Morgan Decker

EdTPA Essay General Music Practicum

Write the Instruction Commentary (no more than 6 double-spaced pages, including
prompts) by providing your response to each of the prompts below.
1. Which lesson or lessons are shown in the clips? Identify the lesson(s) by lesson
plan number.
The lessons shown in this video are from November 4th, 2014, November 18th,
2014, and November 25th, 2014. The lesson on 11/4/14 deals with the rainforest. The
lesson on 11/18/14 is when we make the egg shakers. The last lesson on 11/25/14 was
the dancing and introduction to Zumba.
2. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment: Identify scenes in the video clip(s)
where you provided a positive learning environment.
- How did you demonstrate mutual respect for, rapport with, and responsiveness
to students with varied needs and backgrounds, and challenge students to engage in
learning?
In order to demonstrate mutual respect and rapport in the classroom, I strove to
create a positive learning environment. In order to do that, the students need to feel
comfortable in their environment. In order for all students to succeed in the classroom,
they all need to have the information presented to them in a way that is comprehensible to
all students. Everybody is a lifelong learner, and for students to begin that process, they
need to learn to be creative, and think for themselves with confidence. To help my
students go in to the right direction, my objective for this lesson was to have the students
created their own dance to the music (8:40 9:25). All semester, the students expressed

interest in slideshows. After learning this, I adapted my lesson to be presentable on a

slide show. Earlier in the lesson, we explored the definition of dancing and what you
could use to dance, like their arms, hands, legs and feet, and this dance would also
combine some of the concepts from the beginning of the lesson. Some students felt
uncomfortable with this task, like Emily, the girl in the striped dress. To make her feel
comfortable I encouraged her creativity by positively reinforcing her dance, which eased
her into her creative self.
3. Engaging Students in Learning: Refer to examples from the clip(s) in your
explanations.
a. Explain how your instruction engaged students in developing
- Artistic skills (e.g., self expression, creativity, exploration/improvisation)
Many artistic skills were used throughout the semester. Many of the lessons in the
semester fit Merriams idea of studying music in culture. These artistic skills came
through exploring and engaging in the culture of our location. In the same lesson with
dance and Zumba (11/25/14), this improvisatory dance activity allowed for students to
use self-expression and to be creative. When the students constructed their own egg
shakers (11/18/14), they were exploring different Central and South American
instruments. (2:56 3:10), (3:53 4:05). Then, their souvenir was used to practice steady
beat an artistic skill that progressively improved throughout the course of the semester. In
the rainforest lesson (11/4/14), the students discovered what it would be like in the
rainforest, using adjectives like wet and rainy, while exploring what animals they might
find in the rainforest. They also explored different timbres when they created a rainstorm
by making different sounds with their hands (2:35 2:55).

- knowledge (e.g., tools/instruments, technical proficiencies, processes, elements,

organizational principles)
Much of the knowledge that is learned follow Campbell, Thomson and Barretts
idea of generativity, vibrancy, and residue. Generativity was used when all the students
had to create their own dance movements to the music. This allowed for their own
creativity to shine through in their original dance moves (8:40 925). There were many
experiences that activated vibrancy in the classroom. When we travelled to places, we
compared and contrasted new cultures with our own culture in modern day America,
along with what modern modes of transportation could help travel to these destinations
(0:00 1:50). This gives the exercises personal meaning to the activity, which will
remain with them as they learn new information, which also involves residue. There is
also symbolic residue in the souvenirs constructed this past semester.
- Contextual understandings (e.g., social, cultural, historical, global, personal
reflection).
Many of the lessons involved Sheehan-Campbells idea of cross-cultural music
learning, or learning music through global perspectives. Many discussions in class
compared and contrasted cultures and music of these cultures, giving the entire concept a
global perspective. Many cultural aspects were discussed in class, discussing what
animals live in our hometowns while also discussing what animals live in Africa and in
the South American rainforest and comparing the cultures. (2:20 2:31).
b. Describe how your instruction linked students prior academic learning and
personal, cultural, and community assets with new learning.
Many of these students (this is a kindergarten and first grade class) have very little prior
academic learning. Also going along with Merriams idea of cultural exploration, we
compared these cultures and the culture of our home and taught the musical aspects we

