#inthemusicclassroom

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What Considerations do I Need to Give to Risk Management and Reporting?

Safety in the classroom is so important. In planning classroom activities, risk management needs to be taken into consideration. 

As teachers we are required to provide adequate supervision and instructions to students, ensuring that it is clear and appropriate to the maturity and skill level of the students in the class.  Legislation plays a key role with safety in the workplace such as the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the NSW Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017. In addition to these legislative documents, the AITSL Standards 4.4 (Maintain student safety) and 4.5 (Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically) also require the role as teachers, of ensuring classroom risk management and safety. 

http://highshoalsmusic.blogspot.com/2012/10/welcome-to-music-room.html

There are many areas in the music classroom where consideration needs to be taken into risk management. Safety issues of importance in the music classroom include: - Spaces where students will practise  - Electricity and cords/leads  - Random equipment being left out  - Instruments breaking - guitar strings etc.  - All music tutors must have a Working With Children Check 

To work on managing these risks, the following can be taken:  - Keep the areas clean and tidy (easier said than done)  - Chord checks annually  - Be on your game with supervision  - COVID-19 - sanitisation of hands and equipment, and well ventilated areas 

Something to be aware of as a music teacher are excursions and incursions, and completing risk assessments that go along with these. The more you complete risk assessments, the better and faster you become at filling them out and being able to identify risks quicker. With that said, it is important not to rush when completing them. Excursions and incursions are really memorable for students. By doing it right and completing the paperwork for these events properly, allows for you as the teacher to enjoy yourself all the more while enhancing student learning. 

References: https://rydalmeree-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/doe/sws/schools/r/rydalmeree-p/localcontent/safety_in_the_classroom.pdf

https://www.aitsl.edu.au/

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What Value do Feedback and Evaluation Processes Add to Teaching and Learning?

Evaluation and feedback processes are so important in teaching practice. Nicole Arndt said, “Teaching IS reflective practice.” As teachers we need to be able to reflect and evaluate on the lessons we have taught, whole units and not only our teaching practice but on the learning process of our students. 

Self-reflection is one of the most efficient ways to acknowledge that your teaching strategies can be improved. As a pre-service teacher, I have been greatly encouraged in evaluating and reflecting on lessons taught and what parts or points in the lesson were good, and what could have been better. The feedback and evaluation process is part of the growth journey of being a teacher and is a part of being a life long learner, encouraging your students to be life long learners. 

Part of the process of receiving feedback and evaluation as a teacher is knowing what tools and strategies are available to do this. This can include the AITSL Professional Standards for Teachers, syllabus and related documents, professional conversations, peer observations and tools such as taxonomy of reflection. It is also important to block out time in your timetable for reflection, setting aside that time to evaluate lessons from the week and overall a unit or your teaching practice across different year groups. 

In the music classroom this process of evaluation and feedback in learning can be done through the use of formative assessment. Formative assessment can be carried out in the form of Kahoot! for Stage 4, GimKit in Stage 5 and a musical concepts based board game in the style of Articulate for Stage 6. Having engaging activities that still give you as the teacher an idea of where your students are at in their learning, really assists in the overall atmosphere of your classroom, building a space for not only you as the teacher to reflect on teaching practices and strategies, but for students to evaluate their own learning. 

https://tonara.com/

[inthemusicclassroom]

What Resources can Help Support Quality Teaching and Learning?

Time is precious and as teachers we give a lot of our time. Whether that is to our students or in creating and finding resources to use in our lessons and classrooms. 

From the 2019 ‘Growing Up Digital’ Australian study (see video below) there were  some key messages for further research. In summary they are: 

Classrooms have become more complex to teach and learn (emotionally, psychologically and behaviourally). 

Teachers are seeing more use of technology. It offers benefits when used in teaching and learning but it has its challenges. 

We are now living with and using media and digital technologies as teachers, parents and young people. 

Online harassment is more prevalent. 

So What Does This Mean For Choosing Resources? 

Resources are not just about student learning but also enhance educators. As teachers we have the task of finding resources that challenge at the appropriate level, enable knowledge to grow, build skills, strengthen literacy, stimulate creativity and add value to the content being taught in student learning. 

It is important to access resources by interacting with experts and others passionate in your teaching field, looking at the resources your school already has, teacher texts and resources specific to your subject. 

Resources in the Music Classroom 

ICT can be incorporated into the music classroom so easily as there are a variety of learning activities that involve technology and there are many resources available for use. If we are to prepare students for actual careers in music, we have to incorporate ICT into our lessons. It can be as simple as having students look up a chord chart online, composing using Garageband or Soundtrap and for listening activities, using YouTube or Spotify to play excerpts or having a theory lesson on Musition (a theory learning software). 

By taking the time to find resources and incorporate them into lessons is important in providing quality teaching and learning. It doesn’t matter what resources you have as a teacher, whether they are good or bad, it comes down to how well you can use them in your teaching and how they are delivered to the students. 

That is the essence of utilising resources in a way that supports quality teaching and learning. 

https://www.sketchappsources.com/free-source/1829-colorful-music-icon-set-sketch-freebie-resource.html

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How do I Deepen Student Learning Through PBL and Other Strategies?

Deepening student learning can be done through the use of Project Based Learning (PBL) and by using the Five Standards of Pedagogy. There is student involvement in PBL, and it can be considered as student led learning. There is also a real world aspect incorporated into PBL. The purpose of PBL engages student learning as it is student led, student driven and it contains that real world aspect or element. 

Sometimes a whole school approach is used to promote and include PBL, as well as it being the responsibility of the teacher to incorporate it into their lessons and units. As a teacher you can get a bit carried away trying to implement the most up to date learning strategies and elements into your lessons. The important thing to remember however, is to continue to focus or come back to the pedagogy, the intention, and the students. 

The Five Standards of Pedagogy - Joint productive activity, language development, contexualisation, challenging activities and instructional conversation - are very useful to use in evaluating the purpose, quality and variety in your teaching and lessons. The below image looks at how the Five Standards of Pedagogy can be used in the music classroom. 

It is important to justify whether PBL and other learning strategies, such as the Five Standards of Pedagogy, will work for your subject. To continually evaluate the quality, purpose and intention of your teaching and the students is so important in delivering effective and efficient learning. By using learning strategies such as PBL and the Five Standards of Pedagogy to create a holistic teaching approach, students will have engaged hearts and minds, deep learning will take place, students will see a purpose in learning, there can be rewarding relationships as well as building skills for the workplace beyond school. 

So maybe it’s time to evaluate what learning strategies you can implement into your classroom, are they effective for your subject, the students and yourself as the teacher? 

https://www.123rf.com/photo_7170770_abstract-grunge-music-background-with-colourful-paint-splats.html

[inthemusicclassroom]

Welcome!

I’m glad you’ve found this blog! 

I’m currently studying to become a music teacher and am hoping this blog can be a place to share my experience and resources along the way :)