Being in two schools this year provides me with an
opportunity to maximize my systems of organization in order to best provide a
custom music curriculum that grows and changes with the particular needs of the
class I am teaching. This year, I teach 18 different classes plus 25 groups of
instrumental lessons, each with their own set of needs that are based upon the
musical content instruction they have had to this point. I am not for a cookie
cutter approach to curricular planning – the same lesson for every class of
similar grade level - but I’m finding that taking a customized approach with
this many classes to be a challenge. As a response to this challenge, I have
created a very concise system of planning and tracking activities that, if
properly applied, will not only ensure the continuity of learning for each
class, but it will begin to build a personalized music learning profile for each
student based upon the material they have interacted with from pre-school
through 6th grade.
My goal with this particular system is to continue its
implementation with fidelity in order to ensure the personalization of the
content for each class I teach.
In addition to this goal, I would like to broaden the scope
to include the research of a way to electronically track specific musical
activities with their standards based components for specific classes and
specific students according to the New National Music Standards and the Vermont
Music Standards. This may come in the form of a google form that is organized
by class and uploads data for each class and every specific student. The trick
will be in how to transfer this information so it can follow students year
after year as they change from class to class. The ultimate outcome would be do
document the amount of interaction each student has had with various musical
material in their Pre-K through 6th grade general music classes.
This new system of planning and tracking has worked well, and it has been a timely addition to my practice as I transition this year to working in two schools with double the number of classes and individualized lessons. In music, as with other disciplines, the number of exposures students have with specific songs and activities plays a big role in how well they perform them. Keeping track of this in a very concise way has helped me to build lesson plans that ensure material is being learned to the best of students' abilities, and it will allow me to build upon what they've learned this year. I have found this new system to be invaluable, and I will continue to build upon it next year.
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