Developmental Standards Project

Dustin Edwards Ball State University EdPsych 250 December 9, 2013

Purpose:
The purpose of this project is to demonstrate my understanding of the development of children and how they learn and develop over their school years using developmental concepts. I hope to as a Music Educator use what I have learned in this Educational Psychology class so that I can better understand how my students are developing and how I can better help them along. As described in my instructional decisions, I hope to use this information to better serve the students I am going to be teaching when I go out into the Music teaching field. INTASC 2, The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning opportunities that support their intellectual, social and personal development. Ive decided to research the following concepts: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Theory of Mind Bullying Self-esteem Peer friendships Environment Parental involvement Literacy outcomes

Ball State University Conceptual Framework: This framework contains three themes: engagement, expertise, and context. Expertise: For expertise I took what I have previously written about it and put it into my project. I received good feedback about it so it should explain it well enough. The band director needs to be able to learn how to conduct and cue proficiently. This is done through lots of practice while in front of a band and a mirror. The next part of becoming a good band director would be able to identify individual students needs and be able to meet them while taking care of the rest of the band. Overall once a band director has achieved a high enough skill level in these three areas I would consider him or her to be an expert in their field. All of this will just come with experience and in the article when it said a teacher needs at 10 years to become an expert I highly agree with this because for most people this stuff doesnt come naturally. Order for me to become an expert in the Music Education field teaching 6-12th grade band I will have to have an extensive knowledge of all the band instruments. This means that I need to be able to play all of the instruments at a proficient level so that I can show beginners how it is done on their own instruments. Even though we take classes here at BSU to learn all of these different instruments a good music educator would go a bit further and maybe buy some used ones so they could still practice on them even when theyre not in that tech class. Overall a band director needs experience and that is plain and simple. (AG 2) Engagement: Being a music education major/band director I know that it is imperative that I actively engage my students every day in class. Now keeping them engaged isn't so hard because I want them to be playing their instrument and learning and students who are in band generally want to learn but the difficulty will be when I have to deal with the ones that don't

really want to be there. Also being a band director doesn't mean that I can't incorporate technology into the classroom, smart music is a good way to test the students and keep them on their toes and using power points on listening days. All of this helps me get my students actively engaged. (AG 3) Context: As a music educator it is easy to forget that we will have classes that are really big. If you conduct a band it is possible to have around 80 students in your band and that is on top of the other 3 or four bands you might be teaching throughout the day. This makes it hard for us to get to know our students personally quicker. Band Directors will usually get to know their students by their sophomore or junior year pretty good because they will see them every day and even though this is not the best environment to be able to get to know your students better band directors have the advantage of being able to see the same class for four years in a row. By the time a student is a senior there will be a great bond between the director and student but we must watch out that we do not get too friendly because you still want to have a professional relationship with them and in the end you are their teacher and they are your student and too many times these days that line becomes blurred and this is why so many teachers get fired for being a bit to "close" with certain students of theirs. But being a teacher we still must be able to get to know our students well enough so that we can meet their needs and be able to teach them the most that we can while they are in our class. (AG 1)

Developmental Research Topics: Theory of Mind: Theory of mind in children is when they first start reflecting on their own thought processes and mental activities. Language allows this metacognition to occur, as thought

reflection is in fact a language process (Berk, 2008). Music is a good way to help with this. As a child gets older they can reflect on what they know and start to get into improvising with their music that they are given. I believe in starting to improvise with kids at a young age and by doing this it could help develop this Theory of mind because it gets kids thinking about how they what they want to do when they improvise. This theory can be applied to even older kids because I believe it is the same for them too. Instructional Decisions: As a music educator it is my job to make sure that I push my students to their full learning capacity and get their brains active. (AG 2.8) To help develop a child theory of mind in my class I would work on improvising with them. Improvising is probably the thing that requires the most thinking in music and can be done by all ages. (AG 1.5) All ages really can partake in this because just last semester I did it with a classroom of third graders and they did a splendid job at it and this helps them reflect on what they just did and what they will do next. Improvising requires the brain to know what it just did and what it will do next. This is why improvising would be the best to help work this theory. (AG 2.7) Bullying: Bullying is a huge problem in schools these days. As we have discussed in class many schools have bullying problems and just recently on the news they showed that another girl has committed suicide because of bullying at school. Bullying is the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively to impose domination over others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. (Berk, 2008) Bullying is a huge issue to deal with in todays schools because as I explain in the next section about self-esteem bullying could become an issue in a band class since these students are more likely to have low self-esteem and these kids are the ones who get bullied the most. A band director must be able to catch a bully in the act and be able to know how to handle the situation because for any teacher these days bullying is a huge

issue always on their minds because it is so common. 1 in 5 teens are bullied each year and that is a pretty big number considering how many teens there are in this country. (Espelage, 2003) With such a high number of kids getting bullied it is a teachers job to try and watch out for this the best that they can. Instructional Decisions: In my class the biggest thing I want to look out for is bullies. They are such a huge problem in all the school districts of America these days and I want to try and bring these statistics down. (AG 5.4/AG 5.1) I will always make sure that I check on all of my students and make sure they are doing well and keep an eye out in the hall ways between classes to see if any bullying is actually going on and if it is I would have a talk with that student or send them to a principle to deal with them. I would also start out at the beginning of each year and go over the rules of the class and those will include being nice to one another because the band is one big family and a family must look out for each other.

