Phil Kleven Week 16

Week 16! The last full week! Although things are winding down for me, my classes are moving full speed ahead. All orchestras are preparing for their final concerts. Although I've transferred lead teaching back to my cooperating teacher, I'm still heavily involved in classroom activities and am conducting pieces for the final concert. My cooperating teacher asked me to work with students in pairs, similar to a private lesson setting. The students saw me come alive in this type of teaching as it is most similar to what I do as a private lesson teacher. They enjoyed me playing along and demonstrating excerpts. The private or small group teaching really allows students to see what I can do and gives them more confidence in me as a teacher. I also saw my cooperating teacher get tough on students at the middle school. The 6th through 8th grade students have gone completely insane since the weather warmed up.  Keeping them on task in class has been extremely difficult and, like the high school, they still have one concert left before the end of the year. A mix of rehearsal, presentations, and musical games have helped to keep them on task.

This team teaching strategy allowed me reflect on standard 8 - collaborative relationships.  "The competent teacher builds and maintains collaborative relationships to foster cognitive, linguistic, physical, and social and emotional development. This teacher works as a team member with professional colleagues, students, parents or guardians, and community members." By working together, we built on cognitive, physical, and social development of students. The setting helped us reach the needs of each student, especially those with specific goals and learning needs. It was also done in a way that didn't isolate students. They all had a chance to work with me in pairs, and they learned a lot!

In terms of new strategies, I had the opportunity to plan and prepare for a major rehearsal with the largest group I've ever conducted. Students in the top orchestra and band have been preparing to perform Mars and Jupiter from Holst's Planets suite. They performed Mars on the last band and orchestra concerts, and my cooperating teacher is conducting Jupiter for the orchestra's final concert. She suggested that I spend a class working with the combined group of well over 100 students. I have to admit I was a bit nervous to work with such a large group, especially because I was less confident giving comments to wind, brass, and percussion students. After rehearsal began and my musical instincts set in, I wasn't nervous at all. We had a wonderful rehearsal! I'm thankful for this experience and I hope to perform music like this in the future if I'm selected for a high school position.

In the week ahead, I hope to have a successful last three days. I'd like to say student teaching is winding down, but I know I will be going full speed ahead right until the last minute of my last day. The only thing I would like to do differently would be to go into future rehearsals with more confidence. Although musical preparation is complex and stressful, I have enough experience to jump into just about any musical piece or setting. I'm looking forward to begin a teaching career with confidence!

Goals for the week ahead:
- Finish student teaching with a strong sense of accomplishment
- Continue applying to jobs
- Refine my conducting and rehearsal strategies
- Enjoy sleeping in on Thursday and Friday!

Phil Kleven Week 15

Stress, accomplishment, and planning - those words describe my "roller coaster" of a week. The stress and accomplishment part comes from the edTPA. Results were posted and I passed! I'm not thrilled with my results but a passing score is a passing score. I'm glad I had an observation on Thursday because it kept my mind off the edTPA.

When not stressing and panicking about the edTPA, I spent my time preparing students for yet another major concert. My cooperating teacher gave me a huge responsibility for this program. I conducted the only piece for the concert orchestra, two of the three movements of a piece with the chamber orchestra, and a major movement from a serenade with the top group. She must have great confidence in me, as this was a considerable amount of music. Preparation for this concert was difficult. With the concert orchestra performing only one piece of music, I had to manage rehearsal time in order to effectively rehearse all music, but also keep students engaged. Performing one song with this group is difficult because they get bored quickly. Thankfully my spontaneous rehearsal techniques kept them on their toes! Throughout the process, I considered standard 7 - Assessment. Although performances are a normal part of the musical process, it is important to remember that they are actually assessments! The students and I enjoy performances because they don't seem like assessments. The students worked hard and were excited to share their progress with their parents, other students, and other faculty members.

