If a math teacher knew what 2+2 equaled, but had not idea of the concepts and equations of advanced algebra or calculus, would it be acceptable for him or her to step into high school math and teach the course? Every teacher has the expectation of knowing the content they are responsible for when stepping into the classroom. Being an organized professional will only carry an individual so far, but without the knowledge and the understanding of concepts that are vital for the classroom, the teacher will only hold the students back. It is even more important to present as many concepts to the students, while they are in the classroom, as possible. Teaching students music through musical experiences, like singing, playing instruments, dances, etc. is the most effective way for a solid grasp of musical concepts in the classroom. Concepts, such as (but not limited to), pitch, duration, form, and expressive elements should be related to the students based upon their age and grade.
Rationale: These two artifacts are from my theory form and analysis class. For the first assignment, I analyzed a piece by Franz Schubert entitled, "Der Leiermann". The second assignment is a short answer essay relating theory concepts to human emotions. These two artifacts demonstrate by learning of Principle 1 through my ability to provide a harmonic analysis of a piece and to relate the analysis of a piece to human expression.
Artifact:
Textbook Review Paper (An analysis of an elementary textbook for Elementary Methods)
Rationale: Above is my Textbook Review Assignment that I completed for my Elementary Methods course. For this assignment I analyzed various parts of the textbook, from content to planning, and wrote a review about how I felt that it would or would not be helpful to the music teacher. This artifact demonstrates my learning of Principle 1 through my ability to analyze information and the central concepts of the textbook and reflect on how they apply to the discipline I will be teaching in.
Rationale: The two artifacts above are from my music history classes at Ball State University. I was required in the first essay to explore two movements of the Credo in Johann Sebastian Bach's B-Minor Mass and prove a history of the composer, the piece, and a music analysis of the two sections. The second essay was designed to explore the musical history of African American Composers throughout history and relate their struggles of race and their works of music. This artifact demonstrates my learning of Principle 1 through the research and knowledge gained of music history while completing these two assignements.
Rationale: The above link is to the NAfME website's page on the National Standards for Music Education. The page goes into detail of each standard and also gives a breakdown by grade level. There is also a farther break down of the application of each standard to the performance classroom. I put this resource on this page because it is invaluable to any music educator to have these standards with them at all times while in the field. If a teacher is dedicated to the National Standards, the students will learn many of the musical concepts they will need to succeed in their music careers.