was repeated at the beginning of each class for the remainder of the unit pertaining to music of a variety of styles, genres, and cultures.

In addition to the “Celebrations of Knowledge” and “Melodic Principles Listening Checklist,” the students are eventually led through a variety of creative experiences where they are expected to apply their knowledge of melodic principles.  For instance, the students are asked to write melodies in a specific style: conjunct and disjunct structure; repetitive rhythmic motives; balanced phrases with similar and contrasting rhythms; ascending, descending, arch, inverted arch, and stationary contour; compact and/or wide range; phrases that clearly create tension and repose; and tonal and atonal tonality.  The students submit these melodies onto the course website in the discussion board area where every student can listen to and give feedback for each other’s melodies.

Eventually, students are asked to compose and record a one and a half minute piece of music with at least four instruments.  It can be in any style but must employ a variety of melodic principles that gives the piece unity and purpose.  These compositions are created on the software title Cakewalk Home Studio.  They are eventually submitted onto both the website for portfolio submission and peer review, but also onto a mentoring website I have developed in collaboration with two state university music education programs where music education students provide comments and suggestions to my students’ work.  The university students are encouraged to download the students’ work, make compositional additions and changes, and submit the new edition back to the Music Theory students to review and perhaps gain inspiration.  Intrigued by this interaction, my students who plan to study music in college particularly take advantage of this forum to ask questions regarding being a music major.  In fact, Evin, a student in the class featured in this entry, has been particularly inspired to study Music Technology in college based upon the influence of his online collegiate mentor.  In the end, this collaborative website provides another listening audience for the students’ compositions, and teaching opportunities for future music educators.  Inevitably, the final draft of their composition is burned onto a CD for students to share with family and friends.

AP Music Theory Analysis

Here’s a detailed analysis of the lesson described in my previous post for my Advanced Placement Music Theory course:

Students are responsible if the classroom environment supports procedures and routines to which the students can be responsible.  In this lesson, students entered the classroom immediately cognizant of the music playing and followed their routine of logging onto the computers.  As the lesson progressed, the sequential nature of the computer-based presentation allowed the class to progress smoothly and, besides the momentary interruption of a Dean’s Assistant delivering a classroom pass, gave no opportunity for the student focus to go astray.

The sequence of activities was information distribution rather than student performance.  Students were never in position to succeed or not succeed in an activity.  Therefore, besides occasionally guiding students to the appropriate presentation slide, no student errors were detected.  Additionally, as evident throughout the videotaped excerpt, I consistently posed questions, supported answers, nonverbally observed note taking, reinforced student listening and performing, all of which encouraged student attainment and understanding of concepts.

Every Friday, throughout the year, the students in AP Music Theory encounter a “Celebration of Knowledge.”  That is, a cumulative assessment that tests their knowledge and application of concepts.  Furthermore, when students logon to the course website, they know they are entering the course’s main mode for disseminating and assessing music knowledge.  Every concept is present on the website either in the form of a presentation used in class, notated musical examples, listening excerpts, or simply a link to download definitions and class notes.  The website is the primary source of activity and project guidelines and the arena in which students turn in completed work.  In this lesson, students were aware that contents of the melodic principles presentation was fair game for the week’s “Celebration of Knowledge,” and some had already explored the composition activities that will be required of them to demonstrate knowledge of melodic principles.

One of the most intriguing and engaging aspects of the web-based music environment created for this course is the opportunity for portfolio assessment.  In short, the data collection software and server space delineated for each registered student automatically creates an organized collection of evidence used by the instructor and student to monitor growth of musical knowledge, skills, and attitudes.  The web-based portfolio culture inevitably supports an interactive community of learners who take responsibility for demonstrating what they know and can do.  In this environment, students consistently revisit and revise their work, reflect on the work of individuals and the class as a whole, understand and use explicit standards for judging the quality of their own and others’ work, and inevitably take pride in their work, polishing it for performance and exhibition.  The web-based portfolio culture shifts emphasis from the standard assessment of outcomes through comparative rankings of achievement (grades, percentile rankings, test scores) toward the enhancement of student performance through evaluative feedback and reflection.

To monitor growth in literacy in the music classroom, I consistently use anecdotal notes as a mode of informal assessment.  While not evident in the midst of the videotaped excerpt, after the class departed, I made notes regarding students who demonstrated mature perspectives, the efforts of the three students who performed, and students who remained focused and took excellent notes.  I use anecdotal notes throughout the year during small group instruction, large group discussions, student and parent conferences, and independent work.  Mere testing does not always compliment or encourage music analysis and maturing musical perspectives.  Through this assessment mode, I am able to provide documented proof of student progress in indistinct areas of musicianship and am more equipped to identify struggling students.

The students of AP Music Theory are intrinsically motivated.  They strive for quick understanding of new concepts.  They are willing to study and memorize basic concepts outside of class and use class time to apply, listen, compose, and improvise with their peers.  In the end, these students view ambiguity as unproductive.  While the concepts of melodic principles could have been expanded to a multi-day unit, as shown throughout the video, I purposefully presented the material in a concise presentation with accurate notated and memorable aural musical examples.

