A Final Product is a piece of work created to benefit the creator, their community, their mentor, or be a basis for future learning.
My Final Product is a journal compiled of lessons I learned from my mentor, Mr. Holzer that can be used for future reference and learning.
Date: 2/20/19
Time: 2:00-4:00
Material Covered:
Scales, Lines from student’s book
Mentor Feedback:
Don’t teach different classes the same; because they’re not the same.
What I learned:
Today I learned not to teach all classes the same, because they’re not the same. At the beginning of the year, due to my schedule I was only able to teach the oboe class. Now however, I am teaching both the beginner oboe and bassoon class. I’ve quickly realized that even though I go over the same material, the classes are very different. The oboe class is brighter and more willing to learn than the bassoon class, while the bassoons are much more laid back. So I’m having to figure out how each class learns in order to be able to teach them better.
What I could Improve on:
I need to determine what teaching style works better for both classes, then implement it. I’ve already grasped the oboe class’ behaviors since I have been with them longer, and I’m starting to get the idea of what to do for the bassoon class. The oboes are pretty quiet, and don’t really try and talk a lot. However, they’ll engage in conversation if I start it, so I try and make quick conversations every couple minutes to get the focused and that works for them. The bassoons are the opposite: loud and talkative, so it’s easier to give them breaks, but it's harder to get them focused.
Date: 2/26/19
Time: /2:00-4:00
Material Covered:
All students took turns performing a solo titled “The Good Life” in front of the class today.
Mentor Feedback:
What I learned:
Today the students played solos in front of the whole class, (meaning the oboes and trumpets, or the bassoons and euphoniums). I didn’t think today was such a big deal until the students started playing. As a musician I’ve dealt with performance anxiety for seven years and am used to it by now, but I realized that this 1) was the students first real solo performance, and 2) this determined a lot for the students. The solo wasn’t a hard piece, and everyone played the same thing, but it was the student's first time performing by themselves, so it was very exposed. It was easy to tell who did better than someone else, or who sounded really bad. If one student messed up really badly in front of their friends, they’ll be very nervous for their next performance, and this could set a precedent for performance anxiety. But if a student did well, their anxiety would probably be considerably less the next time.
What I could Improve on:
Even though I didn’t do anything but observe today, I did notice something. Since I was standing up at the front with the other teacher, I saw lots of kids looking at me while others were going, especially when the students performing made a mistake. I saw that they mostly looked when another students messed up, or was doing poorly. I assume they were looking to see how I reacted to that, maybe to know how they should react. Regardless I recognized that all my actions are really important in that position.
Date: 3/13/19
Time: 2:00-4:00
Material Covered:
Scales, Music from student’s books
Mentor Feedback:
Always try and teach better throughout the day.
What I learned:
Lately I’ve really noticed the repetition there is teaching the same things to multiple classes everyday. Mr. Holzer has to go over the same material for eight class periods every day, and I was finding it difficult to go over the same thing only 2 times a day. And even though the classes are different, it’s hard to keep repeating myself. I think Mr. Holzer noticed, because he told me that since you teach same information, you can try and find ways to teach better throughout the day. He said that every different class period is an opportunity to improve your teaching from the class before in some way.
What I could Improve on:
I was thinking of ways to implement this idea into my teaching, because it’s more difficult than it seems. It’s easy in some ways, for example, if I notice the students in one class really struggle with a concept, I can take more time, and find a better way to explain it to the next class. The tricky part is that the two classes I teach are different. As I’ve said before, one class is quicker and more apt than the other class, and they both learn differently. Since I already know how to react to the differences between the two, and I have to figure out how to find that balance, to improve myself between the two classes.
Date: 3/19/19
Time: 2:00-4:00
Material Covered:
Scales, Music from student’s books
Mentor Feedback:
Make time for breaks from learning.
What I learned:
My lesson for the week was to give the kids more ‘breaks’ from learning, otherwise it’s just boring. I thought I had been doing this, but not enough. I was forgetting that the environment I’m used to is very different from the environment sixth graders are used to. Mr. Holzer told me to always have a joke or random story ready if I notice the kids gettings bogged down. If that happens, you just have to give them a little break, and then they’re ready to learn again. And by break I just mean talk to them, or make them laugh. Just something that doesn’t have to do with what they’re learning. That way, when it is time to get back on track, they’ll be fresh and ready to go.
What I could Improve on:
Basically, I just need to be able to notice when the students are reaching their limit, or becoming lethargic, then do something so they can focus again. And it doesn’t have to be huge, I can make a joke, or ask what they’re doing this weekend, if they’ve seen this movie etc.
Date: 3/27/19
Time: 2:00-4:00
Material Covered:
Scales, Band music
Mentor Feedback:
A big part of the job is recruiting.
