End of Quarter One and Changes

Good evening readers. It has been a very long time. I'm writing to you tonight because I am wrapping up my first quarter of using my attempt at a standards-based assessing system.

If you read through my blog, you'll know I worked to create a standards-based system to assess band and choir students at the middle school level. I have a learned so much during that process and even more now. To refresh here was my process:

1. Look at the new national music standards. I'm going to be frank - these are a bit much, but there is hope. Fortunately at the ensemble level (strand), educators can choose where their students fall under the categories of Novice, Intermediate, Proficient, Accomplished, and Advanced. Looking at my middle school students I can split them into either novice or intermediate categories.

2. From those standards, I developed learning targets or "I can" statements that help define what will need to be assessed. On the instrumental side of things I shot for big ideas that students could achieve in the ideal world of quarters. Those learning targets are in reference to musical terms, specific notes, and the like. When it comes to vocal music I had to dig a bit more...My school doesn't necessarily have a vocal music curriculum, so I talked to the high school choir director and asked what she would like her students to know by the time they're freshman. Challenge accepted.

This first quarter was the first time I felt totally involved in my instruction. I had absolute NO Behavior to assess. Music Teachers reading this... I didn't grade a single lesson!! I assessed the content of each lesson! I ran interventions during recess and before school. I found that yes, because my system is unfortunately still a points-based (only option presently), that low letter grades were potentially pushing students to succeed, but little did they know... I was able to teach more rigorous content. I was able to ask prompting questions to build a solid foundation in vocal and instrumental music.

The next issues that are arising relate to students on a standards-based student being used with a points-based system is that students may be considered "tone deaf" which in my opinion don't really exist... they just need help getting there. Students may consider dropping because they are unable to do everything being assessed, but I want to challenge schools to do away with a points-based system. It's attaching the stigma of an "F" to a low score... the low score merely means, "I'm struggling, I need help, I only kind of get this." That's when an educator gets to do their job... the fun part!

The struggle is extremely read when we are expected to use the grade report to communicate what the students' current level in any academic discipline is. I shared with my students that they could retake and re-perform to improve their scores, but that can be a tough sale to parents. How do we show that mistakes are almost more important than the final destination?

More to come - Thanks for reading.
-TGZ

The Purpose of PLCs - Interpreted by a Singleton

This year was my first year in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and honestly I didn't enjoy it at all. Why you might ask? First, I was a middle school music educator, attending a high school hodgepodge PLC with an art teacher, TAG teacher, Technology/Teacher Librarian, a couple Spanish teachers, the instrumental music teacher, and the vocal music teacher. Now this may sound find and dandy, but let me tell you the struggles. First the culture was one of negativity, pessimism, and was deemed "The Island of Misfit Toys". Honestly, we were. It was rough. I'm typically a positive person, searching to stay on task with the task at hand and follow the norms. However, I found that we were talking about different topics, like HS standardized test scores or what to do with the HS's study hall?

How does this relate to what a PLC is supposed to be? It really doesn't. PLC's are designed to have content teams, grade alike teams, building teams, and others that share the same students to work through curriculum development, common formative assessment, and helping each other improve their instruction. Unfortunately I felt that it didn't work that way. The primary reason for this was because I was, what the faculty at Solution Tree called a "singleton". A singleton is an educator that is the only one that teaches their content with a specific grade level.

I have learned that being a singleton isn't really a bad thing, and to a degree doesn't really exist. I am the only one teacher middle school band/choir at my school, but that's okay because I should be able to collaborate with team members of either speciality content (district level music department), or one of the sessions considered using Skype and other technological tools to connect with teachers that have the same position.

My big take aways and hopes for this upcoming school year:
1. Meet as a music department and determine essential outcomes. In music there should be a PreK-12 curriculum, that is changed and altered to align with Common Core Standards created by the National Association for Music Education. These standards are shared to give us framework, a presence among our "core" content area teachers, and are flexible enough to be tailored to our instruction.

2. Once those essential outcomes are determined, why not work as a department on some common formative assessment. Music educators have data as well - if you look at my concert footage, or my lesson binder, you will be able to recognize students that are struggling and where I have attempted to put interventions in place. We should meet at our weekly or bimonthly meets to share out data and see if there are better ways to teach. I know, I know, we all struggle with putting ourselves out there for critique, but I, like many others need to step aside and let students be the driving force, the reason for what we teach.

3. I want to become more cross-curricular. Duh! Music is already an interdisciplinary course, why not use that to the students' advantage? I think a physics teacher should consult with a music teacher to talk about sound, perhaps the anatomy and physiology teacher could consult with a choir director about vocal help... and the list goes on and on.