Evidenced in the videotaped excerpt, as demonstrated by the eclectic musical selections, the precision of a presentation complete with notation graphics and listening excerpts, and an active web-based learning environment, students perceive that I am enthusiastic about teaching music.  On a daily basis, I not only share my skills, knowledge, and passion, but also the ways in which I am still a growing musician.  At times, instead of a recording playing as students walk into class, I often sit at the piano and share a piece of music I am working on to hone my piano performance, accompanying, composition, or improvisation skills.  I consistently model intellectual curiosity and persistence for the students.  The music technology lab I support and manage is a forum for musical exploration, inquiry, and creative development of musicianship.  Students approach this environment as a place where individuals enter the classroom and feel a part of a team with the goal of being an improved musician when they walk out of the room.  While at times, like this lesson, I serve as the distributor of music knowledge and instruction, I do not avoid lessons in which I am merely a facilitator or organizer who is also learning with the students.

This lesson introduces students to the melodic terms, concepts, and characteristics that inspire creative music thinking, analysis, and composition.  In the subsequent lessons and activities, students are encouraged to sort their reactions and observations and articulate them with the terminology presented in this lesson.  They are now able to become more absorbed in the ways in which melodic characteristics work to create a piece of music, and they begin to learn from the inside out rather than from the outside in.  They are eventually led to explore the melodic principles presented in this lesson in composition and improvisation experiments.  Such application requires critical thinking, analysis, and judgment.  Being able to think independently is the basis of creativity.  It is also an engaging way to learn.

AP Music Theory Snapshot

I have recently been engaged in some “heavy-duty” teacher reflection.  I truly believe that effective educators are disciplined reflective practitioners.  To that end, as prompted by some work I have been doing on the district level in my teaching position, as well as my own need for regular detailed teacher reflection, I have decided to present some snapshots of my teaching on my blog.  As always, I welcome any perspectives, feedback, or questions.  In my previous three posts, I have been focused on my work within a choral music education classroom.  In the next three posts, I would like to share some glimpses of my work with the non-performing side of music education, namely, my work with Advanced Placement Music Theory courses.  Here’s the first of three posts regarding a unit for my Advanced Placement Music Theory  course:

In an Advanced Placement Music Theory course, such as that featured in this entry, students study not only the what and how of musical structure but also engage in the richer, more evocative why and what if.  Skills ranging from sight-singing and aural recognition to visual analysis and composition comprise the curriculum.  Developing the “seeing ear” and “hearing eye” empowers AP Music Theory students to become independent musicians.  The course mirrors a college music curriculum and seeks first to instill mastery of the rudiments and terminology of music.  These concepts are addressed through a wide variety of music, including that based in the European classical tonal system as well as contemporary, jazz, popular, and the music of other cultures.  Students are guided to interpret, analyze, and compose through sophisticated and creative tasks. Rewards for the successful AP student are great: gaining musical understanding and confidence; enhancing performance skills; acquiring a head start on college-level study; and satisfying a broadening musical curiosity.  Instructor rewards spring from the day-to-day teaching of a subject that has a powerful impact on the musical lives of students.

 

Many students enter AP Music Theory as skilled musicians with trained auditory senses and are active members of curricular ensembles.  Other students come with a devotion to music, a creative interest in improving their technical knowledge, but possess very little formal training.  While both groups of students are enthusiastically welcomed, those students with music literacy and basic performance skills are those who pass the placement exam required for enrollment.

The class featured in this entry is comprised of 10 students, five males and five females.  Eight of the students are seniors along with one junior and one sophomore.  One of the ten students is of Asian/Pacific Islander decent.  Nine are members of advanced auditioned choral and instrumental ensembles and are leaders in their sections, both musically and otherwise.  The remaining student is an accomplished guitarist, and is not enrolled in a curricular performing ensemble.  Four are proficient instrumentalists and the remaining six are vocal/choral musicians.  They are intrinsically dedicated to, and have a natural command in every music situation in which they perform.  Beyond their fine arts talent, these ten students are actively involved in major student organizations throughout the school.  They have a marvelous intellect, a mature sense of interaction, and a genuine care for others around them.  Through their leadership, they have a great deal to do with maintaining a positive climate within the music department.

Due to their maturity and work ethic, the AP Music Theory students are often surprisingly docile and serious.  They so strongly strive to acquire information that aids them in improving as musicians that they meticulously take notes, work from bell to bell, and complete coursework with pride and confidence.  They are not competitive but are appreciative of peer assistance.  They enjoy performing and sharing their creative work, but are also able to thrive as independent workers.  They reinforce each other’s work, provide sensible criticism, and possess a mature sense of humor.  In many ways, the students in this class do not reflect the conventional high school musician.

