Lucas Hobson Dr.

Gerrity MUSED 457 Microteaching Reflection: Dalcroze I did my first microteaching approximately four years ago. The differences between that and this are rather astounding. My classroom demeanor has developed quite a bit and I have a better feel for both classroom management. The students very much enjoyed my classroom personality, and my posture has improved. In this video, I am very happy with my posture and use of space. This has traditionally been a problem for me, but my shoulders are pulled up and back, Im moving around the room, and my hands are used effectively in communication, rather than simply staying in my pocket. I also think I introduced the concept, swung rhythms, in a solid manner. I used a problem-based approach to teaching the concept, with questioning to elicit the difference between the pieces. Teaching and using scat to enforce the concept and assess students worked very well. When I used scat, I made sure to give students a model, rhythmic and harmonic integrity, and the security of numbers. I also allowed them to increase the difficulty of their scatting at their own pace. In a real world, this would have made it easier for them to do this exercise. However, I did not give them much warning before making them scat alone. This could cause a breakdown of the lesson in a real classroom. On the other hand, when they were soloing, I did provide the beat

number that they were on, and I think this made it easier for them to solo scat successfully. I noticed while watching the video some side conversations that I had not been aware of while actually teaching. In the future, I will be working to develop my teachers ear so that I can catch these even while focusing on my lesson. Although I realize that side conversations will always occur in my classroom, my ability to notice them will allow me to fine-tune my classroom environment to better address the aesthetic domain. I think my humor helped everyone to stay engaged. The problem, however, was that I accidentally directed it towards Meghan, when she was writing on the board. I need to be very careful about my sense of humor in the classroom. Although it can serve to engage the students, it can quickly alienate them as well. Interweaving jokes into conversation is part of my personality, and I will not be able to change that. I do need to be able to control my comments to keep from accidentally burning anyone, however. If an incident such as this occurs in a realworld classroom, I need to be totally willing to apologize for it. In addition, the music choices for this lesson served to illustrate my points very well. I was able to choose content that was in my students zone of proximity, used contrast to teach the concept, and was enjoyable and motivating to the students. In all, I think that this was a very strong teaching. I look forward to further improving my craft in the coming decades.