Final Presentatin: Math and Music

My final presentation is on math and music and can be seen at http://youtu.be/hz-JgUR-520

Final Presentation

For my final presentation I am going to recored myself and hopefully one of the kids I nanny. I plan to do a lesson about teaching multiplication facts and using a song to help remember them to incorporate music.

Teacher Pay....Should it be based on performance?

I personally don't think teachers pay should be based on students performance. Students learn at different times and levels. As teachers, it is our job to want to help our students learn and get a solid education. That should be our incentive, not money. When teachers are paid based off student performance, I feel they loose sight of the actual teaching. Many times, they keep the same lesson plan and teaching style. These get old and never actually help the student. Whereas a teacher who tries new things with her students. To me, an effective teacher is one who goes out of her way to help her students. She spends time before and after school to get the lesson plans and make things ready for the students. Also, they are compassionate and supportive to their students. They are there to help them along in their journey.

Teachers Union and Tenure

In some cases I think reforms are needed. Older teachers do not have as strong of skills in curriculum, technology, or even discipline. These teachers are protected by tenure and are therefore not able to leave giving new teachers the chance. These new teachers are not given ample opportunity to find a job even if they are better than someone. Also, these new teachers have newer fresher ideas. They have more recent ways to implement curriculum as well as better ways to discipline.  I think that teachers should not be judged by time they have been teaching, but also by the depth and willingness to help students. Older teachers also do not vary their lesson plans and make new ones, they keep the same old ones over and over. It is because of this, that there needs to be a way to get younger, newer teachers in the mix.

Controversial Issus-Extra-Curricular Activities

I think extra-curricular activities are hard to balance, but with the right mind-set teachers and kids can do it.  I know form experience. I cam from a sports driven school and was sometimes frustrated with all of the school we would miss for sports, but not for music. I love being busy, so I found myself in almost every club and extra-curricular activity I could. Along with all of these activities, I was a waitress at Pizza Hut. That is definitely a lot on ones plate. I know elementary school students are not near as busy, but they still have their fair share of duties to participate in. I think elementary is where we can develop a students work ethic. In elementary we can teach them that work comes before play in an attempt to manage this in high school when extra-curricular activities and sports come into play. For instance in our school, we got out of school for every state game possible. Teachers made sure students knew that homework came first, and may have gave them a little more just because they were missing something. With all this stress on the importance of homework, elementary teachers need to also teach their students the importance of extra-curricular activities and being involved. I believe by doing this, it will teach everyone time management and the importance of being on a team and working with people. School is the most important, but so are extra-curricular activities an sports. We just need to find a good balance.

Introducing Instruments

Every child varies in their development, but generally rhythm sticks and finger symbols can be introduced in pre-school or kindergarten. With these instruments, children can create a steady beat and start learning music at an early age. The next instrument we can introduce to children is the kazoo. I would introduce this in 1st grade because it will help the kids know about pitch and how to maintain it. The recorder and xylophone I would wait to introduce till third or fourth grade. Children need to have great hand-eye coordination in order to do this. They need to be able to read music and play an instrument at the same time. I know I started playing the recorder in fourth grade and it was hard to play and read music at the same time.

Carl Orff

After researching Car Orff I found many interesting things out. He has some wonderful ides we could implement today. His method of teaching was the Orff Approach, and I can honestly say I think it will work. His method of teaching engages the child mind and body through singing, dancing, acting, and using percussion. He teaches students on a level they can comprehend, not something over their heads. He also designs his own lesson plans and adapts it as he sees fit for each individual child. There are certain Orff instruments that are used such as: xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, castanets, bells, maracas, triangles, cymbals, tambourines, timpani, bongs, gongs, steel drums, and conga drums. There are also many others. His way of teaching inspired many people and could easily be put in place to help 21st century children today. Children today are used to being in control and getting what they want. By playing music and expressing themselves I believe they will learn so much more. Also, children today are used to being independent. I believe this will help them assert their independence while learning to play and work with others at the same time. I believe kids today also have a creative side if we give them the chance. By using this method I think we can develop that, because the Orff Approach uses tons of creativity.

Sequential Learning, Rote Note and Lesson Plans

How to Plan a Lesson:
-Set the stage by getting the students attention
-State the Objective
-Teaching- teacher gives input to the students about the lesson
-Teaching- teacher shows an example
-Checking for Understanding- makes sure the students comprehend
-Guided Practice- involve the students in the lesson
-Closure- review and evaluation of the lesson
-Independent performance- students using the skill or information Learned

Teaching a Student by rote:
This is the I-sing-you-sing method. Many times songs taught with rote are done in a phrase-by-phrase approach. During this process the song is divided into sections where the teacher sings first and then has the student echo back what she has just sung. The students will then start repeating one phrase and then will begin to repeating two at a time. After the whole song has been taught, he teacher will sing it once through and then the students will echo her. On parts that were not repeated correctly, the teacher will then go back through them and make them correct. After the song in polished, actions are added. For older students, motion can be added first as well as melody.

