Practicum Reflection Journal 7 Mariah Sands

04 May 2017
After you have taught the lesson in Journal Entry 6, write a reflection of your thoughts
about that lesson. Evaluate each component of your lesson, including the pacing of the
lesson.

What did you do that was successful? Unsuccessful?

Some of the things that were successful include the way that I asked questions so students
would answer by raising their hands. This was something that I learned to do in the first few
questions I asked. Furthermore, I tried not to use language like good job, and I think that I was
fairly successful at this. Overall, I think the lesson was successful. The students learned the new
solfege, la, and they were able to identify the rhythms and solfege well on their own. The pacing
was successful, but I do think that I need to work on my questioning skills so I can direct the
class in the appropriate way and in the right time.
An unsuccessful portion was my ability to give students a visual, aural, and kinesthetic
experience. I gave the aural and kinesthetic, but I didnt create a visual experience. I also failed
to sing the song beforehand, so the students did not have anything to reference before we began
dissecting the song. I still need to work on my instructions and being more precise and concise.

Did the students respond as you predicted?

Yes:
- The students understood what ta and ti-ti were and were able to identify them on the
board.
- The students noticed that some of the boxes were the same, rhythmically.
- The students were able to sing both so and mi, and identify them aurally. They also sang
with solfege hand signs as I had expected.
- In general, the students participated respectfully, but still had issues with blurting out.
This was expected.

No
- I didnt expect them to know do and be able to connect the new note to do as quickly as
they did.
- In general, I didnt expect them to give me the answers they did or to grasp the concept as
quickly as they did. I thought it would take more prompting, but the students were very
eager to participate.

Were the objectives attainable?

Students will compare bars of music to make deductions about the implications of the
similarities.
Yes, the students were easily able to do this since they had been used to doing this in
other lessons. My prompting helped, but they quickly noticed the similarities without much
prompting.

Students will learn the solfege and rhythms of the song Apple Tree.
I would mark this as completed, but only since I knew what I meant when I wrote that
they will learn the solfege and rhythms. Learn was a vague and unmeasurable term. I should
have chosen a verb that was measurable and easily observable since I was only observing the
children, not taking any notes. For instance, I think that correctly sing 50% of the soflege and
Practicum Reflection Journal 7 Mariah Sands
04 May 2017
rhythms, might have been a better objective. However, measurability is questionable here as
well. Honestly, Im not quite sure what verb would be best here.

Students will learn a new solfege name and sign, la.

Again, I am not satisfied with the verb, learn. I think a better way to write this objective
would have been: students will use the solfege name and sign, la, in the context of the song,
Apple Tree. The students were able to accomplish the re-written version of my objective, but I
am uncertain if they actually learned the solfege name and sign.

Students will perform the song, Apple Tree on solfege and text.
In my mind, performing meant that the students will sing it at the end of the lesson
segment on solfege and text at separate times with the aid of the slides on the Smart Board. This
was achieved by the students since it was scaffolded well and they are used to learning a new
song this way.

What evidence do you have that the students were learning the content?
Students were participating by singing along even without the rhythms or solfege labeled.
Thy were also able to sing the song and clap the rhythms without me pointing along. When the
students were watching the screen, most were able to use the appropriate hand signs while
singing without looking to my hands for help. Students responded to the prompts I gave and
correctly used the new hand sign when prompted.

Were you able to manage the behaviors of the class in a positive respectful manner?
For the most part, I was. There were a couple of times when students were getting out of
hand and I had to remind them that they needed to raise their hands to answer the questions.
Most of their blurting out was my fault since I worded questions and looked to the class in ways
that would suggest that I didnt want them to raise their hands.

If you could teach the lesson again, what would you do differently and how would this
make a difference in how the class learns/reacts to your teaching?
First of all, I would sing the song before we start analyzing it so they have a aural
representation. I would sing it once, then have them echo me phrase by phrase. Secondly, I
would reword my questions so that students would not blurt out as much.
Simply adding the phrase, Please raise your hand, or Who can tell me _ by raising their
hand? would help a lot. Third, I would not look at the board as much and focus more on the
students. To help this , I would ask the music helper to come and point to the board. Also simply
allowing the students to try and sing it on their own without me pointing would allow me more
opportunities to assess the students singing and accomplishment of the objectives.