Music Lesson Plan Analysis and Modifications

Eric Mai

18377428

University of Western Sydney

Quality Teaching Model Analysis

1 Intellectual quality
1.1 Deep knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: The activities are centred around the umbrella concept of pitch at an introductory
level, focusing on concepts of higher and lower pitch, the treble clef and staff. The lesson
plan includes a revision of rhythm and the last activity ties the two concepts of pitch and
rhythm together. Each activity builds on the last concept to create a clear progression of pitch.

1.2 Deep understanding

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comment: Not Observed in the lesson plan. Understanding the treble clef is arduous for
beginners at sheet music and insufficient time is allocated to remembering and assessing the
notes.

1.3 Problematic knowledge

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Some of the information presented is only true on instruments with a keyboard
and is not presented from other instruments’ perspectives. The ‘7 white’ notes are not
necessarily white across all instruments, especially on tuned percussion.

1.4 Higher-order thinking

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Asking students to create acronyms and write their own words on the stave can
generate higher order thinking, but students are unlikely to use the acronym if the answer is
on the board. Students also compose and perform a short melody which can generate higher
order thinking in one activity.

1.5 Metalanguage
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: The musical metalanguage of pitch, treble clef and staff/staves are explained and
used throughout the lesson, however to what extent is not clear on the lesson plan.

1.6 Substantive communication

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Explicit substantive communication in this lesson plan is only evident in the
musical activities that require clapping and verbal naming of pitches. There is little to no
sustained communication.

Quality learning environment

2.1 Explicit quality criteria
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Tasks are mostly procedural, and the level or quality of answers is not explicitly
clear on the lesson plan. There is also no reflection on the quality of work from both students
or teacher.

2.2 Engagement
1–2–3–4–5 Comments: Not Observable in the lesson plan. There is a large potential for student
disengagement with the majority of the activities being teacher centred teaching, also
learning to read sheet music is not an interesting topic for students, especially those who are
not particularly interested in music.

2.3 High expectations

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Not observable in the lesson plan. Expectations is quite low throughout the
lesson for students as there is a low amount of higher order thinking. Whether many students
participate is not observed in the lesson plan.

2.4 Social support

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Not Observed in the lesson plan. No evidence of support of students especially
those who are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with concepts when performing.
2.5 Students’ self-regulation
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Not observed in the lesson plan. No alternative activities or more advanced
activities for students who are already adept in lesson concepts. Mostly direct instructions
and teacher directed teaching

2.6 Student direction

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: There is no availability of student direction in terms of choice of activities and
how much time is spent on it. A lot of lesson time is spent on direct instruction and examples.

3 Significance
3.1 Background knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: The only background knowledge elicited is rhythm from the previous lesson.
The lesson does not account for any “out of school” knowledge, cultural, local knowledge or
personal experience with music.

3.2 Cultural knowledge

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: There is no recognition or valuing of cultural knowledge whether Australian or
students from diverse backgrounds.

3.3 Knowledge integration

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: No meaningful connection is made to other subjects or cross-curriculum
perspectives.

3.4 Inclusivity
1–2–3–4–5 Comments: Not observed in the lesson plan. There is no opportunity to explore pitch with
instruments without a keyboard layout e.g. guitar, violin. There is also a lack of group
work/activities present in the lesson plan. There is also no discussion on the music of other
cultures.

3.5 Connectedness
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: There is no connection to or justification of the lesson beyond school presented
in the lesson plan. Musical examples could easily be used to present a connection to outside
school.

