Jordan Pavlica

9/14/19

SEC 499

Hamady Middle and High School is an urban north-Flint school that has similar

demographics to most schools in the Flint area. 95% of students are black and the majority of

them qualify for free or reduced lunch. The community is working class and is traditionally very

supportive of student sports in school.. Many students do not participate in after school activities

because they can’t get a ride home. The attendance of students who do participate is almost

always inconsistent and that’s usually do to the lack of transportation. I have around 10 students

with IEPs between my five classes and many more with behavioral issues. Student academic

performance has been low at Hamady for decades. Hamady scored in the bottom percentile for

most subjects in last years MSTEP tests. Many students at Hamady struggle to get good grades

but there is a program called Bridges that allows students to stay after school and get any

additional help they may need.

Hamady Middle and High School is part of Westwood Heights School District. Hamady

went from a class C to a class B school over summer and a lot of these new students came from

Flint schools via school of choice. Because of the sudden influx in population, the school is

operating on a 22% surplus which is what separates it from the Flint school district. Just last year

they spent $1 million on a new football field and this year the SuperIntendent is putting a lot of

money into rebuilding the band program. Additionally, I know that almost every single

classroom has a cart of chromebooks at their disposal as well as new smart boards in most
classrooms. The student population and community is very close to that in Flint schools, but

Hamady does have the financial resources that flint schools lack.

Mrs. Brewer is rebuilding the band program and from what she has told me, the school

has given her every resource she's asked for as long as she is working to find the best deals on

buying used instruments. The classroom is small for a band room and has staggered leveled/steps

the way a choir would, but it works for smaller class sizes like we currently have. It would be

difficult to fit more than 50 people in the room, which is still on the smaller side of bands in

Genesee County. The layout consists of 4 rows of chairs staggered level by level with the

conductor's podium being at the bottom-most level.

 Jordan Pavlica

SEC 499

Goals:

1. Students can comfortably and consistently play the first 7-10 notes with proper technique

and are efficient at reading music.

1. MU:Pr4.2.6b When analyzing selected music, read and identify by name or

function standard symbols for rhythm, pitch, articulation, and dynamics.

2. MU:Pr5.1.6a Identify and apply teacher-provided criteria (such as correct

interpretation of notation, technical accuracy, originality, and interest) to rehearse,

refine, and determine when a piece is ready to perform.

1. Students will learn to read music and play their instruments in class.

Beginning bands must focus on fundamentals like technique and music

reading so that students don’t fall behind later.

2. Students can use musical language to talk about the music that they like to listen to.

1. MU:Cn11.0.8a Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and

the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life.

1. Students can relate musical elements learned in class back to music from

their everyday life.

Questions that students may ask during the unit:

● What is the point of learning music in school?

● How can I get better at my instrument?

● How does this relate to the music that I listen to?

Pre-Assessment:

Students will take a written quiz on music reading, terms and definitions at the start of

their first semester of band. It will include things such as naming notes on the staff, basic music

theory and using musical language to describe elements in music. As for playing, the

pre-assessment must be taken a few weeks into the semester so students at least know the very

basics of the instrument like how to hold it and produce sound before they are asked to play for

an assessment. For the assessment, students will perform simple 3 note exercises out of their

book and recording themselves doing it.

Since these students have no prior music education, we must start from the very beginning with

them. The primary goals of the class are for students to develop a basic level of proficiency on

their instruments and for them to begin thinking about all music from the standpoint of a

musician. Since they will learn to play their instruments and read music throughout their first

semester of band, they will be able to demonstrate growth in those areas during the post
assessment. This is appropriate for beginning band in a district where the students have no

elementary music education because it covers much of what they would have otherwise already

learned.

For the post-assessment, students will take the exact same written music reading/theory quiz that

they took the already. They will have to change their answers to the correct ones, and in certain

situations, explain why. As for the playing assessment, students will perform the same exercises

they did at the start of the semester and record that. They then will be asked to compare the two.

