Blog 15

THE LAST ONE.

3a. Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

I'm not going to lie, when we walked into class on Tuesday I thought we were finished.. and then Dr. Clark asked us to start categorizing our BPH... What? But once we began reviewing our BPH and seeing how they can actually be used in the classroom, I realized that this was a very important step that tied the whole semester's work together. I would definitely say that we all should be able to identify with KUD Standard 3a. We have all become familiar with the NCSCS and we now know ways that we can implement all of the Common Core Anchor Standards. Now, when we get into our future classrooms, we just have to see how the two will work best together and go from there!

I'm so glad that we got to work together this semester and I know I have learned SO MUCH about literacy.

It's been great to see our class teaching and learning from one another, and I think we met our objectives and kept to our values.

Good luck in your careers,

I hope our paths cross in the professional world,

Austin Beasley

Blog 14

3c. Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines.

I have had to try really hard to see this happening in my own education. Last week, however, when we had our guest speaker and we talked about assessment, I realized how all of my classes coincide to help me become a better educator.

I came into this semester not understanding why in the world I needed it integrate literacy into my class... I've actually felt that way this whole semester until now.

We, as educators, are all upholding the same responsibility: to advance our students in education to better their lives. To do that, we must realize that all of our disciplinary areas intersect and are dependent upon one another. We are going to be teaching to enrich and enhance the lives of our students. I don't just want to teach notes to my future choir students. Yeah, it's fun to sing songs and it's really cool to hear 3 different voice parts at the same time, but that's not why I am going into education. I am going into education because I love seeing people understand music, maybe even for the first time. I am so passionate for people and also so passionate about music. So when these two things seem to understand one another, my life is made.

Anyways, that is my soap-box for the day.

Again, I say, we are almost there guys!

Hallelujah!

Austin

Blog 13

4h. Teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned. 

Today we talked about many ways to retrieve data from our students and about their learning. I really enjoyed what our speaker said, that she would rather call it "student driven" assessment, rather than "data driven" assessment. 

I think that it would be so easy for schools and teachers to treat their students as just numbers, rather than human beings. I don't quite know how much this fits into the music classroom, but I still thought it was very interesting to learn about. I know that we will have to assess our students on the regular in music classrooms. I already have began to notice how much I do it naturally when I teach my peers in Secondary Music Methods class. But we don't have quite as many huge grades that go into our books by which to inform us on student's progress. We don't have mandated testing or anything like that, so if we were to do such a thing (which I think I would like to look into when I teach), it would still look a bit different than it does in a normal classroom.

I definitely identify with the differentiation of content in music classrooms. I know that everyone who walks in my door will have different background knowledge of music and musical concepts. It will be my job to move them forward and help those who are behind catch up to speed. Luckily, I feel that most students who are in a music class are there because they want to be, rather than because it is mandatory.

Austin

Blog 12

1b. Teachers demonstrate leadership in the school.

This week has been stressful, to say it nicely. I have been hacking away at the huge mountain of homework that I have. Between trying to plan good lesson plans to teach in the middle school and also trying to get our BPH done, I am trying to run towards the light at the end of this tunnel called "Spring Semester 2016." 

I chose the KUD standard 1b today because it really entangles a lot of things that I have been trying to do in the last few weeks. I am trying to take charge and get our BPH stuff done, but sometimes it's hard to communicate effectively with peers who are just as busy as you are. Sticky notes, texts, emails, etc. are up my alley. I love to be organized and send out reminders and things like that-but it's also trying when you're in charge and feedback is sparse. But I am doing the best I can and I will get my end of the bargain done. 

Things will work out in the end, either way. That is what we must all remember. Everything will be fine. 

Austin

Blog 11

2c. Teachers treat students as individuals.

Today I am thinking about how all of our lesson presentations went! I think we all did well, and I was super pumped to see everyone doing their thang! It's great to see such capable and competent future educators! It makes me excited for our generation to get into the classrooms and change the field for the better! 

One thing that I think we all (mostly) excel at is treating each student as an individual and giving time and attention to the thoughts one another has. I know that during everyone's lesson I definitely felt like the teacher cared and was concerned that I was learning what they were teaching! You guys took time to make sure we understood the concepts or to answer the questions we may have had! 

I would like to think that I am good at incorporating this standard into my lessons. I am beginning to get to know some of my peers in a better, less-shallow way, and I love to teach them new concepts (especially about music)! It's great to be in a class with so many great people!

Austin

Blog 10

5c. Teachers function effectively in a complex, dynamic environment.

I think that this is an essential aspect of teaching. We will have students from a million different home lives, socioeconomic backgrounds, disabilities, gifts, etc. But through all of that, we must ensure that they are learning and growing in knowledge! I think that our combined teaching class was a great experience for those who got to teach! I really enjoyed seeing everyone doing what they love to do: teach! I think that everyone did a great job and admire their courage for getting up there and going at it! I am excited to do so next week after Easter Break! Katie and I like to make a ruckus during classes, and I know that teachers deal with that on the daily in K-12. I hope that karma doesn't come back to bite me and that I have a class full of students who don't listen and act out! This brings me to my reflection for the week: I will have to be able to deal with these types of behaviors without taking it personally that my students aren't paying attention and are acting in a way that is not warranted. I get pretty passionate/heated rather quickly (there was an incident that happened today that made me realize this) and take it super personal when people don't like me...

