Class Preparation [100 points]

All readings will be completed with responses to selected questions.  Responses will be prepared prior to the designated discussion day and emailed to the instructor before class time.  To receive full credit, responses must show evidence of careful reading. Responses must contain correct spelling and complete sentences. Late responses will receive no points.

Basic Instrumental Teaching Skills [100 points]

Your ability to play along on a keyboard with a beginning student while transposing in Bb, F, Eb and alto (viola) clef will be evaluated.  You will have a second opportunity to improve your grade.

    10 pts Playing a melody line for any Bb instruments...any piece on the first 20 pages of DoIt!

1. 10 pts Playing a melody line for F instruments...any piece on the first 20 pages of DoIt!
   

2. 10 pts Playing a melody line for any Eb instruments...any piece on the first 20 pages of DoIt!
   

3. 10 pts Playing a melody line for viola...any piece on the first 10 pages of DoIt!
   

4. 20 pts Accompanying a Bb instrument with chords...any piece on the first 12 pages of DoIt!
   

5. 20 pts Accompanying an F instrument with chords...any piece on the first 12 pages of DoIt!
   

6. 20 pts Accompanying either an Eb instrument or viola with chords...any piece on the first 12 pages of DoIt!
   

Sound to Symbol Peer Mini-Teaching [0 points]

You will have several minutes in class on more than one occasion to teach your peers who will be playing out of beginning instrumental methods.  The goal is to have you practice a specific teaching methodology (sound to symbol) which has been proven to be useful with beginning players. There is no grade for this assignment, but you will be evaluated verbally and given constructive criticism by your fellow students.

Bowing Assignment Test [50 points]

After studying the topic in class, listening to the played examples, and studying the lecture pdf, you will write at least one paragraph about each movement of the Schubert Symphony No. 5 excerpts.  List which of the 14 Elizabeth Green principles were followed and, when they are explicitly not followed, suggest a reason why.

Mini-Teaching Practicum [400 points]

The most important assignment in this class carries the most points as well.  You will be demonstrating and improving upon several skills which are an integral to the successful teaching of an instrumental ensemble.  This is an in-depth study focusing on one instrumental class in one school with one director.

After the Step 1 observation you will go to JW Pepper and select a piece of music which is suitable for the ensemble and purchase it. This must be done in consultation with the teacher.  It will be the piece that you conduct, make lesson plans for, and also use as part of your Unit Plan Assignment.

For Steps 2, 3, and 4 you will have a friend make a video of your teaching and then put it on a website.  Your detailed lesson plan and detailed reflection on your teaching, with the website URL, is to be submitted to Dr. Duitman in hard copy no later than a week after your teaching.  Grading will be based on the quality of your lesson plan, how well you followed your plan, how much improvement the students made, how well you put proven classroom management principles to work, and how well you discovered major issues with your teaching in your reflection.

1. 100 pts, Step 1 Observation of the class with a detailed hard copy report. This report must include observed warmup procedures, classroom management techniques, instrumentation and strengths and weaknesses of the group, concepts taught, and a short discussion with the teacher regarding the criteria of music which you can select for the group.  It must be turned in to Dr. Duitman in hard copy no later than a week after your observation.
   

2. 100 pts, Step 2 You will teach the class during a 6 minute warmup focusing on sound to symbol and concepts which will help the students learn your selected piece. During this visit you will give the teacher your selected piece so that it can be ready for the students by your next visit.
   

3. 100 pts, Step 3 Your first teaching of your selected piece.  This will be 12 minutes long and should focus on getting through much or all of the piece.  As time allows, begin fixing problem rhythms and pitches.
   

4. 100 pts, Step 4 Your final teaching of your selected piece.  This will be 15 minutes long and should focus on concepts, styles, articulations, and other things which the students can learn through the piece.  Be sure you have time at the end to play through as much of it as possible.
   

Building a Concept-Based Unit Plan [100 points]

In this assignment, you will start with concepts you wish to teach during a 6 week grading period of intermediate band or orchestra or a high school band or orchestra which will culminate with a concert.  Then, you may select one or two more pieces, along with your mini-teaching practicum piece or a Lab Band piece or any other piece from your core curriculum which can be used to teach these concepts.  You will formulate a week by week timeline of how you will teach these concepts, along with a rubric for evaluating them. 

There is role-playing involved in the this assignment so state the nature of your ensemble (e.g. 7th grade band, 60 members, have played one year).  You may use the piece you conducted in your mini-teaching and, if there are enough good concepts you wish to teach in it, you may just use that piece.  Or you may use one of your core curriculum pieces or a piece you conduct in Lab Band with a role-playing high school band.  I will not require more than one piece.  Some of you have asked about concepts…virtually anything you teach in music, other than pushing the right fingers down, can be considered a valid concept…types of articulation, dynamic contrasts, various styles, balance and intonation, etc., A concept is something your students learn that will transfer to other pieces of music.

GRADING

     25 pts Valid concepts to be taught (at least two for middle school level) and presented as measurable objectives

     25 pts Copied examples from the music which you would use to teach these concepts

     25 pts A timeline which shows logical progression of teaching the concepts during the 6 weeks

     25 pts A valid rubric for how you will grade the students during this 6 week grading period.  This can include both formative and summative assessment.