Students will then record themselves playing an exercise from whatever point we reach in the

book for next time. They will have to think critically about musical concepts like tone, posture,

air support technique and they will use their ears to listen for rhythmic and melodic accuracy.

Students will be able to clearly see how much they learned in just one semester and then analyze

themselves. Since they had no prior music education, they should see enormous growth.

Instructional Plan:

The instructional plan will cover one week of class for 7th and 8th grade beginning band

and takes place partway through the semester.

Monday

Objective: Review material from last week and play with rhythmic and melodic accuracy.
 ● First 5-7 minutes of class: grabbing stands and books, setting up their

instruments and warming up on their own.

● 15-20 minutes: reviewing 21-24 looking for rhythmic and melodic

accuracy and proper playing posture/technique.

● 10 minutes: rhythmic clapping exercise. Review quarter notes and quarter

rests, add eight notes.

● Last 10 minutes: call and response exercise. I play simple melodic ideas

on my trombone and students echo them back in time. Focus on First five notes

and quarter/half note rhythmic variations.

● Students use the remainder of class to put their instruments and equipment

away.

Tuesday

Objective: For students to develop an understanding of the significance of Motown.

● First 5-7 minutes of class: grabbing stands and books, setting up their

instruments and warming up on their own.

● 5 minutes: reviewing 24, playing in duet combinations decided by the

students.
 ● 15-20 minutes: rehearse 25-28 in their book looking for rhythmic and

melodic accuracy and proper playing posture/technique.

● 5 minutes: students put away their instruments.

● 20 minutes: weekly listening exercise. This weeks is Motown and we’re

going to listen to Papa was a Rolling Stone by the Temptations. This involves

students doing a brief reading and answer some questions about the genre. We

will then have a classroom discussions on the historical impact and cultural

significance of Motown.

Wednesday

Objective: For students to use what they know about reading music to write and play some of

their own.

● First 5-7 minutes of class: grabbing stands and books, setting up their

instruments and warming up on their own.

● 10-15 minutes: 26 and 27 in book asking different students and groups to

play the solos/solis.

● 10 minutes: composition exercise number 28. Students compose the last 2

measures of an 8 measure song and volunteers can perform theirs for the class.
 ● 10 minutes rehearse 29 in book focus on the concept of stepwise motion

vs. larger intervallic leaps.

● 15 minutes: students get in groups to select a song between numbers 23-29

to work on in sectionals. The song they select will be what they play for their

playing quiz on Friday. I will walk around and help where needed.

● Students use the remainder of class to put their instruments and equipment

away.

Thursday

Objective: To use proper rehearsal technique to practice in small sections independently and to

learn concert G.

● First 5-7 minutes of class: grabbing stands and books, setting up their

instruments and warming up on their own.

● 5 minutes: warm up with a review of number 29.

● 20 minutes: Learn new note concert G with correct fingerings on all

instruments, using number 30 in book to rehearse as a group.

● 10 minutes: rhythmic clapping exercise. Review quarter notes and quarter

rests, eighth notes, and eight rests and whole notes.

 ● 25 minutes: Students get in their groups from yesterday to rehearse the

songs they selected for their quiz.

● Students use the remainder of class to put their instruments and equipment

away.

Friday

Objective: For students to perform their selected song in groups in front of the class while the

rest of the class practices being a good audience.

●​ F
​ irst 5-7 minutes of class: grabbing stands and books, setting up their instruments and

warming up on their own.

●​ 5
​ minutes: review concert G in number 30.

●​ 1
​ 5 minutes: rehearse numbers 31-33 looking for rhythmic and melodic accuracy and

efficiency in transitioning to a new note.

●​ 1
​ 0 minutes: students get in groups and have a final rehearsal for their quiz.

●​ 2
​ 0 minutes: playing quiz. Students perform their selected song in a group in front of

the class. I grade each group member on posture, technique and rhythmic and melodic

accuracy.

●​ S
​ tudents use the remainder of class to put their instruments and equipment away.
Students develop proficiency on their instruments through constant rehearsal in class and

practice on their own. Rehearsing through exercises in a beginning book is standard for bands at

this level. Slowly adding new concepts and notes while constantly reinforcing previously learned

ones will make students very comfortable with music reading and on their instrument. Daily

rehearsal will help build up confidence and proficiency so students are ready for their quiz on

Friday.

