Practicum II: Journal

Practicum II: Journal

McGavockHigh School

Due Friday, April 27th, 2006Sophomore YearPracticum Assignments04.25.06

What is stated is my observation. The * symbolizes any of my extra input or solutions to an observation

Practicum Assignment No. 1: Classroom Space

1. a.

b. There weren’t too many constraints to deal with. They had a large band room and a lot of storage space. Separate rooms for instrument storage, percussion storage, guard storage, and uniform storage. Cubby holes and racks on the walls.

c. There was congestion in the main entrance primarily because of percussion equipment. At the beginning of class one of the teachers would stand at the main entrance to keep people moving and to check for students who were late. He didn’t use board space very often, just kept random things on there. Although I think it would be more efficient if he used it. He would get made when students came through the office to get into the band room, although he left the door unlocked.

2. a. All in semi circles as drawn above. Flutes in first row. Clarinets in first row. Saxes, horns, bass clarinets and bassoons in third row. Trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, and tubas in fourth row.

b. No. Arrangement doesn’t change, students just sit in different places for different classes. Every once in a while students will take stands and chairs outside to practice in sectionals.

c. Students who are in the percussion section and the fourth row. The teacher focuses a lot on the students closest to him, therefore leaving the students in the back row with more opportunities for discipline problems. The girls on the ends of the rows also have talking problems because they’re out of his direct line of sight. Every once in a while he will shoot them a mean glance.

3. a. The only teacher movement in the classroom is the movement between the office and the front of the classroom. It does not cause any congestion. The students however are at a slighter disadvantage because the only door into the bandroom from the school is in the back row next to all the percussion. It is a very small entrance for all the students to come in, and not only does it back people up because they stop and talk, but it keeps the percussionist from setting up on time.

b. There isn’t much they can do because of the nature of the physical layout of the school and band room, but if there were a way to prevent students from stopping and talking that would be the only slight solution. Maybe have a director stand slightly off to the side and remind the students to keep moving.

4. a. The students can all see him clearly at all times because the students are on built in risers in the band room. He has to turn slightly in order to make eye contact with the students on the side.

b. No.

c. He doesn’t communicate as well with the very side of the rows because they’re not in his ‘default’ visual area. They students are not only at a learning disadvantage but others see them talking and not getting in trouble, therefore causing a ripple talking effect. He needs to concentrate more effort on making sure that he is reaching out to all of his students, no matter where they sit, and that they are following the same rules as the rest of the class.

5.a. The students can all see the teacher clearly.

b. He doesn’t use the chalkboard or dry erase board. All his announcements come through speech at the beginning of class.

c. No other visual problems.

d. Only minor distractions, small parking lot outside of the school with a loading dock and random beeping truck. People enter through a lot of doors in the classroom which is a distraction from the teacher because he can’t just assume his students will come in one door. They're on the edge of the school though, so there are no hallway distractions.

6.a. It is a very exciting environment because so many students have a lot of talent and potential, but it is also a very stressful environment. It is somewhat stimulating, but most thoughts are cleared up when the lack of organization over powers the environment. There are no boards displaying encouragement or rules and very few instructions are posted, most are received through oral announcements.

Final Reflection

I have understood from this observation that regardless of how neat the chairs are, or how much space is between each row, no amount of physical set up will be beneficial if the environment around it is not organized. Every day the students would come in and sit in the same chair, that was in the same place everyday. The knew where their instrument would be and which folder their music was in. However, it was always constant chaos because of the mess around the physical setup. In all the corners of the room, things were pilled, instruments were in stacks, and music and equipment was constantly being broken or lost. With the classroom that I observed I would take use of the large amount of room they have in a very conservative way. I would insert cabinets and closets so that there would be an organized place to store everything, so that when students went to find something or put something back, there was a set place to get everything. I would not change the chair layout, there was not much room for change or improvement there, but I would change a few smaller details. I would hang more posters and signs. Objects to enhance self-esteem, good efforts and instruction. I take away less of the trophies, since it seemed that trophies were their goal, and make more use of the dry erase board. That way students could hear and see any announcements that they needed to know. The more organized a classroom is the quicker you can cut the crap, make the announcements and get to the real deal at hand – making music.

