3. Planning for Differentiated Instruction

Artifact 1: Unit Plan: Articulation, Balance, and Clarity in the Ensemble: Achieving Progress Through Active Listening

This unit plan is a learning segment based around the idea that students in middle school band can and should strive for a high degree of balance and blend so that they can play with clarity of sound. It was created for my teaching methods course during the fall semester of 2017. The concept that I am striving for through the teaching of this unit plan begins with laying out a solid foundation for students to build upon. I begin instruction by practicing sound breathing strategies within and outside of the context of the music, followed by a several day focus on rhythmic subdividing and articulation. It should be noted that the rhythm portion of the learning segment includes an in-depth look into note value and incorporates the use of breathing strategies that help the ensemble achieve precise beginnings and endings of note duration. After sightreading through the excerpt and getting a good handle on the music, students will then be led through sectional performance and evaluation, ultimately leading to full ensemble performance and evaluation. The key to successful implementation of this unit has everything to do with encouraging students to actively listen as they play. It is only through the development of this skill that blend and balance can authentically be achieved.

This unit aligns well with Illinois Professional Teaching Standard 3 in that it seeks to take into consideration successful learning for all students. I have imbedded within the segment many opportunities for student growth, and these are supported by the use of frequent and meaningful formative assessment. Understanding by Design provides the framework upon which the unit was created, and this system allows for the utmost level of differentiation in instruction. All students are expected to reach the same end goals, however the ways in which they reach them are flexible. The learning segment indeed establishes high expectations for each student’s learning and behavior so that everyone, regardless of their needs or differences, can feel that they have every opportunity to succeed at the subject matter (ILPTS 3H).

I am confident in saying that this artifact genuinely represents a complete educational thought, and encompasses some of the values and ideals that I uphold and hope to bring to the band-room. So many band directors have said to me, “It is enough of a task to get the kids to play the right notes, much less focus on articulation, phrasing, blend, or balance.” I kindly disagree with this sentiment, as I believe that it is important for students to begin learning on the highest levels as early as possible so that they can enjoy a more immersive relationship with the music they are playing. The “just play the notes on the page and that is enough” attitude holds the act of creating music to the lowest magnitude. Students must engage with their own playing as well as the playing of their peers so they may fully understand the human element that exists in playing music.

Artifact 2: Growth Mindset PowerPoint Slides

This artifact contains the 13 slides of a PowerPoint presentation I created as an assignment for my teaching methods course at Trinity Christian College during the fall semester of 2017. This presentation corresponds to The Growth Mindset Coach; A Teacher’s Month-by-Month Handbook for Empowering Students to Achieve by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley (I should note that this book refers directly to Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success). The assignment was to create a presentation that effectively conveys the ideas and concepts within the book, and in that objective I believe I was successful. This presentation does not simply cover information, but also challenges the viewer to examine their own thoughts and beliefs pertaining to fixed vs. growth mindset.

By being aware of the profound effect of incorporating The Growth Mindset in my instruction, I am better informed on when and how to adjust plans based on outcome data, as well as student needs, goals, and responses (IPTS 3D). In exercising The Growth Mindset, my lesson delivery establishes high expectations for each student’s learning and behavior (IPTS 3H). I am careful to address goals and objectives contained in plans developed under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC 794), individualized education programs (IEP), and/or individual family service plans (IFSP) and seek to merge those objectives with The Growth Mindset (IPTS 3O). Finally, through the development of this presentation, I aim to spread the message of The Growth Mindset so that others can develop and select relevant instructional content, materials, resources, and strategies (e.g., project-based learning) for differentiating instruction (IPTS 3Q).

This project helped me to realize which elements of The Growth Mindset appeal to me most personally. You will notice that there are several slides that ask questions or aim to challenge the viewers’ perspectives/approaches to learning. The creation of the presentation is a reflection of what I took away from reading the book, and in engaging in both of these endeavors I have learned how closely many of my philosophical beliefs on education resemble ideas found within The Growth Mindset.