We are transitioning teaching back to my cooperating teacher, and it is great to see her working with the students again. She works well with them and knows them, and I enjoy seeing her strategies to combat common classroom issues. One such example comes from Wednesday when she had a very energetic rehearsal with the Chamber orchestra. Her high energy kept them engaged and I will certainly use that style of teaching in my future job.

The planning portion of my week was related to job applications and the future. I've applied to several positions, and am waiting to hear about interviews. In addition to applications, I'm beginning to think about how I will structure my future classroom. I've considered method books, group breakdowns (by grade and ability), extracurricular groups, instructional strategies, homework, projects, and performances. I considered standard 3 in this planning: "The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement." I want my future students to achieve great things and much of that rests on my ability to plan for their success! 

In the week ahead, I hope to see how my cooperating teacher keeps students focused. Although I'm close to finishing the student teaching semester, the students still have another month of school. They are in summer mode already! I see that many of the teachers are struggling to keep students focused and I know I will need to combat this in the future. 

Goals for the week ahead:
- Relax, no more edTPA! 
- Continue searching and applying for jobs
- Encourage students to work hard and assist with final concert preparations 

Phil Kleven Week 14

Week 14! There are only two weeks left! I am excited to finish the student teaching semester but will admit that I will be a little sad when it is over. I have been working very hard and made great connections with the students this semester. It's hard to imagine that my life will go back to what it was like before I started the Trinity program! (At least until the fall!)

This was an unusual week. I taught a regular schedule on Monday and Tuesday, and administered the PSAT exam on Wednesday. I'm used to assessments in orchestra class, but for some reason standardized tests didn't register as assessments. After a full day of testing, they do now! This was a new way for me to experience Standard 7:

"The competent teacher understands and uses appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student growth, and evaluating student outcomes. The teacher makes decisions driven by data about curricular and instructional effectiveness and adjusts practices to meet the needs of each student."  

Our meeting coordinator mentioned that we were not supposed to do any work during the exam, so I spent several hours watching students take a test! Unfortunately I began to feel sick during the test but all is well now and I'm returning to normal.

In terms of teaching, I saw a new intensity from my cooperating teacher. We are team teaching all classes and working together to help prepare students for the final two concerts. She has given me the  responsibility of conducting roughly half the concert. In the first hour class (largest orchestra), I'm conducing the only piece. Since this group is so big (70+ students) we have been taking students out in groups of 2-4 for individual and small-group lessons. This was a great idea from my cooperating teacher and excellent representation of standard 8:

"The competent teacher builds and maintains collaborative relationships to foster cognitive, linguistic, physical, and social and emotional development. This teacher works as a team member with professional colleagues, students, parents or guardians, and community members."

We spent the week collaborating to assist students with cognitive and physical development. In such a large class, it is impossible to address the physical performance needs of each student during group rehearsals. By pulling them out of class we were able to help students as private teachers do, and the students made much faster progress! As I private music teacher, I felt very comfortable with this one-on-one or small group setting, and students were able to see me in an even more animated form! They also gained confidence in my teaching because I was playing my violin along with them. Many students had no idea I could play, and I gave them quite a show! I always aim to perform with dignity, so it doesn't appear that I'm showing off. Some teachers do that and it's not tasteful. I just think it's important my students know that I can practice what I preach! 

In the week ahead, I'm aiming to learn how to end a school year. My cooperating teacher has a strong bond with many senior students, and we are honoring them at the final concert. She describes this as a highly emotional event, and I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone does! In the end, this group is more than a class. I see that the students have become a family and it is difficult when graduating students leave. I think this will be a fitting event to close my student teaching experience. 

Goals for next week:
- Have a great final concert
- Receive edTPA scores and celebrate
- Finish more job applications

Phil Kleven Week 13

Week 13 was challenging - students are struggling to focus after spring break and are anticipating the end of the school year. This has been particularly challenging for us in orchestra because we have another concert next week. Unfortunately, due to school scheduling, we've had two concerts in the last 3 months, and the dates are too close for the students. We are struggling to learn and prepare music for this concert and have cut several pieces from the program already. This week, I saw my cooperating teacher be very demanding with the students. She is pushing them really hard and expects them to remain focused and driven through the end of the year. I am trying to do the same thing, but it is causing a lot of pressure on the students. At the high school, we had "donut Friday" today, and it was a nice reprieve from all the hard work we've done. 