Practicum Assignment No. 2: Curriculum and Instruction

1. Through out the classroom hour, the students use warm-ups – scales, articulation studies, and rhythm examples from a book. They use several books for small ensembles and practice sight-reading as an entire group. After warm-ups they work on a few pieces of concert repertoire. Each teacher usually works on one pieces, so the students have between 3-4 pieces to work on at one point in time.

1. The classroom is definitely teacher-centered. He is very focused on if things go his way, and then if they do he worries about if the students are getting the most they can out of their musical experience. Part of this has to do with the disciplinary problems of the students, but many can be solved with his leadership. The form curriculum is to provide them with the musical knowledge to understand and enjoy playing in an ensemble. Their goal is to play well at a concert festival at the end of the year. The hidden curriculum in this class is most definitely what they learn in several of the smaller, outside, ensembles. The different activities students get involved in and how they interact with each other provides them with even more opportunity and the realization of how becoming one through music can change the experience that they have.

1. After counting the number of people off task every ten minutes, I found that it averaged between 3-5 people each time.

1. I observed two students through out the period: a female flute player in the front row, and a male trumpet player in the back (4th) row. After watching them throughout the hour I noticed stark differences in their actions and reactions to their classmates and the teacher. The flute player was always very attentive, she would sit there quietly or if she ever talked she would be discussing and pointing out what was wrong that time with the student next to her. When the director was making announcements she would sit there in silence, or if he was working with another sections she would finger through the notes or mark her music. The trumpet player was quite the opposite through out rehearsal. He was constantly talking, and whenever the piece was done, instead of evaluating him self, he would turn to the trombone player to the left of him and talk and laugh about everything. The other students provoked him too. He would constantly play, or make noises/comments, when the director works with others or was talking. I think problem is partially that the students are in the back, and if they talk they won’t get in trouble as easily as if students in the front row talk, so they think they can get away with it. But it is also the directors fault and responsibility to convey the material and disciplinary actions to the students in the back row. The feed off attention, and the director needs to treat them with the same equality and attention as they do the front row. Because the director doesn’t interact with them, they interact with each other and play on their own time.

Practicum Assignment No. 3: Classroom Procedures, rules, and Routines

1.a. After the bell rings the students are usually scattering about for several more minutes, but when the teacher hollers to sit down, that is usually when class officially begins. The first activity he does to mark the beginning of class is taking the roll, and then several announcements are made. By that time, he expects all students to have taken care of everything, have instruments out and ready to play. The only inconsistency is that he doesn’t take roll at the same time every day so students don’t know if they are supposed to wait 4 minutes until class starts or 10. Because of this uncertainty it is harder to get the students attention when time rolls around for class to actually begin. To end the class the bell rings and the students pack up and leave. No announcements are made at the end expect for a random reminder being shouted over the students.

b. Anything they have to discuss is done at the beginning of class. Talking about money issues, solo and ensemble, concert festival and uniforms. Makes announcements on upcoming events for the band, and asks opinions of students by having them writing it on an anonymous notecard and putting it in a box. If there is ever an issue it is done at the beginning of class and no other time.

c. Student’s who are tardy must provide the band director with a signed note that they give to him when he calls their name in roll the following day. He writes their name down, then I’m never sure what he does with the list. Next, he asks people who didn’t have excused absences from the day before.

d. When students are seated he calls out every ones name and writes it in his grade book.

