Final Reflection

Through my time at St. Mary’s in my practicum experience I have learned a great deal
about what it means to be a teacher and how to meet students’ needs in the classroom. As my
practicum experience comes to a close I reflect on how my effort impacted the students and their
educational experience in choir this semester. When thinking about my effectiveness as a
teacher I would focus on how I was able to make a positive learning environment for students,
how I was able to engage learners, and how I was able to deepen student learning and
understanding.
Creating a positive learning environment for students is essential to their growth and
success in the music classroom. During my time at St. Mary’s I was able to successfully create a
positive learning environment when teaching “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In”. In
speaking of the meaning of song and what the words mean I let the students take me on a side
path to talking about how they can relate to the song in their own life. The students spoke about
how they hear this song in different places in their life and how in different settings the song is
performed differently. We were then able to use some of their ideas and personal connections in
our own performance. This created a safe environment because students were free to express
their opinion and experiment with different ideas in an exciting way. According to Vanessa
Bond “CRP teachers believe that children construct knowledge based on their prior experiences
(Bond, 2014).” By connecting to the student’s prior experience knowledge and home life
students can feel comfortable to speak about what they know and are confident with.
At another occurrence in a different lesson I was able to create a positive learning
environment through my line of questioning. I asked the students to show me an answer to a
question rather than tell me to give students who are not outspoken the chance to show me as a
teacher that they understand the concept we are covering. In teaching this moment I felt as
though I could have gone a step further and had the students talk to a person next to them about
the question being asked in order to create a safe environment where students feel comfortable to
voice their opinion. According to Jean Piaget guided questions cause students to answer rather
than the teacher giving the answer. They are able to experiment with music in order to form their
own understanding (Piaget, n.d.). When student form their own understanding, students feel
comfortable and confident in their learning environment.
When choosing a key to sing the song “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In” I had to
think of the students along with their age and vocal range and ability. According to Bridget
Sweet students between ages eight to ten are in stage I with a vocal range of A3 to F5. Students
ages eleven to twelve are in stage IIA with a vocal range from A#3 to D4. The students at St.
Mary’s are between these two stages in their vocal development. During my lesson, I noticed the
students were struggling to reach some of the lower notes. I made a quick adjustment and
brought the key up a major second. I didn’t explain to the students but by the way they were
singing and how they sounded changed. According to Sweet students in these different phases
can have a hard time or feel uncomfortable singing. By changing the key, I was able to make
signing and the learning environment a positive experience.
Engaging student learners is essential when creating vibrant learning experience for
students. In individual lessons, I was able to learn a lot about the students on a more personal
level. During this experience, the students used their chrome books to look up music they liked
to listen to or sing. The students then sang the chorus or section from the song they liked. This
activity gave students the choice and the ability to express how they experience music. Some
students felt uncomfortable singing alone and were able to sing along with the recording. This
also gave a student with different taste in music the change to play some of the music he
personally connected to. The students had never heard the music before but listened and enjoyed
what they student have to offer. According to Evan Tobias believes that the digital world of
music must be incorporated into the music classroom. Students are immersed in media and
technology and when using as a tool can naturally engage the students in the learning process.
(Tobias, 2013).
When teaching “Oh When The Saints Go Marching In” the students were challenged
with the task of improving the quality of their work. I asked the students how they could
improve and a student replied reflecting on how it is performed at the hockey games they go to.
This turned into a student lead discussion on how they could improve based on their own life
experiences and personally opinions. This conversation was engaging as it was student lead and
related to experience outside of the classroom. According to Vanessa Bond connecting to home
and school experiences is essential. Relating musical elements or a desired aesthetic heard at
home to music sung helps to engage students in the learning process. (Bond, 2014).
Another way I was able to engage students in “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In” was
through larger body movements. While singing through the song I noticed that the students were
particularly disengaged and were dragging the tempo as we went along. I prompted the student
to step to the beat as we continued to sing. The students were able to keep the tempo and stead
pulse while singing. This activity then improved their posture as well as their town quality as a
group. The students looked and sounded more engaged in the song as we went along.
According to Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, students need to first understand rhythmics, which
encompass ways to orchestrate bodily gestures and engage with music expressively. (Farber,
n.d). When the students were moving they had to use their intuitive sense of pulse to move and
step at appropriate time engaging their whole body in music making.
Deepening students learning and giving them a process to further their learning is what
cultivates lifelong learners. When teaching the students “Oh When the Saints Go Marching in”
they were presented with a challenge to improve the quality of their performance using the “five
essentials of healthy singing” (Phillips, 2014). As the students went through different exercises I
prompted the students with the question “Why did our performance improve?” or “What was
different that time?” The students were able to tap into prior knowledge of the five essentials
and explain why their performance improved. According to Benjamin Bloom and the Bloom
Taxonomy learning at higher levels in dependent upon having previous knowledge and skills at a
more basic level (Eisner, 2000).
When working with students on “Oh When the Saints Go Marching in” the students were
relaying on personal experiences they have had with the song and what performance practices
they are used to hearing. The students said that in their personal life the song is performed much
faster. I decided to take the students advice and speed up the tempo of the song. After trying it a
new way I asked the students if they thought that was better? They replied with a no as I
followed with a why? The students explained how the sound wasn’t as good and not everyone
was singing together. I explained to the students that not every suggestion will work with our
group and in order to add new musical concepts and experiment with the music we must have the
qualities of healthy singing first. Jean Piaget believes that the teacher should check in with
students for understanding. Students should experiment and be able to make mindful musical
decisions (Pieget n.d.).
When working with students on “Oh When the Saints Go Marching in” we talked about
having an understanding of what the words mean and how we can use movement or other
musical ideas to portray the meaning of the text. At the end of this activity I asked students why
understanding the text and meaning helped to improve their performance. This brought what the
students were engaging in into a deeper, more philosophical lens. When students understand the
meaning of the piece they are singing they can then have a personal connection to the music and
the music making process (Bond, 2014). When students understand why they are doing what
they are doing they are deepening learning and enduring understanding.

Bibliography

Eisner, E. W. (2000). Benjamin Bloom. Retrieved from

http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/archive/Publications/thinkerspdf/bloo
me.pdf

Farber, A., & Tomsen, K. (Eds.). (n.d.). What is Dalcroze? Retrieved March 10, 2018, from
https://dalcrozeusa.org/about-us/history

Jean Piaget. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

Tobias E. S. (2012). Hybrid spaces and hyphenated musicians: Secondary students’ musical
engagement in a songwriting and technology course. Music Education Research, 14(3),
329-346