MUSE 100

e-Portfolio Template

STANDARD 3: Learning Environments

The teacher works with others to create environments that support individuals and collaborative learning, and that
encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning and self-motivation.

The learning environment physically would be the music room, or band/choir room that students will have
classes in for any music class but is also the overall environment where they will learn how to express themselves
through music. Music is an unique art form and it is very universal in the world and can be communicated across
many different languages and cultures and it brings many people from different backgrounds together. Music is
supposed to be a safe space where every student can express themselves in a pure way to their fullest potential
without being judged. It is important as educators to establish a comfortable learning environment where all students
can feel accepted in their learning environment whether that be a classroom, a band or choir room. All classrooms at
all ages K-12 should be suitable for students to flourish and enjoy their time without feeling left out and neglected
while learning.
Personally, at this skill I am not entirely sure where I stand, as I haven’t had too much teaching experience. I
feel that I can really grow, but I know that I really want to make all students feel comfortable and welcome so that
they have a great time while getting the most out of their education and by growing as musicians. I want to establish
a safe and comfortable learning environment for all. I am still working out how I will do that, but one way I will try
and make every student feel accepted is by making sure no one student is ever put in a situation where they feel
excluded, or uncomfortable. I want to do this by making lots of group bonding activities within all sections of all
ensembles and I want to encourage outside of class bonding time whether that be through kickball games with
sections or going out together on a Friday night bowling. I want to make sure everyone is included and feels like
they belong.
I am going to grow on this skill and need to work on trying to come up with more activities to bring students
together to create a more passive and engaging learning environment. Students should come to school with the
desire to learn and the only way they will want to learn is if they have fun and can connect to the content which in
this case will be music. The only way to create such a connection and sense of engagement is through coming up
with activities in class and outside of it that can help create strong bonds of friendship with other students. This will
only boost engagement for all students in the music program and will allow it to flourish and I hope to grow as an
educator and focus on students having a good time while having a decent music education that will help them to
grow as musicians and individuals.

STANDARD 4: Content Knowledge

The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and
creates learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure
mastery of content.

This standard talks about the structure that is necessary to run a successful education environment for students.
This can be applied to both music and a regular classroom setting. The ways to implement this standard into a music
setting is to have overall standards of rehearsal etiquette to make rehearsal efficient as possible. This also helps with
allowing for the building of skills for the students to develop that can allow them to build new ideas of how to be
professional and to gain a sort-of self-discipline that can help them in their future careers. This also applies to how content
is taught to students whether that can be new skills and concepts in music that are not familiar with the students. These can
be taught such as playing music in compound meter through visual demonstrations to explain topics like cut time and
others to allow all students to maintain a better grasp on the intended concepts that the students need to learn. Ways to
make sure to check if the students are understanding the concept is to do online quizzes at the beginning of class that can
help check to make sure everyone is on the same page with the standard. This can be applied when teaching classes such
as music theory as well as in ensemble settings.
At the current moment as a freshman, I know that I will need to work on this skill. I try and come up with ideas in
my personal musician career of ways to improve by recording myself to get new perspectives on my playing that I have
not noticed so I know what to look for in others’ playing when giving private instruction. I try to keep myself in a
rudiment full schedule to try and make the most of time and not waste any, as I would not want to waste valuable rehearsal
time especially when I am an educator. I want to try and make sure I can help all of my students have a grasp on intended
subjects I am teaching and especially that they are all focused so they can receive the most out of their quality education. I
can run workshops and attend some to gain more information so I can teach it to my students, so I don’t mislead them in
classes such as theory.
I will try and get better in these subjects by trying to overall improve my knowledge in all of these subjects. I
want to be able to have a profound and full fluency in these subjects especially in instrument methods so I can teach these
instruments to others. I would not want to mislead or give false information to my students just because myself as an
educator does not fluently know the subject. This could cause fundamental mishaps and lead to bad habits being built
amongst young students that could have detrimental impacts on their playing. I also take these concepts into my own
personal playing with my main instruments of trombone and euphonium. A way of improving is also through just showing
up and being on time to all events as this can allow for the building of good habits to become prevalent.

STANDARD 7: Planning for Instruction

The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by their own growth, to
monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s decision making.

