Hello again, everyone! Despite having every intention of updating the blog on a weekly basis, the last few weekends have been exceptionally busy and Life seems to have seriously limited the time available for writing. Also, I find myself getting really tired when I actually have time to relax and I end up devoid of the energy necessary to write a coherent blog entry. Such is life!
Among the many areas in which I have plenty of room for improvement is lesson planning. Last week, after a few hours of "teacher's block" when I was supposed to be writing lesson plans, I finally had a eureka moment and planned this week's lessons in a breeze. I was so excited as I planned these lessons to introduce percussion instruments, especially since many of the students have been asking me regularly "When will we get to play the instruments?" Finally in their fifth week of music lessons I was looking forward to the excitement I would undoubtedly see on their faces when I proudly proclaimed "Today we're playing instruments!"
Unfortunately, yesterday didn't go over so well. In every class throughout the day I faced challenges. I couldn't quite figure out if the students were just misbehaving, if I wasn't as energetic as I normally am, if I wasn't properly managing the students' behavior, or if the lesson plans were poorly designed. Regardless of the reason, nearly every class yesterday had challenges that, I fear, made "instrument day" a little less fun.
One thing I'm learning is that class behavior and the quality of a lesson plan are intrinsically related. Even the strongest, most high-functioning group of children can be off with a poorly planned lesson. Similarly, a typically low-functioning or misbehaving class can be on task and focused with a well planned lesson. One of my personal goals as a teacher is to design my lesson plans in the most efficient, effective way possible to encourage the highest possible level of focus, performance, and success. Basically, I need to plan for success instead of hoping for it.
After yesterday's lesson I had to reflect: If I faced behavioral challenges with most of the seven classes I taught yesterday, part of the problem must be in my lesson plans. So what could I do to change them? It came down to prioritizing the learning objectives and finding the most efficient way to prepare the students to work with the instruments. One change I made with two of the lessons was to focus on the instruments more than the songs I wanted the students to learn. It was a challenging decision for me to make, but I recognized that making that change would more accurately reflect the students' desires for the lesson. Why should I try to drag them to focus on learning a song when all they want to do upon seeing the instruments is to play them? Better to go with the flow and emphasize meaningful learning in the process.
The other change was in my preparation within the lesson. I wanted the students to be able to explore the instruments, but I also knew that given the limited time we have it would be better and equally enjoyable for the students to be prepared the moment the instruments get to their hands. So today when I introduced the instruments I also introduced how to hold and play each one and made sure the students understood, in no uncertain terms, all the rules associated with instruments in the music room. The results were not just good, not just an improvement over yesterday, but made it into a completely different learning and teaching experience which everyone enjoyed.
By the end of the first couple lessons of the day I was bolstered by the success associated with the few changes I made. Apparently, I wasn't the only one made happier. I realize the students I saw today knew nothing of how the lessons went yesterday, but the reactions of the students today were so markedly different and so much more positive that I know I did something right. Throughout the day students hugged me upon leaving the music room, personally thanked me for letting them use my instruments, told me how much they loved me, and complimented my dress.
Another sign of the success of the classes was how barren my seating charts (which serve as a place to mark behavioral successes and challenges throughout the lesson) were. Some pages were completely untouched today simply because the lesson moved so quickly and the students were so on-task that I didn't need to threaten anyone with a poor report to their teacher.
These may not be the most consistently accurate barometers of success, but the smile on my face by the end of the last class was the unmistakable mark of the happy teacher after a day of good lessons. :)
