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!