After leaving the PLC institute today I felt a sense of clarity, a sense of fear, and a revived purpose for teaching. Clarity was given through learning about what the proper PLC process is supposed to be. Fear is because there will be push back. Purpose is my drive. This is the reason why I'm moving to Standards-Based Grading next year. I need to look at essential outcomes and learning targets, create assessments, and strive to allow students to grow as musicians and as students.

TGZ

At-Risk vs. Underserved

Today at the PLC Institute provided by Solution Tree, my thinking was challenged. When a teacher thinks about students that are labelled at-risk, what do they think of? Their home life? Mental Health?  Parental support? A slew of negative thoughts tend to rush to my head, then, I hate to admit it, but a groan may come out. Now I don't want my readers to get on their high horse and judge, but rather reflect. When Kenneth Williams asked the entire session to share with a partner something positive about those "at-risk" students you could hear the crickets chirp. However, after we listed characteristics of "at-risk" we then listed students deemed "underserved". Underserved students were categorized to be under the umbrella of special needs, ELL, and an array of other potential issues.

Now that you've thought about it... What's the difference? Students labeled "at-risk" are done so with a negative connotation... But think about it. How many of those factors can the students control? Very few to none, many would think. We can't control those either. Look at the underserved characteristics, how can we help those students. Through the use of carefully planned and structure interventions, the students that are underserved will have greater chances for success.

In other words, the reason for this post, was merely to share my soon to be altered thinking and my challenge readers to look at the students with the rough home lives, and stop making excuses for them. We can do this through helping them leave their worries at the door because they come to school to learn, to improve, to move forward in life. Helping students realize that they can shape their destiny is important. I came from a broken home, with divorce, and a slew of other issues, but I'm here because of my choices to improve and not make the same mistakes. Let's reach out and do the same for our underserved students. 

Shaping Sound Musicians - Ch. 4 "Assessment"

While working on my Capstone project I decided to continue reading Patricia O'Tool's, Shaping Sound Musicians. I've learned a lot so far and I'm not even through the chapter yet! I'm going to share some quotes and elaborate on personal feelings and ideas that relate to those quotes.

"Music teachers are good at assessing, but we need to improve at providing students with systematic feedback, involving students in assessing their own learning, and developing meaningful criteria for grades."

This hits the nail right on the head. I have found that I'm okay at identifying problems and assessing what students are doing well, or could improve, but I still struggle with providing that feedback in a meaningful way. I also, need to allow students to express their feelings in a way that they use music specific vocabulary and are sharing in a positive environment. In the past, I've had students perhaps say, "that sucked", or perhaps something that pointed out a specific student. While attempting to address that, I need to teach how to properly assess inward and outward.

Music courses are typically assessed through attendance, attitude, and behavior. Our focus should rather be gaining musical knowledge, growing as a performer, and performing with understanding.

This is a loosely taken and is a paraphrased quote, but it's a true statement. How do you assess a class that is performance oriented? Typically the practice has been to assess students on whether or not they were in rehearsal, trying their best, whether or not they had their instrument, and a slew of other factors. After thinking about this issue, the challenge is going to be assessing these important factors that help students remain successful in rehearsal, but also, making sure that that "grade" is effectively communicated with the parents. Typically, if the issue with the student's success is behavior, parents can be a driving force to help that behavior improve.

The second sentence refers to the content knowledge that students should be able to demonstrate. This is when Comprehensive Musicianship can help students and music educators make amazing music. The CMP project, is designed to prepare students for lifelong music making. This has been a something that can be achieved through standards-based grading. By using national standards, and the CMP project, music educators can develop a well-rounded curriculum, rigorous learning targets, and better musicians.

Assessment:

• Can serve as a means of advocacy
• Is imperative for recruitment of lifelong musicians
• Music can teacher concepts, skills, attitudes, and appreciation for basic human interaction
• Can demonstrate to students that they're growing as musicians and that they possess the skills and knowledge to develop musically throughout their lives

The first bullet point holds true for me. If you have high, yet achievable standards, then you'll have the potential better program, and a sense of community pride. Assessment provides opportunities that will give students the skills to make music for the rest of your life. These thoughts are pretty cool, thinking that assessing with students can help musicians perform better!

"Grading has posed many problems for ensemble directors. It has not been a part of the year culture of ensembles to collect "evidence of learning", but rather collect "evidence of participation"... "Letter grades can seem weighty and formidable, sometimes using a more casual system of feedback is less threatening and yields a better learning process."

