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Leading Voices: No, Really . . . They are Worth Your Time

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They can be used once a week, when a choir starts learning a new song, or just before an adjudicated choral music festival.  They are a quick and effective instructional and assessment tool appropriate for the upper Elementary Choir through the Collegiate Honor Ensemble.  They can be designed using Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, aligned with the National Core Arts Standards, and enhance your professional practice and teaching philosophy.  They are invaluable but seen as superfluous.

To be honest, I did not use Exit Tickets (aka Ticket Out the Door, One Minute Essay, or Exit Slips) for over twenty-four years.  I saw no need.  Within a choir rehearsal or general music class, I continually and in real-time assess, adjust, and modify my instruction for the students.  Music instruction and performances inherently activate and encompass all formative assessment components, so why take up valuable rehearsal time with documentation?

Reflection-in-Action

In Educating the Reflective Practitioner, Donald Schon calls the dynamic interplay through which “our thinking serves to reshape what we are doing while we are doing it” reflection-in-action (1987, p. 26).  Most times, reflection-in-action occurs so naturally in the music classroom (like riding a bike) that we forget about the interacting skills and techniques that merge and allow us to shape and respond to our musical experiences (like balance, steering, and peddling).  We use and understand this dynamic, but do our students?  To help our students become more independent and our ensembles more responsive, we must consciously label, reinforce, and support reflection-in-action in the classroom.

I use Exit Tickets in my classroom because it keeps my choirs cognitively on their toes and fosters rehearsal awareness.  It encourages choir members to become cognizant of the rehearsal experience and responsible for describing and assessing what they have learned.  Using Exit Tickets reminds students that they just participated in a learning experience and asks, what did you learn?  Or, “What strategies did we just use that helped us succeed today“?

Reflection-on-Action

Schon calls the second question, Reflection-on-Action. “We may reflect-on-action, thinking back on what we have done in order to discover how our knowing-in-action may have contributed to an unexpected outcome” (1987, p. 26).  The rewards of Reflection-in-Action and the necessity of Reflection-on-Action helps students become aware of and uncover the dynamic relationship between a musical performance and its corresponding preparation.  The product of music education becomes the learning process, and its application to making music becomes the focus.

What is Next? Exit Tickets
What is Next? Exit Tickets sorted by the choir
Exit Tickets for Erev Shel Shoshanim (Evening of Roses) – arr. Jack Klebanow Messiah College Concert Choir

Traditional Exit Tickets

The research and professional writings that support formative assessment and Exit Tickets are extensive and well documented.  Traditional Exit Tickets are not graded and can:

Encourage students to take stock in their learning 
Provide descriptive feedback and actionable data for teachers 
Help students identify problems, think critically, and contemplate solutions 
Encourage all students, shy and boisterous, to participate and reflect on their learning 

Exit Tickets’ Effect on Engagement and Concept Attainment in High School Science  
Exit tickets motivated students to pay closer attention and increased behavioral engagement among typically engaged and disengaged students (Discussion, p.98).   

The Classroom is Alive with the Sound of Thinking: The Power of the Exit Slip 
Written student reflections are a vehicle for content review, aides absorbing new material, encourages divergent thinking, provides a safe way for students to ask for clarification, promotes self-expression, and fosters the ownership of ideas (Conclusion, p. 195). 

Exit Tickets’ Effect on Engagement in College Classrooms  
Exit tickets help students to be actively engaged in the learning process, encourages students’ connections to content and self-reflection, provides evidence of mastered content and challenges, and improves student behavior and academic achievement (Conclusion, p. 5917). 

Exit Tickets are Teacher-Centered

As soon as I began using Traditional Exit Tickets periodically in class, I noticed a shift in my thinking and ensembles musical abilities.  My students became more engaged in the lesson, and our rehearsals grew to be more productive and enjoyable.  For me, I came to realize that even though I covered a concept or presented a skill, that did not mean my students could transfer their new knowledge and apply it to new experiences.  I found myself experiencing The Expert Blind Spot.  Exit Tickets made this perfectly clear.   

I soon discovered that using traditional Exit Tickets places the responsibility and ownership of learning and assessment away from the students and on to me, the teacher.  The teacher presents a prompt, the students provide feedback, and the teacher adapts their instruction. The teacher – not the students – initiates higher-order thinking skills and evaluates, assesses, and modifies the learning.  If we want high functioning, independent and interdependent student musicians, we must teach Ensemble –Centered Assessment.

Lesson Retrospectives and Ensemble-Centered Assessment

The purpose of a Lesson Retrospective is to provide the choir as a group the opportunity to initiate higher-order thinking skills through assessing, evaluating, and modifying their shared rehearsal and class experience.  It builds upon the Exit Ticket format and requires the ensemble to discover challenges, generate insights, and create actionable items needed to move forward.  By learning group formative assessment skills, students individually and collectively take ownership of their musical growth and the ensemble’s success.

A Lesson Retrospective is an educational modification of a Scrum team’s assessment, and planning meeting called a Sprint Retrospective.  The purpose of a Sprint Retrospective is to provide a Sprint Group time after their independent work on a group project to come together and plan ways to increase the quality and effectiveness of their project.  The Agile Development Instructional Framework incorporates the Scrum methodology and Agile Development principles and provides a clear outline of steps and skills in the rehearsal setting that facilitates active student and ensemble problem solving, collaboration, and accountability. 

Sprint Retrospective Resources

7 Great Agile Sprint Retrospective Ideas 
The Guide to Retrospectives – Remote or in Person 
11 Ideas to Spice up Your Retrospective 
6 Effective Sprint Retrospective Techniques 
Sprint Retrospective Ideas 
Fun Retrospectives: Activities and ideas for making agile retrospectives more engaging. 