I challenge myself daily to administer an AP Music Theory curriculum that fosters an integrated approach to music.  While concepts may be successfully presented through isolated exercises, students desire to see the ways in which these concepts relate to the larger context of “whole music.” I challenge and promote students to be grounded in recursive learning.  That is, student comprehension of concepts become stronger as new concepts build upon those previously studied.  Various methodologies are incorporated to engage and accommodate different learning styles.  For example, students create visual models to demonstrate form, harmonic motion, or melodic contour.  Movement is encouraged for internalizing rhythm, meter, or form.  Interdisciplinary resources such as language arts, science, or social sciences are frequently used.  Students are supplied with opportunities to perform, evaluate, analyze, and revise each other’s compositions.  They develop board games or competitions to keep repetitive and memorization activities engaging.  Algorithms are used as a means of approaching dictation activites so students can efficiently “chunk” what they hear.  Numerous opportunities are provided for students to teach the class and lead discussions.

A recent lesson on Melodic Principles served as the introduction to the creative/compositional processes in the AP Music Theory curriculum.  The primary focus of this lesson was to introduce and analyze the following characteristics of melody:  (1) all melodies have structure; (2) rhythm cannot be separate from melody; (3) all melodies have contour; (4) all melodies create tension and repose – that is, musical motion; (5) all melodies have a range; and (6) all melodies can be described as tonal or atonal.  Prior to this lesson students developed fluency in basic notation, keyboard orientation, elements of rhythm, major-minor tonality, intervals, and triads.  They had experience analyzing and writing small compositions to demonstrate understanding of various concepts.  However, they looked forward to investing their knowledge in larger, more substantial composition projects that challenges them to holistically apply their previous work.

On a daily basis, as students enter the classroom (MIDI Lab) a music recording is always being played.  Students attentively listen to the song as it often directly relates to the daily lesson.  This particular lesson began with a sequence of two pieces: Attention by Congolese musician Rigo Star, and Jaojoby, a Madagascarian vocalist, performing Vamba Anao Nomoaly.  When class began, a short discussion ensued regarding the melodic similarities and differences of African popular genres as compared to that of the United States.

Upon entering the classroom, students are also in the habit of logging onto the computers in the MIDI lab and entering an AP Music Theory website.  I custom designed this web-based music environment as a series of web pages that allow students to progress through topics, assignments, and projects. Within the site, students are led to explore concepts as well as integrate with their peers.  In the end, the website promotes a student controlled learning environment, cooperative learning and review, and portfolio assessment that enables students, parents, and the instructor to guide, observe, and evaluate musical knowledge and growth. 

In this lesson, a presentation of melodic principles found on the course website guided students through the sequence of topics.  The presentation was created on Microsoft PowerPoint, converted into an Adobe Acrobat file, and uploaded onto the website enabling students to easily reference the file outside the classroom.  Prior to the class, I equipped one student station with a CD recording that contained musical excerpts demonstrating various topics.  Additionally, I asked three students to bring their instruments (alto saxophone, tuba, and trumpet) to perform musical examples.

With students facing their individual computers, equipped with materials with which to take notes, they loaded the 11-slide melodic principles presentation.  The first slide was simply a black screen which a specialized silver “melodic principles” graphic acting as the running header for the presentation.  Slide 2 provided an opening description of the three domains of music: melody, harmony, and rhythm.  The third slide influenced a class discussion regarding the definition of “melody.”  A student was asked to read and justify the definition: A coherent succession of pitches.       The fourth slide described an intriguing fact: All cultures have perceivable melodies.  The slide contained a listing of nine different countries, each with a CD icon beside the name.  The countries included: Tuva, Pakistan, Bulgaria, Ireland, Colombia, Sardinia, Tanzania, United Kingdom, and the United States.  The students were prompted to request the excerpts of several countries.

The fifth slide presented the outline for the remaining slides in the presentation by introducing six characteristics of melody.  In regards to structure, slide 6 inspired conversation about intervallic structure and conjunct/disjunct movement.  The opening violin melody from Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger served as a notated example of a conjunct melody.  A notated example of a melody by Smetana was also used on this slide.  A student played this melody on the saxophone as his peers were asked to carefully listen for its disjunct qualities.

Slide 7 addressed the relationship between a melody and its imbedded rhythms. In demonstrating the ways in which rhythmic motives can give a melody movement and motion, the second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 was played.  In order to take an already familiar melody to demonstrate a concept, Wagner’s Overture to Die Meistersinger was used to demonstrate the ways in which a balance between similar and contrasting rhythms can sometimes make a melody interesting by shaping it.

The eighth slide in the presentation gave notated and aural examples of ascending, descending, arch, inverted arch, and stationary melodic contour.  The opening melodic motive of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in F Major (KV 332) served as an example of ascending contour.  Descending contour was demonstrated by the melody from Fields of Gold by current English pop artist, Sting.  Pete Seeger’s recording of Turn, Turn, Turn served as the example of arch contour, while the aural example for inverted arch was the opening flute solo of Debussy’s Prelude A L’Apres-Midi D-un Faune.  Finally, stationary contour was demonstrated in the chorus of Africa by 1980’s hit band, Toto.

