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