Lesson Retrospectives Prompts

In his work Art and Science of Teaching, The Many Uses of Exit Slips, Robert Marzano presents four types of prompts that focus on specific and intended outcomes.   

1. Prompts that Provide Formative Assessment Data    
“On a scale of 1 – 5, how would you rate your current level of understanding _____________?” 

2. Prompts that Stimulates Student Self-Analysis, Self-Regulation 
“What could you have done today to help yourself learn the material better?” 

3. Prompts that Focus on Instructional Strategies   
“How did your sprint group work today help you understand the music better?”
 
4. Prompts that are Open Communications to the Teacher  
“What is something I could do to improve your understanding of ________________?”   

Lesson Retrospectives Design

Lesson Retrospectives can range from a simple 1-5 rating scale, to facilitating autonomy and metacognition by designing prompts using Bloom’s Taxonomy Hierarchical Framework.

Bloom’s Taxonomy by Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University

Remember – What interval/key signature/music term did we focus on today? 
Understand – How do dynamics enrich our musical performances? 
Apply – How did the major/minor scale relate to learning part of our song today? 
Analyze – What was the rehearsal sequence we followed this afternoon? 
Evaluate – Why did our rehearsal and learning this section of music go well (not go well) today?
Create – List three ways you/the choir can review, reinforce, or solidify what we accomplished today? 

Leading Voices Blog Retrospect

Here is an example of using a Google Form as a digital Exit Ticket.  If you have two minutes to spare, I would appreciate your thoughts and ideas about using Exit Tickets and Lesson Retrospectives in the Choral Classroom.  Thank you for your time. 

TL;DR – Fostering Individual and Ensemble Autonomy

In the music classroom and within the choral rehearsal, teachers know the value of a good lesson anticipatory set and the importance of effective vocal warmups.  We dedicate a few minutes at the beginning of each rehearsal to release tension in the body and engage the breath, activate phonation and reinforce correct vocal placement, and support and strengthen good choral singing skills.  But if we are not careful, we can miss supporting and warming up the most essential part of the singers’ voice, the musical mind.

Traditional Exit Tickets and Lesson Retrospectives are essential in mentally attracting and engaging students into the lesson and cultivating mindful presence in the rehearsal room.  These ensemble-centered assessment strategies promote student and group reflection, provide authentic and actionable feedback, and foster individual and ensemble autonomy.  They are short and quick activities you can integrate into your instruction that will transform your students’ musicianship and foster ensemble autonomy.

Try not to let the trauma from a Professional Day gone wrong or the educational jargon prevent you from researching and giving Exit Tickets and Lesson Retrospectives a try.  I now agree with my principal, who sensed my skepticism (I mentally rolled my eyes) when he suggested I try Exit Tickets with my choirs and said:   

“No, really . . . .  they are well worth your time”.

Postlude

A lesson Study is a form of professional development where teachers collaboratively design research lessons and improve instruction using the evidence they have observed and gathered on learning and concept development.  Lesson Retrospectives also uses this framework and provides our students the opportunity to design, implement, and assess learning experiences with their peers.  Allowing students to participate in Reflection-on-Action offers educators the opportunity to step back, observe, and evaluate the students’ instructional modifications or adaptations.

Agile Development Instructional Framework Resources

All activities, rehearsal strategies, and projects developed through applying the Agile Development Instructional Framework are research-based. They contain elements of the following teaching models and instructional theories: Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Directed-Learning, Experiential Learning Theory, Understanding by Design, Cognitive Coaching, and the Universal Design for Learning.

References

ASCD. “Art and Science of Teaching, The Many Uses of Exit Slips.” The Many Uses of Exit Slips – Educational Leadership.

Fowler, K., Mark Windschitl, M., & and Richards, J. Understanding Students, Adapting Instruction, and Addressing Equity  

Keeping Learning on Track: A Case-study of Formative Assessment Practice and its Impact on Learning in Meridian School District

Little, G. Faith, Exit Tickets as Formative Assessments

Sondergeld, T., Bell, C., Leusner, D. 2010. Understanding How Teachers Engage in Formative Assessment Project: Keeping Learning on

Track, Wiliam, D.  2006. Keeping Learning on Track: Formative Assessment and the Regulation of Learning

Leading Voices: By Teaching, We Learn – Students Teaching Students

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It wasn’t until I started teaching that I understood how to become a better student and a more effective teacher. The education I received as a child and adolescent was primarily subject-centered and focused on the acquisition and consumption of factual knowledge. As I moved from one grade to another, I formed the understanding that the main goal in school was to memorize information and provide my teachers with the correct answers. Brazilian educator Paulo Freire called the instructional paradigm of filling and depositing knowledge into students’ heads “Banking Education” (Freire 1993, chapter 2). Teachers would present the required information, check for understanding, and move on to the next lesson.

Paulo Freire

Likewise, most of my experiences in general music and school and church choirs reinforced this same paradigm.  We would learn music through identifying symbols and terms, memorizing songs, and preparing music for our next concert or worship service.  If you already knew how to read music and caught on quickly, you were talented.  If not, you were to learn the music by ear and follow the leader(s) in your section.  I was never taught how to read music. I was taught how to follow – I have a good ear.

Thankfully, music education has come a long way in the last few decades.  But many of our students still do not have the skills needed to become musically autonomous.  They wait for us to lead so they can follow.  Many choir members and teachers are stuck in the “tell me what to sing” and “show me what to do” syndrome.  Like I in my youth, they have a Learning Paradigm Paralysis.

