Standard #6: The
teacher uses effective verbal and nonverbal communication techniques as well as
instructional media and technology to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and
supportive interaction in the classroom.
Artifact: CT Evaluation (2nd Quarter), Concert Choir Lesson 1 (Mozart Melisma)
Knowledge of Effective Communication
I can effectively modify language to meet developmental levels and use non-verbal cues to enhance communication. This is important because a teacher's language must be audible, and contain little grammar or syntax errors, as not only is a teacher's role to lead by example, but misinterpretations or confusion by students of instructions can lead to classroom management problems, and an uninterested class. As you can see from my CT Evaluation, this was an area which I improved upon over the course of my placement. Vocabulary must also be clear and concise (especially in content area) to keep students engaged, maintain a level of comprehension, and keep lesson pacing at a certain developmental level. As I gained confidence in my skills and recognized the need to hold students accountable for producing a quality sound, I recognized that there were times to use my CT's language and communicatory patterns, and times to truly develop my own. This included choosing to use different dialects, languages, and sounds in my own teaching and critique of the choir's sound.
Non-verbal cues are also very important because they are the easiest thing for students to pick up on, whether or not a teacher's language is determinable. Non-verbal cues can be used effectively to cue students into learning with gesture, and present a certain attitude or demeanor to the class (usually with facial expressions or lack thereof). The last part is very important because non-verbal cues tend to act as clues towards a teacher's true disposition during a certain day, and one should strive to present a demeanor in class that does not diminish teaching effectiveness. When serving as the musical director for Godspell, I worked with a cast of 12 during school nights to teach (vocal) and learn (piano) the selections from the play. The students had only met me the week prior, I worked very hard to be able to relate to them and encourage them to discover their own capabilities with performing. For example, the person singing Lamar's "All Good Gifts" had a wonderful voice, but several little technique issues which we worked on throughout the production. We started with a discussion of her faith and the music's message and moved onward toward working on her higher belting range and not to be worried if her voice cracked. Near the end of the process, I switched to non-verbal communication as I started conducting the piece from the pit. This included imagery to remind her of grounded technique, expressive dynamics, and the gospel mood of the piece. All in all, she ended up performing one of the most memorable pieces in the show, adding her own flavor to the song when no longer needing guidance!
Knowledge of Effective Interactions
I can effectively design and apply activities that allow me to find out about students as individuals and use a variety of media to meet student's needs. In my Lesson Plan 10-7, I began my engage section by discussing and observing the reactions several students had to my passing-time selection (Beyonce's “Listen”). By gauging their positive reactions, I felt confident I could continue by introducing the new, pop-oriented warm-up (“Dynamite”) in my lesson plan. During the explore section of the lesson, I used verbal and nonverbal cues to guide students through the listening activity. This included a brief introduction of each piece, the artist(s) involved in the recording, goals for students as they listened, and non-verbal communication as to when different sections of the excerpts would begin. During the Explain section, I listened to student's verbal input as well as nonverbal cues to get a sense of the ensemble's comfort level with the material, and broadened my explanation to tie together “riff's” found in the rhythm & blues genre with melismatic passages in Mozart's “Sanctus” from his Requiem. I found that through activities like these which reference personal experiences (like popular music) and the demeanor I presented in the classroom, we as a class slowly built a level of mutual respect for skills, personalities, and preferences; I was then able to appropriately address student needs and problems while maintaining a degree of power as an educator within the room. This led to a classroom in which I fostered active inquiry, collaboration and supportive interaction.
Artifact: CT Evaluation (2nd Quarter), Concert Choir Lesson 1 (Mozart Melisma)
Knowledge of Effective Communication
I can effectively modify language to meet developmental levels and use non-verbal cues to enhance communication. This is important because a teacher's language must be audible, and contain little grammar or syntax errors, as not only is a teacher's role to lead by example, but misinterpretations or confusion by students of instructions can lead to classroom management problems, and an uninterested class. As you can see from my CT Evaluation, this was an area which I improved upon over the course of my placement. Vocabulary must also be clear and concise (especially in content area) to keep students engaged, maintain a level of comprehension, and keep lesson pacing at a certain developmental level. As I gained confidence in my skills and recognized the need to hold students accountable for producing a quality sound, I recognized that there were times to use my CT's language and communicatory patterns, and times to truly develop my own. This included choosing to use different dialects, languages, and sounds in my own teaching and critique of the choir's sound.
Non-verbal cues are also very important because they are the easiest thing for students to pick up on, whether or not a teacher's language is determinable. Non-verbal cues can be used effectively to cue students into learning with gesture, and present a certain attitude or demeanor to the class (usually with facial expressions or lack thereof). The last part is very important because non-verbal cues tend to act as clues towards a teacher's true disposition during a certain day, and one should strive to present a demeanor in class that does not diminish teaching effectiveness. When serving as the musical director for Godspell, I worked with a cast of 12 during school nights to teach (vocal) and learn (piano) the selections from the play. The students had only met me the week prior, I worked very hard to be able to relate to them and encourage them to discover their own capabilities with performing. For example, the person singing Lamar's "All Good Gifts" had a wonderful voice, but several little technique issues which we worked on throughout the production. We started with a discussion of her faith and the music's message and moved onward toward working on her higher belting range and not to be worried if her voice cracked. Near the end of the process, I switched to non-verbal communication as I started conducting the piece from the pit. This included imagery to remind her of grounded technique, expressive dynamics, and the gospel mood of the piece. All in all, she ended up performing one of the most memorable pieces in the show, adding her own flavor to the song when no longer needing guidance!
Knowledge of Effective Interactions
I can effectively design and apply activities that allow me to find out about students as individuals and use a variety of media to meet student's needs. In my Lesson Plan 10-7, I began my engage section by discussing and observing the reactions several students had to my passing-time selection (Beyonce's “Listen”). By gauging their positive reactions, I felt confident I could continue by introducing the new, pop-oriented warm-up (“Dynamite”) in my lesson plan. During the explore section of the lesson, I used verbal and nonverbal cues to guide students through the listening activity. This included a brief introduction of each piece, the artist(s) involved in the recording, goals for students as they listened, and non-verbal communication as to when different sections of the excerpts would begin. During the Explain section, I listened to student's verbal input as well as nonverbal cues to get a sense of the ensemble's comfort level with the material, and broadened my explanation to tie together “riff's” found in the rhythm & blues genre with melismatic passages in Mozart's “Sanctus” from his Requiem. I found that through activities like these which reference personal experiences (like popular music) and the demeanor I presented in the classroom, we as a class slowly built a level of mutual respect for skills, personalities, and preferences; I was then able to appropriately address student needs and problems while maintaining a degree of power as an educator within the room. This led to a classroom in which I fostered active inquiry, collaboration and supportive interaction.