Safe, Respectful, Supportive, and Challenging Learning Environment
Safe, Respectful, Supportive, and Challenging Learning Environment
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I. To what extent do the interactions between teacher and students, and among students, demonstrate genuine caring and a safe, respectful, supportive, and also challenging learning environment?
I. To what extent do the interactions between teacher and students, and among students, demonstrate genuine caring and a safe, respectful, supportive, and also challenging learning environment?
For December, to make class a little extra special, especially when the pandemic was running rampant, I used the slide to the left as our Schoology Home Page.
Click on various objects. You'll notice that they each take you to a unique orchestral piece that is related to the winter, from Vivaldi's Four Seasons to Hot Chocolate from Tchaikovsky' The Nutcracker.
Sample Instructional Videos
Sample Instructional Videos
Warm, supportive, and challenging, these three videos below are a mere sampling of the many videos I've created this year to reinforce our lessons. Not only were these shown in class, so I could model how to practice along with the videos, for the students, but I would share these videos along with the assignment sheets for the families.
II. Does the teacher convey high expectations for student learning and encourage hard work and perseverance?
II. Does the teacher convey high expectations for student learning and encourage hard work and perseverance?
I have always long concerned modelling to be the best means of teaching. Many animals learn implicitly through imprinting on "experts". Part of what makes a 9-12 ensemble great is that the opportunity for the young students to lean on the experienced older students.
All of that is to say that I try my hardest to model hard work and perseverance. For almost every assignment I give, I provide a sample of a great final product. In addition to merely doing the work, I believe that having clear and lofty expectations of students allows them to strive to be their best. Finally, my wonderful music education has given me a wealth of knowledge which allows me, to the extent I am able, provide the most relevant and helpful feedback in the moment. At the same time, showing the students that I am practicing, participating in string quartets and playing music with my musician friends, inspires my students to keep playing!
III. Is the environment safe for risk taking?
III. Is the environment safe for risk taking?
"A Song You're Grateful For"
A song that you're grateful for - MusicFirst.webmThe video to the left is just one example of students having the ability to go as far as they would like. You'll see three examples of students' work for their Thanksgiving assignment, "A Song You're Grateful For." As you'll see, each student has different tastes and yet demonstrates a high level of string playing in each. In this way, students have the freedom to go as far as they want with it. There is wrong "failure" for learning a new song. Or, another way to put it, there is only failure. The only way to learn a song by ear is trial and error... and error! But, there is no deterrent from taking risks. Quite the opposite. See the document below for more on risk taking.
Creative Games
Improvisation is one of the scariest parts of music for a lot of Classical musicians. Even though improvisation can be found in the Western classical tradition, such as the during the Baroque Era and the cadenzas of concerti, classically trained musicians to do experience improv as regularly as musicians of Jazz or Pop or countless styles from around the world. For example, in Hindustani classical music, some scales or ragas don't make sense in context without each individual's improvisation.
In so many words, my goal is to eliminate the stigma of improvisation. One way I have begun this work is through our "creative games". The name is an intentional avoidance of "improv". By high school, students may already have an aversion to the term, and in elementary school, who doesn't get excited about playing games? Above, you'll find the directions for one high school activity, and below, an elementary school activity, "Play along with Mr. Howe's video".
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