Slide 9 of the presentation led students to discuss and discover the ways in which a melody uses tension and repose.  The notated and aural example used was the English horn solo from Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, 2nd Mvt.  While listening, students were prompted to read the music and explain the ways in which Dvorak uses repetition and range to fulfill the listener’s expectations.

In the following slide, a student tuba player was asked to play a challenging excerpt by Dereau.  Students were asked to listen to the performance, view the notation, and identify the lowest and highest pitches.  A subsequent discussion followed regarding the ways in which a composer must be sensitive to the ways in which range can impact performance and perception of melody.

In the final slide, students were led to discover that a tonal melody has a modal center.  On the other hand, in an atonal melody, the pitches have no “common denominator,” and can best be described as being random.  A student trumpet player performed a short march excerpt that clearly included diatonic pitches within a tonic/dominant harmonic structure.  Another example used for tonal melody was Some Enchanted Evening from the Broadway musical “South Pacific.” To demonstrate the characteristics and qualities of an atonal melody, the students listened to and discussed Milton Babbit’s Philomel: Section I.

During the course of this lesson, an environment was established where students were able to choose what music selections they desired to hear, how fast or slow to progress through the slides by making inquiries regarding concepts, and giving opportunities for students to perform for their peers.  Students were constructively engaged in the sustained activity of reading text, interpreting notation, listening to excerpts, performing, taking notes, asking questions, and making statements of analysis.  While each student was working at individual computer stations, a collaborative atmosphere was evident as they cooperatively learned about and experienced the variety of melodic principles.  As evidenced on the videotape, throughout the class, I created a congenial and purposeful learning environment by walking around the room, calling on all the students, prompting them to listen and perform well, and encouraging note taking skills.

Upon the entering the classroom, students were aware that the concepts at hand were purposeful and important to their musical growth and progress.  In preparing the presentation, converting it to be viewed on the website, creating the excerpt recording, guiding the presentation, providing student performers with music prior to the lesson, to having the computers on, playback volume appropriately set, and chairs and stands ready for class, the environment was orderly and workable.  The routines of listening as they walk in the classroom and logging onto the computers maximized the student engagement, listening attitude, and musical performance.  These routines ensured that the students knew what was expected of them in this class, motivated their careful attention, and empowered their confidence and willingness to participate.

Concert Choir Reflection

Here’s a third and final reflection regarding the “Shto Mi E Milo” unit:

 

Inspired by research, graduate study, reading, and classroom experience, in looking back, the planning and implementation of this unit aligns to what I consider the ABCs of arts education.  That is, the unit was presented in an environment where musical study is represented as being academic, basic, and comprehensive.

Very often, the music classroom is not viewed as an intellectual endeavor, but simply hands-on performing.  In fact, members of my own school community see music education being more akin to elation rather than edification.  However, in reflecting on this unit, I made considerations of style, history, culture, theory, and criticism that reveal the intent of a work.  Students were engaged in activities that empowered authentic performance of “Shto Mi E Milo,” but at the same time, also acquired knowledge of it.  As demonstrated in class discussions and journal entries, this unit also culminated in the engagement of students’ imaginations and emotions, those elements traditionally sought in music education.  Based upon this careful balance, in my future lesson planning and approach to musical works, I will continue to not take the heart out of performing, but I will not be satisfied with just “goose bumps,” either.

In looking back on this unit, it seems that my classroom environment promoted a perspective that arts demands serious study.  Admittedly, I am sometimes in danger of overcorrecting.  That is, some activities become so “academic” that it causes musical study to lose its uniqueness over other subjects – that it is refreshingly different in the way it is taught and learned.  As a result, if I had the opportunity to teach this unit again, I would re-proportion time spent relating to the four vocalist recordings, and provide more attention rehearsing and experiencing “Shto Mi E Milo.”

Studying the arts encourages all students to cultivate and refine their sensibilities.  In looking back on the study of the four vocalists, students encountered ways in which musicians rely upon human intuition to expressively perform.  Secondly, the arts establishes a basic relationship between the individual and the cultural heritage of the human family.  Studying the Mecedonian folksong and listening to the interviews of the four vocalists seemed to inspire the students to experience the ways in which music is pervasive and persuasive in the ways in which it expresses humanness.  Finally, studying the arts furnishes students with crucial experiences of aesthetic expression and perception.  The activities of studying, listening, discussing, and performing music in this unit seemed to promote modes of thinking, observing, and reacting.

This unit reflected an environment of comprehensive music learning.  That is, students seemed to experience all aspects of music – creativity, skill, theory, history, appreciation, aesthetics, and criticism.  The unit was also comprehensive in that it incorporated community arts resources such as artist-in-residence grants and support of technology resources, and was multi-disciplinary as it incorporated information regarding literature, social science, and mathematics.  These are enhancements I will undoubtedly continue to pursue for future units.

In reflecting upon this active unit, each of the nine lessons were never one activity, but a series of short sequential lessons that called for a variety of approaches.  “Shto Mi E Milo” was selected because it offered a textbook full of learning possibilities and opened the door for assessing students in many ways.  Journaling and accompanying discussions were the most prevalent mode of assessment, and while these activities proved consistently successful, I still approached them with a bit of leeriness.  I learned that discussions must be planned carefully by writing down the questions that I feel will effectively guide the discussion, an approach I will apply within future units.  It was evident that students learn more from the questions I ask rather than the answers I give.  Well-crafted classroom questioning is definitely an art.

