Ryan Manni Music Education Spring 2013 Professional Development Activities Reflections Spring 2013 Observation/Teaching Opportunity at Shawnee

High School 12 Hours During my Winter Break I was given the opportunity to spend a weeks worth of classes, observing and participating in various music classes at Shawnee High School. These classes included Chorus, a medium-sized ensemble of freshman, Shawnee Singers, a medium-sized advanced ensemble, Piano Lab, and Music Theory I. I spent my time at this high school observing the teachers and their interactions with their students. By the end of the week, the teachers graciously gave me permission to teach a small lesson in a couple of classes. Every day started in Chorus. This ensemble is comprised primarily of freshman. It is a medium-sized ensemble of non-auditioned members. The teacher/conductor is Robert Joubert. The teacher is very well organized. He begins each class right at the bell by playing a warm up pattern on the piano with which the students are already familiar. He then proceeds to other warm ups such as solfeggio scales, arpeggio, and harmonic identification on selected vowels. Occasionally, Mr. Joubert will sing with the students, often louder than they. I asked him why he does so and he replied that he sings over them to push them to sing as he sings. He demonstrates for them by competing with them. I also queried him as to why his order of warm ups do not reflect the pattern we learn at Westminster, i.e. Body, Breath, Resonance, Intonation. HE explained that he begins with a warm up that the students recognize to get their attention. Once he has their attention he will move on to other warm ups. He will often omit physical exercises such as stretching or massaging simply because of time restraints.

Ryan Manni Music Education Spring 2013 At the end of the week, Mr. Joubert, graciously allowed me to teach a small lesson about six-eight meter to this class. I found the experience slightly nerve-racking, for I am not much older than these students and I found it challenging to establish myself as an authoritative figure. Mr. Joubert said nothing while I taught. Afterward he and I discussed my experience. As we talked I found that, upon reflection, that during my lesson I often did not give sufficient time for the students to answer my questions and that I relied too heavily on rhetorical questions to move classroom activity. I need to lead the students, and let them fall behind me if they happen to do so. I was also exposed to the idea of differential instruction. Instead of lecturing for an entire lesson, I can have the students sing, or play, and talk. I need my lessons to be more of an equal balance of kinetic, visual, and auditory learning. After Chorus, I spent each day observing Shawnee Singers. This is an advanced auditioned ensemble comprised of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. They are a very talented choir. The teacher/conductor is, again, Robert Jourbert. I found that he began the rehearsals for this choir almost identically to manner in which he began those for Chorus. I asked him, again, why he starts rehearsals in this way for each choir. He explained that he starts rehearsals for each choir this way from the very first day of school. In this way he not only establishes himself as the teacher from the get-go, but also builds a routine for the students. If the students have a routine, it makes for an efficient rehearsal and use of time. A clever idea considering even in Chapel Choir we are accustomed to daily routine. If the students are taken out of their routine, they become hesitant to participate, and thus time is not used effectively. It begs the question though, should they be used to regimentation, or be adaptable to changing situations, but

Ryan Manni Music Education Spring 2013 musical and non-musical? I also noticed that Mr. Joubert would take a few minutes each day to simply chat with the students after warm ups, be it about upcoming performances or light jocularity. I wondered if this kind of relationship can effect the students respect for the teacher. He explained that he works early on to establish himself as the teacher and conductor, and over time he and students come to build the rapport I witnessed. Directly following Shawnee Singers I would, again, observe Mr. Joubert teaching, however, this time in front of a Piano Lab. This class was comparatively much smaller with less than ten students, comprised of every grade. This class is designed for the beginner pianist, one who wishes to better ones musicianship skills through use of the piano. My initial wonder was, does the teachers attitude change in anyway after

spending nearly two hours with larger ensembles and immediately teaching a very small piano class. My question was answered quickly, for I noticed to change in Mr. Jouberts mien, or in his interaction with the students. Through out each of the three classes described above, I observed Mr. Joubert tell personal and poignant stories to the class as well as sublimate metaphors from his stories. Albeit I have yet to take Critical pedagogy, but the students seemed considerably more receptive to real-life comparisons and relatable circumstances. These instances seemed to be evidence and proof of the validity of critical pedagogy. At the end of each day, I observed a Music Theory I class. The class is comprised of twenty-thirty students of all grades. The teacher is Gina Kehl-Basso, Westminster Music Education Alum. Compared to the previous three classes, this class was a much more traditional classroom setting. The teacher was very well organized and articulate. She had the daily objectives written clearly on the front board. A part of each class time

