Each Monday evening at 8PM EST, music teachers get together and share ideas about important topics within music education. It’s a great chance to interact directly with educators from all over the world and to get new tips and tricks to help you succeed in the classroom. The entire #musedchat discussion is organized and moderated by Joe Guarr.
A1: 1st observation ever. Kids were not well behaved. I tried to teach over their talking. The admin asked why I didn’t stop to wait. I said I only get 30 minutes a week to teach them, no time. He said “you think they learned today?” 💡moment #musedchat
A1: While student teaching: Don't let fear of doing/saying something wrong keep you from trying. You'll probably say something slightly stupid everyday. Kids forgive/forget and move on, you should too. #musedchat
A1: Best new-teacher advice I got was to focus on refining one area at a time, and that confident mistakes are ok. Best veteran-teacher feedback is to keep the humanity that comes with teaching as a centerpiece for my ed philosophy. #musedchat
A1: Nobody really sees me teach unless they're observing me. I usually get feedback for organization and for not talking to the kids as if I'm their mother, which means we actually have conversations. #musedchat
Good advice. I have to remind myself of this often still. I want to move faster than they do sometimes which leads to talking over instead of waiting it out. #musedchat#patienceisnotmyforte
Amy from NC (MSchorus & Theater) happy to be here!
A1: Talk less and listen more - obviously this helps for musical reasons but also builds rapport with Ss. #musedchat
A1: the first time I asked kids for opinions on hiwnclass was going. I learned they see right through our professional facades and get right to the heart of the matter #musedchat
A1: During student teaching, my co-op teacher gave the the advice: “Always deflect compliments.” I’ve used that for my entire career. “Great concert!” “Thanks, yes, the kids did so well, they nailed it...!” Etc. #musedchat
A1: A bit teaching-adjacent, but I was unsure if I should call up and admin/sec. at an opening about what they were looking for, what if they go angry at me for that? "Well then, would you want to work there?" #musedchat
Second most valuable piece of advice - "make your warm-ups beautiful." That includes the accompaniment! Plunking Do-re-mi-fa-sol serves only as a tool/crutch with little artistic value. #musedchat
A2: this is so hard. Effective feedback is that which leads to improvement in performance. But sometimes it’s hard to tell in the large group setting. Lately I’ve been listening to kids play via @Flipgrid and giving individual feedback there. I like it. #musedchat
A2: timely, specific and actionable. I’m bad about giving only negative / corrective feedback and forget that sometimes they need to hear what went well too. #musedchat
A1. One of my early years (I'm in 21), I gave a survey to 8th Gr. Ss after a series of frustrating moments/days/weeks & several responses centered around my apparent difference as a T from when they were in 6th. I took the fun out of learning. Ouch. Never again. #musedchat
A2: Since both of my admin are non-musicians, I feel like the feedback I get from students has been very beneficial because I get to know their likes/dislikes- or strengths/weaknesses- and put that into consideration as I plan. #musedchat
A1: when the critique takes us further into critical thinking. We are subjective in many cases and turning qualitative into quantitative. Having them ask questions about their and other works #musedchat
A2: when the critique takes us further into critical thinking. We are subjective in many cases and turning qualitative into quantitative. Having them ask questions about their and other works #musedchat
#musedchat A2: I normally start losing my private lesson kiddos if I talk for longer than 15 seconds, so staying compact is a must! I do a lot of "I Play You Play", as well.