What I learned:
Though this isn’t specific to teaching in a classroom, I learned that a big part of being a band teacher is recruiting. I mean, it makes sense. You need kids to take band so you can have a band. This is especially important in middle school too. If a student is in band in eighth grade, they will probably continue into high school. But the closest thing to music most fifth graders have gotten was playing those plastic recorders. If you can get 100 fifth graders to join band, then most will most likely continue with music until the end of high school.
What I could Improve on:
Obviously I can’t really use this information now, but it’s good to know for later. So now that I know, I can start seeing other people’s ideas now and potentially use them later. Some of the things Mr. Holzer does to recruit students are events like instrument petting zoos, where students can come try instruments and pick the instrument they like best. The students being able to actually hold and play the instruments is really cool, and most kids who attend the event end up in band. Another thing he does is picking the best six grader in every class (the best flute, the best trumpet etc.) and bringing them around to elementary schools and having them play a short song for fifth graders. While this is fun for the fifth graders, it also shows them that they could be like that after a year of playing, and gets them excited about band. There’s also things like passing out shirts, going around and talking to younger students, making cute videos, etc.
Date: 4/2/19
Time: 2:00-4:00
Material Covered:
Scales, Band music
Mentor Feedback:
Remember what level the students are on
What I learned:
This was actually feedback from myself, to constantly remind myself what level the students are on. Obviously I’m used to playing on a much different level than sixth graders who are just learning, but as someone who gets easily bored, I have to remind myself of that. For example, if we’re going over a very basic line of music, and it’s taking the students a while to understand it, I just have to take a deep breath and remind myself that I was like that at one point too.
What I could Improve on:
The biggest thing for me is just making sure I stay focused. I’m not good at focusing on something for a while and get easily bored. While this has never affected my teaching, I need to be totally engaged to be a good teacher. I try and remember how confusing and difficult my first year of band was, but I had a really good teacher who made it fun and easier. Plus, I’ve been in band for 7 years and still don’t understand every aspect of music, so I can’t expect 11 year olds to understand everything right away.
Date: 4/9/19
Time: 2:00-4:00
Material Covered:
Scales, Band music
Mentor Feedback:
Use lesson plans lightly.
What I learned:
So every week I send Mr. Holzer a lesson plan of what I plan to do the next week. While they’re not super detailed, I have a structured plan for the next class. However, Mr. Holzer has a hobby of throwing me curveballs. For example, if I had planned to work on piece A, he might say let's work on piece B instead. Or he could be doing something with the class, then ask me to do it instead, generally just tossing me into situations randomly.
What I could Improve on:
His reasoning, he later told me, was so that I’m able to improvise. He said that it’s good to have a lesson plan, but most of the time that doesn’t work out and you have to be able to think on your feet to keep the class going.
Date: 4/15/19
Time: 2:00-4:00
Material Covered:
Scale Baseball
Mentor Feedback:
Use games as a tool.
What I learned:
This week Mr. Holzer was out of town, and the other band director, Mr. McKellar, did something really cool. The class ( which was the oboe and euphonium class combined) played a game called Scale Baseball. It was basically a game where the class was divided into teams by section, and could score points by playing their scales. It was a lot of fun for them, but it served another purpose too. The students don’t have audition music for next year, they just have to play all their scales to determine their band placement. So while the kids thought it was just a game, it also showed them that they really needed to practice their scales. Since they had to play in front of the whole class to score points, it was obvious that a lot of them weren’t very good at their scales, and the danger of embarrassing themselves should motivate them to practice.
What I could Improve on:
This was a really cool idea, because it was fun, it put the students on the spot, and made them better. This was a great example of making something kind of boring like scales fun. It showed that there’s always a way to make things fun and entertaining, but still have educational value. It just went to show that you can always find a balance. That showed me that you can find a balance of learning and fun for everything.
Date: 4/23/19
Time: 2:00-4:00
Material Covered:
Scales, Class solo
Mentor Feedback:
Force the students to actually learn.
What I learned:
Even though this seems like a no-brainer, it’s my responsibility to help the kids learn. I realized though, that I was giving the students answers instead of making them think for themselves. For example, instead of me saying, “This is the C scale”, I’ll say “What scale is this?” and then “How do we know?”, which forces the students to think about what they’re doing instead of me telling them. I’ve found that this method works better than just giving the information out, because helps the students to understand what they’re doing and remember better for next time.
What I could Improve on:
Since asking the students rather than telling them helps them more, I’ve started using that approach more, and I feel less like I’m just telling them and more like I’m actually teaching them. (Which is the goal.) I’ve also noticed that now they don’t just retain the information; they use it. For example, last class we were listening to a recording of their solo being played. In a situation like this, the students finger along. Most of the time I have to remind them to do this. However, when the recording started they actually started fingering along without me reminding them. When I ask the students a question and they answer correctly, they prove to me they knew what to do, and therefore should be able to do it from now on. Plus, if you ask a student a question, they answer correctly and receive positive affirmation, they’re going to be more motivated to learn more so they can answer more questions right.