The candidate understands how to use multiple measures to monitor and assess individual student learning, engage learners in self-assessment, and use data to make decisions.
Music teachers must have multiple methods of assessing individual student learning and encouraging self assessment for all students. In the music classroom, teachers must have ways of making assessments both formally and informally as well as in formative and summative ways. In all these ways, teachers collect data to make decisions about what course they need to take in a unit to promote student learning. Music teachers must be flexible and try multiple ways of assessment while diligently planning out what means of assessment they want to utilize in order to gain significant data about student success.
Throughout my student teaching I was able to practice different forms of assessment to evaluate student learning and understand where I needed to put more emphasis and practice concepts being learned. Throughout my lessons I practiced using all forms of assessment. Some specific examples include my formative assessment at the end of my unit on Berimbau music of Brazil with second graders (Reference artifact #1, 2nd Grade Berimbau Final Assignment). Much of my assessment in the classroom came through informal assessments through activities. I was able to use informal assessment on 3rd graders in a recorder unit to find students who were mastering the material through a fun activity where they got to be the teacher and lead in playing (Reference artifact #2, 3rd Grade Peer Leading Recorder Exercise). With 7th graders, I used informal assessment in another way to gain an understanding for how the ensemble had knowledge on the background and history of the piece we were performing while guiding them through listening experiences where I could ask them knowledge about their new learning (Reference artifact #3, 7th Grade Appalachian Air Lesson).
Using multiple forms of assessment in the music classroom is crucial for not only our success for students, but also our success as teachers. With assessments, we can then determine what course of action we need to take in the classroom to promote student learning. In a music classroom where most of the work is done in a group setting, having assessment strategies for the individual is vital to be planned. The lessons above gave me a chance to do just that. I was able to see individual work and find the students who I knew had knowledge of the material or had mastered it. I was then able to determine which students may need more work and begin designing new lessons accordingly.
Throughout my student teaching I was able to practice different forms of assessment to evaluate student learning and understand where I needed to put more emphasis and practice concepts being learned. Throughout my lessons I practiced using all forms of assessment. Some specific examples include my formative assessment at the end of my unit on Berimbau music of Brazil with second graders (Reference artifact #1, 2nd Grade Berimbau Final Assignment). Much of my assessment in the classroom came through informal assessments through activities. I was able to use informal assessment on 3rd graders in a recorder unit to find students who were mastering the material through a fun activity where they got to be the teacher and lead in playing (Reference artifact #2, 3rd Grade Peer Leading Recorder Exercise). With 7th graders, I used informal assessment in another way to gain an understanding for how the ensemble had knowledge on the background and history of the piece we were performing while guiding them through listening experiences where I could ask them knowledge about their new learning (Reference artifact #3, 7th Grade Appalachian Air Lesson).
Using multiple forms of assessment in the music classroom is crucial for not only our success for students, but also our success as teachers. With assessments, we can then determine what course of action we need to take in the classroom to promote student learning. In a music classroom where most of the work is done in a group setting, having assessment strategies for the individual is vital to be planned. The lessons above gave me a chance to do just that. I was able to see individual work and find the students who I knew had knowledge of the material or had mastered it. I was then able to determine which students may need more work and begin designing new lessons accordingly.