Breaking through Paradigm Paralysis

Many years ago, I decided to modify my teaching paradigm and changed my perspective.  I started stepping away from direct instruction and began asking my students open-ended questions during rehearsals. 

“Who can review what we learned/rehearsed last rehearsal?” (present the information) 
“What is another way we can learn or teach this skill?” (check for understanding) 
“What part of this song do you think we should focus on next?  Why?” (move the lesson forward)

When I first started asking these questions, I got blank stares with mouths half-open.  I seriously think some of my students had never been asked these questions before.  Then back in 2015, I stumbled upon two great resources from the computer programing field: Agile Development and Scrum.  These two computer programing and software development models replace the Silo Effect paradigm and create an environment centered around team planning, collaboration, and individual responsibility.  

By adapting Scrum and Agile Development principles into the choral rehearsal, my students are now aware of the necessity and importance of becoming both independent and interdependent learners. Now during rehearsals, they take on more responsibility for their learning and for the success of the ensemble.

I find that my choir members become stronger musicians and better students when they: 

  • Look below the surface and beyond basic facts, skills, and formulas
  • Experience a variety of perspectives and instructional strategies
  • Embrace “Failing Forward” and modify their learning
  • Experience various learning modalities and learning theories
  • Focus on encouraging, strengthening, and empowering themselves and others

Leading Voices Essential Question

How do we actively engage students in lifelong music learning and participation?

Agile Development Instructional Framework

The Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) goal is to draw the students into an active teaching and learning environment where they learn to participate and think as autonomous musicians.  This is accomplished by presenting learning experiences that engage, challenge, and deepen our students’ cognitive and metacognitive processes, while also fostering independence and personal musical enjoyment.  There is no longer a need for strict Banking Education or to retain the Silo Effect for each content area or skill.  ADIF promotes and supports only one “Silo,” the Silo of metacognitive autonomy.

ADIF Collaboration Principles

The Agile Development Instructional Framework is not a preconceived formula or template for correct instruction. Rather, it presents guiding principles that value, strengthen, and support each music student and choir director alike.  
1. As students collaborate, their personal musical-views and beliefs get challenged as they experience the musical-views of others.  They learn to engage and expand their learning through an open dialogue. 
2. Students are encouraged to question and actively participate in the learning process but not compromise their beliefs or the integrity of others.
3. Students gain intrapersonal skills in which they discover that they do not have to agree with other’s ideas or points of view but learn to remain in dialogue and allow others to maintain their personal perspectives. 
4. As students collaborate, they gain an awareness and understanding that their classmates learn music and operate within a different framework.  Students begin to “wrestle with ideas and not each other.”

Docendo Discimus – By Teaching, We Learn

Students Teaching Students

The purpose of Students Teaching Students (STS) is to foster musical autonomy and metacognition by placing students in the peer mentor and teaching roles.  Peer instruction can range from students creating simple learning videos for others (not the traditional sing by rote), participating in Zoom or Google Meet coaching, and leading in-person sectionals or rehearsals.  All of which can culminate in presenting a combined concert or music festival when pandemic and performance protocols allow. 

Students Teaching Students implements the vertical grouping model and scaffolding paradigm.  Upper-level ensembles prepare and instruct lower-level ensembles, as the more advanced students teach and guide younger music students. Through the STS learning model, older students gain valuable experience peer teaching and strengthen their personal music skills.  Younger students benefit by learning music skills and strategies from student mentor teachers and experience age-appropriate cognitive and vocal models.  The scope and sequence of STS activities can vary from a simple student-led tracking and solfege video of The Star-Spangles Banner to suggested performance and style interpretations for O Love. 

Student Instructional Responsibilities 
(Audio/Video/In-Person)
Assess, plan, and produce learning materials 
Create and explain learning skills and strategies 
Provide directions and perform for audio/video recording or in-person instruction 

Students Teaching Students Benefits all Ensembles 
Responsive to the skill level and needs of each ensemble 
Provides opportunities to share repertoire between ensembles 
Supports flexibility in voicing and performance level  
Provides opportunities to experience a variety of musical interpretations  
Encourages age-appropriate score study and rehearsal preparation  
Develops confidence and cultivates motivation  
Suitable for virtual, hybrid, and in-person instruction 

Conclusion – By Teaching, We Learn

From the Post-Secondary Ensemble to the Elementary Choir, the success of the STS project lies in providing students with the skills, resources, and experiences necessary to create age-appropriate authentic learning lessons and materials.  The value and success of STS lie in an intuitive learning feedback loop that occurs when we teach and transfer our knowledge to others.  This reciprocal teaching experience benefits both the student mentor and mentee and fosters metacognition.  By centering on student musical autonomy, Students Teaching Students dismantles the Silo Effect and modifies Banking Education and labels both as tools rather than educational paradigms. 

As I plan and run my rehearsals, I participate in the dance between the inevitability of direct instruction and the necessity of indirect instruction – the dance between fostering interdependence within an ensemble and the independence responsibility of each choir member.  Like our experiences teaching, I believe it is essential that we allow students the opportunity during the learning process to question, get frustrated, feel a sense of accomplishment, fail miserably, and succeed with joy.

Postlude – PD Lesson Study Opportunity

Lesson Study is a form of professional development where teachers’ collaboratively design research lessons and improve instruction using the evidence they have observed and gathered on student learning and concept development.  STS transfers this same framework providing students with the opportunity to design, perform collaboratively, and assess learning experiences with their peers.  This Project also provides educators with opportunities to step back, observe their students, and evaluate any need for instructional modifications or adaptations.

References

All activities, rehearsal strategies, and projects developed through applying the Agile Development Instructional Framework are research-based. They contain elements of the following teaching models and instructional theories: Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Directed-Learning, Experiential Learning Theory, Understanding by Design, Cognitive Coaching, and the Universal Design for Learning.

