1-I observed Desiree VanZee's 8th grade orchestra at Chief Joseph Middle School in a rehearsal
2-Ms. VanZee has her students very well trained to respond to her signals to be quiet. In order to remedy some common classroom problems she had a poster hanging in her classroom to explain the procedure for getting a drink, going to the bathroom, taking care of forgotten music, ect. This saves her a lot of time in class!
3-I really liked how she started off her class with working on rhythm. Rhythmic accuracy is a life-long musical goal. I thought it was great that she approached the learning of the rhythm in a way the promoted a subdivision of the 8th note.
4- I thought that the students were playing a nice variety of repertoire. It is obvious that Ms. Vanzee has gone through all of the parts and has very clear ideas of how to articulate the solutions to technical problems.
5-I think the biggest thing I am struck by is the large disparity of abilities by students in the ensemble. This is one of the things I am most concerned about-challenging students so they aren't board but not over-whelming students who are struggling. There are obviously students in this ensemble whose technique is not up to par with other students. I wonder how much these students are getting out of orchestra compared to students that are more confident on their part.
Good observation. I like how positive you are in describing her teaching. The balancing act between providing challenge to those advanced students while not overwhelming those that are less proficient is tricky. Ultimately it takes some trial and error to determine what works best. For the short term, the best thing to do is find music that is rewarding on several different levels so that everyone enjoys some piece of the bigger success. Good writing really does make a big difference!
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