Finally, in planning this unit, I was overwhelmed by what seemed like too much to accomplish.  Given the students’ level of music experience and the objectives that needed to be addressed, I guided Concert Choir to perform one less piece in concert than the more advanced ensembles.  While I felt this was a disservice to the students at first, this approach inevitably provided time to enrich the rehearsal setting with activities that pushed deeper into the music we were studying.  In the end, there is no question that the time spent helping students understand the music they are singing is time well spent.  It is time that will later pay big dividends in knowledge and skills combined, and time that makes learning new music easier and certainly more enjoyable as a result of the increased level of understanding.

Compared to the traditional choral experience, I find this ABC approach sometimes an uncomfortable paradigm.  It takes more planning and reflection.  It requires new strategies and creativity.  It takes emphasis off the product (the concert) and puts it squarely on the process, which has no neat limits or clear borders.  But the rewards for students are rich ones; and therein lies the richest rewards for me, the teacher, as well.

Concert Choir Assessment

As it relates to my previous post and our current discussions about assessment in the New Learnings and New Literacies cohort, here’s some examples and reflections regarding assessment in the “Shto Mi E Milo” unit for my Concert Choir:

 

Assessment reflects progress toward acquiring skills and knowledge, and is integrated in my choral classroom to support, enhance, and reinforce learning.  Planned before rather than after a unit, assessment is an integral part of the learning process rather than an intrusion.  I approach assessment not based upon skills that are easiest to assess but upon those most important to learn.

Within the second segment described in my previous post, Concert Choir was engaged in experimentally performing “Shto Mi E Milo” in a variety of timbres.  Colored pieces of paper were presented as a visual reference and the students were asked reflect the color of the paper in their singing.  Throughout, students demonstrated greater confidence with the harmonies and asymmetrical rhythms that were problematic during the first videotape segment.  They were noticeably engaged in the different colors, and worked towards a brighter, authentic tone color.

Embedded into rehearsals is opportunity for students to use journals to document notes, definitions, reflections, self-assessment, questions, dictation exercises, and composition sketches.  At the beginning of this unit students journaled regarding: “What are your musical goals?” and “What do you feel we you need work on?”  These questions wet their palate for new activities and prompted connections to what they had already learned.  In the middle of the unit, students journaled regarding: “What is your perception of your progress so far in this unit?” “How close are you to attaining the goals stated at the beginning of this unit?”  At the conclusion of the unit, students journaled regarding: “What have you learned in this unit?”  “How do you feel about what you learned?”  Students submitted their portfolios at the end of the unit.  Within a Choral Parents’ Association newsletter, I shared students’ responses with parents and administrators.

In conjunction with journaling, I recorded rehearsals of “Shto Mi E Milo” and asked students to make assessments through a worksheet entitled “Ensemble Listening Worksheet.” This worksheet guides students’ comments regarding tone quality, rhythmic and pitch accuracy, diction, expression, and interpretation.  Additionally, in every rehearsal, a student is assigned to sit out, face the ensemble, and critique the rehearsal using the “Rehearsal Observation Form.” As the “student director,” this worksheet prompts students to dictate warm-ups and ascertain their purpose, rate the choir’s performance using a rubric, evaluate achievement of rehearsal goals, and be poised to share opinions regarding ensemble progress.  This student is in the line-of-sight in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen during the first videotaped segment.  Students were also asked to complete “Celebrations of Knowledge.”  These evaluative quizzes cover history, theory, dictation, as well as reflection inquiries regarding personal and ensemble achievement.  Students also read articles, create PowerPoint presentations, compose, and complete “Patron of the Arts” reports regarding live musical performances.

Portfolios, a purposeful collection of student work, are the primary means of collating student progress and achievement.  Portfolios include concert programs, compositions, journal entries, performance critique sheets, audiotape of individual and ensemble performances, and completed assignments.  Portfolios contain student work collected over the school year and reveal the development of production, perception, and reflection skills.  The evidence presented in the portfolios is graded and when combined with attendance and punctuality requirements for dress rehearsals and performances, accounts for their quarter and semester grades.

Through anecdotal observations and evaluation of portfolio entries, I found that the planning of this unit effectively accounted for legitimate progress in five main student behaviors: producing, conceptualizing, analyzing, evaluating, and reacting.  In the midst of every rehearsal students were engaged in creating, recreating, improvising, singing, and conducting.  In regards to conceptualizing, students identified, defined, discussed, studied, reasoned, generalized, and theorized.  Students were engaged in comparing, classifying, locating, examining, contrasting, differentiating, and grouping.  Within the realm of evaluating, students made progress in judging, assessing, appraising, estimating, justifying, and deciding.  Finally, the result of these experiences was reacting where students were feeling, responding, sensing, and empathizing.

