Laura Bame

Reflective Analysis of Teaching and Learning

Overview

Overall, I was happy with how the unit was taught and how the students responded. I had some
timing problems with my first lesson plan. I did not expect for everything to go perfectly for my
first lesson plan; however, I knew I would do my best because teaching new concepts, making
them better musicians, and having fun while learning, were my main priorities. A connection
between teaching and learning that occurred within the structure of the unit was to be vigilant
about how I taught the unit so that students would not be confused or fall behind. I wanted my
teachings to be on their level but also challenge them. Another connection was to make sure the
students and I were having fun and learning at the same time. I wanted to “kid around” with the
students, but also make sure they are aware of my expectations and reinforce my expectations on
a daily basis.

Analysis of Teaching and Learning Based on Classroom Assessment

Class Snapshot

My unit was taught to the third period Concert Band class. The grade levels in this class are 10-
12 graders. This class contains 24 girls and 32 boys, having a total of 56 students. There is one
African American student, one Hispanic, and 54 Caucasian students. The Hispanic student
speaks English very well. There is one student receiving pull-out services due to the fact that she
has a health impairment.
 Rubric for Woodwind Sectional Playing Test

Category 4 3 2 1
Consistent There is a clear The tempo was The tempo was The tempo was
Tempo/Pulse understanding inconsistent inconsistent most not consistent.
and security of once or twice. of the time and There is little to
the beat. Good did not pay much no understanding
at watching the attention to the of where the beat.
conductor. conductor. Does not pay any
attention to the
conductor.
Rhythm All rhythms are Most rhythms Only one or two There is little to
Accuracy accurate. There were accurate. rhythms were no understanding
is a clear One or two accurate. of how to
understanding rhythms were count/play the
of the rhythms. not executed. rhythms.
Pitch All pitches were One or two Most of the Few to none of
Accuracy correct and pitches were pitches were the pitches were
played with missed. inaccurate. accurate. There is
confidence. little to no
understanding of
the correct
pitches.
Accurate All Most Some of the Few to no
Articulations/Style articulation/style articulation/style articulations/style articulations were
markings were markings were was played. played. There is
played well and played. A few Needs to pay little to no
accurately. notes were more attention to understanding of
forgotten. the the
articulations/style. articulations/style.
Tone Perfect tonality Tonality went Most of the There is little to
Quality/Intonation while playing flat/sharp on one required section no understanding
the required or two pitches. was out of tune of the tonality.
section. and did not blend
with the section.

For my pre-unit assessment, I listened to different sections of the band play different
scales. As I listened section by section, I took physical and mental notes. After reviewing my
notes, I gave the band some tips on how to improve as a musician, and how to improve their
scales. Due to the fact I already had an idea of how well most of the students would play, I was
not surprised at the scores. During my first several weeks of student teaching, I would walk
around the classroom and observe the students; because of that, I became familiar with what
level they stand in their musical ability. I also wanted to test their musical literacy. So, I came
up with some musical terminology and called on random students to define the term. I put
random students “on the spot” on purpose so I could get the rest of the class to pay careful
attention to the terms.
For my mid-unit assessment, I chose a woodwind chromatic run in West Highlands
Sojourn. While we were rehearsing this part one day, I realized after a week or two that the
students were still struggling; even after continuous practice. My cooperating teacher informed
me that the previous band director did not require the students to memorize their chromatic scale,
which made this harder for them. I gave the students a date when they would individually play
the chromatic run for me. I offered to come before school and stay after school to help the
students; some took advantage of that offer. When the test day came, I tested all of them
individually and changed up my assessment at the last minute. I thought it would be more
effective for them if I critiqued their playing test, and gave them a final test three days later.
However, I did not inform them of this until after they played the chromatic run for me the first
time. After the students played for me, I told them what they needed to work on, and told them I
was not testing for perfection, but improvement. So, three days later I gave my final assessment
and I could tell they improved and I was so proud of them. I thought the different way I decided
to go about the assessment was more effective for them and I believe it made them better
musicians.
The teacher-made assessment was a one page paper (front and back) writing assignment
about self-discipline and focus. This writing assessment was given due to the continual talking
and unacceptable behavior. Unfortunately, I was not surprised at the grades for the writing
assignment because most of the students either did not follow directions, or did not want to do
the assignment.
The post-unit test was their concert to show their families, friends, and other people in the
community everything they had worked on. However, the performing part of the concert was
not the only part of their grade. The Freshman Band performed their concert on the same night
as the Concert Band. The Concert Band was graded on respectfulness for the Freshman Band
while they were on stage performing. Concert Band was not allowed to have out cell phones,
iPods, mp3 players, etc., and was not allowed to talk during the Freshman Band performance.
Unfortunately, not all the students were able to attend the concert due to the fact the concert was
during the flu season and many students were sick.
The African American student and the Hispanic student did just as well as the Caucasians
and did better than other Caucasians. Both of these students are talented musicians.