Ackles, Brian O., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education. Choral Journal, September 2018. Vol. 59, No. 2.

Bennet Reimer, “Music Education in the Twenty-First Century.” Music Educators Journal 84, no. 3 (November 1997): 33-38.

Cohen, Peter A., James A. Kulik, and Chen-Lin C. Kulik. “Educational Outcomes of Tutoring: A Meta-analysis of Findings.” American Educational Research Journal 19, no. 2 (1982): 237-48. doi:10.3102/00028312019002237.

Costa, Arthur L. Cognitive Coaching Developing Self-directed Leaders and Learners. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.

Hess, Juliet, A “Discomfortable” Approach to Music Education Re-envisioning the “Strange Encounter” March 2018 Philosophy of Music Education Review 26(1):24, DOI: 10.2979/philmusieducrevi.26.1.03

Aloysius Wei Lun Koh, Sze Chi Lee, and Stephen Wee Hun Lim. “The Learning Benefits of Teaching: A Retrieval Practice Hypothesis.” Applied Cognitive Psychology 32, no. 3 (2018): 401-10. doi:10.1002/acp.3410.

New York State Learning Standards for the Arts

The Protégé Effect: How You Can Learn by Teaching Others

Leading Voices: Promoting Student and Ensemble Autonomy: The Individual Ensemble Musicianship Project

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Challenging, Frustrating, Depressing Encouraging, Disappointing, Intriguing.

These are the words I frequently use to describe what it is like teaching high school vocal music during the pandemic.  It has become quite evident in the last ten months that The Pre COVID traditional educational model is becoming outdated and may no longer be adequate for post-COVID instruction.

It became extremely clear last March that the reason many of my students struggled with their studies was because all their learning experiences are based upon the institutionalized aspects of public education.  Without the school building, bells, personnel, and the social-emotional support of their peers and teachers, most students lack the skills they need to learn independently.  This deficiency of teaching self-regulation in our classrooms reinforced my determination to search for ways to help my students become musically autonomous and achieve independence in their musical and general studies. 

Understanding by Design – UbD

Understanding by Design

One excellent resource I discovered this past year was Wiggins and McTighe’s (2005) work and their book Understanding by Design (UbD).  It is an outstanding resource and a must-read for both novice and seasoned music educators alike.

In Understanding by Design, Wiggins and McTighe present the Backward Design framework.  This framework encourages educators to construct their curriculum and instruction “Backwards” by Identifying student learning outcomes or enduring understandings first.  Once learning outcomes are identified, teachers then Determine the appropriate skills and assessment and lastly Plan the specific course content and essential learning objectives.

Not knowing what this year would bring, I was determined to research applicable instructional models and create musical experiences to promote and develop my student’s Self-Directed and Self-Regulated learning.  Looking back at my teaching last spring and reviewing relevant research, I implemented the backward design framework and created the Individual Ensemble Musicianship (IEM) Project

The Individual Ensemble Musicianship (IEM) Project

Experience has taught me that the most successful choirs always contain outstanding musicians who bring and share their individual musical skills and talents with the ensemble.  The IEM Project aims to develop each students’ musical knowledge and skills, thereby promoting metacognition and individual autonomy, with the purpose and intent of transferring these skills to the ensemble, creating choral autonomy.

Individual and choral autonomy is achieved when educators place the responsibility of learning and achieving on the students and the ensemble – not themselves.  The IEM Project provides music students with individual and group experiences in the following four areas: planning and goal identification, documenting and monitoring progress, assessing and reassessing skills, and adjusting and modifying best practices for future learning.

The IEM Model is the foundation of the Agile Centered Classroom

Individual Ensemble Musicianship Project Overview

Stage 1, Planning and Goal Identification – Supporting Research Self – Directed Learning – SEL
At the beginning of the project, students complete a Google Form and choose an area of interest.  Skill and subject topics vary and range from learning piano, a vocal solo, or guitar; to studying theory and composition.  Once students finalize their musical interest and can state their specific area of study, they are grouped into subject cohorts such as Guitar, Piano, and Sight-Reading.

IEM Project Timeline
IEM Self-Sprint Planning & Retrospective Form, Week 9

Stage 2, Documenting and Monitoring Progress – Supporting Research Experiential Learning Theory – ELT In stage two, students complete a weekly Google Doc (journal) and annotate their experiences and progress.  Many IEM assignments ask students to actively discover, use, and apply technology as a tool to help them learn and grow. 

IEM Learning Activities
List and copy two YouTube video links that can help you reach your IEM goal.
List and copy two Google Search links for PDF’s that could help you reach your IEM goal.
Find two Music Dictionary, Encyclopedia, or cohort-specific links that may help you.
List and link two Apps that may be helpful to you as you work on your IEM Sprints.
Ask two high school music students to be your IEM Vygotsky’s, and two for your choir Vygotsky’s. Discuss your IEM project with one of your IEM Vygotsky’s and list two of their suggestions. 
Record yourself playing/performing/explaining your IEM project and list two self-observations.

Stage 3, Assessing and Reassessing Skills – Supporting Research Self-Regulated Learning – SRL 
I have found step three to be the most challenging for students. I’m afraid they are so conditioned to rely on school staff for direction that they believe it is OUR job to regulate and control their learning.  Because of this mindset, I created several assessment activities where students must learn and support each other by providing periodical performances and updates through Flipgrid.  For one assignment, each choir member was asked to respond to four of their peer videos and offer suggestions for improvement.  I am incredibly pleased with this activity’s results, for it has fostered an encouraging and supportive learning environment for all my virtual ensembles. 