Concert Choir Snapshot

I have recently been engaged in some “heavy-duty” teacher reflection.  I truly believe that effective educators are disciplined reflective practitioners.  To that end, as prompted by some work I have been doing on the district level in my teaching position, as well as my own need for regular detailed teacher reflection, I have decided to present some snapshots of my teaching on my blog.  As always, I welcome any perspectives, feedback, or questions.  Here’s the first of three posts regarding a unit for my Concert Choir curricular choral ensemble:

The class featured in this entry is entitled Concert Choir, a non-auditioned women’s ensemble that meets daily for 47 minutes.  In collaboration with the school guidance department, I have scheduled the choirs in such a way that students of the all-male Bass Chorus have lunch during the Concert Choir class time.  This allows these two ensembles to rehearse separately or combined on various days, promoting exposure to varied repertoire and regular interaction among students.  Totaling 51 students, Concert Choir is comprised of 25 sophomores, 18 juniors, and 8 seniors.  With the Bass Chorus, the choir totals 84 students.  Nine class periods were devoted to this unit over the course of three weeks on days without the Bass Chorus.

The students of Concert Choir have little formal musical or vocal training.  More musically adept students their age are members of advanced, auditioned ensembles.  As a result, planning for this ensemble is challenging as the students represent varied levels of experience. The most consistent challenge is literature selection, as success of the ensemble depends to a great extent on the quality and appropriateness of the music studied.  Every choral octavo is presented to Concert Choir as a textbook full of learning possibilities.  This approach makes the highest quality music essential because only music of depth, lasting value, and compositional integrity offer the possibilities of multidimensional learning.  Instead of questioning, “How can we sing this piece beautifully?” repertoire is presented by asking, “What can we learn from this piece?”

As students who genuinely come to class to improve as musicians, they can be best described as “developing risk takers.”  At the beginning of the year, students enter Concert Choir as rote learners and rely solely on musical intuition.  As the year progresses, they eventually welcome approaches that require many points of view. Students find themselves challenged to experiment with new techniques, listen and perform styles they probably would not choose themselves, and produce a healthy sound characteristic of mature voices. I empower students to problem solve; gather information for interpreting, analyzing, and critiquing music performances; and identify practical uses for their learning.  In the end, the Concert Choir classroom environment often reflects that of a general music course rather than a traditional conductor-centered rehearsal.

The repertoire serving as the focal point for this unit was a Macedonian folk song entitled “Shto Mi E Milo.”  Its selection was inspired by Kitka, a professional women’s vocal ensemble dedicated to developing new audiences for music rooted in Eastern Europe.  Based in San Francisco, I contacted the ensemble and funded their visit to our Midwestern school by acquiring an artist-in-residence grant.  They performed for the entire music department and provided clinics for the choral students.  As a result of the relationship fostered from their visit, they provided the manuscript to “Shto Mi E Milo” as well as a translation and interpretation guide.

The goals for this unit were accomplished not only through learning “Shto Mi E Milo,” but also through careful selection of listening excerpts and interviews of professional musicians.  I used computer equipment to acquire Real Audio recordings and musical scores from songs performed by Judy Collins and Metropolitan Opera baritone, Jubilant Sykes.  These state-of-the-art resources were the result of a three-month process of researching and proposing the purchase of 22 new music computer stations.  I persuasively proposed this $109,000 project to the school board that unanimously endorsed its implementation.  As evidenced numerous times throughout this lesson, the music hardware and software was thoughtfully selected and is integrated daily throughout the music department to successfully accomplish instructional objectives and goals. 

Concert Choir’s first encounter with “Shto Mi E Milo” revealed its musical challenges including homophonic three-part harmony and an irregular meter.  The students strategically approached the piece using the movable-do solfege system.  While comfortable with this sight-singing method, they were tentative due to the metric complexities.  Throughout the introduction, they remained attentive and advocated a strong work ethic. Through student questions posed at the end of the lesson regarding the music’s associated origin and traditions, it was evident that they were intrigued to study the composition further.

Inspired by this curiosity, in this unit, Concert Choir worked towards an authentic performance of “Shto Mi E Milo.”  Through listening examples and discussions, students examined vocal styles characteristic of various genres, composers, and cultures.  Dialogues focused on the use of lyrics, their relation to music, and the use of the voice to create effect.  Additionally, students investigated the influence of musical heritage and training on the performances of various genres, composers, and cultures.  Prior to this unit, through internet research projects and listening assignments, Concert Choir surveyed vocal music styles and acquired a general vocabulary regarding vocal techniques and interpretation.  They had studied a range of repertoire focusing on healthy vocal technique and music reading skills.

