1. Activities
The reasoning:
Activities are your best friend in the music classroom. Students need hands-on ways to learn the material you are teaching. Lecturing or talking and displaying information is important, but less talking and more action will help students to be engaged.
The science:
Considering students learning styles is equally important when looking at what activities to include in the day. Edutopia, a well-respected teaching blog and online resource for teachers, discusses in this article both the benefits and drawbacks of the theory of learning styles, or how you learn whether through visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. While various researchers have argued that there is no one size fits all approach to learning, understanding that some students are more adept to learning through hearing vs doing vs seeing can help you choose activities that accommodate and allow for all different modes of learning (Finley, 2015).
Suggestions:
Write the Room - rhythm activity
Interactive Google Slides for rhythm - Hot Air Balloon themed, Bakery Themed, Flower Shop Themed
2. Bring out the instruments
The reasoning:
This may seem a little rhetorical to mention - we are in music class, right? But as a teacher how often have you thought about the hassle and chaos that may ensue (especially with the youngsters) by bringing out literal instruments. Having a plan in place is crucial when bringing out instruments, and the more we lay out the rules and expectations, the more enjoyable instrument time can be. But have you considered that students playing instruments can be the most beneficial way for them to learn?
The science:
Hand eye coordination, learning to keep the beat, learning to hear different pitches and sounds and even understand the difference between singsong and a whisper are all aspects of music class. But what if these skills that students learn in music class can transfer to the real world? What if actually learning to keep the beat on a kid's size djembe or use mallets on the correct notes on a xylophone can contribute to a child's learning? Research shows that music inspires creativity, increases spatial intelligence, and can even increase students test scores (CMUSE, 2015). All of these are learned through the actual use of instruments (including the instrument of your voice!) as students apply what they are learning.
Suggestions:
Have a plan on how you're going to bring out the instruments (one at a time, in groups, in centers?)
Have established rules on how the instruments are to be handled and the expectations (will you take away if they play out of turn? Will you give it back once they exhibit better behavior?)
3. Have some downtime
The reasoning:
I found that having downtime, or an activity that is low-key and the mood is quieter, helps students to not only stay engaged but also stay focused. If your whole lesson plan is high energy not only can this cause a crash and burn for your students (usually in the form of misbehavior) but can also cause a crash and burn for you (usually in the form of burnout or a bad day!).
The science:
Quiet time can be effectively utilized in both the general ed classroom and the music class. It's important to note that often what goes on throughout the day in the student's world can affect them in their classroom setting (Responsive Classroom, 2017). A fight at lunch, a bad score on a test, even a negative morning at home can all affect how a student learns and their associated behavior. By incorporating downtime into your music lesson, such as color by rhythm notes, listening to music on headphones, or drawing to music, you can help students to recenter and focus on being in your music clas
Suggestions:
Coloring by rhythm and other coloring pages are a great downtime activity for students
Having students draw quietly while listening to
4. Transitions
The reasoning:
Transitions MUST be utilized in the music classroom. I went from having crazy children to well-behaved children once I learned how to affectively transition into the music classroom from another class and between music activities. I would define a transition as a way that a teacher goes from one activity to the next. In music this can be done very seamlessly if thought out within the lesson plan and can be as complex or simple as you would like it. Even just singing a cue such as "please get in a circle and hold hands" is considered a smooth transition because you are giving an instruction for the next activity within the context of music, and students will be more inclined to hear what you say. One of the best and most helpful posts I have read on transitions is by Victoria Boler. She goes in depth as to how transitions are helpful for students and even has a YouTube video on classroom management in general. I would highly suggest checking out her blog post.
The science:
On a very sciencey note, Academic Learning Time (ALT) is used most affectively when utilizing transitions. What does this mean? ALT is a researched method of measuring the amount of time students are engaged in an academic task (Fisher et al, 1981). A teacher's goal is to maximize ALT as it means that students are participants rather than non-participants, where one is learning and the other is distracted or distracting. When using transitions affectively, a teacher can help keep student engagement with little distraction, saving time, managing behavior, and being on-task (Davies, 2022).
Suggestions:
Sing your instructions, such as singing to the tune "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and saying, "Please take a seat on the floor, on the floor, on the floor!"
Clap the beat to your instructions.
Attention getters such as raising your hand and everyone begins to raise theirs, and the age old "If you can hear me, clap once".
5. Games
The reasoning:
I saved the best for last! What students don't like games? Besides being highly affective for learning, which we'll get to in the science section, games are fun and make your class fun. They also keep students engaged by providing ways to collaborate with other students, and a little competition keeps the ball moving!
The science:
Rebecca Stathakis shares how students learn through game play, including skills such as teamwork, but also the material for the lesson (Stathakis, 2013). This is especially true and useful in the music classroom as we music teachers have the opportunity to provide all sorts of fun, yet purposeful game play. Teaching beat, rhythm, singing and solfege, games help to integrate into the students the how when mastering certain concepts, enabling them to practice those concepts in a more concrete way.
Suggestions:
Group Games:
Matching Games:
Research
CMUSE. (2015, October 8). 5 powerful benefits of music education. www.cmuse.org/benefits-of-music-education/
Davies, Rebecca. (2022). Why transitions are the key to an affective classroom & how to improve them. Differentiated Teaching. www.differentiatedteaching.com/effective-classroom-transitions/
Finley, T. (2015, September 22). Are learning styles real - and useful? Edutopia. www.edutopia.org/article/learning-styles-real-and-useful-todd-finley
Fisher, C. W., Berliner, D. C., Filby, N. N., Marliave, R., Cahen, L. S., & Dishaw, M. M. (1981). TEACHING BEHAVIORS, ACADEMIC LEARNING TIME, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: AN OVERVIEW. The Journal of Classroom Interaction, 17(1), 2–15. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43997772
Responsive Classroom. (2017, October 24). What is quiet time? www.responsiveclassroom.org/what-is-quiet-time/
Stathakis, Rebecca. (2013). Five reasons to use games in the classroom. Education World. https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reasons-to-play-games-in-the-classroom.shtml
ความคิดเห็น