Student Teaching week 6.

This week was probably the easiest week so far. The students (and myself) have gotten into a pretty good routine. They know what to expect when in class now. I brought my acoustic guitar in and there are a few students who know how to play. So that was exciting. I sometimes let students sing and play the last few minutes of class and they really get a kick out of it. Teaching/testing songs on the piano is the highlight of my class. The students absolutely love it and it is a great instrument to learn. I really like the setup of a classroom-half the class plays piano, half the class works on workbooks/other activities. If possible I want to use this setup when I get my own class someday. One thing I want to do more is to incorporate student decision into the classroom listening. So, I made a box of "Song suggestions" and once a week try to pick a song from the box to play for the class. (if appropriate) Also, my cooperating teacher went to a meeting about actively having the students move around. So we have decided to try and incorporate "stations" in the classroom. One station will be piano, one with workbooks, and one music technology station. This will keep the student more active and move around. A great resource I discovered is Noteflight. Noteflight is a great way for students to compose music on their Chromebooks. One thing I have realized this week is the more you put students in the position of independence and decision making the better. The less I am involved, the more engaged students are. Giving students the option of independent or group work the more they have fun, especially for 7th-8th graders. I really think this idea of group stations. We came up with the idea of making a team/point system. Students with the most points at the end of the semester will get a reward. (i.e. pizza and doughnuts) I am not much for extrinsic motivation, but this is a good way for students to get work done, build group work/social skills, and set goals to accomplish.

Schmidt Chapter 8/9