3.6 Narrative
1–2–3–4–5 Comments: There is no explicit use of narrative as content or process in the lesson plan.
Narrative could be used as part of the lesson but is unlikely to enhance the substance of the
lesson

Areas for Improvement

QT model
1) Higher Order Thinking 2) Student Direction
3) Substantive Communication 4) Background knowledge
 Modified Lesson Plan

Topic area: Stage of Learner: Stage 4 Syllabus Pages:

Pitch

Date: Location Booked: Lesson Number: /

Time: Total Number of students Printing/preparation

50 minutes
Whiteboard
Keyboards /
tuned percussion

Students’ chosen instruments

Manuscript Paper

Outcomes Assessment Students learn about Students learn to

4.5 Notates compositions • notating • explore forms of

using traditional and/or non- compositions using musical notation,
traditional notation. various forms of including computer-
traditional and non- based applications, as a
4.9 Demonstrates musical traditional notation method of recording
literacy through the use of their own musical ideas
notation, terminology, and • identifying,
the reading and interpreting understanding and • respond to the range
of scores used in the music describing how
the of repertoire used for
selected for study concepts of music listening
have been used and
manipulated

Time Teaching and learning actions

min Mark the roll

Review duration by asking students to name and identify the duration of

note types either in relation to each other note or in fractions. Include both
Italian and fractional names.

The teacher writes the symbols and note duration on the board in a table
as students respond. Include both notes and rests.

Let students choose one of the following exercises to recap rhythm

1. Simple sight-reading clapping exercise with rhythm notated on board with

teacher counting the beats or using a metronome, the students perform the
notated piece to the best of their ability.
2. Echo clapping exercise with slightly more difficult rhythms with the teacher
clapping a short 1 bar rhythmic phrase in common time and have students
repeat after 1 bar of rest to the best of their ability
Assess students’ performance and repeat as necessary until the class is
clapping in unison.

10 Create a mind map about what is pitch, how might it be used in music and
how it is notated or written down:
min
Try to link ideas back to examples in popular or other music, examples can
come from either from the teacher or student.

The teacher explains the staff and explains the treble clef dictates what
notes are presented on the staff.

Label the notes using the acronym “Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit” for
the note names on the lines and “FACE” for remembering notes in the
 spaces on the treble clef

Explain that these are the 7 natural notes in music and these are arranged
in a repeating pattern and create the C major scale. These are the white
keys on a piano.

Have the students write out the treble clef and the C major scale labelling
each note on manuscript paper using the given acronym or their own. Can
be either ascending, descending or both.

Using a “keyboard” drawn on the whiteboard and a piano explain the

repeating pattern of natural notes on the white keys. These notes exist
across all tuned western instruments like guitar, violin and flutes.

10 Have the students spread out and form groups of 2 or 3 ideally more
musically knowledgeable students are spread across the groups.
mins
Have a student play 2 notes one at a time and notate it on the piece of
manuscript paper and have the other student/s say whether the second
note was high, low or the same.

Students Rotate every 3 guesses

The teacher moves around ensuring each group understands and can
identify higher, lower or the same note.

The teacher should also check that students notate correctly on with the
treble clef on the staves.

In the same group compose a short 1 to 2 bar melody that flows in a

general direction, notate it, practice and perform it to each other.
20
Consider rhythm or other elements such as dynamics and performance
min techniques to make the melody more interesting.

Students should try composing variations of the same melody if students

are comfortable with this task, extending the melody to up to 4 bars long.

Students can use their instrument of choice for this activity.

Students should critique the general direction and flow of the melody.

- How does the melody sound to them?

- What mood do they feel from it?
 Each group performs their melody to the class at the end.

5 Quick Summary of lesson

mins Pack up

How am I measuring the outcomes of this lesson?

Learning Outcome Method of measurement and recording

4.5 Notates compositions Informal assessment of student responses to teaching

using traditional and/or
non-traditional notation. and learning activities.

4.9 Demonstrates musical Informal assessment of student responses to teaching

literacy through the use of
notation, terminology, and and learning activities.
the reading and interpreting
of scores used in the music
selected for study
Justification of music lesson plan modifications

This lesson plan on pitch contained a good amount of information and structure, however

many of the activities were lacking in student centred activities to facilitate higher order

thinking. Many of the activities were low order repetitive tasks that were very teacher centred

and uninteresting for the students and did not cater to the possibility of students who were

already familiar with musical concepts.

Background Knowledge

This lesson plan had no consideration of student background knowledge, and as music is

an almost universally used medium to communicate and interact among societies it is highly

likely students have some preconception and knowledge of music as a listener if not a performer.

