For this week, we were tasked with compiling a set of texts that relate to our inquiry topic and could be used to supplement a lesson or build background knowledge on a subject we might teach. I'm afraid I must admit: with my inquiry topic for the semester being more in the way of methodology for teaching students (how to create a more student-centered classroom), I struggled a bit with thinking of how to link a text set back to this. I hardly need to teach students how this is done; rather, my idea going into this topic was that I find ways to do this and execute those methods in the classroom. And so, I tried thinking of ways to indirectly foster this higher sense of independence in students, to encourage them to be self-conscious of what they are doing in class and how they might do it differently. How they might determine what direction they want to take as musicians, and in a larger context within the classroom, as a part of this group. With that, I set about creating a text...
We've spent some time in class discussing how to use visual tools to enhance learning in the classroom. The phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words," comes to mind, but I think it's also important to note that, oftentimes, a picture is not enough or not ideal for what ideas one wants to convey. Visuals (and really, teaching as a whole) are just as much about the organization of one's ideas and how they are conveyed. The readings we've gone over have only strengthened my belief that presentation of these concepts has as much to do with learning as the actual content being taught. Thus, I created a rather text-heavy visual to guide students through the process of listening to music for the purpose of shaping it for their own performances. I borrowed heavily from Aaron Copland's "What to Listen For in Music," where he details various ways to listen to music, each of which brings its own merits that I would want my students to focus on. My i...