FIU

Off-Campus Observation Map

Your

Name

Daniel Kilbury______________________________________

E-Mail:dkilb003@fiu.edu__________________________

Name of School South Plantation High School_____________ Town Plantation__________________________ State FL___________
Name of Teacher Observed Danielle Singer_________________________ Class Concert Band_______________ Grade(s) 9-12_________
Observation Date 11/21/2014_______________________ Time 2:11-3:00________________ Date Submitted 11/24/2014_____________
Describe the teaching environment.
Who are the children? Who is the
teacher? How might the school
environment impact what happens
in the classroom?

The physical environment of the classroom was much like any other band room. Musical terms, posters, as well as band
pictures from former years were displayed throughout the room, creating an environment suitable for music teaching. More
importantly (in my opinion), however, the most significant part of the teaching environment was created by the students and
the teacher. The school is a very diverse one and has students coming from a multitude of ethnic, social, and financial
backgrounds. The students and the teacher in the band seem to embrace this. The students support and help each other with
just about anything, as does the instructor, creating a very family-like feeling. The teacher is apt to accommodate each
individuals needs, whether it be musical, financial, etc., which I believe creates a great teaching environment.

What were the teachers goals for

the class/ensemble? How did
she/he act on those?

The teachers goals were rather simple and very similar to many high school band programs: rehearsing music that would be
performed at an upcoming event. In this case, the event was the schools annual Prism Concert. The goal was to work on
two pieces that the concert band would play at the concert in December. The instructor acted on these goals much like any
other would have with the class time consisting of working on and fixing up these two pieces. As it is only a 49 minute class,
there was not much time to work equally on each piece, however the instructor did their best to do so.

What teaching/rehearsal strategies

did you see? What was the
learning sequence?

The rehearsal strategies used in this class were very simple, consisting of a warm-up and a rehearsal on each of the two pieces
in which sections of the song that required improvement were worked on. As stated before, the class period is only 49
minutes long, so the warm up took a large chunk out of actual rehearsal time. After the warm-up, work began on the first of
the two songs. With so little time, there wasnt much meaning behind the rehearsal. It seemed that there was only time for
an it sounds like this, so play it like that rehearsal. Having said that, I didnt see much of a learning sequence during the
class. Instead it was somewhat sporadic, fixing sections that needed fixing in no particular order, being more of a touch and
go rehearsal.

What would you do differently?

What was missing from the lesson?

The lesson wasnt necessarily missing anything. It just seemed rushed and stressed, and I believe that this was the result of
trying to do too much in too little time. For example, 49 minutes is not enough time to warm up and rehearse two songs (and
difficult ones at that). With that being said, I would have chosen to rehearse ONE song for this particular class. Perhaps I
would have rehearsed one of the pieces during todays rehearsal and the other piece for tomorrows, rotating daily between
both pieces. This would give more time to efficiently rehearse each piece. It would allow the instructor to focus on more and

would give them time to make adjustments as needed, rather than just rush sporadically throughout a rehearsal.

What evidence did you observe that

would indicate that the learning
goals were met?

The lesson wasnt much of a lesson at all. As stated before, it was more of a this is how it sounds, so do something like
that, class, due to the inadequate amount of time and the stress that resulted from it. The learning goals were simply to
improve on each piece and these goals were certainly met. Although the students didnt necessarily understand why the
music was like that or why they had to play it that way, they were quick to listen to the instructor when they were given
feedback. After the instructor would work with a particular section (i.e. working on a phrase with the trumpet section), that
group of students improved, despite having no idea how.

What evidence of critical thinking,

critical feeling and/or critical action
did you see?

Although I stated above that the students didnt understand why their music was the way it was, there were definitely some
forms of critical feelings and action. Many of the students enjoy the pieces, thus I witnessed many students get into their
music and enjoy themselves. They would move when they played and would express themselves through their instruments
(by using dynamics, matching articulation, etc.) This requires some form of critical thinking as not all dynamics are written
on a page. The students would have to decide where to place a crescendo so that it would be effective, a process that was
also guided by the teacher. For example, she would often ask students what they could often do to make a certain line/phrase
more interesting, stimulating the students mind and thought.

What National Standards did you

see?

Among the variety of National Standards for music education, I only witnessed about two during this particular rehearsal.
They are as follows:
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music Students were rehearsing two completely
different concert band pieces.
5. Reading and notating music.

How did students engage in the

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

The students mainly engaged through the music. Like I said earlier, they enjoyed their pieces and thus would work to make
them sound pleasing. They engaged through their instruments and how they played the pieces, whether it was through their
dynamics or even their movements. When students were really focused, they not only improved upon what they had done
before, but they actually got into their music. I was able to see that they were enjoying it as they moved with the music
which gave me the sense that some began to actually feel it.

Describe a "teachable moment" that

you might have witnessed.

Much of the rehearsal was a teachable moment, in my opinion. When the instructor would stop to work with a section on a
particular part of the song, she would simply tell them what was wrong and then tell them what was right. While this doesnt
necessarily produce bad results, it isnt really teaching. It is fixing. Therefore, I believe all of these moments are teachable
moments in which the meaning of the phrase could be taught and how/why one might play it as such. For example, ask the
students questions based on the passage. What does it mean to play legato? How can we portray that feeling? What
emotions does the phrase represent? And so on

What constructive comments might you make about this lesson/rehearsal? I believe that, overall, the rehearsal was a
positive one, as progress was made. However, I believe that there are certain things that can be done to improve the efficiency of
it. To start, I think it would be better to allocate an adequate amount of time to each piece of music. Perhaps this means to rotate
songs and rehearse/work on one of them each day. With a 49 minute class time, after warm-ups, there may only be 20 minutes
(at the most) to rehearse each song. This doesnt take into account students that may still be getting their instruments ready after
the late bell. To solve this issue, I think rehearsing one song a day would be ideal, as it gives the teacher more time to actually
explain themselves so that they can teach through the rehearsal and not just fix. This brings me to my next comment. Rather
than simply telling students what to do, I think it is important to tell them why. Even more importantly, I believe a lesson should be
incorporated, in some way, into each rehearsal so that students may constantly develop an understanding of the music they are
playing.

What is your overall assessment of this teacher, the students and the lesson/rehearsal? The teacher is, without a doubt, a
great person who is willing to help and support her students through anything, making each and every student feel welcome. She
is also a great teacher, however time management, inadequate rehearsal times, and an overload of work to do in that time
contributes to stress that causes the students understanding of the music to fly out of the window (they know what to do, but not
why). The students are also great as they are respectful of their instructor as well as each other. From what I saw, the students
are the biggest support group of the program due to the fact that they are always there and ready to help their fellow bandmates
with just about anything. They seem like a true family. The lesson/rehearsal was good and met the goals that the teacher had
set, however I think it could have been more efficient. I believe that this can be achieved through a better use of time
management in order to allow for more time and focus on each piece.