FIU

Off-Campus Observation Map

Your

Name

Nicole Vasconcelos

E-Mail: nvasc004@fiu.edu

Name of School Mater Academy Charter School

Name of Teacher Observed
Observation Date

Town

Jason Cochrac
November 19th, 2014

Hialeah Gardens
Class

Time

7:30am-9:15am

Beginning Band
Date Submitted

State Florida
Grade(s)

7th-11th

November 24th, 2014

Describe the teaching

environment. Who are the
children? Who is the teacher?
How might the school environment
impact what happens in the
classroom?

The band room was packed with marching band equipment. The show props and marching band uniforms were
taking up a lot of the space in the room. Despite the marching band equipment taking up parts of the room, there
was still an open space left where the beginning band was able to set up and have a productive class. It was a
mixed class with middle and high school students. The teaching environment was ideal for marching band and did
not cause any kind of distraction to the beginning band students.
The class began with breathing exercises and listening/matching pitches. The director used his iPad as a tool to
What were the teachers goals for conduct the class accordingly. He used it to play a pitch that the students can listen to and hopefully match when
the class/ensemble? How did
playing their instruments. He gave individual attention to each student when tuning to adjust anything they might
she/he act on those?
be doing wrong when learning a new instrument (embouchure placement, breath support, intonation, playing
position, etc.).
What teaching/rehearsal
s t r a t e g i e s did you see? What
was the learning sequence?

Mr.C gave a significant amount of attention to proper breathing technique and support. He also emphasized on
hearing the note before playing it. He frequently asked the students to sing the note and then play it on their
instruments, internalizing the pitch in their heads before playing it by singing it first. When the students did not
understand a rhythm they were reading, he had them clap it and say rhythm names. The clapping confused some
of the students because they did not understand how to place the rest while clapping.
Find a way to incorporate the percussionist more into the lesson. The percussion section lacked attention and

What would you do differently?

individual instruction. Because they are not included in all the breathing exercises, they easily lose focus.
What was missing from the lesson?

Remove chair placements in beginning band setting. There is no need for competition at such an early stage.
Add hand gesture for rest when clapping rhythms! Students were confused on how to clap the rest.

What evidence did you observe

that would indicate that the
learning goals were met?

Instant results to individual instructions. Mr.C would assist students individually whenever the opportunity was
presented. Student immediately made progress when given the attention they need (embouchure adjustment,
reed placement, fingerings, etc.).

What evidence of critical thinking,

critical feeling and/or critical action
did you see?

He constantly challenged his students to play better with guidance. There was one instance where he asked them
to hold out a note as long as they could. The second time around he wanted them to exceed the amount they held
out the first time.

What National Standards did you

see?

MU:Pr4.2.7b When analyzing selected music, read and identify by name or function standard symbols for rhythm,
pitch articulation, dynamics, tempo, and form.
MU:Pr4.2.8b When analyzing selected music, sight-read in treble or bass clef simple rhythmic, melodic, and/or
harmonic notation.

How did students engage in the

classroom? What was happening
at the time when students were
really focused?

Almost all the students were engaged with the lesson at all times. The percussion section neglected active
engagement because they were not given the same attention as the wind players. When the director caught their
attention they would engage in the class. The moment the director shifted his attention to another section they
would lose focus.

Describe a "teachable moment"

that you might have witnessed.

He went over new material on music before playing the music (piano/forte, accents, key/time signature). He used
music outside of the beginning band books being used in class. He is in the process of preparing a concert, but it is
not emphasized in class. Its important, but not the end goal.

What constructive comments might you make about this lesson/rehearsal?

I appreciated the choice of words when calling back the students attention. Used Your voices are traveling instead of
saying shut up/be quiet. The use of teacher questions (obvious answer is yes/no). The individual attention given to
some students was essential for the students progress, but some of the attention shouldve been given to the
percussion section and the baritone player who had her instrument out the entire class but did not play a single note.

What is your overall assessment of this teacher, the students and the lesson/rehearsal?
Mr.C has the ideal teaching style for a beginning band class setting. Students highly respected the director and were
engaged with the lesson. Unfortunately, directors cannot reach all of their students every class but Mr.C definitely does
his best to help all his students to the best of his ability.