Flipgrid Student Responses (12/6/2020)

“It sounds great! I am working on incorporating both hands as well…it’s a challenge for sure. I am trying to take it slow, as this is my first time ever playing the piano- but I am enjoying it. Good luck!”

“Great Job Bryan! You sound great. While I am not learning Ukulele (I am playing piano), I can still relate to your modifications. I have noticed that if I slow things down (like YouTube videos or whatever we are using), it can help out a lot. Great Job!”

“Way to go Katie! Nice to see that you’re still working hard even when you’re virtual. Also like the journal idea, makes me think of a workout journal I would use for keeping track of running/exercise.”

“Nice job! I would suggest choosing a few chords you know well and that go together, then just pick a strumming pattern and play those chords over and over again with that pattern. It helped me a lot!”

“ZOE THIS IS SOOOO GOOD!!!! UR VOICE IS SO PRETTY”

Stage 4, Adjusting and Modifying Best Practices – Supporting Research Cognitive Coaching 
As I work through the IEM project with my students, I’ve come to really enjoy stage four and our weekly check-ins.  Many of my students just want to do the assignment, plug-in the answers, wait for the feedback/grade, and move on.   Not going to happen.

Sometimes I get blank stares when I ask a student, “How did what you did last week compare with what you planned?  Or “What did you do (or not do) that produced this result”?  The ability to become autonomous and adjust and modify one’s own best practices can be taught by focusing on the mental process of learning and reflection, not through remediation.  It takes some time, but soon students learn that uncertainties and frustrations are not a cause for panic or alarm, and they come to realize that they have the power and ability to adapt and modify their learning.

Student Responses  – What are you starting to learn about yourself?

“I am learning that if I stay motivated and keep persevering, I can learn new skills. I have stayed dedicated to playing the piano and I am noticing a lot of progress.”

“When I practice, I learn better in the evening, so I should start working more in the evening to make sure I’m doing my best.”

“I have realized that though I may not be the BEST guitar player, playing the guitar keeps me motivated and interested in music. I have realized that even when I listen to music, I have started picking up on the key changes and have become more musically aware”.

Conclusion: Promoting Student and Ensemble Autonomy

How do you teach individual and choral autonomy in the virtual high school classroom?  It is not easy.  For me, it is challenging, rewarding, frustrating, depressing, intriguing, disappointing, and at the same time encouraging.

Teaching musical autonomy, like playing an instrument or singing in a choir, needs to be practiced, understood, and ultimately owned by the students.  Understanding by Design and the Backward Design Framework challenges educators to look beyond instructional challenges and help our students succeed by teaching them the skills needed to foster individual and choral autonomy in the classroom.

“I am learning how to self teach myself things.”
Bill, MHS class of 2023

References:

Ackles, Brian O., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education. Choral Journal, September 2018. Vol. 59, No. 2. 

Wiggins, Grant P., and Jay McTighe. Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008. 

Grow, Gerald O. (1991/1996). “Teaching Learners to be Self-Directed.” Adult Education Quarterly, 41 (3), 125-149. Expanded version available online at: <http://www.longleaf.net>. 

Zelenak, Michael S. “Developing Self-Efficacy to Improve Music Achievement.” Music Educators Journal 107, no. 2 (2020): 42-50. doi:10.1177/0027432120950812. 

Zimmerman, B. J. (2013). From cognitive modeling to self-regulation: A social cognitive career path. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 135–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2013.794676

Postlude – IEM Assignment Prompting Questions:
Stage 1, Planning
What is your Ultimate Outcome or musical goal?
Is anything confusing?
What will you do first?

Stage 2, Monitoring
Why did I get this answer wrong?
Should I ask for extra help?
What went well?

Stage 3, Reassessing
Can you apply this learning in a different context?
What are you starting to learn about yourself?
What suggestion or advice do you give others in your IEM Cohort?

Stage 4, Adjusting
What did not go well?
How can you do better next time?
Can you explain what you learned?

Leading Voices: Positive Reappraisal: Adapting Instruction and Managing Stress

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Adapting Instruction and Managing Stress

I am growing weary of being told that teaching virtual and hybrid vocal music is only “temporary.”  I emphatically disagree.  The virtual and hybrid vocal music model may be temporary, but its adverse effects on my music students and our program will be felt for years. 

In response to the pandemic, music education and the education profession is having to adapt, modify, and transform their traditional practices and procedures.  Here in Central New York, school districts adjusted and altered their daily schedule, course offerings, class size, school calendars, extracurricular programming, sports seasons, along with the cancellation of most state and local tests.  

This current transformation in education is unsettling and frustrating.  Music teachers are looking for a source of support and stability as they sadly watch strong and vibrant music programs decline and weaken. The music profession and teaching community are changing right before our eyes.  And though stressful, we must take an active part in this transition by reshaping our thinking and instruction.

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

One of our colleagues Amelia Nagoski, DMA, and her twin sister Emily Nagoski, Ph.D. offers some helpful insights and suggestions for dealing with unwanted change in their book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle.  This book presents several strategies to effectively deal with uncontrollable stressors and offers several approaches to help the reader self-generate productive thoughts and emotions, creating positive outcomes during stressful situations. 

My daughter recommended Burnout to me as she knew this school year is very challenging and stressful.  For me, this semester feels as demanding as my first year of teaching.  Besides redesigning my music program, I am also trying to manage the emotional and professional void between what was and what is.  Sad times.

