Phil Kleven Week 3

What a great week! I'm feeling very confident in the classroom, and I had a great chance to test my skills as a teacher. My cooperating teacher was gone for two days, and I was completely in charge of the high school and middle school students. Teaching was very good this week. My instructional strategies are really working, and I'm connecting well with the students. I'm finally starting to learn some of their names too! My cooperating teacher demonstrated many positive instructional strategies, and she encouraged me to really push the higher performing ensembles. As we get to know each other better, I'm becoming more comfortable picking apart their sound and have higher expectations in general. For example, my third hour high school class is performing two concertos with student soloists. For these pieces, there are wind and brass players who come over from band to join the orchestra. Since these musicians are not with the orchestra everyday, I don't have a chance to address issues during each class. This week I set higher expectations for them and spent more time demonstrating sounds that I expected. My own performances are certainly helping the ensemble develop a concept of the sounds we need to produce.

This week was also great for new ideas and strategies. Since each of my classes have students that perform at drastically different levels, I have to adjust my instruction for each group. I learned that my first hour class needs to hear exactly what I want them to do, either in clear instructions, or by my own performance of the music. For second hour (intermediate orchestra) I learned that I should use a mixture of explanations and performance. Students in this class respond to both performance and verbal instructions. My third hour class (advanced orchestra) doesn't need me to play any musical examples for them (even though I would like to). They respond well to verbal instructions. I believe that many of the third hour students perform in outside youth orchestras, which generally perform at a very high level.

In the week ahead, I hope to learn more about the effectiveness of my teaching. My cooperating teacher has been taking many videos of me, which is eye opening. I am able to analyze every gesture, pause, and inflection in my speaking and conducting. I also hope to get more opinions about my teaching from the high school students. I've been asking many of them what they like about my teaching, and what they would like to see me do. The students are honest, and the feedback is great. We all have the same goal (February concert), and if I can get direct student feedback, we will be even stronger as a group.

Standard Connection:
This week, I chose to focus on standard 3 - planning for differentiated instruction - The competent teacher plans and designs instruction based on content-area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance date, curriculum goals, and the community context. The teacher plans for ongoing student growth and achievement. I've brushed up on all pedagogical strategies for orchestra, and am refining my teaching methods for the different instruments. We are working towards our February concert, and planning for daily rehearsal is key at this point in our learning. I've targeted a few students with specific musical needs, and have been working with them on an individual and small-group basis. I know this will help us perform our best in the concert!

Goals for next week:
- Further refine my rehearsal strategies
- Learn even more student names
- Find more ways to connect with students (found a few students who also play hockey this week. They were shocked that I play)

Phil Kleven Week 2

Week 2 can best be summed up in one word... reality. The kids are used to me and being a "real" teacher has officially started. I'm teaching a pretty heavy load - three orchestras of grades 9-12 and three orchestras at the middle school (6-8). I spent a lot of time rehearsing and working with groups at the middle school this week. Fortunately my high school students are taking finals, so there was some time to catch up on grading. 

My cooperating teacher demonstrated many successful techniques this week. Most notably, she helped me see how rehearsing smaller sections of music with the students was more effective. She would rehearse a song while I watched, and I would take the next song, mimicking many of her strategies. I learned that I can better hold student attention when they play less music, and they retain and apply instructions more efficiently. 

One interesting behavioral situation took place this week. We didn't talk much about behavioral management in previous Trinity classes, but I knew I would encounter some issues. With the students getting to know me better, they are testing their boundaries. Their regular teacher is very tough, but also has fun with them. The 7th grade group was a bit chatty (during my evaluation), and I had to calm them down. Thankfully they listen well, but need constant reminders. 

I learned several new techniques and strategies this week. First, I spent considerable time working with my cooperating teacher on my conducting technique. When I conduct the ensemble, there are many different ways I can move my arms to convey moods, signal instrumental entrances (cues), and direct sounds. After watching several videos of my conducting, I was able to move my pattern to a more suitable location and students responded in a positive, musical way. 

I'm also learning more about the importance of student roles in the classroom. Certain middle school students take care of daily tasks (attendance, setup, tuning, etc.). The students who help in the class are generally very positive and have a sense of pride in the classroom. I see them becoming leaders in the orchestra, but also in the school. As we teach high school too, I predict these students will become ambassadors for the higher level groups, taking on greater and greater roles. 

