Video Reflection 2: Verbal Communication

Date of recording: 9/6/16

Time of recording: 10:45
Other information (e.g., grade, class, number of students, etc.): 4th grade, 17 students

1. Watch your video and describe your verbal communication in the following areas (use the
front and back of this page as necessary):
a. Speed/pace of delivery: are you talking too slowly, too fast, etc.? I think I talk at a
relatively quick pace, but for the most part I talk at a speed that the students can
still understand me. When I am explaining a new part of the song, I should slow
down a little bit more for the students to have more time to comprehend
b. Volume: are you talking too loud, too soft, all one dynamic level, etc.? I talk at a
fairly loud volume level, sometimes I can come as a cheerleader. Ive always
struggled with this in my teaching, and while it has gotten better, I still notice it
here. Definitely not too soft, and I still have good inflection in my voice.
c. Choice of vocabulary: are the words being used at the students level of
comprehension? I think about 90% of the words I used in this lesson were at the
students level of comprehension. Sometimes I do catch myself using terminology
they may not know, such as quarter note/quarter rest when they are really more
used to long and short.
d. Clarity of thought: is it easy to understand what you are saying? Yes, I think for
the most part it is easy to understand what Im saying, but in general, I could slow
down the ends of my phrases. I find that I tend to speed up as I get to the end of a
sentence, so I can work on that.
e. Balance between verbal and nonverbal communication (gestures, facial
expression, etc.): are you talking too much, too little, etc.? I think I am talking the
right amount during this lesson. In past teaching episodes I have talked too much
and not let the students have a chance to comprehend exactly what I am saying.
But in this episode I thought the reflection of say:do was decent.
f. Enunciation and inflection? As I mentioned before, I tend to trail off my sentences
at the end, but other than that I speak clearly and with purpose. I also have quite a
bit of inflection in my voice, and it helps me to show the students what is is that I
want from them.
g. Feedback given to students: are you being specific? Are you being honest?
Something I have always struggled with is specificity. I find myself saying
good! and going on, or repeating it. In this lesson, I noticed that I am getting
better little by little, but could still improve a lot in this area. By allowing the
students to try on their own/lead their groups, I can give more individualized
feedback.