Archives Home 2008 April My Links Soundclick - Artist Community Percussive Arts Society Education Resource Page Palmetto Records KoSA Percussion Instruments Latin Percussion TOCA Percussion Drum Corps International tBlog My Profile Send tMail My tFriends My Images
Sponsored Blog
Teaching Philosophy
04.29.08 (2:37 pm) [edit ]
I am Alfredo Guzman an am currently finishing my degree in Music Education at West Texas A&M University. As a future educator I have had the opportunity to work with high school and middle school students providing me with experience I have found useful as i continue my education. From my own personal experiences as a student and an instructor, I find that many times students feel "sub-par" and discouraged to continue playing music. Anyone who decides to play an instrument initially wants to make music, this is what we need to feed on as educators and allow for learning to take place through exposure. Kids are curious and if you can strike their interest they will put forth the efforts to achieve what they want to achieve. Learning is a natural activity; we are engaged in learning without fully being aware that we are actively thinking and storing information of our environment and it's details.
0 Comments
Website Evaluation #1
04.27.08 (11:40 pm) [edit ]
I. Name of Website:
Official Latin Percussion Website: The inner circle. Are you In?
II. Web Site Address:
http://www.lpmusic.com
III. Copyright date and/or last update:
© Latin Percussion, 2007, A Division of KMC, All
Rights Reserved - Latin Percussion: World's leading manufacturer of percussion instruments including congas, bongos, timbales, cowbells.
IV. Author/organization credentials:
Website Producer: Marcia Stevenson, Latin Percussion is a company owned and operated By Percussionist Martin Cohen. Sponsor of many of the worlds most recognized percussionist from pop to rock, and educators of world percussion.
V. Web site design and Ease of navigation:
Once you enter this web page it seems like there isn’t much to browse through. However, once you’ve found the menu bar that runs across the top pf the page you will find collapsible menus that lead you to many other pages on this web space. The quickest way for any first time browser is to view the site map directory to fully grasp the contents of this web site. The navigation of the website isn’t difficult at all. The main scroll of menus remains at the top of every page for easy access to the entire site. The color scheme and layout of the site is very innovative and strike me as very inviting to observe the site. Anyone can find any video from pandeiro technique to tuning cowbells on this page. The availability of these resources is scarce o find but here on this website any teacher or students can browse the child safe content and learn about instruments from around the world, and also how to play them authentically, with a lesson from a native of that culture or heritage. This site can compliment any lesson having to do with world music, or music from other countries or cultures, at literally the click of a mouse.
VI. Response and Recommendation for use:
Often times it is rear you have a train musical instructor in your school who has experience performing ethnic instruments of music from other countries. However, there is a remedy for our students, this web page. The list of educators recognized by LP Percussion is a tribute to the effort this company makes to provide information for educators and students to accelerate their studies and enjoyment of music. For any educator especially in the elementary music area of teaching, this site has great resources for classroom activities and lesson ideas, as well as the links to their product inventory so you may furnish your classroom with appropriate instruments for you instruction plans. Now for the performer/educator, this site also contains a calendar of events around the country of clinics and master classes for continuing education of anyone interested. Also, a final note: In the instance when in a classroom situation a student has a language barrier such as primarily speaks Spanish. This site allows a person who primarily speaks Spanish, to be able to enjoy all the benefits of this page by simply clicking on a link that translates all the pages to Spanish, how convenient.
0 Comments
Website Evaluation #2
04.27.08 (11:39 pm) [edit ]
I. Name of Website:
YAMAHA, Corporation of America – Percussion Instruments
II. Web Site Address:
http://www.yamaha.com/educati...
III. Copyright date and/or last update:
© 2008 Yamaha Corporation of America. All rights
reserved.
