Mrs. Holum's Music Class
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Trials and "Treble"ations: the shift to a personalized music classroom

The journey to personalized education in an elementary music classroom.

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Conferencing with students

3/3/2016

4 Comments

 
So this week I began conferencing with students about the topics they were going to choose, the person(s) they were going to work with, and their ideas for how to present their project. Our classroom functioned as usual with students getting their research done and working on a set of goals, but I began asking for people who were ready to conference to come and see me. And they did. Some students chose to work on their own, some chose to work with a partner, some chose groups of 3. The majority of students have decided to work on a project dealing with some part of the orchestra, though a few have decided to work on a project about Mozart, Scott Joplin, and Amy Beach. We talked through the rubric together in these little conferences, they were given a version with the requirements to receive a proficient grade highlighted. Students were then asked to come up with an idea for how they would present the information. I have heard so many good ones! Some students are making books. Others are going to pretend they are the instrument players themselves and interview each other about the instruments over the DoInk Green Screen App. Some are creating posters, writing speeches, creating slideshows, you name it, they've come up with it! It is awesome to see creativity and an excitement to teach their other students about a topic they are truly interested in. They are taking ownership now and seem to really be enjoying what they are learning. I am excited to see how they can keep the focus and work going through the next month as they complete their projects. Look for some of the project highlights here as they start to come up!
4 Comments
janet
4/24/2016 09:55:07 am

Do all the students at your school have their own iPads or do you have a class set? Also, do you have any experience with Chromebooks?

I realize you are busy and may not have time to respond, but thought I would ask anyway.

Thanks.

Reply
Lauren
4/24/2016 01:20:30 pm

Janet,

Only my 3rd and 4th grade students have 1:1 iPads. At my previous school, teachers had Chromebooks, but students did not have access to those. I have limited experience with Chromebooks, but in the little time I used a Chromebook, I found that there were limited options for using it in the music classroom. However, that district was not a 1:1 district so I wasn't able to do much in the way that I have with my students now.

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Liz
4/25/2016 05:04:33 am

Lauren,
As a school working on developing personalized learning, I find your projects and classroom activities helpful. :) At the same time your students are doing these activities, are you also preparing for any kind of program or performance? I'm finding I have trouble balancing both.

Reply
Lauren
4/25/2016 06:03:23 am

Liz,

I am so glad to hear your school is also developing personalized learning! I'm glad you are finding the activities helpful. We are not preparing for any kind of performance. What I am working on now with my fourth graders who are moving into band or orchestra next year, is a recorder "concert" where they are placed into smaller groups based on the level of ability they showed during our recorder unit and will be creating a "music video" on their own to send out to their parents as a showcase of their new skills. I would not recommend doing much personalizing while getting ready for a performance. May I ask, are you elementary or secondary? If you are elementary, my advice is to personalize where you CAN and recognize areas where it might not be the best fit for the learners. Take one or two grade levels or even 1-2 classes, try something out and see how it feels, then start expanding from there. My district is currently focusing only on voice and choice, and that is where I started with my students earlier in the year. If you have trouble balancing both, don't try to balance both right now. Maybe create a lesson or two that allows students to prepare for the performance in their own way, but recognize that it is OK to prepare for a program in the usual way as you navigate in other areas toward a more personalized music class:)

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    Lauren Belanger

    Music Specialist: Howard Suamico School District
    Bay Harbor Elementary
    Suamico Elementary

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