In the week ahead, I hope to learn more from the videos my cooperating teacher is taking. I'm learning a lot about my conducting style, and the more I watch these videos, the quicker I'm able to make small changes for the better. I also hope to discover more about student learning strategies at the high school level. I'll be taking over for my cooperating teacher next Thursday and Friday, and I want to do a great job with the high school students. I now know that I can utilize a few different instructional strategies. First, I can be a lot bossier with the students. If something doesn't sound good, I have to stop the ensemble and let them know. The students actually seem to like it when I get picky with their sound. I'll also do a better job of addressing all the sections. I tend to pick on the violins because their music is the hardest, but it is important to address other sections so they don't feel neglected (especially the basses!). 

Standard Connection: 

Standard 2 - Content Area and Pedagogical Knowledge – The competent teacher has in-depth understanding of content area knowledge that includes central concepts, methods of inquiry, structures of the disciplines, and content area literacy. The teacher creates meaningful learning experiences for each student based upon interactions among content area and pedagogical knowledge, and evidence-based practice. 


In week 2, I focused on standard 2 - content area and pedagogical knowledge. I'm jumping into fairly high level classes that require considerable pedagogical knowledge. There are many ways to instruct an orchestra, but the way comments are phrased can elicit expected or unexpected sounds from the ensemble. My cooperating teacher is really helping me understand best practices for orchestra, and to develop solid pedagogical strategies. Not only do I need to have a firm understanding of performance strategies for student instrumentalists, but I also must develop my own pedagogical strategies. Some are developing naturally and others are coming directly from my cooperating teacher. I'm quite the perfectionist, and love hearing feedback about what is going well, and what isn't working. 

·      Goals for the upcoming week
- Recognize when I'm losing student attention and shift activities
- Continue to develop my teacher voice (without losing my voice)
- Continue to complete my lesson plans to prepare for the edTPA

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Phil Kleven Week 1

What a week! Student teaching is tough! I'm in a very busy school with a very busy teacher. My cooperating teacher instructs orchestra at both the middle and high school levels. Her ensembles are a mix of students in 6th-8th grade and 9th-12th grade. Based on my own experiences in orchestra in school, I could predict the the classroom environment, but I was not prepared for the size. The three high school orchestras I instruct range from 40 to over 90 students. First hour is the largest with just over 90. Working with the largest ensemble is difficult, and it challenged one of my core beliefs about music education: the need to reach each student individually. As a private teacher, I have been able to work with students in a one-on-one setting. With the ensemble of 90+, all learning and rehearsal is done as a huge group. It really is difficult to address individual student issues in a group this large, but the size is necessary for ensemble performances. 

I learned many new techniques and strategies while observing and working with the ensemble. Right away, my teacher mentioned that I need to get my "teacher voice". While conducting the orchestras, I wasn't projecting my voice enough, and students near the back of the classroom were unable to hear me. I was able to correct this by my second day of teaching. I also learned that "less is more". I tended to let the students play too much without stopping, and that when I did stop them, I talked too much. My cooperating teacher suggested stopping the music frequently, and addressing issues in less than 10 words. 

My perspective on student roles also changed. After several days of observing and working with the groups, I noticed that my cooperating teacher wasn't taking attendance. In fact, she wasn't doing many of the procedural things I thought teachers did. She has a group of students who essentially "run" the class. They take attendance, pass back papers, and tutor others. Much of the Charlotte Danielson framework is present in this class. 

In the week ahead, I hope to have more opportunities to work alongside my cooperating teacher. I'm really getting the hang of her style and flow of her classroom. I'm becoming confident, and really need to because I'll be completely taking over her entire schedule January 24-26 while she is away at the ILMEA music conference in Peoria with her all-state students. Based on my experiences this week, I will better plan my instruction by taking into account student retention, and will continue to project my voice. I already have a great connection with the students, and my biggest goal is to continue to gain and hold their trust. 

In regard to the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, they are all present in my classroom, but in an unusual way. The Illinois Professional Teaching Standards are present in all lessons, but the district in which I teach has developed their own set of additional music standards based on the ASTA (American String Teachers Association) curriculum. These standards are more musically descriptive than the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, and offer more flexibility in age range - for example:

Essential Standard: Left Hand Placement

"Students perform with the correct placement and angle of the left arm-wrist-hand-fingers to the instrument. Demonstrate position that is balanced and free of tension. Play with independence of fingers, ease of motion and control of finger weight; produce characteristic tone."

Goals for the upcoming week:

- Project voice better

- Work smaller sections during ensemble rehearsal

- Stop group more often and check for verbal understanding

- To practice excellent teaching