Assessment Analysis
 Overall, there was an improvement in student performance. The goals and objectives that
were met were accurate rhythms, dynamics, and pitches. The goal that was not met was accurate
articulations. Even though I put different articulations in their warm ups daily, many of the
students continuously forgot them throughout the unit while rehearsing their music and
performing at the concert. I could tell during rehearsals and at the concert that some students
were playing there accurate articulations; however, they did not play the articulations as an
ensemble which includes every student.
I could tell that the students made progress toward the mastery of the goals and objectives
of the unit because I did not have to stop as many times during rehearsal to fix problems in the
music, the students became more confident, they made fewer mistakes, and they had more fun
during class. This growth occurred due to giving the students tips on proper practice, the review
of musical techniques and concepts taught, and reinforcement of the musical concepts and
techniques.
The data informed my instruction as I taught the unit by giving me an idea of where to
start teaching with this group of students. It helped give me an idea of their musical abilities and
their skill level.
The data supports my conclusions that student performance was improved by everyone
making a one hundred percent on the concert.

Reflection on Practice (sections A-D)

A. Analysis of Instructional Practices:

I focused on different musical techniques that were in the piece West Highlands Sojourn.
The musical techniques I taught included rhythms, articulations, dynamics, accurate pitches, and
balance and blend. I focused on using goals from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study
(NCSCOS) for music education. The way I delivered the instructions was in “baby steps.” I
started out by teaching rhythms because teaching rhythms is very basic and it is the foundation of
getting a piece started. Next, I wanted to teach them the different articulations, their proper
names, and what the different symbols look like. I wrote different articulations on the board with
a rhythm. I also played different articulations for the on my alto saxophone. So, the students
had a visual and aural demonstration of the different articulations. Then, I wanted to remind the
band about dynamics. Their definition of what a forte and what a piano dynamic is supposed to
sound like might be different from what the accurate volume is supposed to sound like. So, I
chose some different dynamics from West Highlands Sojourn, and demonstrated them on my alto
saxophone for the students. For my next lesson, I wanted to talk about accurate pitches. Again, I
wanted to take “baby steps” so I looked through the music and found some hard sections where
many accidentals occurred. All of these exercises and teachings include the goal in the NCSOS
for music education, and it states Students will be able to (SWBAT) read and notate music. I
worked with different sections and took them note by note through the more challenging places.
This exercise is aligned with the NCSOS in music education goal that states SWBAT play on
instruments, alone and with others a varied repertoire of music. My next lesson involved
balance and blend. I defined balance and blend to the class and gave them tips on how to help
make them balance and blend which included listening to the music, students in their
instrumental section, and the entire ensemble. This strategy is a goal listed in the NCSCOS for
music education, and it states SWBAT listen to, analyze, and describe music. Finally, for my last
lesson, I reviewed everything we had talked about with the class. Then, we applied everything
they learned into rehearsal that day. So, the instruction was delivered in a manner that was
developmentally and academically appropriate for the students. The reason is that I went at a
pace that worked for the students and I started from very basic concepts to working my way up
in musical ability.
I believe I could have varied the instructional practices within the unit to meet more
effectively the needs of students by enforcing discipline. The students knew my expectations
and classroom rules. Many times it would be the class in general and I would become
overwhelmed and confused about how to handle the discipline. Unfortunately, the talking and
unnecessary actions would affect the learning of the other students. So, I “put my foot down”
and created some writing assignments for the students. Also, on my first lesson plan, I did not
manage my time. I would get too caught up in a student’s question, or focused on section in the
music for a long period of time that I lost track of time. So, I needed to find a good pace for
myself and the students. After noticing that, my time management was better for my other
lesson plans.
I would engage students in problem-solving and critical thinking by writing rhythms on
the board and asking the students to count the rhythm. I demonstrated two aural examples from
West Highlands Sojourn and I would ask the students the difference between the two examples.
I took musical terms, wrote them on the board and asked the students the definition of the term.

