Student-Led Performances

Below are the resulting performances after our 6 weeks of Student-Led Rehearsals. Each ensemble selected their pieces from a short list of appropriate level music literature. Once selected, students needed to navigate how rehearsals would be run and make collective musical decisions in order to be ready to perform each piece for our Winter Band Concert on December 12, 2018.

Although the list of challenges has been great, my band director heart is so full from hearing the musical progress these students made on these pieces. A full write-up based on our experiences both from the student and director perspectives are forthcoming.

SCHS Concert Band- Beyond the Highlands, Benjamin Yeo

SCHS Symphony Band- Albanian Dance, Shelley Hanson

SCHS Wind Ensemble- Queen City March, W. H. Boorn/arr. Lafferty

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Innovator's Mindset in the Band Room: Student-Led Rehearsals

It all started when this happened... George Couros came to Rochester Community Schools yesterday, inspiring hundreds of teachers in his wake. If you are not familiar with George Couros (@gcouros), he is the author of the widely recognized, highly regarded educational manifesto entitled "The Innovator's Mindset" as well regularly writing on his blog, The Principle of Change . There are many aspects of the "Innovator's Mindset" that I find appealing. We agree on many, many points: the power of positive connections, cultivating passion, and the need for teachers to give students space and voice to take charge of their learning. This tweet though, sums it up for me: When you have a compelling reason, you can learn ANYTHING. #RCSInnovate — Kristine Balinski (@MathTeacherMrsB) November 5, 2018 If students have a compelling reason to connect, they will put in the work. Teachers are the resource, students direct their own learning. As educators, espec...

Student-Led Rehearsals: Student Feedback

So...what did students think of our Student-Led Rehearsals? Wind Ensemble (1st hour; Audition-Only Group) Generally speaking, Student-Led Rehearsals well-received in this ensemble. Many students expressed appreciation at building teamwork, and felt the topics they rehearsed "stuck" more quickly when they were able to direct their own learning. They also expressed a heightened accountability to self and one another, deeper engagement, and enjoyed giving/receiving constructive feedback to one another in respectful ways. Frustrations included lack of organization/unclear goals, time management concerns, starting/establishing procedures, and wanting more rehearsal time. Question: Where did you hear our efforts pay off? Question: Was there a difference between Student-Led and Director-Led Rehearsals? If so, what? Question: Was there anything challenging about Student-Led Rehearsals? Question: What are some of the ways we can improve rehearsals, no matter who is leadin...

Student-Led Rehearsals Day 1: Identifying Potential Problems

Today I introduced the task at hand: Each class will be selecting, as a group, one piece to perform for our Winter Concert-- without my direction. The Goal: To perform this piece to the best of our ability; to make it "YouTube"/Social Media worthy, something that everyone at the end of the experience would be proud to share with their friends and social circle. Surprisingly, it did not scare them as much as it does me. But, I did see my fair share of skeptical eye rolls. The first step towards our goal was to identify possible problems/roadblocks in accomplishing our goal. Each class was asked to create a list on the board of potential challenges we may face before we begin. It was very interesting to observe the dynamic of each class as they navigated even this first step, communicating with one another to complete their list. Sometimes, they chose to continue the "teacher/student" paradigm where one person wrote on the board and called out to others with their...

Notes from the Cougar Band Room

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