Self-Esteem: Individuals with high self-esteem (regardless of age, sex, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity) are usually well-adjusted, sociable, and conscientious; whereas a person with low self-esteem is linked to anxiety, depression, and antisocial behavior (Berk, 2008) (AG, 1.1). SelfEsteem is important to anybody including children. Band is known to be where the kids with low self-esteem go because it is for the weird kids who dont quite fit in.(Jordan, Wilfrid, Logel, Spencer, Zanna, Wood, Holmes 2013) In most band, orchestra, or choir classes that teacher will have to be able to help certain students with low self-esteem. This means that a band director must not only know about music but how a student develops during their time in the band and is knowledgeable enough to know how to bring their self-esteem up. And as I have said in the

section above regarding bullying, having a higher self-esteem will help keep the bullys away more from your students. Instructional Decisions: I know that back when I was in grade school my band teacher gave me the self-esteem I needed to make it through middle and high school. I never had too many friends to start with but once I joined band I had many friends that were in the band and it was one big family. I hope to create that same environment in my band room. (AG 5.2) I can do this by always being friendly to my students and encouraging them to think of the band as one big happy family. As long as I weed out and take care of certain kids who might need more attention than others I think that I can really raise their self-esteem up with positive speech and tell them when they are doing good and complimenting them and giving credit when due.

Peer Friendships: Friendships can be defined as mutually agreed-on relationships in which children like each others personal qualities and respond to one anothers needs and desires (Berk, 2008). The third biggest thing that affects a childs development is the friends they have. Usually when you see kids in elementary school they all want the same clothes and eat the same food. This can really shape a child development because if they get mixed in the wrong crowd this could create problems down the road. For example if a kid has been lifelong friends with another kid but that kid decides that in 8th grade he wants to start smoking weed then your child could be at risk for doing it too because a it is hard for a kid to say no to their best friend. Instructional Decisions: As I have said in most of the other instructional decisions I plan on encouraging everybody to be friendly to one another and having the band be like one big family. I know that if I didnt have the friendships that I had back when I was in band I would have been

lost. I will be sure to know how to use technology that they will likely have so that even though I want them to be friendly I still dont want them texting in class. (AG 2.11) Environment: Child development is negatively affected by poor social and physical environments. Early language development, a good indicator of academic and social success, is heavily studied (Windsor et al., 2011). Environment for a child is almost important as the Parental environment that will be discussed below. If a child comes from an environment that is hostile toward that kid such as they grow up in the ghetto then they will need a safer place to grow in. I believe that it is the responsibility for every teacher to have a safe classroom environment because for all we know their environment at home could be very hostile. Children need a loving environment to grow in. At their youngest ages it is most important but even when they get older and into school it is important to have a safe place for them to come to during the day. Instructional Decisions: I plan to have a safe environment for my students and I plan to do this by setting guidelines that all students must adhere to be in the band. It will be bully free and a fun learning environment and there will be no judging of any sort. I will also get to know my students so that I can fit their specific needs in the overall environment of the room. (AG 2.6 Parental Environment: Caregivers who demonstrate authoritative parenting style tend to seek help early on for children exhibiting characteristics for potential developmental and language delays; early intervention is critical for these children (Berk, 2008). Parents are what influence a child the most. Bad parenting can lead to an abused, rebellious child. Parents have and always will be where a child learns almost everything they need to know about life. This is why a lot of children grow up to be exactly like or close to how their parents were. This is proof enough to

show that the parental environment is a big issue for children. There is not much that a music educator can do about the environment that a parent sets up for their child but if the parent does affect the child enough then social services could be called in to intervene. Instructional Decisions: There is not much a music teacher can do about the parental environment but at least I can ask how are things going at home and if need be call social services on a certain family if a kid is that much at risk. Literacy Outcomes: Literacy in the early stages of development, known as emergent literacy, is when children learn how written symbols hold meaning (Berk, 2008). Even though most children do not place importance on discriminating between the different forms of letters (phonemes) until they begin to read and write (Berk, 2008) this is still important to any music educator. Here at Ball State they teach us the Sound before Sight approach so we first teach them something without letting them see what the symbol is or how it is written down but then later we do. Literacy Outcomes helps make this connection when it is time. So when we are transferring our students from just knowing how something sounds to how it is written down this can help us make that transition easier. By knowing how kids develop their literacy then it will be easier for a beginning music educator to figure out good ways of teaching their students. Instructional Decisions: For this as I have explained above it would come in handy when I have to help with the slower kids in the class (AG 1.5) Literacy Outcomes is good for my beginning classes to use or the slower kids in my upper level classes for teaching my students how to read and notate music. (AG 1.4) All of my students learn first by hearing but as time goes by and they get older they have to be taught how to read and notate the music and this is not an easy