“Shto Mi E Milo” serves as the performance cornerstone to the unit.  Based specifically upon the needs evidenced in the first videotape, within short ten-minute rehearsals throughout the unit, students were presented with strategies designed to build fluency toward authentic performance.  First, students were guided to use solfege and handsigns to comprehend horizontal intervallic and vertical harmonic associations.  I found that students’ conceptual understanding was meaningful when their learning was a result of a discovery process rather than being sung or played the answer, an environment I continued to support throughout this unit.  Strategies aiding responsiveness to rhythm included reciting the text as a means of isolating metric patterns.  Students were also urged to clap troublesome patterns as a way of eliciting kinesthetic associations.  Within daily warm-ups, students were encouraged to sing a variety of intervals without the aid of the piano.  Connections were established between this aural experience and the students’ visual recognition of the intervals.  Furthermore, to develop tonal awareness, when stopped for corrections and suggestions, students were not always presented the pitches on the piano, but were asked to simply sing upon direction.  While floundering in a variety of keys at first, they eventually retained a general alertness to the tonal center.

In addition to objectives discussed above, this unit was dedicated to investigating the ways styles, lyrics, backgrounds, and training are characteristics of various genres, composers, and cultures.  On the second day of this unit, students listened to four vocal recordings: Jubilant Sykes, Judy Collins, a 16-year-old soprano, and a 17-year-old baritone performing “City Called Heaven,” “My Father,” “Art is Calling for Me,” and “Zueingnung,” respectively.  During this listening activity, students were asked to journal regarding the following prompts: What was the genre of each selection?  When might the pieces have been written?  How old is each performer?

On the third day, Concert Choir met in the MIDI computer lab where they listened to excerpts presented in the previous class using Real Audio links embedded on the music department’s webpage.  The students explored the webpages of Jubilant Sykes and Judy Collins, surveying their upbringing, training, and recognitions.  Finally, I had them listen to two audio interviews on the website, one each by Sykes and Collins, describing their performances and influential qualities including historical and cultural context and personal training.   

On the fourth day, students listened to the four performances again and completed a chart prompting them to use descriptive words regarding vocal styles and technique used by the artists to convey meaning.  In the following class, students were engaged in small group discussions and made comparisons between the young vocalists and the seasoned performers of Collins and Sykes.  They connected their observations regarding these performers and their own musical and non-musical ambitions, such as choosing a career, dealing with stereotypes, and making changes.

During the sixth class in this unit, students brainstormed the means a performer uses to communicate text such as inflection, dynamics, tempo, and facial expression.  To apply, students were led to sing familiar warm-ups in various vocal styles and moods.  Referencing the downloaded sheet music for Judy Collins’ “My Father,” students listened to her performance and marked significant vocal nuances.  I then accompanied the students in sight-reading “My Father.”  Several students improvised personal interpretations by performing the piece for the class.

The seventh class guided Concert Choir toward a consensus in applying dynamics, accents, and vocal effects in “Shto Mi E Milo.”  A Microsoft PowerPoint presentation was shown regarding the cultural background of this Macedonian folk song.  It included photos, recorded excerpts, and various musical descriptors regarding the cultural and historical traditions of Eastern Europe.  Students then met in small groups and journaled the ways in which their interpretation of “Shto Mi E Milo” changed after learning the cultural and historical backdrop.  Several students conveniently commented that the composition is something Kitka would have performed to which I responded by playing Kitka’s rendition of “Shto Mi E Milo.”

In the final two lessons of this unit, students experimented with singing “Shto Mi E Milo” with authentic tone quality.  As documented in the second videotaped excerpt, students made a relationship between visual and tone colors by singing the composition reflecting a specific color I held in my hand.  The choir gradually progressed from the warm, rich greens and blues to the desired bright sound of oranges and yellows. At several points I used a built-in classroom recording system to provide an opportunity to hear their results as compared to Kitka.  Through a series of final discussions, students summarized the ways in which genres, composers, culture, and history all play a role in presenting a composition, and identified the specific vocal techniques and interpretive perspectives musicians must engage to successfully perform.

The following unit was focused on the life and music of J.S. Bach.  The students’ attention to specific historical and cultural details in music through the activities of this unit aided their attention to detail regarding Bach’s life and his musical influences.  The students were inevitably led to perform, with the Bass chorus, several excerpts from a Bach Cantata as well as listen to musical performances of Bach’s compositions with a critical ear for interpretive details.

From Gregorian Chant and Schütz to Schubert, Kodály, and Reich, Concert Choir is exposed to music referencing a plethora of cultures, styles, and forms.  While many students are involved in Neuqua World Voices, the extra-curricular ensemble I conduct dedicated to experiencing music from the world’s cultures, I consistently integrate multi-cultural music within the curriculum.  As “Shto Mi E Milo” demonstrates, I challenge students with intriguing compositional techniques that motivates exploration into a composition’s construction.  Furthermore, Concert Choir is absorbed in listening assignments I entitle, “Soundscapes.”  Through a unique assignment each quarter, students select a recording and give a brief presentation regarding the background, history, and compositional qualities.  These exercises expose a variety of musical styles, and allow me to remain connected with popular music culture.

The students of Concert Choir are diverse in their experiences and learning styles, and therefore are presented with varied modes of musical learning.  In this unit, students analyzed musical scores, scrutinized performances, and brainstormed ways in which concepts can be applied.  They were consistently engaged in decision making, defining contexts, developing and applying musical craftsmanship, and honed the ensemble’s commitment to improvement.  The students were committed to discovering and generating musical patterns in listening examples, developed parameters for evaluating music, sequenced and synthesized their interpretations of music and music performances, and grew to value uniqueness and diversity of musical styles.