In terms of strategies, my cooperating teacher demonstrated how to run highly demanding and intense rehearsals without causing students to crack under the pressure. Specifically, she changed gears often, so students weren't stuck on one piece of music for too long. She suggested that I do the same, because students can't handle the same intense focus that professional musicians can. My experience as a professional violinist caused me to become hyper-focused on details in rehearsal, and I simply didn't see that students couldn't hold the same level of concentration for as long as I expected. 

This week I chose to focus on standard 4 - learning environment. "The competent teacher structures a safe and healthy learning environment that facilitates cultural and linguistic responsiveness, emotional well-being, self-efficacy, positive social interaction, mutual respect, active engagement, academic risk-taking, self-motivation, and personal goal-setting." Since active engagement was difficult in rehearsal this week, I will be making some changes for my rehearsals next week. I will need to take some "academic risks" such as making new analogies, coming out of my shell, and becoming much more animated for the high school students. I believe this will create a positive and engaging environment that will lead students to success in the completion of our tasks. 

Goals for next week:

1. Adjust my rehearsal strategies to allow for more flexibility and will change pace more quickly. I'm conducting one piece with each group, and it may be helpful to switch pieces/teachers every 15 minutes to keep students engaged. 

2. Have more fun during rehearsal. If I'm able to create a relaxed atmosphere, students will calm down and our rehearsal will be more effective. 

3. Complete open job applications. I have 3 open applications that I hope to finish in the coming week. New jobs are popping up every so often, and I'm hoping for something good nearby! 

Phil Kleven Week 12

Nothing to report from teaching this week - I am on spring break! It feels great to relax after the stresses of finishing and submitting the edTPA. Although I didn't teach this week, I was able to take some time to reflect on my past experiences and make some plans for the upcoming week. Although there are only four weeks of teaching left, there is quite a bit to do. I spent the week planning rehearsals for our upcoming concert in April. To do this, I addressed standard 3 - planning for differentiated instruction. "The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement." When I return to school on Monday, I plan to engage students with a range of rehearsal techniques to maximize the effectiveness of our rehearsals. I am planning out sections of music to rehearse each day and strategies that will help students learn quickly. I don't usually plan rehearsals too specifically because students always have issues with spots I didn't plan to rehearse or perform my pre-planned spots with ease. I am making a plan to lay out our concert songs and address different sections in each rehearsal. I anticipate students won't like this because the songs will seem fragmented, but it is essential to our success.  Now that the edTPA is submitted, I'm looking forward to returning to school with enthusiasm, and without that major cloud over my head!

Phil Kleven Week 11

Last week before spring break! This was a tough week for all my different classes. The students were already in spring break mode on Monday, and we had a lot of work that needed to be done. Although we just finished a concert cycle, students are already preparing for another performance two weeks after we return from break.

This week, I saw my cooperating teacher challenge students in pieces she is conducting. One of the high school groups is really struggling to perform, and she gave them some tough love. The first hour class has upwards of 70 students, and it is very difficult to support them all. After witnessing her strategies, I attempted to implement them in my own teaching with the piece I conduct. The biggest difficulty in this group is that the violins need so much support and attention that the other sections (violas, cellos, basses) become bored. I don't think they feel neglected, their music just happens to be easier to play. This is one unfortunate aspect of orchestral playing - the first violin section always has the hardest music, and the other sections aren't challenged as much. The reason for this is that the melody needs to be in the highest voice in order for the audience to hear it, and that is the violin section. When the first violin struggles, they eat up most of the rehearsal time. I believe daily sectionals with this group will be a positive strategy as we return from break.