Importance of Sequential Learning:
There is a great importance to sequential learning.  It helps children learn to read because it makes them aware of the sounds associated with. That is how sequential learning is associated with music, but it is also used in the general classroom. Sequential learning is doing one task prior to the completion of the other in order to build understanding. This happens when things build on each other, which is very important in the general classroom. Kids learn when things are repeated over and over again. They have to have practice to remember. When things are taught that are incorporated into the next lesson, it just gives kids more practice and another reason to pay attention. I think sequential learning is very important because it helps kids know that you use the things you learn.

Educational Philosophy and Student Needs and Expectations

My education philosophy is in pretty close alignment with helping the needs of my students. In my philosophy I stated that I want my students to feel welcome and included in my classroom. I feel that if a student is loved and knows they are supported they will perform better. I also want to be my students friend while pushing them at the same time. I don't want them to be afraid of  me because I don't think kids can learn that way. I feel that students need a firm push in the right direction, and because of this I will expect the utmost respect from my students. They will be treated with respect just as they are to treat others. I want them to learn good social skills so they are productive in the world.

My educational philosophy is in alignment with the national and state expectations because I firmly believe that I can teach children the 'common core' and help them learn in a fun and exciting way. That was one of my goals, to not become one of those boring teachers, but to become one who engages her students and makes them want to learn. I want to empower them to be better people while teaching them new things at the same time.

Music Therapy and Education

My first impression of music therapy is that it is awesome!!!! I knew about it a little before watching this video because I actually have some friends from high school that went into music therapy. One of the girls I know is deaf and is amazing with music, and she is going into music therapy. I think it is a great way for students to not only learn about music, but also express themselves in their own way. When children, or even adults are exposed to music therapy I feel like it opens them to a whole different world of possibilities. I especially liked in the video where it talked about giving kids a chance at power and control.

I believe music can help students with Reading/Literacy and the Development of Social Skills by making them aware that reading is fun. I have always heard that if you play classical music while kids are working it will greatly improve their physical and cognitive aspects. Also, the lyrics to some music help empower kids to become better people. Some teachers even use songs to teach a lesson. Overall, I believe music can help in any situation and is a great benefit to children.

Special Education and Differentiated Learners

I am honesty pretty familiar with Special Education today in America. I took a Special Education class this last semester and learned so much. It gave me such a deeper understanding of why things are the way they are and how to help. I also loved it so much, that I decided to get a job this summer helping special needs adults. But, the reason I became interested in all of this was because my boyfriends brother has a learning disability. He is the funniest person I have ever meant, and I realized that I want to be around more people like that with a positive attitude.

As educators, we have to do everything possible to meet the needs of differentiated learners. They deserve an equal right at education just like everyone else does. To truly meet the needs of differentiated learners we need to first meet and get to know the individual. We have to find out what they like and don't like, what they need help in and what they don't, and then devise a plan of how we can help them. No two students are going to be the same, so therefore they will not require the same amount of help. For some learners, we may need to work with them extra time after school, while others may need to learn it in more than one way. As a teacher, we just need to be accommodating to those students and help them know we are there for them while pushing them to be better at the same time.

Bloom's Taxonomy and 9 National Standards

Bloom' Taxonomy deals with higher level of think in the elements of remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.  These skills are like steps on a ladder. You have to remember before you can understand, understand before you can apply, and so on. These skills build on each other just as the 9 National Standards for music education build on each other. They are levels of learning music. You have to learn how to read music before you are able to play it and evaluate it. You have to be able to sing along before you can sing with others. You have to learn variations, accompaniments, and keys before you can compose. So, as you can see, both of these elements start with something small and build to something big in order to help students learn and grow. These two elements are very similar, but hard to distinguish a difference. Bloom's Taxonomy deals with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, you have to want to remember and understand in order to grow. These skills relate to every aspect of daily life, whereas the 9 Musical Standards only relate to Music.

Time and Sustained Energy Assertion

0. ASSERTION
   An arts education that meets student standards needs to be conducted for a long enough period of time to actually take root and grow; in consequence, because time is a key issue for instruction, teacher preparation programs need to focus on time management as a key issue. 
   