For full credit the paper should be at least 3 pages long and, as always, points will be taken off if the document is carelessly assembled with poor grammar and spelling.  Proofreading is a must.

Developing a Core Curriculum for High School Band or Orchestra [100 pts]

GOAL AND PURPOSE

The overriding goal of music education is to develop students who are independent, critical-thinking, decision-making MUSICIANS!  The purpose of this project is to give you experience developing a Course of Study for a secondary school instrumental ensemble class.  This course gives you the opportunity to develop the skills you will need in order to design courses of study as an in-service teacher, and the finished product will serve as a model for you once you are teaching.

VALUE

Many school districts have curricula in place, while many do not.  In either case, a music teacher must decide what s/he considers worth teaching/learning and how to go about doing it.  Curriculum (the WHAT) of teaching, for a secondary ensemble IS the repertoire.  All learnings in the area of music (cognitive, psychomotor, affective) can be done well ONLY IF the music chosen as the vehicle for these learnings is worthy of study.  This is called Significant Literature and these pieces must be the core of any secondary instrumental ensemble curriculum.  The twelve pieces selected here could be used, three per year, and you could then justify the four years your students spend in the high school ensemble since it will take four years for them to complete the entire curriculum.  The repertoire you select and study for this assignment may certainly be repertoire that you use to set up the curriculum of the high school in which you may eventually teach.

ASSIGNMENT/PROCEDURES 

1.Select twelve examples of significant literature for a high school band.  You will need to do research to come up with your selections.  Rely on the work of connoisseurs, such as state contest/festival lists, the Teaching Music Through Performance series, and other lists of significant literature you find on the web. Any selection you choose should be recommended as being significant by several sources.

2.The assignment has two parts, a Database and a Selection Notes document

3.You may check out band scores for perusal in PAC 1500.

       

GRADING

50 points possible for submission of an Excel database with 12 pieces of significant literature.  It must be set up with headings for TITLE, COMPOSER, ARRANGER, PUBLISHER, DIFFICULTY RATING, TIMING, STYLE

1. There should have least one selection in each difficulty rating 3, 4, and 5.
   

2. The database must have at least one selection for each of these styles:         
   

1.Renaissance/Baroque

2.Classical

3.Romantic/Impressionistic

4.British Band or British String Orchestra

5.20th/21st Century Traditional

6.20th/21st Century Progressive or Ethnic

50 points possible for submission of a Word document which demonstrates careful thought about the educational possibilities of each selection and how it would fit into a program (Opener, Closer, etc.)

FOR THE DATABASE:

50 points: The database includes twelve selections of significant literature with each style period and grade level represented and the correct publisher, difficulty, and timing included in an organized fashion. 

45 points: The database includes twelve selections of significant literature but some of the style periods are not represented.

40 points: The database includes fewer than 12 selections.

35 points: The database is not complete in respect to significant literature, style periods, and other information.

FOR THE EDUCATIONAL NOTES (Word document which may be sent electronically):

50 points: The EDUCATIONAL NOTES for each example demonstrate careful and creative thought which justifies inclusion of the work based on the expressive and other elements of the work which can be learned by the students.

45 points: The EDUCATIONAL NOTES for each example demonstrate some careful thought to justify inclusion of the work but this thought is not thorough.

40 points: The EDUCATIONAL NOTES are sketchy and do not demonstrate justification for inclusion of the work.

35 points: The database includes at least ten selections of significant literature but there are discrepancies in the information about the works.  The selection notes are sketchy or missing.

As always, points will be taken off if the document is carelessly assembled with poor grammar and spelling.  Proofreading is a must.

Class Presentation [100 points]

Your presentation will be on a topic that is not covered during the rest of class time.  The project must include a written hard copy paper (1 to 2 pages) on the topic, handed to the instructor at the start of your presentation, and a 12-15 minute class presentation where you actually teach the 461 class about your topic.

1. 40 pts A well-written and researched paper on the topic, complete with bibliography turned in on time.
   

2. 50 pts A presentation which provides all the students with pertinent information about the topic, shows evidence of research beyond what is in the text, includes useful presentation methods, such as powerpoint, handouts and/or website URLs, and keeps them engages with suitable questions
   

3. 10 pts Your presentation rating on the Boring Scale.  Are you enthusiastic about your subject?  Did you keep the class engaged? Are you asking questions? (These are very important attributes of a successful teacher.)
   

Final Exam [50 points]

During the class, each student will give a 5 minute presentation on his/her selection notes for one of the pieces used in the Core Curriculum.  This will include why it was selected, what concepts can be taught through the piece, and why the students will like the piece.  It will include short audio selections and a printed handout.

Extra Credit [50 points]

Since we focus on middle school ensembles in the mini-teaching practicum and unit plan, a quality observation of a beginning band or string orchestra (25 pts) or a high school advanced band or orchestra (25 pts) would be useful.  This report must be turned in at the exam and will include careful attention to all the same details covered in Step 1 of the mini-teaching practicum assignment.