transition so for this I could use flash cards and do the sound first and then show them how it looks written down. (AG 5.1) Reflection: After finishing this project I have a better understanding of what INTASC 2 is all about. It has helped me understand the connection between the development of kid and how music can influence it either positively or negatively. As a music educator I plan to take this knowledge and use it especially if I teach the younger grades in elementary school. Three big goals for me when I go out to teach music are to keep bullies out of my classroom, help keep up my students selfesteem, and make sure to stay in contact with parents who kids are at risk children. I believe after completing this project I have a good enough understanding of these areas that I have included in here. I included only these because to me these are the biggest ones that relate to music. I still have some weaknesses overall with trying to implement all of my instructional decisions for these but as time goes by I am sure I will be able to get ahold of all of them and properly apply them in my music classroom. The three main objectives that I listed above are my main concerns and they were even the main concerns of my old music teachers from grade school. So I think this is why I feel strongest about these chosen few because they instilled that in my when I was back in band with them. I hope to apply all that I have learned from INTASC 2 and all of the other all grade standards into my classroom and even maybe come up with a list of guidelines that my music room would run on based off of those standards.

Works Cited

Berk, L. (2008). Infants, children, and adolescents. (6th ed., p.108). Boson, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Espelage, D. L. (2003). Assessment and treatment of bullying. In L. VandeCreek, T. L. Jackson (Eds.) , Innovations in clinical practice: Focus on children & adolescents (pp. 83-95). Sarasota, FL US: Professional Resource Press/Professional Resource Exchange. Jordan, C. H., Logel, C., Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., Wood, J. V., & Holmes, J. G. (2013). Responsive low self-esteem: Low explicit self-esteem, implicit self-esteem, and reactions to performance outcomes. Journal Of Social And Clinical Psychology, 32(7), 703-732. doi:10.1521/jscp.2013.32.7.703 Windsor, J., Benigno, J. P., Wing, C. A., Carroll, P. J., Koga, S. F., Nelson, C. A., & Zeanah, C.H. (2011). Effect of Foster Care on Young Childrens Language Learning. Child Development, 82 (4), 1040-1046.

All Grade Standards Works Cited

Standard 1: Student Development and Diversity Teachers of grades P12 have a broad and comprehensive understanding of student development and diversity and demonstrate the ability to provide instruction that is responsive to student differences and that promotes development and learning for all students, including: 1.1 major concepts, theories, and processes related to the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, physical, and moral development of students in grades P12, and factors in the home, school, community, and broader environment that influence student development 1.2 knowledge of students' developmental characteristics and developmental variation, and the ability to use this knowledge to inform instructional decision making and promote student success

1.4 knowledge of types of student diversity (e.g., cultural, economic, and linguistic background; gender; religion; family structure), and the ability to use this knowledge to promote learning and development for students with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and needs 1.5 knowledge of types of exceptionalities, including high ability and twice exceptional; their characteristics; and their implications for development, teaching, and learning; and the ability to use this knowledge to promote learning and development for students with exceptionalities Standard 2: Learning Processes Teachers of grades P12 have a broad and comprehensive understanding of learning processes and demonstrate the ability to facilitate student achievement, including: 2.5 knowledge of how student learning is influenced by different types of instructional practices and teacher behaviors, and the ability to use this knowledge to promote learning for all students 2.7 strategies for promoting students' independent thinking and learning, reflection, and higherorder thinking, and the ability to use these strategies to promote students' growth as learners 2.8 strategies for engaging students in generating and evaluating new ideas and novel approaches, seeking inventive solutions to problems, and developing original work 2.11 knowledge of how digital-age tools and environments influence learning processes and outcomes, and the ability to use this knowledge to improve teaching effectiveness and learning outcomes Standard 5: Learning Environment Teachers of grades P12 have a broad and comprehensive understanding of student learning environments and demonstrate the ability to establish positive, productive, well-managed, and safe learning environments for all students, including: 5.1 the ability to create safe, healthy, supportive, and inclusive learning environments, including indoor and outdoor environments, that encourage all students' engagement, collaboration, and sense of belonging 5.2 the ability to apply skills and strategies for establishing a culture of learning that emphasizes high expectations for all students, promotes self-motivation, and encourages students' sense of responsibility for their own learning 5.4 knowledge of the characteristics and benefits of virtual learning environments, online environments, face- to-face environments, and hybrid environments, and the ability to work effectively in different types of environments to ensure student learning and growth 5.6 the ability to apply skills and strategies for managing class schedules and transitions and for organizing the physical environment to maximize student learning time and meet student learning needs