Teacher intern project through ACP: assignment 2. 3. 4, 5

Preparing for the Teaching the Lesson Project

In this narra�ve, I will reflect upon the teaching of this par�cular lesson

specifically how I supported and engaged my students during this class. I will discuss

how I promoted a posi�ve learning environment and how I engaged all students in their

development of understanding of the lesson. This narra�ve will also include things I

would change about the lesson delivery and things I would want to improve upon in the

future.

Promo�ng a posi�ve learning environment is very important in order to cul�vate

an environment in which students feel safe to learn and feel comfortable making

mistakes along the way. Some specific ways I promoted a posi�ve learning environment

in this class in par�cular include star�ng off class with a smile and asking the students

how their week is going. This lesson is special in that this was the first class period this

year in which students actually got to stand up and start moving in the space.

Moving or dancing can be an uncomfortable experience for some. To make them

feel more comfortable, I did all the movement ac�vi�es with them and gave them all an

opportunity to par�cipate. I also encouraged a posi�ve learning environment in this

class by providing posi�ve feedback as well as construc�ve cri�ques. I also taught

proper e�que�e on how to watch and support one another in dance class.

My instruc�on in this lesson strived to engage all students by ini�ally presen�ng

the material in several different ways. In this class, we listened to the song that many

students struggled to count the day before. I clarified the proper way of coun�ng this

par�cular song for all the auditory learners. I then explained the same song example

with a visual illustra�on on the white board for all the visual learners. We then did a

physical ac�vity for all the kinesthe�c learners.

The ability to listen and coun�ng music, physically interpret the music, and dance

on the counts is an impera�ve skill to have as a dancer. Giving all students the

opportunity to par�cipate in the physical applica�on of their understanding of this

concept will help develop their ability to perform dance sequences with musical

accuracy. This also encouraged student engagement because all students were

par�cipa�ng.

Students got several opportuni�es to march to the beat of a song, clap to the

beat of a song, and march to the beat and clap on the downbeat of a song. All songs in

4/4 �me signature. We then did several ac�vi�es with songs in 3/4 �me signature.

Students had the opportunity to clap to a 3/4 song in sixes and they also prac�ced

swaying ini�ated by the downbeats. We also prac�ced coun�ng how many sets of

eights and sixes in a segment of music. Students were all engaged with all the physical

ac�vi�es.

During this lesson, as well as using informa�on from the previous lesson, I used

several students' responses and ques�ons to promote thinking and understanding of

this material. The first set of responses I used was from the lesson the day before. The

students completed a Schoology Ac�vity sta�ng whether the given songs were in 4/4 or

3/4 �me signature. The responses elicited what I should be focusing on the following

day. One song in par�cular, the students struggled to count and determine the correct

�me signature.

Many �mes throughout the lesson, I asked for ques�ons. One student asked

about the different types of �me signatures we would be using in this class. I replied

that we would only be using 4/4 �me signature and 3/4 �me signature. I used this

ques�on to segue into the idea that as dancers we generally are not looking at the sheet

music for the songs we are using. Because of this, many �mes we are just using our best

judgement to determine the �me signature so that we know whether to count the song

in eights (4/4 �me signature) or in sixes (3/4 �me signature). I men�oned that a song

we count in sixes may not be 3/4 �me signature but may in fact be 6/8 �me signature

but for the purpose of our class the most important thing is that we know whether to

count in eights or sixes.

In general, I do my best if a student raises a ques�on that brings up an

important idea that has not been addressed to the en�re class, to make sure that I

answer that ques�on in a way that everyone can hear me. In the same way, if I have

several students ask me the same ques�on, clearly I did not do a great job giving all the

vital informa�on. In that case, I will also get the a�en�on of the en�re class to share

that ques�on and answer. Also, I use the students to help answer other student

ques�ons. If I know I have covered something in the lesson and a student asks a

ques�on about it, I may see if another student would like to answer the ques�on for

his/her peer.

Overall this lesson was very successful and I think the students were engaged

and learned the intended objec�ves. In future, a few things I will take more �me

developing for this lesson include explaining the misconcep�on equa�ng slow tempo

with 3/4 �me signature upfront so students don't make that mistake. This was the

biggest reason so many students missed one of the songs in the Schoology Ac�vity the

previous day. Also, pacing is s�ll something I am working on. Figuring out how much

�me each concept or ac�vity takes to teach and complete. I had planned to introduce

"and" counts in this lesson as well but we did not have �me to even start that new

concept. Most important thing is to base pacing off the students and be prepared to

adjust lesson plans as needed.

Also, I s�ll need to work on balancing giving all the informa�on for an ac�vity

before the students start moving and working on the ac�vity with physically walking the

students through the movement part of the lesson so they know what I am talking

about. Because movement is new for many of these students, just explaining it and not

showing them, is not efficient for them. It is more helpful if they are able to see what

they are going to be doing but also when they start moving without direc�on students

tend to loose focus. It is all about finding the balance for each lesson.

Considering the big picture this was a successful lesson in which students were

addressing the learning inten�ons for the day and mee�ng the success criteria.

Students were engaged throughout the lesson and deepening their understanding of the

concepts. This included the physical applica�on of the meaning of beat, downbeat, and

�me signature. Although this was a successful lesson there is always room for growth. I

will con�nue to frequently reflect and adjust my lessons as needed.