(1) designs major assessments that reflect course outcomes and posts them at the start of each trimester
(2) designs assignments to be graded and returned in a feedback cycle of seven calendar days
(3) ensures the number of assignments in each course is neither excessive nor deficient — providing appropriate time for quality student performance and meaningful teacher feedback
I understand the function of assessment as a tool to evaluate what the student knows. Course outcomes for choir courses at all levels include four parts: improved ability in using the voice as an instrument, improved critical listening skills, improved performance skills, and improved ability to read and interpret music notation. Being a performance based class, students show me what they know continually throughout our time together, and I am able to evaluate their learning with my ears. Therefore, my assessment practice in the music classroom is largely formative. Music rehearsals, as describe in the Pedagogical Practice section, are an excellent example of formative assessment at work. I am closely familiar with what the students can do, and where they stand with the content in our overall arc of the trimester.
As such, the major summative assessment in my courses is typically the concert at the end of the trimester where the students demonstrate the content and skill that they have developed in the previous term (1). Their work is evaluated through my ears, their ears and memories of the concert, through a post-concert reflection conversation (Prof-8) and celebration where we watch a video and discuss what went well, what we did not achieve, and any other relevant insights to the previous night’s work. It can take real effort to drag ourselves to school the day after a concert, but the recent memories and adrenaline from performing allow us to have meaningful conversations, learn, console and celebrate over doughnuts. Other MA’s, depending on the term, may include a music theory assessment, or a written reflection on the concert.
One of my goals for my teaching practice is to figure out a sustainable way of incorporating more theory in to our classes, which would lend its self well to more summative assessments throughout the course. I have tried a few different models and the one that is currently working in online teaching is Theory Thursday – every Thursday I present background on something, concrete steps on how it works, and then the students have class time or homework to do practice problems. In 2018-19 school year Dr. Castro and I adopted a different model as a way of introducing regular theory content in our zero period courses. The students of the two classes were divided according to skill level in to two tracks. Each track met separately on Fridays. Prof-7 is the outline for the MA for Unit 1. Being music students with varying backgrounds there is a large difference in prior knowledge in all of our classes, so this allowed us to better teach to skill level and design appropriate assessments. Ultimately we were not able to continue this model because coordinating between the two classes was challenging.
At the beginning of this process when the PDP was an idea that stood in the future, I had concerns that it would be designed for a classroom that didn’t look like mine. I have been pleased throughout this process that I have found no shortage of material with which to respond to the many facets chosen here to define effective teaching. I have enjoyed this reflective process and getting the opportunity to refine my articulation of my teaching practices. The third indicator values a variable number of assessments that are designed to allow students time to perform and teachers time to provide feedback. The presence of constant, rich, formative assessment with input from students and the teacher decreases the need for daily or weekly homework, or, summative assessment to provide the role of allowing time for performance and feedback (2, 3). That happens consistently throughout a rehearsal. It is literally what a rehearsal is.
Through online teaching this spring, I have had to alter this model towards more assessment and it has reinforced the value of holding students more personally accountable for material both theoretical and performance based. I think my classes only stand to improve from better structuring a theoretical curriculum with summative assessments that support individual acquisition of content. I also know that sometimes music teachers, in order to look more like other subjects, place a lot of value in this type of easily quantifiable work in the music classroom. Our model of trimester based classes does not lend itself to developing a long term skill set or body of content, so in the trimester long classes I tend to focus more on the human element of learning – the actions, doing, performing, listening, reflecting. These things are hard to quantify in a summative assessment model. I will continue to work toward a balance that feels meaningful for student learning in the choir classroom.
Good work