Presentation of Data and Explanation and Analysis of Results (6%)

Choose a format (e.g., chart, Excel spreadsheet) for presenting the results of the pre and

post-assessments for the whole class.

1. Choose a format for presenting the results of the formative assessments for the individual

students you are following (e.g., chart, Excel spreadsheet, samples of student work,

excerpts from student work).

 §​ ​Students in band class receive constant formative assessment through daily

rehearsal practices. Musical development is slow and is often measured by comparing

student growth from the beginning of the semester to the end instead of on a regular

weekly basis.

2. Based on the data presented, describe and explain student growth.

§​ ​By the point that I was finished student teaching, the majority of students in my

beginning band classes could consistently read and play their first 7 notes. Some

students cannot yet tell when they are playing incorrect notes, even with the correct

fingering/slide position. As for my second instructional goal, the class focus shifted

away from general music appreciation and association to students daily lives as the

semester went on. Although, towards the end of the semester I noticed students using

their instrument to figure out melodies to music they listened to on their own. This

means students were still making practical connections to material learned in class

without specific instructions to do so.

o​ What conclusions can you draw about whether and to what extent students met the stated
​

learning objectives?

·​ Most students met the 7 note learning objective but with varying degrees of success. My goal
​

was to build a strong foundation of fundamentals for the students but by the end of the semester

there were still students who relied on writing in fingerings under each note in place of reading

the actual music.

o​ What artifacts of teaching provide evidence of this learning?
​

·​ We had a couple playing quizzes where I could assess students individually. I was able to see
​

which students could confidently read and play their part independently and I picked out which

students were struggling in certain areas.

o​ How do these artifacts point to the student growth that you describe?
​

·​ Using my ears to assess students, it was easy to tell which ones were playing the right notes
​

and which were struggling.

3. Based on the data presented, explain gaps in student learning.

·​ I noticed gaps in student learning most clearly in their music reading abilities. Most of my
​

students were more comfortable reading rhythms than pitches. Even by the end of the semester I

could tell that many students were learning their part by watching the fingers of someone near

them, using their ears to figure out notes, or by writing in their fingerings/ slide positions under

every note instead of learning to actually read the music.

o​ What conclusions can you draw about the gaps in student learning?
​

·​ Many students discovered shortcuts for keeping up in class instead of learning to read music.
​

It was only apparent during individual playing quizzes that certain students could play as they

were expected to but were falling behind with their music reading abilities.

o​ What artifacts of teaching provide evidence of these gaps?

​
·​ Individual playing quizzes allowed me to check in on each student. When they can only play
​

with other people on their same instrument, or when I see that they have to write in their

fingerings for every song it is clear that they are not reading music.

o​ How do these artifacts point to the gaps that you describe?

​

·​ It is apparent that a student struggles to read music when assessing them individually.
​

4. Based on the data presented, describe and explain unexpected student learning.

· Unexpected student learning happened most frequently with modeling and echoing. For

example, I taught a five note scale by playing one note at a time and having the class echo me

back on their instruments. After students could play all the correct notes, I taught them what a

scale was and demonstrated how they already learned one. Additionally, I taught many musical

concepts through modeling. If I wanted students to crescendo I would demonstrate and then have

them echo me, even if they didn’t always know what I was doing.

o​ What conclusions can you draw about unexpected student learning?

​

·​ I had a lot of success with unexpected learning. Students seem more eager to learn when
​

there’s some mystery and they can develop curiosity for the subject.

o​ What artifacts of teaching provide evidence of this unexpected learning?

​

·​ Teaching songs through echoing. Sometimes I would play no more than a measure at a time
​

and have students echo me without using any music. I would add a couple notes at a time and

always started back at the beginning so students learned through using their ears and repetition.
Once everyone knew the song, I had them open their music and tell me what song they had just

learned. This helped students make connections between what they were playing and the notes

on their page while also learning the songs that we had to be learning.

o​ How does these artifacts point to unexpected learning?