As I shared above, we too often focus on behaviors rather than content knowledge. I believe that moving to a SBG framework, we can focus on music making, rather than behavior. Creating standards and learning targets that promote a focus on music will allow for music educators to do so much more! I'm excited to see what implementing SBG next year can hold. The letter grade can have an extremely negative stigma attached. In a podcast created Eric Townsley and Matt Townsley related to SBG, Matt brings up a great point, "What does the letter grade mean?" He gave a specific grading example, but nevertheless what does that letter grade mean? Even through the use of rubrics, does the letter grade (just the letter grade with a percentage) effectively communicate the knowledge possessed by a student and whether or not they can demonstrate their knowledge?

These are just simple musings, but they raise some really good questions - How do we effectively communicate how our students are doing in our courses? Are we assessing behavior or content knowledge?

Please feel free to check out the book - Shaping Sound Musicians by Patricia O'Tool and the Townsley podcast. 

Townsley, E., & Townsley, M. (2015, March 15). SBG Podcast. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from http://sbgpodcast.blogspot.com 

Toole, P. (2003). Shaping sound musicians: An innovative approach to teaching comprehensive musicianship through performance. Chicago, Ill.: GIA Publications.  

3rd Year Reflection

School has been out for a week for our students and a couple days for teachers and I have learned a lot in a very short amount of time. After an interesting first two years of teaching PreK-12 Vocal Music in a very rural district, I made the change to South Tama County Middle School to teach 5th grade general music, 6th - 8th grade bands, 5th - 8th grade lessons, and 7th & 8th grade choir. During this year there have been challenges but nothing more than someone should be able to handle. Here are a few things that I've accomplished and why they are necessary to a MS music education:

• Solo festivals - this year I brought back the solo festivals our school used to have. I have found that during this time students practiced more than usual, and gained some great insight from judges that were from a distance. As my first year in a more instrumental position, I learned that students will take the opportunity to grow with an accompanist and showcase their talent. Having judges that are specialists with a specific instrument group allows the teacher and the student to have a nice perspective on what helps create an ideal sound on any given instrument. I split and had 2 solo nights - 1 for 5th and 6th grade and 1 for 7th and 8th grade instrumentalists. Take aways - more communication, sooner. Work with solo repertoire more often and thank goodness I can play piano. It made helping students with their music that much easier.

• Variety Show - this year was the first year in a long time since a variety show has been put on at STC MS. At this event, I wanted to showcase students and their talents, and boy did we ever. I came up with the theme "Rock with You". This theme was based on a medley by the same name of Michael Jackson music. I originally gave the medley to the students... all 52 pages... and guess what?! They learned it all! Many other students that I had never heard sing a solo participated and were very successful. I think that this event featured anyone who needed a feature. I also thought - how can I get the other specialized courses involved in this event. I took the logical choice of Family and Consumer Science (FCS) and Art with us! It was a success! The Art Club created a great art show, featuring top notch work of 6th - 8th grade students and the FCS students created a great dessert reception.

Being in my last two terms as a graduate student I learned that my practices in grading haven't been the best. In the fine arts classroom, how do we assess students? We assess based on the ability to perform. That is why I'm making a change to Standards-Based Grading/Assessment (SBG). This summer I am creating assessments and rubrics that will help guide student assessment. Students will be able to demonstrate if they are achieving specific standards and learning targets. 

The struggle is real when talking about vocal music and SBG since I don't necessarily have a lesson book like I do for general and instrumental music. I will be doing a lot of sight-singing, composing, teaching music theory, and creating more competent singers. I appreciate that my students have given me the opportunity to teach so far and push them to learn different pieces and have success with those.

Changes for next year:

• Vocal Festivals - Real Men Sing at Wartburg College, and OPUS honor choir auditions
• Honor Bands - NEIBA, Marion, and Five Seasons
• 2 Solo nights again 
• Variety Show

More information to come, off to relax, research, and improve. Have a great weekend everyone! 

A Jazz WebQuest

It's post concert series and now I get to look forward to my unit about jazz music. I had to design this WebQuest for a graduate course at Kent State (my online program) and found it actually a lot of fun to do!

1. The Link - https://sites.google.com/a/kent.edu/jazzwebquest/

The first page shows jazz greats Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. The students are split into groups and allowed to pick a jazz artist, however they cannot duplicate which artist they want to research. Since we're from Iowa I try to suggest Glen Miller, or even Benny Goodman from Illinois, but a mean jazz clarinet player.

After those artists are picked it was time to go into the next step of the project. I had originally planned to use Google Slides, however my students don't currently have access to that, so I decided to meet with our teacher library Dixie Forcht - (follow her @dixieforcht) to discuss other options. One of these options went from GarageBand, but from there we decided on using iMovie. The students' new task is now to create a movie trailer based on their jazz artist. They are to speak as though they are the producer/director of this film and they will be presenting the information requested in great detail.

