What advice about teaching can new music educators share with each other?
Comments: 5
#5
Amy Beegle(Monday, 20 November 2017 07:30)
My advice is to find a good mentor to meet with on a regular basis. Preferably, someone who has been around long enough to have a good understanding of administration, teachers, and students in your
building(s). If the mentor is complaining more than you are, find a new mentor. Keep in touch with other music educators. Attend lots of professional development workshops!
#4
Patrick Ware(Monday, 20 November 2017 06:51)
As I read this question I don't have much credibility here. I am so far from being a new teacher. I can tell you all of the things that other have said (and that I agree with) but I believe this
question is about those of you teaching in your first years talking to other in their first years.
So, all I will say on this is, follow the basic premise of the question. New teachers, get out of your room, get out of your head and go talk to others. Laugh together, cry together, share a meal and
commiserate. Share what's working and what's not. It does sound different coming from someone in your shoes versus someone has has been in your shoes.
#3
Sarah Joncas(Monday, 13 November 2017 15:16)
My advice to new music educators is to keep trying and keep learning. If a lesson does not work the way that you planned, change it! Ask for help - I have never had a colleague or administrator
refuse to help me or connect me with someone who could help. Teaching is a continual process of improvement. I am in my third year of teaching and I know that I still have a lot to learn. Go to
workshops, attend conferences, take Orff levels and other trainings, and learn from everything and everyone you can. Talk to other teachers and adults in the building, as there are a wealth of
resources in every school. Some of my best teaching ideas have come from classroom teachers and support specialists like speech and occupational therapists.
My other advice would be to have fun with students. We are so lucky to get to share music with our students! It is absolutely okay - maybe even necessary - to include some musical activities for the
purpose of bringing joy to your classroom. It is possible to connect really fun songs to standards and curriculum. Remember why you got started in music, and try to bring that passion into the
classroom.
#2
Lisa Leach(Monday, 13 November 2017 13:03)
Great advice Megann,
When we come to teaching in the role of learner, we are more comfortable with "Failure." It's simply an experiment that didn't work. I advise new teachers to find time to observe other teachers, even
if it isn't possible to observe other music teachers. There is so much to learn by watching. How does that teacher handle transitions? What levels of noise are productive? How do students grapple
with big ideas?
#1
Megann Sala(Monday, 06 November 2017 22:38)
My advice for new music educators is to try and be observed by a fellow music educator or a previous teaching advisor within the first quarter. Observations, though they can be stressful, are the
best way for improvement. Most of the time music teachers in Hawaiʻi are their own team, meaning they don't have other music teachers at their school to bounce ideas off of. By having a trusted
colleague to give you advice, you not only are better for the students but you get more comfortable with others watching you work.
A great example of this is when my advisor from college observed me at my current school. She noticed that I would have to step around students who were sitting on the floor to interact with the
whiteboard. She suggested something as small as changing their seating from three rows to one long arch and it made a load of a difference! Without her advice I would've still been stepping over
kids. I probably would have gotten to that idea by the third quarter but having that feedback early in the year can make the rest of the time more productive.
Amy Beegle (Monday, 20 November 2017 07:30)
My advice is to find a good mentor to meet with on a regular basis. Preferably, someone who has been around long enough to have a good understanding of administration, teachers, and students in your building(s). If the mentor is complaining more than you are, find a new mentor. Keep in touch with other music educators. Attend lots of professional development workshops!
Patrick Ware (Monday, 20 November 2017 06:51)
As I read this question I don't have much credibility here. I am so far from being a new teacher. I can tell you all of the things that other have said (and that I agree with) but I believe this question is about those of you teaching in your first years talking to other in their first years.
So, all I will say on this is, follow the basic premise of the question. New teachers, get out of your room, get out of your head and go talk to others. Laugh together, cry together, share a meal and commiserate. Share what's working and what's not. It does sound different coming from someone in your shoes versus someone has has been in your shoes.
Sarah Joncas (Monday, 13 November 2017 15:16)
My advice to new music educators is to keep trying and keep learning. If a lesson does not work the way that you planned, change it! Ask for help - I have never had a colleague or administrator refuse to help me or connect me with someone who could help. Teaching is a continual process of improvement. I am in my third year of teaching and I know that I still have a lot to learn. Go to workshops, attend conferences, take Orff levels and other trainings, and learn from everything and everyone you can. Talk to other teachers and adults in the building, as there are a wealth of resources in every school. Some of my best teaching ideas have come from classroom teachers and support specialists like speech and occupational therapists.
My other advice would be to have fun with students. We are so lucky to get to share music with our students! It is absolutely okay - maybe even necessary - to include some musical activities for the purpose of bringing joy to your classroom. It is possible to connect really fun songs to standards and curriculum. Remember why you got started in music, and try to bring that passion into the classroom.
Lisa Leach (Monday, 13 November 2017 13:03)
Great advice Megann,
When we come to teaching in the role of learner, we are more comfortable with "Failure." It's simply an experiment that didn't work. I advise new teachers to find time to observe other teachers, even if it isn't possible to observe other music teachers. There is so much to learn by watching. How does that teacher handle transitions? What levels of noise are productive? How do students grapple with big ideas?
Megann Sala (Monday, 06 November 2017 22:38)
My advice for new music educators is to try and be observed by a fellow music educator or a previous teaching advisor within the first quarter. Observations, though they can be stressful, are the best way for improvement. Most of the time music teachers in Hawaiʻi are their own team, meaning they don't have other music teachers at their school to bounce ideas off of. By having a trusted colleague to give you advice, you not only are better for the students but you get more comfortable with others watching you work.
A great example of this is when my advisor from college observed me at my current school. She noticed that I would have to step around students who were sitting on the floor to interact with the whiteboard. She suggested something as small as changing their seating from three rows to one long arch and it made a load of a difference! Without her advice I would've still been stepping over kids. I probably would have gotten to that idea by the third quarter but having that feedback early in the year can make the rest of the time more productive.