Positive Reappraisal

The ability to self-generate healthy thoughts and emotions and foster positive outcomes during adverse circumstances is called Positive Reappraisal.  Positive Reappraisal is not as simple as looking on the bright side or being optimistic.  It challenges us to approach and label discomfort, obstacles, and uncertainty honestly and head-on.  During difficult times, we need to become aware of the following and acknowledge that:

  1. A stressful situation is complicated and unnerving.
  2. The obstacles and failures we experience are worthwhile.
  3. Difficulties and obstacles are opportunities for growth.

A Road Less Traveled

After learning about Positive Reappraisal, I realized that a decision I made many years ago had had a profound and lasting effect on my teaching.  Between 1984 and 1989, the state of Texas implemented a new appraisal system called the Texas Teacher Appraisal System.  At the time, I didn’t think much about it.  I was a new teacher with a young family and had no professional experience, so I implemented the new appraisal system requirements into my teaching and moved on.

Many of my colleagues reacted differently.  Most complained, some sought council, and those who could retire, retired.  Due to this very unpleasant experience, I made the following decision: No matter what came down the educational pike during my career, I would (1) validate the situation but not complain, (2) initiate and evaluate the new initiatives, and (3) implement what I felt was useful, leave the rest behind, and move on.

I am continuing with this philosophy as I adapt my pre-COVID instruction models to my present virtual and hybrid teaching situation.  I am not maintaining my pre-COVID instruction models and waiting till my normal schedule returns.  That may not happen.  Instead, I am adapting and altering my teaching with the determination that the changes I make will be successful both now and in the post-COVID classroom.

Positive Reappraisal and Online Teaching

Small Teaching Online

I found an excellent resource last spring for teaching online classes in the book Small Teaching Online.  One big takeaway for me was the need for virtual teachers to develop and maintain an online presence with their students.  This visual presence helps motivate and engage the students and encourages their participation in our weekly assignments. 

To this end, I now use Screencast-O-Matic each Monday as I record myself and introduce the week’s assignments to my ensembles.  The Chrome Extension Mote: Voice Notes & Feedback allows me to record audio feedback for my students as I grade and return their work.  At first, my students said it was “kinda strange,” but now they like it because they get to hear my voice.  I also joined the bitmoji craze and added a few picks for our class assignments and my video responses.

Positive Reappraisal and ADIF Sprints

One huge obstacle I am experiencing teaching virtual high school choral music is not being able to use Cognitive Modeling or Teaching Out Loud during rehearsals.  An essential part of the Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) is modeling procedures, expectations, and music learning strategies in real-time.  My upperclassmen have experience with ADIF Sprints, but my new choir members do not. 

Hybrid Sprint Planning Form

My new website on Google Sites is proving to be invaluable, as it allows much more flexibility as I present, teach, and review material.  This month, students are learning It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year through performing Self-Sprints.  Here is a link to a Google Form that my students will complete as they practice this song and prepare for a recording we will make later this month.  I also created this Self-Sprint how-to and review video for all my groups.

Positive Reappraisal and Specs Grading

Specifications Grading, Linda Nilson

My implementation of Specification Grading or Specs Grading this year for my classes has been very successful.  I have worked through several iterations and edits and now feel confident in the basic grading structure I currently have in place. 

Specs Grading is a system that develops a learning-centered environment that focuses on students learning outcomes and student autonomy.  Specs grading is a competency-based grading system that saves a lot of grading time by incorporating elements of the pass/fail system of assessment.  I know it may sound a bit harsh and foreign to music education, but it works.

Conclusion: Managing Stress and Adapting Instruction

Teaching high school vocal music during a pandemic is demanding and stressful.  Experiencing this traumatic event will reshape our teaching models and profession for many years, and possibly for the foreseeable future.  Our challenge and responsibility as educators is to retain the ability to remain approachable, flexible, and teachable through unpleasant and difficult times.

A student comes to our class dwelling in their negative backstory,
So we encourage them to see things differently.

A close colleague becomes disillusioned with teaching,
So we implore them to renew their passion.

One of our tried and true instruction models is no longer effective,
So we challenge ourselves to search for something better.

Postlude: La or Do based minor?

I recently asked our colleagues in the ACDA Facebook group the following question: My high school virtual choirs will be solfeging Wilhousky’s arrangement of Carol of the Bells for one of their assignments right after Thanksgiving.  A quick question:

Do or La based minor?
135 – La based minor
32 – Do based minor
3 – Fixed Do
2 – Letters

References

Ackles, Brian O., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education. Choral Journal, September 2018. Vol. 59, No. 2

Mcrae, Kateri, and Iris B. Mauss. “Increasing Positive Emotion in Negative Contexts.” Positive Neuroscience, 2016, 159-74. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199977925.003.0011.

Panadero, E, “A Review of Self-regulated Learning: Six Models and Four Directions for Research” Psychol., 28 April 2017, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00422

Zimmerman, Barry J. “From Cognitive Modeling to Self-Regulation: A Social Cognitive Career Path.” Educational Psychologist, 48, no. 3 (2013): 135-47. doi:10.1080/00461520.2013.794676.

Leading Voices: Who is Your Vygotsky?

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Who is Your Vygotsky or MKO?

I learned to ask this question last spring when two of my theory students informed me that they were working together and helping each other out with their online assignments.  At the time, I did not make much of their comment.  As a seasoned K – 12 vocal music teacher, I see and hear many students “working together” – a.k.a. divide up the assignment or share answers – all the time. 

But this time, it was different.  These two students were learning and teaching each other and not just sharing the answers.  Each student realized that the other possessed specific musical skills and understanding that could help them with their theory assignments and fill in their knowledge gap.  One student was a freshman and is a phenomenal jazz guitarist and saxophonist who performs regularly with local college and professional musicians.  The other was an outstanding All-State tenor who is currently a freshman at the University of Hartford studying music theatre at The Hartt School.  

