‭Assessment‬

‭I used formal and informal assessment. In the first two lessons, we‬

‭were learning and refreshing skills necessary for the project, so I used‬

‭informal assessments. These were observation-based, so I watched their‬

‭technique on the instruments and worked with students who weren’t‬

‭notating rhythmic patterns correctly on their individual whiteboards. I was‬

‭able to give feedback in real time and make sure the students were ready to‬

‭start composing independently. For the third lesson, I gave them a handout‬

‭for them to notate their song, and attached to it was 2 copies of their rubric.‬

‭I explained to them what they were being graded on and how they would fill‬

‭out a rubric as a group and I would fill one out so they could self-reflect and‬

‭compare.‬

‭I chose to grade them on beat, variety, and teamwork. Keeping a‬

‭steady beat while playing in a group is a difficult skill, and one that is‬

‭absolutely necessary for the performance to be successful. Variety was to‬

‭ensure that the students didn’t all use the same rhythms, because that‬

‭wouldn’t be building the independent collaborative musicianship I prioritized‬

‭in the creation of this project. Lastly, teamwork was to keep them civil and‬

‭set the expectation that everyone’s ideas are being heard and valued. I also‬

‭chose to have them fill out a group self-assessment in addition to my‬

‭assessment so they can practice self-reflection, which is vital to them‬

‭continuing musicianship outside of the classroom. Having the opportunity to‬

‭compare theirs to mine also helps them contextualize their feedback and see‬

‭if they are being too easy or hard on themselves.‬

‭Students were able to accomplish the objectives because we took our‬

‭time, scaffolded, and integrated plenty of time for teacher guidance as they‬

‭worked. Many groups struggled with the idea of playing together and how to‬

‭listen to the beat while playing a different rhythm pattern, and their ability‬

‭to do so by the end because of the workshopping I did with them proves that‬

‭they learned. They demonstrated their ability to notate music, and they‬

‭played their notated rhythms correctly. Lastly, they used their ability to be‬

‭critical of themselves and their performances, which is evident because they‬

‭not only fully completed their assessment sheets, but they all scored‬

‭themselves more critically on the rubric than I did.‬