The Significant Seven By Sarah Beasley

This is a great idea!I’ll never do that again! Autobiographical Reflection as a Learner:

I believe, to some degree, that teachers do incorporate they ways in which they were taught into their own teaching models. Things that affected me as a student include: – Practices I liked and enjoyed/wanted to reproduce in my own classroom – Practices I swore I would never reproduce in my own classroom – Units/concepts/topics of study (either enjoyable or un-enjoyable) – What I was taught were "important" things students should know Drawing on my own experience as a student, I am able to use my experiences as a source of insight by reflecting on: - Practices I saw/experienced that were successful -Practices that were creative and made students think -Practices that did not work -Practices that were either relevant/irrelevant to both students and the "real world" at large

Treasured Values as a Teacher:

Beliefs and practices that remain central to my curricular thinking are: – Expectations of excellence (excellence as a way of thinking/as an attitude) – Expectation of enrichment (teacher providing opportunities for student enrichment through the units of study/curricula) – Inclusion (fostering an atmosphere where all students feel welcome and their opinions/ideas valued) Aspects of my prior teaching I will likely perpetuate, maintain, and deepen as I return to the classroom: – Maintain my expectation of excellence – Preserve the important of my performing ensembles (but deepen and shift their purpose where the focus becomes collaboration and teamwork, rather than the actual performance itself) – Deepen the aspect of inquiry within music activities (use more questions to direct student learning, curiosity, and exploration)

Fresh Perspectives and New Ideas: Ideas gathered from both my undergraduate and graduate study I use in my teaching: – The concept of learning units/spreading learning out over an extended period of time (and revisiting concepts to build new knowledge) – Music as a part of culture (both past and present) – Performing ensemble importance (specifically for me: chorus) New ideas that I have incorporated into my thinking about teaching and learning: – "Curriculum of Questions" where inquiry (both student- and teacher-centered) serves as the driving force to discover core musical concepts and ideas within the topics of study – Music as a comprehensive whole (implementing ALL the National/State Standards v. focusing on your "favorites") – Hook Activities at the beginning of projects/units (to inspire motivation, interest, and a "need-to-know" attitude)

"Disposal Site":

Practices, strategies, and beliefs I no longer see fitting for my newly acquired ideas which I feel are ready to be discarded and left behind: – Teaching songs for concerts as students sit in their seats and are unengaged with the learning process (they aren't given the opportunity to take ownership of what they are learning) – The view of the teacher as the only fount of knowledge – Teacher as a "dictator“ – The idea that students are incapable of directing their own learning – Totally teacher-led and teacher-controlled activities (i.e. allowing students to take ownership and giving them a chance to lead)

Influencing My Particular Field of Teaching:

In my area of specialization (general music/vocal/choir) I am well-suited and willing to contribute to its needs by: – Allowing for student input and interest to drive decision-making in selecting topics of study – Collaborating with other teachers to get a feel for interdisciplinary connections that can be made during music – Staying connected to fellow music educators and professionals to provide current, up-to- date, relevant topics and learning opportunities to my students I am able to exert influence upon my professional peers and their ideas by: – Collaborating and providing feedback (i.e. through professional networking, through conversation within my department, etc.)

Relating My Work to Music Education at Large: The relationship between my plans and music education at large includes: – My aspiration and continual goal to provide relevant, thought-provoking, current opportunities to students (that deal with music in today's society) – The cultivation of dispositions My ideas will contribute to the profession and the students it serves by: – Creating and cultivating real-world musical experiences and interactions with music – Creating musical activities that highlight current innovations (such as technology) and rely on musical practices that are relevant in today's world

“Oldies but goodies” + New ideas Forging a Focus for this Semester:

Questions I may want to ask myself in the process are: – What have I been doing that has been successful and meaningful to students? – What can I do to improve the current practices I have in place? – Is there anything that I need to eliminate due to irrelevancy or redundancy? – How can I synthesize and form a marriage between my "oldies but goodies" and new ideas? Some goals, ambitions, and aspirations I would like to adopt during this semester are: – Allowing students to indicate topics of interest they would like to pursue (and putting them into practice!) – Developing a curriculum that is not only comprehensive, but also leaves room for growth in ways that I could not have predicted (striving for "optimal ambiguity") – To weed out topics, activities, and/or practices that are irrelevant or redundant and need discarding