​

·​ Because many students struggled with reading music, I was able to teach some songs much
​

more quickly by using the rote method. If I had taught the song by having the students read

through it many of them would have struggled. Teaching by ear allowed the students to really

focus on the music instead of putting all their effort into reading the notes on the page.

Evaluation of Teacher Effectiveness ​(​6%)

This is a writing task where you will reflect on the effectiveness of your instruction and consider

plans to modify future instruction in order to better meet students’ needs and to provide better

learning opportunities. As you write your reflection, address the following:

1.​ D
​ escribe the extent to which you believe you met your instructional goals and

objectives. Identify more than one possible explanation and further reflect on one of

those possibilities.

·​ The primary goal was for students to develop a firm musical foundation on their instrument
​

while learning about an octave worth of notes. Most students have learned their first seven notes

but they still constantly play with improper technique and many struggle to read. I would have
preferred to sacrifice progress in the book in order to make sure everyone was developing the

abilities that they needed to succeed in the class, but the pacing wasn’t up to me.

2.​ D
​ escribe the extent do you believe that your instructional plan incorporated a

variety of learning experiences.

·​ We did numerous things to provide a wide variety of learning experiences aside from general
​

rehearsal. I frequently did echoing exercises in order to train students ears for both pitches and

rhythms. I had the students do a variety of composition and improvisation exercises too. The

students had many opportunities to work in sectionals where they were given the responsibility

to work together to rehearse music. On a few occasions we even played games to develop good

breathing technique.

3.​ D
​ escribe the extent to which you guided and supported student learning.

·​ I was frequently able to work with students individually to provide any help they may have
​

needed. When we let the band work in sectionals, I would allow the students to take

responsibility and demonstrate leadership by rehearsing their section. I stepped in to keep people

on track but I wanted the students to think about what needed to be rehearsed.

4.​ I​ dentify the most successful and least successful elements of your instructional

plan and provide possible explanations for success and lack of success.

·​ Most students had success learning their beginning notes and playing the expected songs out
​

of the book. I was able to achieve this by moving slowly and working with individual sections so

that everyone felt confident with their playing. The least successful part of my instruction plan
was my goal for students to make musical connections between what we did in class and music

that students listened to on their own. I got a list of all my students favorite songs and used that

to find songs where I could relate musical elements back to what we learned in class. I attempted

this exercise many times and the majority of the students never made the connections that I was

hoping for. Perhaps I was doing it in a way that was too academic by always having students

write about it.

5.​ D
​ iscuss how you might have unintentionally impeded students’ learning or

advantaged some students while ​dis-​ advantaging others. You might consider

misunderstandings you may have had about your students’ prior knowledge and/or

experiences.

·​ My beginning band classes had many students with behavior issues and IEPS. These students
​

were often extra frustrated when they struggled and were almost always my first priority when I

allowed students to work in sectionals. By the end of the semester I could tell that I had put a lot

more time working with the students who struggled the most behaviorally than I had with some

of the quieter students who may have slipped under my radar.

6.​ I​ f you were to teach this unit again, identify multiple ways that you might modify

your instruction in order to improve student performance.

·​ If I am to teach beginning band again I’m going to rely a lot less on the method book.
​

Students have no interest in those songs and I felt like I would have had way more success

teaching if I was able to maintain my students interest. I would like to teach in a more rote-style
using songs the students know and like. I would also do sectionals more frequently, at least once

a week. That away I can give adequate attention to every section and no one will get left behind.

7.​ D
​ iscuss your most significant insights about student learning, particularly about

gaps in student learning and unexpected student learning.

·​ My most significant insight about student learning is that the material must be taught in a way
​

that’s engaging and that students want to learn. I believe that a large part of why classroom

management was so difficult in beginning band was because the students were bored. Most of

them didn’t want to take band to begin with but if the music we played was something they

enjoyed then it would have been much easier to teach. There would have been less gaps in

student learning if I had spent more time working with individual students.