But I am going to have to work on this! I can't be a teacher who overly cares if my students like me or not. I am going to have to manage behaviors and keep my class rolling-keep it functioning effectively!

Happy holy week!

Austin

Blog 9

4e. Teachers help students develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.

Although we haven't covered this in our Ed316 class, I have encountered this specific standard a lot in my Music Education classes.

In my Secondary Music Ed class we must teach each week and then watch the videos and reflect upon our lessons. Our professor also asked us to create a Professional Development worksheet in which we set two specific goals for ourselves that we want to implement in our teaching.

One of my goals was to ask more questions that lead my students to think critically. I noticed today (I mean over Spring Break) while working on revising my 6PLP for 316 that I don't do that as well as I should/would like to. Yes, it is important for teachers to teach and show their students how to do things-but how much more important it is for us to help our students learn to think for themselves! We aren't just teaching our students facts and concepts, we are helping to mold them into capable people who are well educated and responsible.

I had to finish up my Student Teaching Application yesterday and I am so thrilled that I will be Student Teaching next Spring! It's crazy how fast it's approaching! But also terrifying! I have all of these ideal goals for myself-I want to be engage students and help them think deeply for themselves, but I'm not there yet! It's frightening to think that I have one more semester and then I will be in front of a real group of students (hundreds of them throughout the day) trying to tell them about a thing I love so much...

I guess I should focus on getting through this semester first!
Austin

Week 8

3c. Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines.

As we learn more and more about different approaches to improve our instruction and hopefully aid student learning, I find that teaching is teaching.

I came into this class thinking that I wouldn't really find anything useful or relevant to my subject, but the more we talk about strategies and procedures to aid our teaching, I am seeing how it all connects.

The other day we had a Student Teaching (Spring 2017) meeting and Dr. Parker asked me what grades I am wanting to student teach in. I told him I wasn't sure because I'm not. I know I want to do elementary or middle school music. But I can't give an answer as to which one I want to spend an entire semester learning about. So I have been asking professors, family, friends what they think. A helpful bit of advice was given to me from one of my music professors-and what was this:

Teaching is teaching. There are different methods that you use for different ages, and there are different ways to give instruction appropriate to the age of your students. But the concept of aiding students learn information and then apply it to their lives is the same across age lines or even content areas! That has definitely helped take some stress off of my shoulders as I try to decide between ages!

I'm excited to finally make a decision (hopefully I will soon!)

Until next time,

Austin

Week 7

2a. Teachers provide an environment in which each child has a positive, nurturing relationship with caring adults.

I feel that the more we are able to work together in groups helps us to practice this standard. We are essentially trying to build relationships with one another as peers so that we can better work together and learn from one another. I have had a great time working with our BPH group (though we have hardly a clue what is going on for this project). We have began to show our strengths and weaknesses-which really help the others to build and compensate with our own strengths to cover weaknesses (I'm not saying that we have many weaknesses). Overall, I think it is a valuable lesson to strive to be a comforting, motivating force in each other's lives! It's essential to look on the bright side and not get overwhelmed with the task ahead of us. Just take it one step at a time and we will eventually reach our goals!

Peace,

Austin

Week 6

Reflecting on this week, I see how much our knowledge is building upon itself. The LEARN module (though I am not anywhere near finishing it) has some similarities to our 6 Point Lesson Plans. It's interesting to see all of these different methods of creating lessons, and noticing the parts that are significant (given how they reappear in multiple different methods of planning). 

Knowing different methods of creating lesson plans will help us in the future (as we gain more knowledge of the different approaches people use), in that we can decide which parts will work from each one. I think that we will find many similarities in the different types of lesson plans, just different avenues that are taken to get to the end result. 

4b. Teachers plan instruction appropriate for their students.

4c. Teachers use a variety of instructional methods.

I believe these two standards fit in very well with our learning for these past two weeks. In order to be effective teachers, we must understand our students and know which styles of instruction/lessons will best motivate and help them learn!

Austin

Week 5

3a. Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

I feel that aligning our instruction has been an incredibly important part of our meetings here lately. I am glad that we are talking about this because it is definitely something that will benefit us in our classrooms. Sometimes when I think about the enormous task that is ahead of us, I am frightened that I will not be qualified or good enough at doing my job. I have a huge passion for this career, but I am not sure if I will meet my own expectations (I have pretty high ones for myself). I want to be a leader and change the field for the better. I hope to be creative and innovative. I also want to have great relationships with my students, and instill confidence in them that they are capable of being the absolute best that they can be, no matter what.

I just get overwhelmed with the enormity of lesson plans, assessments, being creative, integrating technology, etc.

