Week 5 Discussion

As I read through this week’s chapter readings and listened to the lecture I had an “oh yeah” moment as soon as backward design was mentioned. This is not a new concept for me but it is a concept I do not use as much as I should in my teaching and planning. I also connected with the curriculum priorities and how to figure out what to really teach and what material to just go over. I also enjoyed reading the section on assessment and how to use technology to complete this assessment.
The idea of backward design, like I mentioned, is not a new concept for me, but it is a concept I have forgotten to use in my daily teaching and planning. Backward design has three steps; learning outcomes, means of assessment, and activities and instructional procedures (Bauer, 2014). For instance, in my first grade classroom the students are expected to be able to play quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter rest by the end of first grade. From this learning outcome, I can plan how I want to assess if they have achieved their goals. After I have figured out my assessments I can plan actual lessons and how I am going to get the students to learn the material. I think this backward design is so effective and I am slightly disappointed I do not use it as much in my planning. Though I use a curriculum map that I have created in my general music classes, I do not but much thought into the assessment and working towards the assessment as much as I should to be effective.
I loved the curriculum priorities diagram that was displayed on the lecture. This is something I really related to as a K-4 general music teacher. There are so many standards in the state of ohio that I am supposed to hit in each grade. Some of those standards I do not feel are priorities, such as how to be a good audience member. Now, being a good audience member is important for students to know, but it is not a priority like learning to keep a steady beat is. Below is a picture of that curriculum diagram because I think it was such a great tool to consider.


The last thing I really enjoyed from this reading was the section on how to use technology in assessment. In my general music class I use a lot of check lists and rubrics. The biggest issue I have with assessment is having time to test all two hundred students within one week and then respond to all two hundred students so they have constructive criticism so they can improve. By using technology, I can use online tests that could grade the tests automatically and offer feedback immediately. I also think using something like a Google form would also help me keep track of the assessment for each student. At this moment, I use paper and pencil to keep track of all of these assessments, but I would love to move it all online. I have been hesitant in moving my assessment online because I do have younger students who I do not trust with the technology. Through the last few weeks though I have realized by students are better at technology then I give them credit for. They are able to navigate through a ton of technology pretty well. The other thing I am hesitant on is taking the time to get the Ipad cart, have the students log in, and complete the assessment. This is where I think if I use the backward design module I could get ahead of my teaching and be more prepared. If I know I am going to assess them through a Google form I can preplan when I need the cart, how the students need to log in, and how they are going to complete the assessment.

Reference:

Bauer, W. (2014). music learning today: digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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