Planning for instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals based upon drawing
knowledge of content areas is a skill that should be in every music program. This standard also deals with the cross
between curriculum and disciplinary skills. This can truly be achieved through the implementation of music and an
outside course, or study. This could be through concerts with slideshows going on in the background, or a narration
explaining the historical significance of the pieces of music an ensemble is performing. This can bring two very
distinct course or focuses of study together with a connection.
Currently I feel I am not entirely sure where I fall on this standard, but I know as a future educator I need to
try and implement this to most of my ability. I know that this a standard that can sometimes be hard to apply to
music education, but other subjects are truly intertwined with music such as math and history. Math is applied
through theory while history truly applies to music and the origins of pieces with many different time periods having
influence on the overall works of pieces with them having cultural significance. It’s important to highlight this in a
classroom setting to bring it to the attention of students so they can grow as music students, but also become better
off in other subjects.
I will grow in this focused are by trying to apply subjects from different fields to my classroom. I will try
and talk with educators from other departments in the school I work in to try and connect the music program to other
subjects such as history, or math for example to try and expand the music program, but to also show the true
importance of how music is intertwined with other subjects. Math helps to show how music works and history helps
to show how music has developed and has been influenced culturally throughout time. It’s important for my future
students to know the true cultural and historical impact of music. Math I can apply through teaching how music
works through my theory classes. I can help teach how music works while also showing how math and other
subjects are truly connected and provide a strong basis for music.

STANDARD 8: Instructional Strategies

The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding
of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

This standard describes as an educator being able to use many diverse techniques to establish teaching methods in
a classroom that are fundamental. In music, it is important to use systems that can support this message through solfege,
solemnization systems, and other methods. These can help to teach fundamental principles that can increase musical
knowledge for all students, but also allow for there to be a better overall understanding. These methods can also allow for
the building of an increased and profound sense of musicianship and can develop skills such as audiation or being able to
better hear pitches to become a better player at their instrument. Increasing these important skills can allow for students to
reach their full potential as musicians, but to also gain a new perspective on what to focus on in ensemble and individual
settings when playing their instruments. These ideas can also be cross-disciplinary and can allow for some subjects to be
similar to one another with overlapping concepts such as ideas of the whole-whole-half system which can show how to
form major scales which can allow for students to have a better grasp on their instrument as a whole and can grow as a
player.
At the current moment as a freshman, I have been building my solfege and solemnization skills to increase my
music literacy to allow me to be the best educator possible when teaching these skills. I want to try and be able to master
these skills so that I can teach them efficiently when I become an educator. At the current moment I have a decent grasp on
solfege, but it could still use some work. I’ve also really have worked on takadimi to work on another way to teach the
skill of focusing on rhythm. Both this and solfege allow to teach pitch and rhythm in a more efficient way. I can also apply
these skills to my personal playing skills to become a better overall musician so I can model skills to my students if
needed. I can also apply these to when I teach one-on-one lessons to help grow music literacy among my students.
 I will try and improve upon these skills by sitting down at a piano to try and improve my audiation skills while
sight singing to practice my solfege. I want to try and be able to hear pitches with no hesitation to build the best ear to be
able to become the best musician I can possibly be. I can apply this to my pedagogy with the implementation of
solemnization skills into ensemble rehearsal to help build musicianship and literacy among my students. In an ensemble
setting I can reference pitches in concert pitch, or through solfege to better communicate in a more efficient way to my
students when there is a need for new focus points of a song that is being rehearsed, but also to easily communicate to the
whole ensemble in a way where they can all understand. This will allow for rehearsals to run smoothly and so that I can
maximize the time I have to educate students no matter how much time there is and I can efficiently use the short time to
create big ideas and pictures that students can take home and focus on to grow as musicians.

STANDARD 9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his, her practice
particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community)
and to advance the profession.

Engaging students in ongoing professional learning and using evidence to continually evaluate personal
practice is important as an educator. In music education, recording ensemble rehearsals can be good way to try and
track how well teaching methods are doing and how poor some are. This can be used to help reveal faults in
teaching methods and as a way to evaluate overall as an educator. If change is seen to be required to become better,
then it is strongly recommended that changes must proceed. Music educators can use tools of technology to help
evaluate how they are handling overall rehearsals and classroom settings when teaching to try and grow and keep
their students engaged and growing as students and musicians.
Currently I use video technology to help me in my own studies such as practicing helping catch
inconsistencies that I don’t notice in the moment. Small things in the moment can be missed and overlooked. Video
and recording technology can help catch these things. As a future music educator, I want to try and establish an
environment where criticism can be taken as an educator by my students where if a teaching technique doesn’t work
well that I can adapt and try and fix the problem at hand to enhance my student’s education. I want to try and give
my students an education in music that will help build their character and their overall musicianship. I want to try
and find my fallacies and faults in my teaching to make sure I don’t hurt the possible education of my students due
to unnoticed mistakes. I want to make sure that I am giving good advice and am not hindering their education.
I will grow on this skill by continuing my recording of rehearsals and practicing and I hope to make sure I
am more critical of my educating skills just as I am on my musical performance. I want to make sure that I can help
set an example for my students and that I don’t hold them back with personal mistakes and faults in my leadership as
their teacher. I want to try and push them forward and towards greatness without holding them back. The last thing I
would want to do is keep them from reaching their full potential and the only way to do that is by holding myself
accountable and recording my rehearsals and lectures to make sure that I am effectively guiding my students
towards a path of success.

Council of Chief State School Offices. (2011, April). Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Model
Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for State Dialogue. Washington, DC: Author.