B. Analysis of Assessment Strategies:

For my pre-unit assessment, I listened to different sections of the band play different
scales. As I listened section by section, I took physical and mental notes. After reviewing my
notes, I gave the band some tips on how to improve as a musician, and how to improve their
scales. Due to the fact I already had an idea of how well most of the students would play, I was
not surprised at the scores. During my first several weeks of student teaching, I would walk
around the classroom and observe the students; because of that, I became familiar with what
level they stand in their musical ability. I also wanted to test their musical literacy. So, I came
up with some musical terminology and called on random students to define the term. I put
random students “on the spot” on purpose so I could get the rest of the class to pay careful
attention to the terms. Even though I had an idea about their musical abilities from walking
around the classroom daily, I felt it was still necessary to give the students a pre-unit assessment
for myself and the students. It gave the students an idea about how I conducted and taught; and
it helped give me a more clear idea about their musical abilities. Another type of assessment that
would have also been effective is getting to know the students as people and not just as
musicians. I should have asked the students to write some things down on a sheet of paper that
tells me some things about themselves and what they like to so in their free time. I believe it
would have been effective to get to know them on a personal level as well and not just a
professional level.
For my mid-unit assessment, I chose a woodwind chromatic run in West Highlands
Sojourn. While we were rehearsing this part one day, I realized after a week or two, the students
were still struggling; even after continuous practice. My cooperating teacher informed me that
the previous band director did not require the students to memorize their chromatic scale, which
made this harder for them. I gave the students a date when they would individually play the
chromatic run for me. I offered to come before school and stay after school to help the students;
some took advantage of that offer. When the test day came, I tested all of them individually and
changed up my assessment at the last minute. I thought it would be more effective for them if I
critiqued their playing test, and gave them a final test three days later. However, I did not inform
them of this until after they played the chromatic run for me the first time. After the students
played for me, I told them what they need to work on, and told them I was not testing for
perfection, but improvement. So, three days later I gave my final assessment and I could tell
they improved and I was so proud of them. I thought the different way I decided to go about the
assessment was more effective for them and I believe it made them better musicians. I felt this
was appropriate to do as a teacher because I want students to push themselves to succeed and
there are some students that need help for that push; so I made it an assessment. This assessment
also helped me to “spot check” and see if they were improving. It would have been effective for
me to assess the entire band on a “spot check;” however, I could not figure out a way in which I
can individually test the entire class while the rest of the class works on their music without me.
For the future, I came up with an idea to have “sectional day” while assessing other students.
This day is a day I would reserve for the students to separate into different rooms and practice
their own parts within their sections. For example, all the trumpets would go into one room, the
trombones into another room, flutes in another room, etc. This would be effective for the
students because they become more familiar with their music.
The teacher-made assessment was a one page paper (front and back) writing assignment
about self-discipline and focus. This writing assessment was given due to the continual talking
and unacceptable behavior. Unfortunately, I was not surprised at the grades for the writing
assignment because most of the students either did not follow directions, or did not want to do
the assignment. I knew this assessment was appropriate because the students know my
expectations and rules, and they ignored them. I reminded them of my expectation, which was
while I was on the podium, there is to be silence. I wanted to give the students a warning by
letting them know that I had a writing assessment for the entire class if the talking did not stop
while I was on the podium. The talking continued throughout the rehearsal, and I wanted to be
consistent and reinforce what I told the class I was planning to do if the talking did not stop.
Even though some students did not write about what they were required to write about (the
importance of focus and respect in the classroom), some wrote about what they were feeling.
This gave me a chance to pull some students into the office and talk to them one on one. So, I
believe positive things came out of this assignment and some problems were resolved. Another
assessment that might have been more effective was to just give the assessment to the students
talking instead of the entire class due to the fact it was not fair.
The post-unit test was their concert to show their families, friends, and other people in the
community everything they had worked on. However, the performing part of the concert was
not the only part of their grade. The Freshman Band performed their concert on the same night
as the Concert Band. The Concert Band was graded on respectfulness for the Freshman Band
while they were on stage performing. Concert Band was not allowed to have out cell phones,
iPods, mp3 players, etc., and was not allowed to talk during the Freshman Band performance.
Unfortunately, not all the students were able to attend the concert due to the fact the concert was
during the flu season and many students were sick. This post-unit assessment was appropriate
because the students deserved to show all their hard work to friends, family, and the community.
The concert was a positive experience for the students. So many students came up to me and
talked to me about how they performed and how proud they were of themselves; those
experiences are priceless to the students and myself. Another post-unit assessment idea could be
for the students to critique their performance. The concert was video-taped, and I allowed the
entire class to watch their performance the next day, and write down positive and negative things
that occurred during their performance. After the video was finished, we talked about what they
wrote; however, I did not take it up as an assessment grade. Overall, there is not anything I
would change about this post-unit because I thought it was very effective and a positive
experience for the students.
One way that I reflected on 21st century skills was through the use of technology. I used
the Smart Board everyday in class for announcements, order of the pieces for that day, classroom
rules, and the schedule of upcoming events. Other 21st century skills that were used included
global awareness, health literacy, critical thinking, and team building. By playing music from
different cultures and talking about where the music came from, it will help the students develop
global awareness. I talked about how important it is for a musician to do breathing exercises on
a daily basis. I taught them some breathing exercises during my unit to help them have longer
breaths in a piece of music, stretch out their lungs, and use air support. It will also be good for
their breathing later in their lives to do breathing exercises while they are young. For critical
thinking, there are numerous rhythms, pitches, articulations, dynamics, etc. that students need to
pay attention to at once. Different rhythms involve counting and math. This enables students to
think on their feet when sight reading music and gets the “wheels in their heads turning.” Team
building is important for the 21st century classroom. It is important to encourage and support
fellow classmates and fellow band members. It helps raise self-esteem and self-discipline.
Positive reinforcement and working together is vital for the future.

