Goal #1: Our graduates will be knowledgeable in in the subjects they

teach and how to teach those subjects to students.

I believe I am competent in teaching my subject area of music to students in
grades k-12. I have the knowledge, and have been thoroughly educated in the
various techniques and manners with which to best bring this subject to the
students. I have confidence in this because of my experience as a student of the
undergraduate program at UNH. To further this, I spent the last 14 weeks gaining
first- hand experience as a student teacher. Demonstrating my knowledge and
ability to put into practice what I have learned in my student teaching experience
with general music for grades k-4 and 4th grade band chorus.
Goal #2: Our graduates will be committed to their students and their
learning.
During my student teaching experience, I have accommodated and fully
committed to the needs of my students. Even though as a music teacher, I only see
my students once a week, I try to get to know all of my students at a personal level
so that I can recognize their strengths and areas that need more work. For example,
there is a girl in one of my third grade general music classes that I have found to be
emotionally unstable and in need of a little more attention and more time to work. I
have spent almost entire full classes talking to her on a one on one basis so that I
was able to understand the challenges that she is facing, and honest things of ways
I could help her to learn in the class. As another example of demonstrating
commitment to my students was in my first grade class. There is a student with
multiply disabilities who is also nonverbal. The lesson plan was to learn a country
dance with the class. I changed some of the turns and moves in the dance to
accommodate the needs of all the children in the class.
Goal #3: Our Students will be responsible for managing and monitoring
student learning.
a. Employ multiply methods to meet their teaching and learning goals.
I have used a variety of methods to present learning goals to my students. Every
day, I write two I can learning goals on the white board. I have used PowerPoint
slides with patterns and rhythms to project on the board to assist in my students
learning. I have brought in a record player to assist in my learning goal of providing
my students with excellent music listening examples and motivating them to
express themselves through movement to music.
b. Develop appropriate objectives for themselves and their students.
Every time I plan and write a lesson plan, I write I choose a lesson with an objective
in mind and write the objective out at top of my lesson plan. For example the
second grade as a grade was having trouble playing a four beat rhythm with a rest
on beat 4, so I chose 2 more songs that included this learning objective so that I
could reinforce a concept that they needed more time on.
c. Orchestrate learning in group settings.

I have used group work in my lessons. For example in my kindergarten lesson plan
on patterns, for the second week I orchestrated them into groups of 3 to work
together to create their own music patterns. This was the first time that the
kindergartens got experience with group work.
d. Place a premium on student engagement and thoughtfulness.
e. Use multiply strategies to motivate students
I have practiced rewarding students for good behavior instead of disciplining them
for bad behavior. I have used a game they like such as Sol-La-Mi to motivate
students to behave by saying that they will be allowed to play their favorite game in
the last 10 minutes of class if they do a good job throughout the lesson.
f.

Regularly assess student progress, selecting appropriate measures.

The third graders have been working on playing the recorder for the second half of
the year. I have been able to regularly asses their progress from class to class. I
used a grading scale of 1 to 4, 4 being proficient and 1 being insufficient. IT was an
easy way to grade and made it so that I could quickly assess the progress they
made.
g. Plan and implement teaching and learning objectives.
I have had the opportunity to implement the lesson plans that I created throughout
my student teaching experience.
Goal #4: Our graduates will be effective organizers of the classroom
environment.
I facilitate a welcoming environment capable of learning by maintaining a
clean and safe classroom. I make sure that all instruments are put away at the
end of each class. I give clear clean up instructions to my students so that they
learn responsibility for their part in maintaining a clean and safe learning
environment. The musical that I am working on with the fourth graders teaches
them of the responsibilities they have in society to clean, care for the earth and
each other, show respect and honesty. We also have a very diverse student
population in Dover, NH and Horne Street school fosters a caring environment
where everyone is considered equal. The students are used to working together
and treating everyone with respect.
Goal #5: Our graduates will be thoughtful and reflective practitioners who
learn from their experiences.
Over the course of my student teaching experience, I have reflected on my
successes and challenges at the end of every day. I recorded some of my reflections
in note form that can be viewed on my portfolio website. I found this to be a useful
strategy in developing my education skills. My cooperating teacher has also given
me a lot of feedback on my teaching that I have taken into practice immediately to
help progress my teaching techniques.

Goal #6: Our graduates will be informed decision makers and agents of
change.
I have developed my own philosophy of education which I have placed a copy of in
this portfolio. My philosophy of education is based on my experience as a student
teacher, advice found from my cooperating teacher, and teaching strategies taken
from the Orff School of Music. I largely base my philosophy on placing the needs of
my students foremost and treating each student as an individual with learning
goals.
Goal #7: Our graduates will be active members of learning and
professional communities.
I am a member of the National Affiliation of Music Educators in New Hampshire. I
have attended the all-state auditions and helped in the sight singing room. I have
also attended NAfME spring conference 2015.