   I chose the assertion from time and sustained energy. I found this part of the article very interesting mostly because I am a very time conscious and time oriented person. I always like to plan things and know what is happening. They state there is a "fundamental design flaw" in the way teachers time and plan things. Although lessons dealing with art education may take more time to plan when teachers already have little planning period in their day, they will be greatly rewarding. It is proven that music education enhances student learning and receive higher scores on standardized test. I don't see the problem with taking more time to plan art education lessons when it will only help the kids grow in the future, because isn't that a teacher's main job. A teacher should want the chid to grow. 
   

Terms

cognitive learning,

1 learning that is concerned with acquisition of problem-solving abilities and with intelligence and conscious thought.

2 a theory that defines learning as a behavioral change based on the acquisition of information about the environment.

Cooperative Learning:

Cooperative learning is a form of active learning where students work together to perform specific tasks in a small group.

Eurhythmics:

A system of rhythmical physical movements to music used to teach musical understanding or for therapeutic purposes.

Multiple Intelligence theory:

1 8 different intelligence groups students can be placed into

2 Proposed by Howard Gardner

3 allows for educators to identify differing strengths and weaknesses in students

Rote Learning:

Memorization by definition

Think-pair-share:

A cooperative discussion strategy in which the teacher gives the students a question or topic. The students think about it on their own for a few moments, then form pairs and discuss their individual thoughts. Finally, each pair shares their insights with the rest of the class

Checking for Understanding:

The process of determining whether students understand a task, exercise or concept that has been presented to them.

9 Music Standards

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR MUSIC EDUCATION
Standard 1:Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
Standard 2:Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
Standard 3:Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments
Standard 4: Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines
Standard 5:Reading and notating music
Standard 6: Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
Standard 7: Evaluating music and music performances
Standard 8: Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts
Standard 9:Understanding music in relation to history and culture 

Music Questions!

1.     1-I would honestly consider myself a pretty musical person. I love music and love listening to it. In my life, I use music the most to help me. To me, it is a great therapy when I am sad or when I am happy. In my opinion, there is a type of music for every mood we feel in life. Also, without even thinking about it, I use music when I tap my foot or pat a beat when I am bored. That’s the crazy part to me; we use music in our daily lives without even thinking about it.

2.    2- As a child I was very musical and love music. My mom told me that I would out music on in my room and dance around for hours. Also, as a child I took piano lessons as well as learned how to play the trumpet and clarinet. I loved being around music and hearing the sounds it creates. To this day, the piano still amazes me.

3.    3- I have, when I nanny in the summer the children I nanny love music. They put a CD in and play and dance around. Also, they create band instruments and make a band and play concerts. I also observed music when I went to observe a kindergarten classroom. The teacher played music in the morning when the students came in and many times throughout the day. When they did their morning routine they did some parts in a song fashion and had a beat to clap things too.

4.     4-Naturally, for everyone some things come easier. For me, I think teaching a child about how to read music and things relating to it would be very easy. I know how to read music because I know how to play three different instruments. I can use my personal experience to help them learn.

5.   5-  I think all children should be able to recognize a beat and know how to clap back a rhythm. I know this is a long shot, but I also think every child should know how to read music and identify notes. We have music in our daily lives, and it will greatly benefit them if they learn this at such a young age. This does not mean they need to be experts; they just need to be aware.

6.    6- Yes, I most definitely have observed music in the classroom. When I did my field experience, the kindergarten teacher played music in the morning and many times throughout the day. The kids would sing along and always beg for her to play it. Also, when they did their morning routine they would sing things back and pat out the beat for the days of the week on their lap. She also cleverly integrated rhythm into learning math and counting money. I honestly think it helped them learn.

7.    7- I think music can be integrated into the elementary classroom by the ways stated above, but also by putting things a student should know or memorize into songs. For instance, if a class is studying the states and capitols they could try putting it into a song, or if a student is learning to tie the shoe, they can put the directions into a song. I think when teachers put directions and rules into songs it makes the children more apt to remember them.

8.    8- I think music is a great interdisciplinary tool. As I stated above we can incorporate music into any study by putting terms or facts to a song. I think by doing this it will give children a greater appreciation for music at a much younger age.

Music, Culture, and Early Childhood Development

This video was a great eye-opener as to why music is important. I had no idea that it was helpful in so many ways. This information is completely relevant to the elementary classroom because it provides great insight as to why we need to teach music. We need to teaching music because it is like oral tradition- it helps embed memory and helps us to remember things. I had no idea it was music that improved memory. Also, music helps us to know our identity and culture. I also believe this is why music is used in the classroom. In elementary music is added to almost any lesson. Along with that, music is there to express frustration when we do not know what to say. This is especially true for little kids who can not talk. They bang on pots and pans and hum. They are trying to communicate. Also, kids write songs when they are little, I know I did. I think this is a great way to teach a lesson and have kids express their feelings and creativity.