C. Analysis of Learning Needs:

I wanted to address the cultural differences through music. For the concert we played a
piece called Capriccio Espagñol (cited below). This piece of music was based on a Spanish
dance and the Hispanic student that I have really liked the piece. It also taught the rest of the
class about Spanish culture and their music. I varied my instruction in different ways by using
visual instruction and aural instruction. I usually used visual instruction when I wanted the class
to define musical terminology, and count and/or clap a rhythm. I would use the dry erase board
and/or the Smart Board for my visual instruction. When I wanted to demonstrate a dynamic, an
articulation, or a section in the music, I would use an aural demonstration by playing my alto
saxophone for them. I would also play my saxophone to give a pitch to the brass section so they
could find the partial easier. I believe the variation of my instruction was very effective for the
students. I was able to give the students visual and aural examples of the music due to the fact
that students learn differently. I could adjust my future lesson plans to be more responsive to
cultural differences talking more about the culture of the piece we are playing. For example,
when the band played Capriccio Espagñol, I talked about the piece and the history behind the
piece, but I did not talk as much about the Hispanic culture as I should have. However, since I
only had one Hispanic student, one African American students, and 54 Caucasian students, it
was more difficult to address cultural differences in the classroom.
I addressed the individual learning needs of my students by offering extra help before and
after school; and some students did come after school. I used the same variations on my
teachings after school as I did in class. I think it is important for a teacher to have consistency in
their teachings. I would clap some rhythms for them, then they would clap with me, and I would
also play my alto saxophone in harder sections with them. For visual learning, I would still use
the dry erase board for a student so they could see a rhythm or some pitches in a different way
than notations in their music. I believe these variations of teachings were very effective for the
students. I asked the students if it helped them to have extra help and they said “yes!” I could
also tell the difference the next day and when it came time for the assessments and the concert.
The way I could adjust my future lesson plans to be more responsive to individual learning needs
is to make a requirement for students to come before or after school and get extra help. There
were some students who did not come before or after school to get extra help that really needed
the help. A change I could make to get more students to show up would be to offer 5 points
extra credit for the students who attend.
Some of the unique learning needs in the classroom included a student with a health
impairment. I was able to bend to her needs by keeping her focused and less talkative. I taught
her by giving her continuous positive feedback and reinforced my expectations and rules.
Sometimes I would go over to her during class and individually help her with her music and
fingerings.
The dates that I had collaboration with my cooperating teacher was September 17th,
September 21st, September 24th, October 2nd, October 12th, and October 26th during our fourth
period planning.

D. Transformation of Practice:
I learned that I can adjust my instructional techniques to ensure higher levels of student
learning for the future by not focusing on one section for a long amount of time. I have
discovered that if I do that then the rest of the band gets bored. I need to find some strategies in
which I can involve the entire band while working with another section at the same time. For
example, I could be asking another section to play and if we come to a difficult rhythm that we
need to break down and count, I could ask the entire band how to count that rhythm. I could also
keep the students more engaged by asking the students to assess each other based on their
performance. This gives the students the ability to have a sense of responsibility and having a
“voice” in the classroom; meaning they are able to give their opinion. Also, instead of
demonstrating on my alto saxophone all the time for other students, I could involve other
students by asking them to play for a demonstration as well. I believe I could adjust my
assessment techniques to ensure higher levels of student learning in the future by clearing my
schedule better right before an assessment in order to stay after school more often. I know many
students do not like to come to school any earlier than they have to; they would rather come after
school for extra help. So, after offering extra help before and after school to the students for
their assessment, I did not have any students come before school; they all wanted to come after
school. I did not prepare my schedule in which I was available most days after school. I also
had many students come up and ask for extra help the day before their assessment. I should have
made it clear to the students not to leave their practicing off until the “last minute,” due to the
fact it was overwhelming for both the students and myself.

Capriccio Espagñol

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai. (1887). Capriccio Espagñol. Alfred Publishing Company.