A large portion of my job as an orchestra teacher is helping my students understand where they are and where they are able to improve. By allowing them to make mistakes and accept that this is where they are RIGHT NOW, then helping them find a path to improvement, they take ownership of what they are doing and are so much more likely to follow up.
I love the rubrics and would like to figure out a way to modify them to fit my needs in the classroom. Reflection is one of my weakest spots, so opportunities to improve on that are welcome. One way I have done this in the past is by having students set a learning goal at the beginning of the semester, and then at the end of the semester, I give them their goal sheet back for review. I can expand on this by giving goal reminders multiple times throughout the semester. This way, if they have already reached their goal, they have the opportunity to set a new one. If they are still working towards their goal, they have a reminder and can reevaluate where they are.
By reminding students that they are on a constant road of progress instead of making everything about passing or failing, we give them a chance to learn from their mistakes and grow. A growth mindset can be much healthier and much more opportunistic for students.
Hi Kelsey,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking time to watch the Dweck video and to review the New Tech middle school student agency rubrics. I am glad that these were applicable to you and the growth mindset you are promoting in your orchestra program. I agree whole heartedly with you that providing students with acceptance for where they currently are with their skills playing their instrument while also seeing the ways they can improve, and providing support to get there is what middle school in any subject or field should be about. I am glad that you are considering the rubrics for use in your orchestra classes and I agree that modifying them using the language / terminology you use with your students will help them take ownership over them. I like your idea for structuring reflection into your class through learning goals. One way we've done this at Furman is by having a required beginning goal setting reflection due at the beginning of the semester and a reflection and revisiting of the goals to determine how you did and what you need to adjust/improve on at the end of the semester. In the orchestra class you could do this as part of a quick write in class or even better as part of a recording they do in their playing tests.
Thanks,
Dawn