2.a. They are expected to never talk, which is somewhat unreasonable and they get yelled at if they do talk. Maybe realize that a little chatter is inevitable with high schoolers if it’s not disruptive. Movement wise, students who want to go somewhere, i.e. office, bathroom, copy machine, they must get permission from the director before getting up from their seat.

b. No, they don’t change. Sometimes percussionists go outside to work with an instructor who might have different rules, but when they come back in, all directions still apply for the classroom.

c. There are no rules posted anywhere. I think this is a disadvantage because the director never has any tangible evidence of rules to fall back on if a student misbehaves.

*He needs to add more permanent objectives and rules so that the students know what is right and wrong, and also what they’re striving for through the band program.

d. He does not communicate any expectations. He just yells at them when they do something wrong and punishes them with out talking to them about it.

*Once again, he should have a form of rules, so that if the students do something wrong they know what they are doing. If a student is punished for something he/she does not know what was wrong, then they have no way of fixing in the future. Make expectations, then when they do something wrong they know why.

3.a. I have never witnessed any assignments being given out. The only pseudo assignment that has ever been presented is when one of the assistant band directors said, “You need to come into my office before concert festival and play the whole piece for me. You have a week and a half so everyone has plenty of time to do it.” There has never been a post on the board about a playing test or a worksheet. The only written work that is ever turned in is the essay when the director punishes a student and tells them to write a 500-word essay.

b. I’ve never seen either teacher assign work that is out-of-class.

c. There are no procedures to help students who have missed a day. They simply miss out on a rehearsal and are a required even more to know their parts from the day before. There are no excuses for absent people when it comes to know the music.

4.a. No specific equipment in the classroom. There is a pencil sharpener in the office, it doesn’t have rules around it, but the students have to ask before they get up to go use the sharpener. There are random trashcans everywhere, but you can’t get up in the middle of class to throw something away.

b. There are usually no problems with the equipment because all they have is a pencil sharpener. The students know the rules for the storage room (i.e. which way to go in and out) and for the storage of percussion equipment. The percussionist have their own room in which they can store all of their instruments and equipment.

Reflection

Once again I would take a lot more use out of any chalk board and bulletin board space that I have available to me. I would use this to communicate the expectations I have of students and what their punishments are if they disobey. That way it is reinforcement and a constant reminder that if the students do something out of line, then there will be a consequence. I would take attendance the same way, or have an honest student just look around and record who is not there, but I would do it more consistently. I would tell the students that they have 3 minutes after the bell rings to get out their horns, get the chit-chatting out of the way, play a few notes, and then be ready for attendance. That way the students don’t question timing and begin to push their limits. If I gave written assignments that required out of classroom work, I would remind them (written on board) when it is due, and then on the day of, tell the students that it must be turned in before class began. (i.e. 3 minutes after the bell rings.) It would be due in a tray that sat next to me in front of the classroom, so that I could monitor who was putting work in their and to minimize any cheating.

Practicum Assignment No. 4: Managing Student Behavior

Today I was able to observe Mr. Havely, the assistant director. Mr. Beckman was absent, and the experience was quite different.

1.

2.Most of the student’s behavior problems started during the warm-up period. They were still antsy and the teacher never really does anything to establish class and get them settled down and into the correct state of mind. To fix this issue during the next rehearsal segment (rehearsing big chunks), he asked more questions to keep the students interactive. They would listen, respond, and then immediately he would jump back into the piece, leaving no down time for behavior problems to spring up. If a student asked a specific question he would address it and then relate it to the rest of the class so that no one would be sitting there bored and with the opportunity to misbehave.

3. Mr. Havely had a great sense of flow throughout the class. He was always keeping the students engaged and he did it by knowing exactly what was coming up. If he was finished working with a section, he knew exactly what was coming up next, instead of flipping through his score or wondering what to do. Those actions would only allow for student misbehavior. He would constantly be ready to react if something happened and he always knew what would come next on his own teaching agenda. The only interruption occurred when an office aid walked in to give a note to the teacher, but he simple held out his hand, said a polite thank you, and set it on his podium. He did not stop to read it or address it at the time, but simply waited until a more appropriate time as to not ruin the flow of the rehearsal.