I work to apply strategies that make climate more hospitable to students and inevitably enhance their educational endeavors.  As evidenced in the first videotaped excerpt, I work to assure that students acquire a sense of accomplishment. Students are driven by the need to feel purposeful, which is sometimes the overriding factor leading to musical achievement.  I value the students of Concert Choir as individuals by learning and using names, welcoming them to class, and showing interest in their activities.  Students feel valued when messages they receive are, “I like your thoughtful answer,” “Thanks for the question,” and, “I care that you learn this concept.”

Throughout this unit, I employed critical thinking exercises within productive listening activities. Accessing the critical thinking ability of students requires a problem to solve that is perplexing to the learning.  For example, a journal entry question presented the second lesson was, “Compare these four recordings.  Discuss which best conveys the spirit of the composition.  Defend your choice by using a descriptive vocabulary of both musical and nonmusical terms.” When encouraged, students showed remarkable ability to hypothesize, analyze, and synthesize.  These critical thinking skills nurtured in an environment where all contributions are accepted as worthy, allow students to develop a vocabulary needed to voice opinions within music learning.

Music classrooms geared only to individual achievement work against students’ need to belong to the ensemble.  Healthy peer relationships are difficult to foster when learners are not comfortable with their own identity.  Security is often more vital to students than exploring and accepting differences.  As a result, I use cooperative learning to teach team-building skills, enhance social skills, motivate reluctant learners, and foster learning.  In this unit, I found students gave explanations, drew inferences from previous learning, and summarized information, most effectively during moments of face-to-face interaction.

The arts relate to just about any subject matter, no doubt because the subject matter of the arts concerns many aspects of life.  For example, the historical and cultural backgrounds of each of the four listening examples were discussed throughout the unit.  Students made links between these musical works, history, and social studies.  In lesson seven, a presentation was given regarding the cultural origins and traditions of “Shto Mi E Milo”. In deciphering this song, students unraveled complex rhythms through mathematical groupings.  Finally, students specifically listened to lyrics, interpreted meaning with literary reasoning, and critically analyzed if performers effectively transferred its sentiments in their expression and technique.

Canonic Conundrums Revision

Here is a revision of pre-CGlearner documents that I working on for my Canonic Conundrums Learning Element:

Canon_Fall_2010

Canonic Conundrums Revisited

One of the things I enjoy about the Learning by Design process and philosophy is its openness to the designers/educators returning to previously started, developed, or even taught learning elements for revision, new experiences, and re-teaching of the concepts.  As most teachers are, I am definitely a reflective practitioner who is constantly evaluating my teaching and planning in an attempt to learn from my previous experiences in an effort to be a more effective educator the next time.  So, I have decided to a return to my very first attempt at the Learning by Design process and pick up where I left off with a learning element entitled Canonic Conundrums.  While I taught various aspects of this learning element two years ago, I plan on revamping the entire unit and teaching it to a non-auditioned women’s ensemble that I will be leading this school year.  In my LbD experience, I actually abandoned my first work with this learning element to devote my time in developing and teaching two subsequent elements regarding Multi-cultural Music and Choral Settings of Shakespeare lyric.  So, as I pick up Canon Conundrums again, I find that my earlier work is quite “archaic”, especially considering I now understand the LbD process a great deal more, have developed confidence with the process through experience, and feel more comfortable with CG Learner.  The link you find below is the current state of Canonic Conundrums, the result of a few initials additions and changes to my first draft over a year ago.  I look forward to revising this learning element and presenting it at the end of this course in a more impressive, effective, and teachable form.  As always, I welcome any comments or questions.

Canonic Conundrums: The Learning Element

Rubrics

As we have been investigating and discussing assessment in our current New Learnings and New Literacies course, I have been thinking through my own assessment tools and overall philosophy.  Just this morning, I kind of “stepped back” and questioned, “What needs to be assessed in my music classes?”  Is the answer simply, “If I’m teaching, then I should be assessing it”?  And, a further question/challenge is how can I assess individual students in such large ensemble/group-based classes (for example, my smallest choral class this year is 55 students, and my largest is 95)?

I have found rubrics to be one of the most efficient, accurate, clear, and thorough assessment tools that I can have employed in the last few years.  I find that rubrics present some clear strengths:

• Instantaneous grading
• Assesses specific areas
• Can be weighted or not
• Provides specific feedback on areas that need improvement
• Clearly indicates what standards are addressed
• Indicates criteria for grading
• Can be done in stages
• Flexible as individual or group grade
• Gives precise idea on where students are developmentally
• Measures multiple skills and knowledge
• Can have numeric/calculable value (if desired)

For example, the link below shows a rubric that I have developed and revised several times that I find to be an outstanding tools when listening and assessing individual student’s singing performance.

solo_performance_rubric

As always I welcome any comments or questions.  Thanks for reading…