But I'm sure that I am just freaking out because I'm stressed and need more sleep. I am passionate about educating students about music, and letting students know that I believe in them!

Until next time,
Austin Beasley

Week 4

I am finding more and more the opportunities that we have in our class meetings to practice our Candidate Standards. Today, working in small groups, we were able to collaborate with one another and gain knowledge. I'm glad that we get the experience to discover ways to work better with people, and to be able to think creatively once we hear others' ideas.

Standard 4f: Teachers help students work in teams and develop leadership qualities. I believe this standard directly applies to the teamwork that we exemplified today in the library. Though I am very, very confused about how to develop our Best Practices Handbook, I am glad that our team had the opportunity to work together and get to know one another. 

Katie Duncan and I had lunch after class and she was able to help me understand the process of making our BPH! I am glad that she and I were able to talk out our confusion and then find the (hopefully correct) solutions. Now I can take this back to my team and hopefully help them understand the process. Standard 1b involves our collaborative skills and the task of reaching out to peers to better understand things! 

Overall, I am still learning a ton! I am excited about the community that we have built in class, and I am glad that my group is open to sharing ideas! 

Week 3

Something that I have been thinking about recently is creating a class where understanding is the main goal. I reflect on my middle and high school music experiences and realize that I was taught pieces of music-not music itself. My teacher would teach us parts and then we would sing them back to her and believe that we had done great work that day... However, were she not there-could I have replicated that process? Could I have learned on my own the music? Probably not-because I did not really understand music.

Now that I am in college and getting closer and closer to Student Teaching- I am contemplating what will be most important to me as a teacher. We have to teach mini-lessons on Fridays for my Secondary Music Education class-and I am constantly striving to get students (my college classmates) to figure out the music on their own, rather than me just playing it on the piano and them mimicking what they hear. 

I believe Backwards Learning is a great way of planning in a way that will enable students to best learn. When I watched the videos about essential questions-I initially did not see a way that could work in a music class-but upon further thought I found a few that I think could work:

-what is the mood of this piece of music and how is that mood demonstrated/executed?

-what stylistic considerations were made by the composer to portray their meaning?

Anyways, I missed having classes today.

Hope to see everyone Thursday.

Peace,

Austin

Week 2 

I have been learning a great deal about implementing and deciphering standards. I have always heard terribly negative things about Common Core, but have never understood its purpose (or anything about it, really). 

However, I now find Common Core very useful in a school. I think it is a great idea to create goals and standards that we expect our students to be able to achieve by the time of their departure from our classes. Common Core helps guide us as teachers, reminding us of our end goal for our students. Having these end goals guide us as we create our curriculum in our classroom, they don't replace our curriculum. I think I would feel like I was completely lost if I did not have the standards to help guide me as I tried to figure out what to teach my students. It takes a load off of our shoulders to be able to focus on differentiating instruction, using different methodologies, and assessment! 

Flipping our classroom is a flipping awesome idea. 21st Century students are technologically savvy and enjoy learning online, so I think it is a great idea to send them home where they will need to watch videos, interact with websites, etc. in order to learn the content needed for the next class period which will be filled with discussion and application of what they had learned the night before. My only concerns about this would be if students had a sticky situation at home where they didn't have internet access or legitimately didn't have time to do the work. Further, what do you do with students who didn't do their homework (for whatever reasons)? I also don't see many practical uses for this in a music class room, but I am open to exploring/creating uses for it! 

All in all, I feel that I am getting a better grasp at the flow of this class and I am genuinely excited to come to class every week! We have great discussions in class and I am definitely learning a ton!

Until next week,

Peace-Austin Beasley

Week 1

Beginning new classes each semester is always a fun and exciting time! I am excited to find out what I will be studying in each course, and trying to predict how I can use the knowledge I learn at the end of the semester!

Ed 316 at first seemed like a course that I was not so sure about. I was excited to have another education class (speciality concentrations have only a select amount of education classes to take). I was not so sure as to how this class would benefit me in my content area: Music. How does literacy factor in to teaching music to students?

As far as I can tell, this class is about much more than simply integrating an essay project every once-in-a-while. I'm glad that we are in CLCs that will aide us in working together for the common goal of bettering our students. I'm excited to think about our professional development and testing out different methods with each other. I am excited to learn from peers and our professor about different tactics they use on lesson plan delivery and differentiation! Assessment is also a great area in which I know I will find interesting ideas about how to better assess student learning! 

I'm nervous about not keeping up with assignments! I am usually spot on with organization and keeping on task, but for some reason things just haven't clicked yet for this semester! I'm taking 21 credit hours, so that probably has a lot to do with it! I think I work better under schedules and when I know for sure what is expected of me. I think I will do better once I get into the swing of things and know exactly what course work has to be due when, etc. 

Anyways, I am excited to get to know everyone better and to learn from everyone in the class. I know we all have great things to offer to one another and ultimately to our future students! 

Until next time,
Peace
Austin.