Jordan Pavlica

SEC 320

4/1/19

Results:

Student response Teacher Response

I learn the most in class when: My students learn the most when:
● When people aren’t talking (8x) ● They are interested in the music
● I pay attention (5x) ● Prepared for class and can focus and
● We are playing our instruments (5x) engage with the required materials.
● I’m in a group with people I get along
with (3x)
● When I’m sitting by my friends (2x)
● We play new music
● We take time

I become disengaged in class when: My students become disengaged in class

● People talk (14x) when:
● When I’m talking (3x) ● The music is challenging
● There are distractions (2x) ● They have personal stuff
● When I don’t pay attention (2x) ● They aren’t prepared
● When I’m tired (2x) ● I am working with other sections
● The song we’re playing is boring
● I’m not playing my instrument
● We are not doing anything
● When explaining takes too long
● We don’t take time
● I’m doing something with people I
don’t work well with

My favorite moment in class is when: My favorite moment in class is when:

● We play music (5x) ● The whole class is focused
● We play fun music (4x) ● When we can joke around but remain
● We do activities (3x) focused on the material
● The teacher makes a joke (3x)
● We play well (2x)
● We do competitions
● We do partner work
● We have our concert
● Use instruments besides bells
● We play without stopping
 I wish we could: I wish we could:
● Do more activities (5x) ● All be prepared
● Play more fun music (4x) ● Be focused all the time so we can
● Be better (3x) accomplish more
● Play more sheet music (3x)
● Play more (2x)
● Move around the room more (2x)
● Play without stopping so much
● Have more concerts
● Play easier music
● Have more time to work in class
● Play more in groups
● Play more new instruments

*Some student responses were left out when because they were either illegible, or not serious.

*Things highlighted in green are similarities between teacher and student responses.
 After compiling the survey results and comparing them to the responses of the teacher

and what I actually saw in class, I noticed a number of discrepancies when it comes to student

engagement. Eight different students responded that they learned the best when other students

weren’t talking. I found it interesting that the most common answer to that question wasn’t what

helps students learn the most, but instead, what prevents the students from learning. I did notice

talking to be a major distraction, but the classroom never felt out of control or overwhelmingly

loud due to talking. It was more of students leaning over to one another and whispering

comments in someone's ear. Mrs. Phelps has pretty good classroom management, perhaps there

were a couple instances of people quietly having a conversation while she worked with a specific

section, but most of it seemed like the type of stuff outside of the teachers control. Because I

never felt like talking was that big of an issue while I observed, I was a little surprised to see that

so many students have a problem with it. This may come as a shock to Mrs. Phelps too, because

she never specifically said students become disengaged because of talking, although she may

have implied it with her response to the question.

When students were asked about when they get disengaged, other students talking was

also the highest rated response with 14 different students agreeing that talking was the biggest

distraction. One of Mrs. Phelps responses to the question was “when they have personal stuff.”

Although this may be true, it felt dismissive of the students emotional state. As Sousa says on

page 94, emotions are very strongly related to learning and students learn the best when they feel

like their emotions are respected. When students feel positive about the learning environment,

they feel good and learn more easily. I have witnessed students tell Mrs. Phelps about a personal

problem in their life (often as an excuse for not doing something) and she almost always seems
dismissive of whatever the students were going through. These students may seem disengaged to

Mrs. Phelps, but Sousa suggests they are struggling with their engagement because they don’t

feel respected in their learning environment.

When asked about their favorite classroom moments, aside from just playing music, one

of the more popular responses was when Mrs. Phelps uses humor or makes jokes. This is one of

the areas where I noticed a direct correlation between the teachers and the students responses.

According to Sousa on page 73, humor improves everyone's mental health. It relieves stress,

increases retention and creates a positive climate for students and the teacher. I have seen Mrs.

Phelps effectively use humor many times, but her humor is sarcastic more often than not. She

often uses self-deprecating humor, usually making fun of her ability to play a secondary

instrument and sometimes she’ll have sarcastic remarks to students. On page 74, Sousa describes

sarcasm as “inevitably destructive.” He argues that students come to school looking for

emotional support and and the use of sarcasm can quickly turn students against each other or the

teacher. So while Mrs. Phelps usually has good intentions, she may be doing some harm by

implementing sarcasm into her humor.

The final question asked the students and the teacher what they wished they could do

more of. Most of the students responses revolved around doing more fun things, but a few of the

less common answers did go along with Mrs. Phelps response. Mrs. Phelps wishes the students

can all be focused all the time so they can get more done. A few students wished they could just

play music more. This follows one of the more popular responses for the first question. Five

students said they learn the best when they’re playing their instruments. This could mean Mrs.

Phelps should think about letting the music do more of the teaching instead of her talking. It’s
hard to talk when students are playing their instruments and Mrs. Phelps could get more done if

more time was spent playing and less on more of a lecture based teaching style.