want them to learn by using many cultural different pieces, concepts like steady beat,
notation, and tempo.
4. Deepening Student Learning during Instruction: Refer to examples from the clip(s) in
your explanations.
a. Explain how you evoked student responses through performances, exercises,
and/or discussions and facilitated responses that supported students
development and application of artistic skills, knowledge, and/or contextual
understandings.
In the lesson where the students created their own dance (7:50 9:25), the
students responded to my directions through performance following the steady beat I give
with my clapping. I first have the students dance however they want, then using their
arms, then legs, then back to any idea they may have. Allowing them to start off with
whatever dance they shows me what dance movements they are capable of. To keep them
focused and to help me assess their knowledge fairly, I specified my directions, asking
them to dance using their hands, then with the legs. Their response and enthusiasm shows
me if they can move in time, and that they can listen to directions carefully. Some
students compared their dancing even expanding even outside of South American culture.
One of the students had her arms out and stated that she was hula dancing, a dancing
tradition of Hawaii. She went outside of the box and compared those cultures due to the
use of hands and arms in dancing. Her response, along with the other students responses,
showed me that they understood the material and could even apply it to their own
understanding o music through culture.
b. Explain how you used modeling, demonstrations, and/or content examples to
develop students artistic skills, knowledge, and/or contextual understandings for
creating, performing, or responding to music/dance/theater.
Modeling is important in all teaching environments. Albert Bandura states that
behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others

forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed in his learning theory. Whenever I
did exercises with the students, I always did the activity with them, making myself a
model for them to follow or to get started with. When I sing the Hello Song with them
(6:40 7:40), I always sing with them and do any concept we apply to the Hello Song.
In this case, we are clapping steady quarter notes to the beat. The first run through was
not successful, so I isolate the steady beat issue by just clapping quarter notes without the
song to fix this issue. Then once a steady beat is established (I am still clapping with
them at this point) I add the song back and it was much improved the second time around.
When they are creating their dance moves, I am also creating my own dance moves to
help gives ideas and to make the activity more student centered by becoming a part of the
activity, rather than dictating the directions of the activity.
5. Analyzing Teaching
Refer to examples from the clip(s) in your explanations.
a. How did your instruction support learning for the whole class and students
who need greater support or challenge?
- Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different
strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs, English language learners,
struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic
knowledge, and/or gifted students).
I found that most of these students learn best with a combination of all the
educational senses (vision, audial, and kinesthetic) along with a logical sequence
of learning, as is Blooms Taxonomy of learning. In the introductory lesson to
Zumba, I showed the students a video (visual) with music to an upbeat tempo
(audial). We then decided what parts of our body create dancing, an

understanding of knowledge and comprehension in Blooms Taxonomy (7:50

8:35). We then danced (kinesthetic) to apply our new knowledge, and then
synthesized a dance routine by Miss Cotrone to finish out that lesson. All of this
information presented to the students in a logical way in different manners helped
all of the students understand the material to become successful.
b. What changes would you make to your instruction to better support
student learning of the central focus (e.g., missed opportunities)?
Throughout the semester, I realize I could have challenged my students more,
imploring Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development theory. I could have created
more group work activities that would help their social skills, along with
independency as an individual, on top of learning the new material presented to them.
c. Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support
your
explanation with evidence of student learning and principles from theory and/or
research as appropriate.
When the lesson is not lecture-based and more student-centered with activities
including group work, more students are thoroughly engaged in the activity. Many
students throughout, specifically some of the first graders, were not as enthused about
music class due to other social circumstances, feeling like babies when they go to the
kindergarten class for music. While group work and having that discipline to stay
focused on a task without teacher intervention is above the first grade level, and
especially above the kindergarten level of comprehension. Challenging them by adding
that social aspect and creating independent students raises their level of thinking but they
were also successful in the activity, an effective example of Vygotskys method.