In a Large Musical Classroom

Individual Assessments

How are we measuring individual student performance?

Are some students getting lost in the large band class setting and not learning?

Introduction

It can be far too easy for a performance-based class, like music, to become solely engulfed by the goal of the next concert or contest and forget to focus on the education.

Attendance and participation should be valued, but music educators need to know students are learning something too.

Grades assigned in music classes are mostly based on attendance and behavior.

“Researchers have found that fine arts teachers in the United States, in general, tend to favor basing student grades on non-achievement criteria, such as attendance , behavior, and participation,” (Conway, Pellegrino & Russell).

“As a new teacher, I didn’t form much of a system for assessing my students, or setting any type of standard for them to reach. If I liked the kid and they played well, they got an A. If I didn’t like them, they got something else. This, of course, didn’t work very well and my students didn’t learn much aside from how to play their festival music,” (Blake).

Literature Review

Effective assessment

“Effective assessment should hold students accountable for their individual performances. It is my position that it is vital that students be evaluated individually within a group. Individual assessment allows each student to:a. Perceive his/her own growth and worth;b. Become personally accountable;c. Become aware of his/her personal contribution to the group (It's all too easy for a third clarinet player or a tiny-voiced second soprano to escape the director's attention);d. Assess his/her personal development as a musician.”

-Lillian

“For assessment to be effective it is first important to identify what information or skill is to be learned. Setting clear learning goals and objectives makes the job of assessment easier, and the assessment itself more effective,” (Antmann).

Literature Review

Students should have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, be able to track their accomplishments, and know how they will be graded.

“Research in measuring the feedback provided to students in relationship to what the teachers ask of the students indicates that, during the vast majority of rehearsals, students have no way of knowing whether they are accomplishing what is expected of them,” (Goolsby).

“Teachers have noted that a particularly valuable result of individual assessment within a group is improved discipline. Student musicians become more aware of and seem more likely to be responsible for their own actions… both musically and behaviorally,” (Killian).

Literature Review

The purpose of my study is to increase student accountability and growth in the music classroom by implementing individual performance assessments, written assessments, and grades based on student content knowledge and improvement, not solely on participation and attendance.

Purpose Statement

Research Questions

Data Source 1 Data Source 2 Data Source 3

How are one-on-one assessments improving student growth?

Pre-Assessments &Post-Assessments-Written-Performance

Student Surveys Video Recordings &Observations

Is there enough time to devote to one-on-one playing assessments?

Teacher & Administration Surveys

Student Surveys Reflection & Self Organization

Are assessments at appropriate knowledge level and pace?

Assessment Progress & Scores

Student Surveys Observations

How are one-on-one assessments improving group performance and behavior?

Difficulty Level of the Large Ensemble Music

Contest & Festivals

Video Recordings &Observations

Research Question Data matrix

One-on-One Performance AssessmentsWritten Content Knowledge TestsStudent SurveysParent SurveyAdministration & Teacher SurveysVideo RecordingsObservationsContest & Festival Scores

Possible Data Collection

Written Theory History Vocabulary Concepts of

Musical TechniquePerformance test

Scales and Arpeggios

Small Segment of Current Music for Large Ensemble

Rhythm

Individual Assessment Strategies

•Assessments every three weeks•Two weeks for students to study and practice•Dedicated time near end of class period for the class to work on written portion, while one-on-one performance assessments are taking place.•Students will be provided a rubric for how the are graded in the class and performance tests, as to provide clear expectations.•All written and performance assessments will be kept in a student managed portfolio to enable them to track their own progress.

StudentsAdministration and facultyOther music faculty

Potential Team Members

How to best structure individual assessments in a large group class.

How to provide my students with individual instruction time.

How individual assessment effects student accountability.

If individual assessments improve the group as a whole.

Closing Statement: What I Hope to Learn

Antmann, M. (2007). Assessment and grading in the beginning band classroom (Unpublished master's thesis). Florida State University. Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/etd/224/

Asmus, E. P. (1999). Music assessment concepts. Music Educators Journal, 82(2), 19-24. Retrieved November 28, 2015, from https://www-jstor-org.glacier.sou.edu/stable/3399585?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Blake, D. (2008). Banddirector.com. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.banddirector.com/article/home-page-articles/assessment-in-band?resourcelibrary=1

Goolsby, T. W. (1999). Assessment in instrumental music. Music Educators Journal, 86(2), 31-35, 50. Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3399587?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Kancianic, P. M. (2006). Classroom assessment in U.S. high school band programs: Methods, purposes, and influneces (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Maryland. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/3706/umi-umd-3521.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Killian, J. N. (n.d.). Assessment in music performing groups: Some practical suggestions [Scholarly project]. In University of South Florida School of Music. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://music.arts.usf.edu/smef/art-jk.htmPellegrino ,

K., Conway, C. M., & Russell, J. A. (2015). Music Educators Journal, 102(1), 48-55. Retrieved October 17, 2015, from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.glacier.sou.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=8&sid=ff964a3a-7d1c-4ba8-a5eb-f688b6ef5964%40sessionmgr115&hid=110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=mah&AN=109194395

Staley, C. (2105). Tracking student growth through assessment. Illinois Music Educator, 76(1), 54-54. Retrieved October 17, 2015, from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.glacier.sou.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=ff964a3a-7d1c-4ba8-a5eb-f688b6ef5964%40sessionmgr115&vid=12&hid=110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=109452241&db=mah

Wesolowski, B. C. (2015). Tracking student achievement in music performance. Music Educators Journal, 102(1), 39-47. Retrieved October 17, 2105, from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.glacier.sou.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=11&sid=ff964a3a-7d1c-4ba8-a5eb-f688b6ef5964%40sessionmgr115&hid=110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=mah&AN=109194392

References