That being said I'm working with the students to save their notes through Google Docs, so they may share them with their classmates, so they can access them whenever they need them.

The biography sections requires the family history of the artist. Where are they from? What's their birthday day? Did they have siblings? What other things may they have done?

The next section requires the students to research the instrument that their performer used. What can they tell their peers about it? Was it typically used for jazz band/concert band/orchestra? Also, mind blowing enough, the voice is an instrument! What kind of style do they use? What's Ella Fitzgerald doing? Scatting of course!

The last section requires the students to obtain a video of their performer. Since I'm not exactly sure what is available through TeacherTube, my goal is to have students conference with me about the different pieces and research that specific piece. Where was it recorded? What instruments are included? What makes it unique?

The first time I did this project I had a wonderful teaching moment. I had a group choose Billie Holiday. As many of you know, Lady Day, had well, a colorful past and also some heart wrenching songs to be sung/heard. This group choose the piece Strange Fruit. Now I wanted to see how this tiny school's students would take a piece like this so I allowed it. Eventually a student in the group approached me and asked in greater detail what it was about. This student was African American. The race typically wouldn't matter, unless you were researching this piece. Strange Fruit is a song, sung about "strange fruit" hanging from a tree. Yes a tree. Meaning this had to do with the hanging of members of the black culture. Dang! Right?! To top it off, she sang that in prominent jazz clubs as a black performer to a bunch of white aristocrats. The room feel silent. This was a powerful moment, because we can look at the historical importance of this piece and this event to see where we've come from and how we're still growing as a society.

While students are finding their facts, they will be citing their sources in an MLA format with the help of Ms. Forcht.

The last portion is a self reflection. This allows members of a group to be completely honest with themselves and about their peers. I hope that we have the same results this time around.

The trailers will feature music by the artist and the movie talks with allow the students to see how they could portray the life and times of the performers.

Feel free to comment/share/ask questions. I'll be making changes to this over the summer!

Thanks - Travis @traviszinnel

Developing Standards-Based Report Cards

Thanks to an administrator that has a great deal of educational literature I was able to get my hands on the book, Developing Standards-Based Report Cards by Thomas R. Guskey and Jane M. Bailey. As I'm reading I'm trying to remain open minded about a lot of things; for instance, the use of points and what those points really mean, and how standards-based grading can become a more accurate reporting system from teachers to parents?

So I've only just begun reading the book, but I feel I need to make some major notes and refer to a lot of the author's ideas. This just allows me to better organize my thoughts and my rambling before I write my program design and review of literature. Guskey and Bailey give educators some great guiding premises that I feel need to be discussed or at least pointed out:

1. Developing a standards-based report card is primarily a challenge in effective communication.
2. Accurate interpretation is the key element in effective communication
3. Consistency is essential to accurate interpretation
4. Developing a successful report card involves a series of trade-offs
5. Report cards should be descriptive, not restrictive
6. No report card is perfect
7. Developing a standards-based report card requires teamwork, broad involvement, and initial training or study.

All of these thoughts are great, but are a bit a overwhelming to start. The first two premises talked about communication and this is truly a key component of adequate and effective assessment. I'm looking forward to educating my students and parents about what our students are expected to learn and how they should be able to demonstrate that learning. With this type of grading I feel that I will be making a bunch of rubrics, but that's okay - it will hold the students accountable... but it will also hold me accountable. I'm sure that I, like many teachers early in their careers, fudge the lines and give scores that aren't because of content knowledge, but because they try hard. Yeah we mean well, but by giving the score they achieve/earn will allow the rubric to help the student see the work expected and how they can show what they know.

Number 5 - descriptive, not restrictive means that as educators our jobs are to teach our content, assess that learning has taken place, and communicate that with parents. In music our standard could relate to singing a melody on pitch without accompaniment. The student can meet the standard a majority of the time, but has tendencies to go perhaps under or over the pitch. That is where our rubric and grade reports can show parents specifically why the student achieved which score.

Number 6 allows us to be human. No matter how we try to develop the perfect assessment and the perfect report card we just can't. On the plus side, knowing this helps us strive for perfection, which in theory should help our students and our instruction. 

Thanks for reading this musings! Chapter 2 will be coming soon. Please consider following me on social media - @traviszinnel on Twitter. I would appreciate any followers and any insight in SBG and other grading practices. 

Guskey, T., & Bailey, J. (2010). Developing standards-based report cards. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin.