Lindsey Lorefice

Dr. Darrin Thornton

Music 395B
May 2, 2014

Overall Reflection

Throughout this semester, I have grown as a teacher in numerous ways. The
combination of observations, lectures, and personal teaching experiences led me to
develop my teaching. The expertise of various teachers and professors guided my
journey. I am grateful for the opportunity to enhance my skills under the tutelage of
many wise professionals.
Reflecting upon my improvement, I have noticed that my growth as a teacher
is exhibited in many ways. My conducting gestures are clearer and more direct than
in the past. I believe that my body is expressing the music in my gestures more than
it has previously. Developing my ability to conduct a phrase of music rather than
landing on a downbeat enhanced my ability to conduct an ensemble effectively. I
feel that I have added more colors to my palate of conducting.
Moreover, I feel more comfortable teaching topics that I am not as well
versed in due to the detailed information provided by my teachers. For example, I
never thought that I would be able to learn how to play and teach a lesson on a
dulcimer in less than a week. However, with the guidance of my cooperative teacher,
I was successful in my teaching. Furthermore, I improved in my ability to listen to
the students and respond to their needs. I have found that the more practice the
better when editing lesson plans in accordance to the students needs. My ability to
think on my feet improved.
Concerning assigning assessments, my ability to creatively assess students
improved throughout the semester. For example, I learned that creative
assessments capture the attention of students more than playing tests.
Additionally, I learned that assessing in various ways proves to be more effective
than using the same technique for assessment every time. I hope to continue to
brainstorm and use more innovative assessment techniques.
On the topic of new concepts associated with teaching that I learned about
this semester, I gravitated strongly towards learning about how to mime a lesson in
the middle school band setting. Removing the verbal component to teaching acts as
an efficient way to enhance clarity in non-verbal gestures. The students paid much
more attention when speech was deleted from the situation. Furthermore, I learned
about the importance of questioning students rather than pointing out facts to them.
The students opportunity to discover information exists as a more effective way to
learn rather than opening their mouths wide to be fed information. In addition,
asking questions encourages students to participate in rehearsals or in the
classroom setting.
Considering my improvements in the future, I hope to improve my ability to
ask more specific questions of my students. Asking broad questions frequently leads
to confusion. Inquiring of exacting pieces of information will enhance student
participation. Moreover, I hope to be able to provide more specific feedback in the
future, rather than repeating the phrase Good job! numerous times. Specific
feedback will help the students learn more efficiently.
My skills in observing teachers for their similarities and differences
enhanced. Paying attention to details helped me notice the subtle items in common
and the dissimilar items. Moreover, my ability to analyze my teaching skills
improved during the course of the semester. The ability to reflect remains an
important skill in order to continue to develop ways how to teach. I look forward to
continuing to reflect upon my teaching abilities in order to learn how to teach
effectively.