I’m trying @MarzanoResearch recommended 3:1 positive to negative feedback. Big post-it in my podium and I’m still only getting 1:1 - lots to work on. Is “that wasn’t as offensive” a compliment? #musedchat
One of my tics starting out was always starting off my corrections with "okay" even if it was "okay, that was not good." So my observer said "but it's not okay! So say something else like 'that was terrible' or something like that but not so mean." #musedchat
Always having positive feedback is tricky with beg. band, but you need a good balance. Otherwise, they won't have a positive experience and your program will dwindle. #musedchat
A2. I always look for positives but ask them to dig for more. I also like to ask my Ss what I'm thinking. If they were me, what would I say about it? Are they responding? Are their musical responses consistent? I like the 3X rule. #musedchat
Q3: What opportunities do you give for students to give feedback to themselves and their classmates? What norms do you establish to make this work? #musedchat
I think finding a good balance is important because you do not want to be the super mean teacher but you also do not want to be a push over teacher. #musedchat#edfb4338
A3: I have students give anonymous feedback to me through PearDeck or NearPod. When it comes to each other, they still don't know what to say besides *shrug* #musedchat
Joining late! A3: If there were solo auditions I had each student fill out a rubric for each but required that their names be on the paper to avoid any conflict. When they knew I would be looking at them I found they were more fair. #musedchat
A3 I do this in mostly as full-group, though I have done one-on-one peer reflections in the past. I love to record my Ss playing, let them listen/make notes, chat with their neighbors, then share out. I remind them that our 'notes' should be helpful to the band. #musedchat
A3: My Ss assess their own playing tests and concert performances. We have a reflection sheet with basic musical elements that they answer. This is standard after every concert and playing test. #musedchat
A3: @GoogleForEdu Forms and @padlet ALWAYS collect real names and emails plus display feedback along with no targeting individuals as norms. We are an interdependent team #musedchat
A3: Took an idea from this year's MMC, and posted rehearsal recordings on Classroom along with a blank Google Doc. Students add their thoughts. #musedchat
A3 I try to do a lot of "pair share" activities in my class where students will check each other, listen, and adjust. Sometimes it works, sometimes they just giggle. #musedchat
A3: When listening to recordings, Ss often have to do some variation of band goals AND personal goals. Helps them to listen beyond themselves, but also hold accountable for their contribution. #musedchat
A3: On composition or performance projects, I like to use @Flipgrid or @padlet for Ls to post products, then offer feedback to peers. Sometimes I ask for only “I likes” but with older Ls I am usually ok with constructive “I wonders” - allows for deeper analysis #musedchat
#musedchat A3: I've videoed all of my sixth graders' hand positions while going over the break so they can watch their fingers fly away from the clarinet! Their reactions are fantastic. The 7/8th graders get lots of "good, but how can we make it better?" and answer those.
Proximity and changing location are my top 2. Go and stand by your problem area and teach as if you were on the podium. “Hey so and so would you come sit right over here? Thanks” #musedchat
A3: I often have my students reflect on performances after viewing a DVD of it. I think for elem. kids, when they see and hear it from the aud. perspective they can understand and hear so much more than just reflecting based on what they remember. #musedchat
A1 when in teachers college at @PapHigh, I had a great lesson planned for the Friday before a two week break, my advisor new the kids would have their mind on vacation and not in the learning mode. Well let's say the lesson was a....#musedchat
A3-2: I'm going to be controversial here, but I hate video replay unless it's marching band. I thought it was always wasted class time as a student. I would have much rather have my feedback listened to before the concert instead of after, when I didn't care anymore. #musedchat
A3 I also use @Seesaw to house all of their performance assessments among other assignments. Ss can go back & listen to their playing & identify what they might do to improve their performance in general, or if they plan on retaking assessments. #musedchat
We just got done using it for students to share links to pieces they'd like to play for our Spring Concert. They vote by "liking" each other's suggestions. #musedchat
A1 but in recent memory I haven't had any legit feed back being the only music teacher at my school. Admin is required to do an observation every 5 years but I have yet to receive much legit feedback from any of the observations I've had. #musedchat
Mine Ss have portfolios on Google Drive. A great way to house their playing tests and have them review them. Better yet, have them look at how far they have come from the beginning! #musedchat
A4: I love your sound!
Which version did you like and. Why?
Let’s do that again to make sure it wasn’t an accident.
I need immediate energized sound.
If you did know, what would you say?#musedchat
A4: Or if I’m using actual words and not physically showing my response (they could read my face better than I knew how to control it) I loved the saying “sing sounds not words.” It always made the text clearer! #musedchat
#musedchat Q4: I don't have any signature one-liners for middle school yet, but teching my college band resulted in the phrase "effort and energy" thrown around quite a bit.
A1 but in recent memory I haven't had any legit feed back being the only music teacher at my school. Admin is required to do an observation every 5 years but I have yet to receive much legit feedback from any of the observations I've had. #musedchat
A4: Stolen from someone else:
Never louder than lovely.
And I'm sure I've got a million other frequently used phrases that my Ss could come up with, but I'm blanking right now.
#musedchat