Modifications were made to the lesson plan to include some background knowledge through the

use of a mindmap activity where students can give out ideas which may be specific or general to

their understanding and preconceptions of pitch in music. Research has shown it is important to

link experiences with texts to construct meaningful connections to concepts and helps build upon

domain-specific knowledge (Neuman, Kaefer, & Pinkham, 2014). By making these connections

from outside of school which can relate to students interests and knowledge, students can make

inferences to complete an idea or grasp an idea more readily (Elbro & Buch-Iversen, 2013). In

this case, a mindmap was used to create inferences and links to the concept of pitch as research

shows that it made learning more interesting and enjoyable and its application is widely

transferable as an active learning method (Geuna & Giacobini-Robecchi, 2002).

Substantive Communication

In the original lesson plan, there was a lot of direct instruction and individual work that

did not foster communication between the teacher or the students. The modification added to this

lesson plan to improve substantive communication is the addition of group work and the self-

criticism or self-reflection of their work, the activities were modified to be student centred rather

than teacher centred. As there is no wrong answer artistically, the aim of the activity was for the

students to create their own criteria to satisfy and critically evaluated their success amongst their

group and share their creative process with the teacher. This creates a longer dialogue which

moves away from traditional initiate, respond, evaluate conversations to a sustained and

engaging conversation that also facilitates higher-order thinking (Gore, 2007, p. 21).

Student Direction

All of the activities in the original lesson plan were dictated by the teacher guiding the

class through a series of activities and direct instruction. Modifications to the lesson plan gave

the students some control over which activities they would like to complete to increase

engagement with the task and increasing student direction. Also, the last activity was modified to

allow students of greater musical ability than the scope of the lesson to work beyond the set task

by creating variations on the melody with their background knowledge and are encouraged to

make it more interesting and stylised. A big factor in student direction is not to give the students

the choice of the outcome but the choice to reach that outcome, but offering choice students have

an increased connectedness to their learning and allows students to make and achieve personal

goals where possible (CAST, 2018). Thus, by allowing students to use their background

knowledge in music as they wish and for students to choose their activity increases student

direction and creates a greater connection with the concepts or lesson.

Higher-Order Thinking

There is some higher order thinking in the lesson plan however the 5 minutes allocated is

too limited to create anything meaningful, the modification place more emphasis on the

compositional and performative aspect of the activity and the time is extended to a 20-minute

activity. Rather than use the teacher’s examples to illustrate these points students will compose

and perform in groups where students who are less comfortable with music can learn through

peer collaboration and subsequently after creating their composition they are to self-reflect

critically on the quality of their work. In order for students to reach this point, they need to

understand the concepts and the product they have created. Research into cognitive activity

shows that the cognitive domain required to achieve the creation and analyse the level of

Bloom’s taxonomy can be facilitated by the encouragement of group collaboration, analysis and

composition in music lessons (Coleman, 2016). Thus, higher order thinking is used in this lesson

plan in the addition of collaborative group compositions, performances and self-reflection.

Learning Portfolio URL: https://ericmai18377428.weebly.com/standard-3.html

 References

CAST. (2018). Optimize individual choice and autonomy. Retrieved from

http://udlguidelines.cast.org/engagement/recruiting-interest/choice-autonomy
Coleman, V. M. (2016). Aligning National Standards for Music Education with Bloom's Revised
Taxonomy. Choral Director, 13(1), 10-11.
Elbro, C., & Buch-Iversen, I. (2013). Activation of Background Knowledge for Inference
Making: Effects on Reading Comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 17(6), 435-
452. doi:10.1080/10888438.2013.774005
Geuna, S., & Giacobini-Robecchi, M. G. (2002). The use of brainstorming for teaching human
anatomy. The Anatomical Record, 269(5), 214-216. doi:10.1002/ar.10168
Gore, J. (2007). Making a difference: Challenges for teachers, teaching, and teacher education.
Rotterdam: Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Neuman, S. B., Kaefer, T., & Pinkham, A. (2014). Building Background Knowledge. The
Reading Teacher, 68(2), 145-148. doi:10.1002/trtr.1314