My cooperating teacher demonstrated an ability to change gears quickly in rehearsal, and that is a skill that I'm still working on. She is quickly able to recognize when the group is not responding to instructions, and moves them to a different spot in the music. While I was conducting, I encountered a difficult section of music, and we became stuck on it. I tried to work on it for some time, and my cooperating teacher mentioned that I spent way too much time on it. I had no idea how long we worked! As a violinist, I am a perfectionist, and I really wanted the music to improve. In the future, I'll do a better job of time management to ensure the rehearsal doesn't become stale or too one-sided.

In my next teaching week (next week is spring break!) I hope to spend more time rehearsing efficiently with each group. I will try a new strategy - full week planning with specific sections in the music. I haven't done much of this, because when I did, the section I planned to rehearse ended up needing no work and I had to find other sections to study. I think the students would benefit from a rehearsal strategy that divides up the music. We wouldn't play the entire piece each day, but would work on a different section each day so we complete the entire piece over the course of a week. Back when I was doing observations, a middle school teacher used this strategy and it worked very well.

Due to the issues with rehearsal management, I chose to focus on standard 5 this week.

"The competent teacher differentiates instruction by using a variety of strategies that support critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, and continuous growth and learning. This teacher understands that the classroom is a dynamic environment requiring ongoing modification of instruction to enhance learning for each student."

It's time for me to develop new strategies related to rehearsal management to better plan and execute my rehearsals. It is essential that I create a dynamic environment each day, and need to keep students engaged and ready to perform. 

Goals for the upcoming week:
- Finish and submit edTPA tomorrow
- Relax over spring break
- Complete portfolio
- Finish job applications I've already started

Phil Kleven Week 10

Has it really been 10 weeks? Time is moving very quickly. This would have the first week in my second placement, but I'm fortunate to be continuing in my first placement through the end of the semester. I'm glad things worked out this way, because I'm seeing the entire course of a semester with one group. The continuity and flow of classes are two things I hoped to gain insight into during student teaching.

This was another successful week for both the middle and high school students. The high school groups are working on new music in preparation for our next two concerts. We had a successful concert at the middle school on Tuesday night, and the students are now preparing for their contest performance tomorrow. We will be traveling to a school up north to present our program for a panel of judges, who will give us score and feedback on our abilities and preparation.

This week I really saw how to prepare a group for the contest. My cooperating teacher shifted into high gear, and the students focused intently. It was really nice to see how hard they could work. I wish they would work this hard all the time, but am still happy that they recognize the seriousness of this contest. Through my cooperating teacher's example, I saw how to run extremely efficient rehearsals, making the most of each second. These experiences provided insight into my own teaching methods, and made me reflect on my instructional pacing. When the pacing speeds up, students can become stressed, but it also helps them remain focused in achieving classroom goals.

In the week ahead, I hope to gain more insight into speaking with groups after performances. I had a chance to do this with both high school and middle school groups after the concerts, but it will be different after the contest. There is a delicate balance of criticism and positivity that needs to emerge in these conversations. Too much criticism will diminish student spirits, but a little is necessary to drive practice and improvement. Similarly, too much positivity will falsely inform students of success when it hasn't been earned.

Like last week, I chose to focus on standard 7 - assessment. "The competent teacher understands and uses appropriate formative and summative assessments for determining student needs, monitoring student progress, measuring student growth, and evaluating student outcomes. The teacher makes decisions driven by data about curricular and instructional effectiveness and adjusts practices to meet the needs of each student."Assessment is ongoing in the orchestra classroom, but students are not always aware of it. When we have major assessments like concerts or competitions, students become well aware of the circumstances, and often make major improvements right before the event. I'm learning how to strategically use assessments to drive student growth and progress. 

Goals for the week ahead:
- Have a great competition on Saturday
- Finish edTPA on Monday
- Practice excellent teaching through new differentiation strategies (sectionals, individual lessons)