Ryan Manni Music Education Spring 2013 was devoted to aural skills; that is identifying intervals, rhythmic dictation, and melodic dictation. Granted, Mrs. Kehl-Basso leads her class very well, I couldnt help but glance at the students. In typical high school fashion, there were those who never stopped

talking until told to do so, others never looking, and others that looked positively uninterested. I wondered if it is difficult for the teacher to discern which students are truly dedicated and those that are only there to fulfill a requirement. Does it affect the teacher to know if there are students there to merely fulfill requirements? Mrs. KehlBasso explained to me that each student must be treated equally and therefore as if they are truly dedicated. One cannot single out or push aside those that are not interested, but cannot also tailor the class to a select few. The teacher must find an appropriate balance and pace for each class based on the students in each class. By the end of the week, I was graciously allowed to teach a lesson with the students reviewing key signatures. The lesson reviewed identification and construction of key signatures with sharps and flats. The children were respectful, and even called me Mr. Manni. I did find that which Mrs. Kehl-Basso said about classroom balance to be very true. I found it a grand challenge to teach to the entire class and each student individually at the same time. This skill will be one which I suspect will take years to master.

Ryan Manni Music Education Spring 2013 Teaching Opportunities at Shawnee High School 3 Hours I returned once again to Shawnee High Schools Music Department. This time, however, I was given the fantastic opportunity to teach lessons in three separate choral ensembles. My first experience was in Shawnees Girls Ensemble. This is a medium-sized ensemble comprised of female singers of all grades. The teacher/conductor is Gina KehlBasso. Mrs. Kehl-Basso allowed me free reign of the entire class period. Just before the start of the class, she gave me the music, which the ensemble was working on, and said, Theyre yours! Needless to say, I was slightly nervous. From that point on, the teacher said nothing more. As the students filed into the room, I grabbed their attention simply because I was the only boy in the room. I found my first challenge in this instance, grabbing their attention away from the blur of hallways social exchanges. Once the students were silent and attentive, I began warm ups. My warm process was a narrative of a regular high school student going through their normal morning routine. I lead the girls through exercises of body, breath, resonance, and intonation. Directly after warm ups, I introduced myself, and my reason for being there. I found that as soon as we were finished vocalizing, the students began talking, and it became my job to reel them in again. After chatting for a few minutes, I moved on to rehearsal. As we were rehearsing an up-tempo piece, I noticed the students looked unhappy, which is gainsaying to the message of the text. I had the students spread out around the room and sing the music while physically showing the emotion of the text an exercise, which I came to find out, is related to Dalcroze. Overall, I had very pleasant, albeit overwhelming, first full-period teaching experience. If nothing else, I have become seemingly desensitized to the initial

Ryan Manni Music Education Spring 2013 thrill of being in front of a high school classroom, as well as exposing my weaknesses and strengths as a young music educator. Immediately after the Girls Ensemble, I was given permission to lead warm ups of both Chorus and Shawnee Singers, both directed by Robert Joubert. Chorus was first. My original lesson plans had planned for 5 minutes of warm ups, with four exercises. My warm ups adhered to the Westminster tradition of body, breath, resonance, then intonation. After finishing, I discovered I had run two minutes over time, and had not accomplished all I had set out to do. I knew I had to think on my feet and alter my plans for the next class, for my plans for that class were almost identical to those I just used. At the start of the next class, I abandoned my lesson plans to improvise warm ups. After finishing, I discovered I was now two minutes under time, and had accomplished everything I set out to do. My experience taught me primarily about time management. Moreover, I learned the importance and significance of improvisation techniques for the teacher. When I was placed on the podium without a plan, I felt the most vulnerable, but also the most inspired and open to experiencing. Improvisation techniques are an essential tool for all music educators to have in their repertoire of classroom leadership skills.