Below you will find a link to a sample of my teaching. This is from an activity called "Postman", that I did with my Music 295A class. I taught this activity using Symbolic Patterns. I have also included the task analysis I used for this activity with the portion on the video highlighted.
Symbolic Patterns Sample (7mb .mov file)
Objective: Upon seeing a familiar triple TB, MB, and MB elongation pattern notated with SP3 in the familiar meter signature of 6/4 and 6/8, SWBAT recognize the pattern by chanting it correctly, with the appropriate syllable, with consistent tempo and accurate meter.
Activity: Postman Game
Task: Students will be able to recognize a familiar triple pattern written on a card and chant the pattern with syllables, consistent tempo and accurate meter after hearing the teacher chant their pattern.
Materials: An envelope for each student containing a triple pattern written in SP3.
-Some of the envelopes will contain the same pattern as others, but some
will contain a pattern that is not found in any other envelope.
Procedures:
Teacher (T): Establishes the triple meter by swaying and saying “1 2 sway with me.”
Students (S): Begin to sway along with the teacher.
T: Says “1 2 echo me” in tempo.
T: Chants a different pattern on syllables for the students to echo.
S: Chant the pattern back to the teacher with the correct syllables.
T: Tells the students “I am going to chant a pattern on the neutral syllable bah. (pauses) Then you think the pattern. (pauses) I am going to chant the pattern again, but then this time you chant it back to me on syllables.
T: “Listen and think.”
T: Chants a pattern on a neutral syllable.
T: Motions for students to think pattern in head.
S: Think the pattern in head.
T: Repeats the pattern on neutral syllable.
T: Motions for students to chant the pattern back with syllables.
S: Chant the pattern back with syllables.
T: Begin to pass out envelopes to each student.
T: Tells students once “Please do not look inside” in tempo.
S: Collect envelope from teacher without looking at the contents inside.
T: While passing out envelopes, teacher chants a pattern on a neutral syllable.
T: Motions for students to think pattern in head.
S: Think the pattern in head.
T: Repeats the pattern on neutral syllable.
T: Motions for students to chant the pattern back with syllables.
S: Chant the pattern back with syllables.
Repeat this procedure until each student has one envelope.
T: Tells students “Before we play the game, we must practice first. To do so I am going to hold up a pattern. I will chant the pattern on a neutral syllable. Then I want each of you to think the pattern. I will chant the pattern again, but then this time I want each of you to chant the pattern on syllables.”
T: “Sway with me.”
T: Holds up a pattern, then chants the pattern on a neutral syllable.
T: Motions for students to think the pattern.
S: Think the pattern silently in their head.
T: Repeats pattern.
T: Motions for students to chant back.
S: Chant the pattern back with syllables.
T: Tells students “Very good!”
T: Tells students “Now this time I am going to hold up a pattern. I want you to think the pattern in your heads. Then I want each of you to chant it back to me with syllables.”
T: “Sway with me.”
T: Holds up a pattern.
T: Motions for students to think the pattern.
S: Think the pattern silently in their head.
T: Motions for students to chant back.
S: Chant the pattern back with syllables.
T: Tells students “Very good!”
T: Tells the students “To play the game, I am going to chant a pattern on a neutral syllable. (pauses) Then I want all of you to think the pattern. Then I am going to chant the pattern again, but this time I want whoever has the pattern to respond by chanting the pattern with syllables.”
T: Takes a moment to demonstrate to the students exactly what they will be doing.
-First chants “Who has” followed by a pattern on a neutral syllable.
-Then motions for students to think in their heads.
-Repeats “Who has” followed by syllables on a neutral syllable.
-Then motions for students to respond by chanting “I have” followed by the pattern on syllables.
-Then teacher holds up rhythm pattern for all students to see.
-Teacher chants “Now everybody!”
-Teacher motions for all students to chant the pattern on syllables.
T: Chants a pattern on a neutral syllable.
T: Motions for students to think the pattern in their heads.
S: Students think the pattern in their heads to recognize if it is the same pattern on their card.
T: Chants same pattern on a neutral syllable.
S: Chant the pattern with syllables only if the pattern matchers the one on their card.
T: Holds up the pattern for each student to see.
T: Chants “Now everybody!”
S: All of the students chant the pattern with syllables.
Repeat this procedure using the different patterns found on the students’ cards.
Reflection:
I feel that this was my most successful teaching of the semester. I look very confident in front of the students, and am demonstrating good musicianship. However, If I could go back and change one thing, I would have done some Verbal Pattern recognition with the students, opposed to just jumping right into the Symbolic Patterns.
Throughout the course of this semester, I have made much progress on my overall teaching. I have worked hard this semester in making sure that I demonstrate technical accuracy, fluency, and musical understanding when modeling for students. Most of these were easily achieved just by moving more during my teachings. By doing so it was much easier for me to maintain a steady tempo, but also be more musical. Moving more also helped me relax and feel more comfortable during my teachings.
Working on this has also helped me in a few other areas. It has helped me when it comes to my primary instrument. My rhythmic accuracy has improved because I now “feel” the music much easier. It has also helped me in my conducting. My pattern is much more smooth and less rigid, because again, I focus on the “feel” of the music. Although I am very pleased with this teaching, I still feel that there is always room for more improvement in the future.