The key to their success?  These two young musicians initiated and maintained a collaborative relationship through which they assisted each other in their classwork as both a peer student and teacher. 

My initial thought was that these two students sought help from one another because they were already outstanding and dedicated musicians.  But I now realize that they are outstanding and dedicated musicians because they learned to grow musically through the eyes of both a student and a teacher.  They learned to be each other’s More Knowledgeable Other. 

The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)

My two theory students were what Russian psychologist and Sociocultural Cognitive Development theorist Lev Vygotsky called each other’s More Knowledgeable Other.  The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) is identified as a more experienced teacher assisting a less experienced student through a challenging problem, concept, or skill.  The gap between what students can understand independently and what is beyond their ability to learn alone is what Vygotsky called the Zone of Proximal Development or ZPD. If you are interested and have a few minutes (13:36), below is an excellent overview of Lev Vygotsky and his Sociocultural Theory.

Who is Your Vygotsky?

This proposed question modifies the traditional vertical teacher-to-student top down interpretation of an MKO. It creates a horizontal peer-to-peer relationship between a student mentor and a student mentee.  This vertical to horizontal paradigm shift produces a noticeable improvement in music students’ learning and autonomy:

  1. Peer mentoring programs can have a positive impact on academic achievement, health and safety, and social and emotional development (Jekielek, 2002)
  2. Through reflection and articulation, both the mentor and mentee learn from the shared experience (Hayward, 2001)
  3. Both the mentor and mentee benefit from experiencing different learning styles and approaches (Loong, 1998)
  4. When working with challenging problems or skills, peer interactions can inspire new perspectives (Jaramillo, 1996)

ADIF and the Subject Matter Expert

In the Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF), the horizontal peer-to-peer More Knowledgeable Other’s paradigm is presented to each ensemble member, as all students are given the title of Subject Matter Expert or SME.  This title recognizes that each choir member can assist other students through their ZPD and help the individual and ensemble accomplish their goal.  The Agile Development Instructional Framework and the Agile Centered Classroom identifies each student as a prospective SME teacher and tutor.

Every year, I tell my students that “each of you has a unique skill or talent that is valuable and essential to the choir’s success.  AND, throughout the year, your specific knowledge and skills will be called upon during our voice lessons, choir rehearsals, and concerts”.

This validation of my students’ worth, skills, and peer support pertains to every member of the ensemble – from the choir president to the shy alto who is in French VI to the boisterous bass who races motocross on weekends. 

All students can be someone’s Vygotsky.

So, when a student becomes someone’s Vygotsky and finds themselves in the position of being a peer mentor or tutor, how do they respond?  How will they help others learn?   I am afraid the answer is how they have been taught since kindergarten – by mostly using the Direct Instruction Model.  Kolb and Kolb (2017) presents four teaching roles in the Experiential Learning Cycle that will help teachers (and students) provide a productive and sound framework for instruction.

Know your Kolb KERP

To help my students become effective Vygotsky’s for each other, next week, I will be introducing my ensembles to the four teaching roles found in the Kolb Educator Role Profile (KERP).  This instrument is specifically designed to help teachers identify their instructional tendencies and presents information on how to shift teaching roles between the Facilitator, Expert, Evaluator, and Coach.  These teaching roles will be modified for the peer mentor and teacher, and the essence and core characteristics of each role will be maintained. 

Kolb Educator Role Profile

First Things First

For now, my first challenge is presenting Lev Vygotsky to my choirs and asking them to answer the question, “Who is your Vygotsky, and why?” For their Individual Ensemble Musicianship (IEM) project this week, they will complete this Google Form and watch a few short YouTube videos about Lev Vygotsky, the More Knowledgeable Other, and the Zone of Proximal Development. 

In this activity, each student will select four classmates to be their Vygotsky’s or MKO this semester: two classmates to help with their Choir Fundamental assignments such as a Self-Sprint, and Two to help with their IEM Projects. 

Conclusion: Who is Your Vygotsky?

Who is that colleague you can call or email to help you work through a challenging situation or technical question?  If you are like me, chances are it is not your superintendent, chancellor, or curriculum coordinator.  Though they may be outstanding educators, your Vygotsky is probably someone who is in the trenches with you – a peer MKO.

I believe the same needs to be and must be true for our students.  Each student would benefit from receiving help and learning from their peers and friends as well as through their teachers.  Our challenge lies in providing our students with the experiences and skills they need to become autonomous and successful music students.  One way to provide this opportunity and have our students achieve musical independence and autonomy is to allow them to teach, to question, and to stumble at times – to become someone’s Vygotsky.

We are all someone’s Vygotsky.

Students Teaching Students and Review and Renew Videos

For the past five years, my students and I have been working on a program we call Students Teaching Students.  This project develops and features the students’ ability to identify, create, and participate in various activities in and for the choral rehearsal environment.  With all my ensembles participating in a virtual high school choral music program this semester, we decided to create “review and renew videos” for each other and for our middle school choir.

Below is an example of a Review and Renew Video for the bass section that a few of my young vocalists created for The Star-Spangled Banner, arranged by Russell Robinson.  The video is by no means perfect, but it is keeping my ensembles singing and hopefully maintaining their vocal chops. 

References:

Dennen, V. “Cognitive Apprenticeship in Educational Practice: Research on Scaffolding, Modeling, Mentoring, and Coaching as Instructional Strategies.” (2003).

Jaramillo, James A. “Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and contributions to the development of constructivist curricula.” Education, vol. 117, no. 1, 1996, p. 133+. Accessed 23 Oct. 2020.

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Kolb, Alice Y., and David A. Kolb. The Experiential Educator: Principles and Practices of Experiential Learning. Columbia, MA: Experience Based Learning Systems, 2017.

 Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Leading Voices: Learning Outcomes and Our Ability to Pivot

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Learning Outcomes and Our Ability to Pivot

It seems like every month there is a new term or phrase that surfaces as we journey through the COVID-19 educational landscape – Hybrid Learning, the Digital Choral Classroom, Synchronous and Asynchronous Instruction.  Now here in Central New York, we have another new phrase going around called “the pivot.” With most CNY schools teaching in-person or using a hybrid model, many of our colleagues are planning for the pivot as they anticipate their schools moving to all virtual learning.

The Pivot  – Verb  

Educational Definition: A teacher’s ability to effectively and efficiently transition their teaching at a moment’s notice from hybrid to virtual, or virtual to hybrid instruction.

Example: At 5:00 in the evening, teachers were notified that their high school would be pivoting the following day to virtual instruction for the next two weeks.

* Last Sunday night, October 4 at 8:42 PM, I received notification from my superintendent that due to a staff member testing positive for COVID, the high school would be closed on Monday, and we would move to virtual instruction for the day.  Note to self – Always be prepared for the pivot.  I have a video at school that I was planning on pushing out to my choir today (Monday), but I only saved the file to my desktop and did not upload it to my Google Drive.  My bad, lesson learned!

Teaching in the Pivot Model

So, I am now experiencing the pivot.  I am lucky because my teaching assignment this year has prepared me for this experience.  I call my teaching assignment this semester “teaching virtually in-person” because:

  1. The high school vocal music program is virtual, but
  2. I can teach on campus in my classroom.
  3. Most of my students attend cohort hybrid classes throughout the day and come down to my classroom during lunch or study halls.
  4. I will be teaching eleven of my student’s virtual vocal music all year, and
  5. On Wednesdays, the entire high school goes to virtual learning for the day.

A Pivot I Was Not Expecting

Besides learning how to pivot and teach in both the hybrid and virtual learning models simultaneously, a much more subtle and significant pivot is currently taking place in our classrooms.  Due to the cancellation of school performances and county and state music festivals, our course designs and student learning outcomes/expectations may have changed and could now be incomplete. 

If traditional concert performances and choral opportunities are not available to our students at this time, then what is taking its place?  

What is our new goal, or how do we adapt?

Learning Outcomes and Backward Design

https://teachingcommons.lakeheadu.ca/backward-design-introduction-templates

What is helping me organize my teaching and navigate the lack-of-concerts shift is the work of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe.  In their book Understanding by Design, Wiggins and McTighe present a three-step process called Backward Design.  This framework encourages educators to design their course of study “backwards.”  First, by Identifying the required student learning outcomes, then Determining the appropriate skills and assessment, and finally, Planning the essential course content and specific learning objectives.

Student Outcomes and Specs Grading

The Backward Design framework was also influential as I adapted Specification Grading or Specs Grading for my high school music students.  In chapter two of her book Specification Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time, Linda B. Nilson reframes the Backward Design Framework and presents the following (2014, p. 21).

  • Step 1, Ultimate Outcomes: Identify the skills and abilities students will achieve at the end of the semester or course.
  • Step 2, Mediating Outcomes: Order and sequence learning outcomes that will prepare students for forthcoming skills and abilities.
  • Step 3, Foundational Outcomes: Determine the necessary skills and abilities students will need in preparation for mediating outcomes

Semester Course Design

Using elements found in both the Backward Design Framework and Specs Grading, below is my course design that I am using this fall.  Because my school will be shifting this year between the virtual and hybrid teaching models, I am attempting to provide my students with the tools and skills necessary to continue studying, performing, and creating music independently.

Ultimate Learning Outcome – Maintain my students’ engagement, participation, and enjoyment of high school vocal music.

Intermediate Experiences – Create autonomous, student-centered assignments and activities focused on the Ultimate Learning Outcome.

Essential knowledge & Skills – Establish standards for students in developing their fundamental music abilities, course management skills, and individual responsibility to the ensemble. 

Weekly Course Assignments

Realizing that we will probably not have any in-person concerts this year, I have focused my weekly learning outcomes on encouraging my student’s growth in three areas: 1. developing their personal musicianship, 2. maintaining and strengthening their fundamental choral music skills, and 3. Facilitating their autonomy through teaching time and class management skills. 

  1. Individual Ensemble Musicianship (IEM) – Student-initiated independent music study
  2. Choir Fundamentals (CFun)– Music literacy, audio/video performances, and ADIF self-sprints  
  3. Course Management (CM) – Weekly meetings/surveys, group contributions, and communication

Each week, my students work on one assignment from each of these three focus areas.  So far, the most critical assignment this year was last week when the students and I brushed up their technology skills.  We created folders for their Gmail (one senior had 4,876 emails in her inbox), set-up their Remind and Sight Reading Factory accounts, reviewed the procedures and protocols for Google Meet, and confirmed the skill/subject for their independent study this semester.

Conclusion: Our Ability to Pivot

With the realization that we will need to remain fixable and pivot our instruction this year, and that our traditional school concerts will not resume for some time, we need to reevaluate our course design and our required learning outcomes.  

Many of our best practices from the past have been successful and will remain.  But there is a danger in maintaining the expected – the known – not realizing that education is changing right before our eyes.  Elements of Backwards Design and Specs Grading offers teachers a new perspective and a way to review, redefine, and reimagine our instruction. 

References:

Wiggins, Grant P., and Jay McTighe. Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008.

Nilson, Linda Burzotta, and Claudia J. Stanny. Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time. Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2015.

Ackles, Brian O., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education. Choral Journal, September 2018. Vol. 59, No. 2.

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