Identity Development

How will I support your students' identity development?

• Have students find a role model of a professional musician they can look up to. 
• Encourage students to talk to school counselors if they have problems that are out of my league. 
• Give students constructive criticism. 
• Encourage them to listen to all types of music to give them more understanding of all genres.
• Have them write a journal entry of their favorite piece of music we played this year and why it was their favorite. 
• Have students write a song that represents their life.
• Have students bring a song to class that represents who they are.
• Have uplifting messages on the walls and always encourage students.
• Give them opportunities to succeed and fail in music. 

Differentiation

In my classroom I want to include differentiation.  Differentiation is basically a process of presenting information to the individual needs of each student.  Dividing the class into groups according to levels can be a great way to focus on the needs of students.  The idea is to have the more advanced students be in one group, the intermediate in a group, and then the not as advanced students be in a group.  After they are separated give them similar, but different problems to push all of them at their different levels.  In my band class I want periodically separate the players into three groups: more advanced, intermediate and beginner level.  At a High School it is possible to get all three levels in one classroom.  I will give the advanced players opportunities to play harder music and on the opposite end I will give the beginners more attention and easier music.  There is no way I could do this by myself, so I will hire help to be with each group.  As the children meet in smaller groups and with other students of their same level more needs can be met.  I can focus on basic skills and technique.  The more advanced students will be able to working on technique and musicianship.  The intermediate group will receive a little bit of both.

Another idea of including differentiation is to use technology.  To teach the students to keep the rhythm and time I will use a metronome in practice.  This will help them see where the beats are and give them a goal as to where to go musically. 

I will also include scaffolding in my class. For example, I will teach the students the vocabulary of music; such as legato, andante and so on.  I will teach them what these mean so when we are rehearsing a piece of music they will know what style to play the music at.

I'm excited to use these tactics and see how they will help my future students.

Piaget

A topic that causes disequilibration in a music class is note values and difficult rhythms.  To teach note values at a concrete level I would start with the basic note value; which is a whole note.  I will draw on the board and also have flash cards that are cut out according to their length.  For example: a whole note would be eleven inches long, a quarter note would be half of that and so forth.  As I show them the whole note flash card I will ask them to count the value of it out loud with me.  I will repeat this process with the quarter note, the half note, then the eighth and the sixteenth.  When the students count the whole note they will say "one....." for the length of the whole note.  The half note will sound like this, "one...two..."  After I have refreshed their memory of those notes I will introduce the more difficult note lengths and rhythms.  These may include one half note and eight sixteenth notes. I will write the rhythms on the board and let them practice them.  I will demonstrate as needed.  I will give the students the opportunity to think about the rhythm and work it out themselves before I tell them how to do it.  Disequilibration is occurring when I show the students these difficult rhythms they have had to count before.  However, I will help them assimilate by associating the basic note values and rhythms and tie it all together.  I will show how a syncopated rhythm using sixteenth notes is similar to two eighth notes. (Accommodate)  By practicing and seeing how it fits in a measure mathematically the students will be able to assimilate.

At a formal level  I will give the students handouts with difficult note lengths and rhythms and have them work in pairs to figure them out and count it.

What is the definition of intelligence?

What is intelligence?

-the ability to understand knowledge and when to apply
-the ability to make connections between subjects
-the abilitiy to learn new skills
-your intelligence can grow

Has my opinion on intelligence changed at all since class?

My opinion on intelligence changed a little bit.  I do believe it's something that people are born with, but I also believe you can increase your intelligence with learning and hard work.  I know there are things that I think I'm not good at, but learning about intelligence makes me realize that if I had the desire I could become better at my shortcomings.

How might my opinion impact my teaching?

I will teach my students that they are capable of learning new things.  Just because they don't know something does not mean that they cannot learn and understand it.  They will be able to learn how to increase their knowledge and use that knowledge in other classes.  I will motivate them to learn knew things and to always be learning througout their entire lives.

Strategies to develop Emotional Intelligence in Music Education

-Have students write down how they are feeling
-Teach students the importance of having a practice journal to not only keep track of practice, but also to write down sections that frustrate them or any insight they discovered while practicing.
-Help them get motivated by teaching them how good it feels to have a great rehearsal or performance.
-Teach them how to regulate emotions such as teaching about the importance of exercise and how it helps with everything.
-Motivating them by bringing in talented musicians and performers they can look up to and inspire them to practice. 

How does adolescent brain development impact meta-cognition and self-regulation?

How does adolescent brain development impact meta-cognition and self-regulation? How will you help your students development the three meta-cognitive knowledge types and the three meta-cognitive skills?

The brain development of adolescents impacts meta-cognition and self-regulation because it's not developed all the way.  So they might not have even thought about how they learn and think and what strategies are the best for them
 
Meta-cognitive knowledge
-I will help my students develop declarative knowledge by having a class activity on how we learn and think.  By the end of class I will have the students explain how they learn and think.
-I will help my students develop procedural knowledge by teaching different strategies for note taking and various learning strategies.  For my content area I will teach students the most effective ways to practice their instrument.
-I will help my students develop self-regulatory knowledge by teaching when to apply the learning strategies.  They will understand when to practice and what to practice to help them grow the most musically.  They will also learn when to use the certain note taking strategies in my class and in other classes.

Meta-cognitive skills
-I will help my students develop planning skills by teaching how to analyze a task, set goals and decide which strategy to use.  I will provide practice charts and objectives for them to strife for throughout the semester.
-I will help my students develop monitory skills by teaching them how to monitor their progress and make adjustments.  They will learn how to record themselves and listen to the recording to see what mistakes they are making and how they are doing musically.
-I will help my students develop evaluating skills by helping them know how to evaluate themselves in a performance.  They will be able to explain what the group sounded like, what excerpts they did good on and what they could improve.