Reviewed in the College Classroom
"I liked the way you performed "Greensleeves" and asked the students to tell you where you were by following along with the music. You inspired students to work on future selections by performing them in class. Your playing was fluid and articulate. You are a well rehearsed performer!
"As the hour progressed, you became more animated, and in my opinion, more commanding of the subject matter. As you stood up to guide them through various exercises, your eye contact and control were that of a more seasoned and gifted educator.
"Your presentation was very clear. The organization of the hour was evident. You are very knowledgeable with the subject matter and deliver your lessons well., It was obvious that your class admires your technical skills greatly and I feel confident that you are an important asset to the Music Department."
- Janis Stevenson, Faculty Evaluator, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California
DR's POSITIVE REVIEW
FROM ARTIST RESIDENCY INSTITUTE OBSERVER
Observer: Chelsea Hunt, Arts Education Training and Partnerships Associate, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. Session: 6/18/08, Folsom Public Library "Musical Expression Workshop for Teens"
Daniel, your lesson was very well thought out and executed. The students all responded with intrigue and respect. Using the continuum line to demonstrate concepts and vocabulary words throughout your entire lesson was incredibly effective. The students understood it, kept referring to the vocab words on the wall and responded on many different levels to the visuals you provided. The exercise in which you had them gradually increase their volume was effective and fun. The students were all engaged and determined. There were moments in which there could have been more student involvement as opposed to sitting and listening such as your question and answer and the exercise in which you passed out words and asked the students to place you on the line. What if you asked the students to stand up and stand on the line themselves? Also, there were some questions that you posed such as “How loud is your world…is it louder than it used to be? You didn’t give the students very much time to ponder this or answer the question. This may be a great point in which to have them brainstorm in small groups for just a couple minutes to involve more students in the act of generating ideas for this topic before you posed the question and explained your thoughts on it. Overall though, your distribution of information and examples were all very clear and thoughtful.
A. Excite element of the lesson: The artist captures the attention of the student. Does the Excite element incorporate the art form?
I apologize for being late…I turned on the wrong Natoma street….(the first one) and that is why I was late. But, I entered the room and you were speaking of a musician, so I just assumed you had played them something as your excite?
B. Delivery of Facts or Directions: The students receive information from the artist. What is the information? How clear are the directions?
Your directions were very clear. Your visuals and examples played on your own instrument were all very constructive. Everything flowed very nicely, your delivery of facts to your student involvement.
C. Performance or Presentation: The artist demonstrates a professional level of the art form. How does this occur?
Yes, you demonstrated on your own instrument often and spoke about your musical history in relation to several topics (one of them being hearing loss…which I think was a very subtle way of sharing your own experiences with it while warning the students about damaging their own ears). You also interjected personal philosophies and your own experience with listening to the world around you. It was enlightening and a great way to open the minds of the students to the sounds around them that they may not pay attention to.
D. Question-and-Answer: The artist asks and responds to questions. What are the purposes of the questions? How effectively are questions phrased?
Your questions were phrased well. I did notice that you didn’t give the students much time to answer them. In a couple situations you answered them yourself. See above opening comments for suggestions. There were also moments in which you asked the students to define a vocabulary word. In these moments you did allow the students to respond and they knew the answer.
E. Discussion, Brainstorming, or Review: The artist helps students explore, elaborate on, or re-visit information or procedures.
All of your activities helped the students explore and elaborate on the topics of the lesson. There were also several points in which you reviewed something discussed last class. See above comments for brainstorming ideas. In your lesson plan you had written that you would do a paired sharing activity (Learning Activity #5). This paired sharing is a great idea for increasing student involvement and personal expression and would balance out the amount of listening versus doing for the students.
F. Modeling: The artist demonstrates an action or activity while students observe.
Yes, you modeled the concepts throughout the lesson on your own instrument and in your description of things. Students love to hear about the professional life of an artist. You demonstrated that very well in your discussion of yourself in a band and at the end when you brought up the articles you are writing.
G. Participation I: The artist leads students in an arts activity.
Your engage activities were very well scaffolded into your main activities. Again, the main activity of gradually increasing the volume from student to student on different instruments was very effective in helping grasp the concept of levels and how much that can vary from instrument to instrument. The students loved it! Your reaction to the student with the electric guitar was also fun…
H. Participation II: The artist supervises, circulates, or observes as students work independently on an arts activity.
The activity placing emotions on the line between pppp and ffff was very effective. See above comments about student involvement. I also enjoyed your comments about personal style and playing passionately.
End Element: Your end element was a nice way to close class and well scaffolded into the lesson’s concepts.