IV. Author/organization credentials:
Not Available; Yamaha is a leading provider and Sponsor of the organizations that Promote the education of Young Musician around the World
V. Web site design and Ease of navigation:
Once you have reached the Music Education Webpage provided by Yamaha, you will find the site is very neatly layer. The links are compiled by topic and are labeled very accurately. The site has a menu which contains link to all the latest in news, products, internships, spotlights, and much more all specifically labeled off this page. The site material is appropriate for anyone who may come across this page. However it’s use is designed more for the educator or a person who may have more experience with internet browsing. The links are direct for the most part and lead the person surfing to other pages in some instance which may require you to surf a different web page away from Yamaha. All the while you have instant one-click access to the other departments of Yamaha, including the stereo/audio, service and support, artist and others, at the top of every page you visit.
VI. Response and Recommendation for use:
Based on my past use of this site I have come to appreciate the information this site offers. The links to articles in education contain interesting stories of success and new techniques in pedagogy. In the ’Tips from the Pros” page you will find a long list of lessons presented by some of the best drummers around today, and from other professors at leading schools of music. The amount of material available to the music educator’s disposal is quite a lot, and it is simply foolish to not take advantage of the free resource Yamaha is providing for educational use. Once you have viewed all that this site has to offer , your bookmark folder should contain sufficient links to other credible sites that offer useful information ranging from pedagogy resources to information on where to locate local retailers.
0 Comments
Website Evaluation #3
04.27.08 (11:33 pm) [edit ]
I. Name of Website:
Percussive Arts Society: Home
II. Web Site Address:
http://www.pasic.org
III. Copyright date and/or last update:
Site contents © Percussive Arts Society PAS and PASIC are registered Trademarks of the Percussive Arts Society.
IV. Author/organization credentials:
Graphic Designer Hillary Henry; Support Services Larry Moore – With over 30 years as the leading source for education in percussive education from Middle School to Doctoral and professional pedagogy, Percussive Arts Society is an organization comprised of University Percussion Professors (Retired/Active), Professional Performers, Educators and Students, all actively participating to enjoy and advance the art of music.
V. Web site design and Ease of navigation:
The sleek design of this website is fairly easy. The links on the home page are direct links to their page on the website. The once on the other pages you find that there is more easy of navigation. The options are laid out with direct links to specific topics or tools available on this site. Optional membership gives you access to more feature hat allow you to view the periodical published by the Society. The easy of navigation is not a deterrent to the amount of information you receive but how you browse through the site, there is a main menu always to the left of the screen with leaves you an opportunity to jump to any other part of the site. The Educator portion of the site is the most probably the most user friendly page on this site. It has the same style browser feature with the stationary menu on the right, but the tools available for use, only lead you to a single page with interactive windows and not new pages for every mouse click.
VI. Response and Recommendation for use:
As a percussionist and member of the Percussive Arts Society for 6 years, I recommend this site to all my students who choose to study percussion. The resources available to young students and older students serves as a very useful tool. The publication contains article from leading educators and performers in the world. The president is currently principal percussionist with eh Dallas Wind Symphony and our own Dr. Susan Martin Tariq, West Texas A&M Professor of Percussion Studies serves on the College Pedagogy Committee and the Drum set Committee. I find this site very useful for researching literature that is performed by percussionist and I find that the online Museum and Library is a very useful site for educators to show examples and recordings of percussion music in the classroom to best portray the abilities and properties of new and interesting instruments. The world of music is evolving and the snare drum and bass drum are simply not sufficient enough to maintain in the forefront of this field, with reference to this site, an educator of percussion is sure to have a successful lesson if their research comes from this site.
0 Comments
Website Evaluation #4
04.27.08 (11:32 pm) [edit ]
I. Name of Website:
Official Latin Percussion Website: The inner circle. Are you In?
II. Web Site Address:
http://www.lpmusic.com
III. Copyright date and/or last update:
© Latin Percussion, 2007, A Division of KMC, All
Rights Reserved - Latin Percussion: World's leading manufacturer of percussion instruments including congas, bongos, timbales, cowbells.
IV. Author/organization credentials:
Website Producer: Marcia Stevenson, Latin Percussion is a company owned and operated By Percussionist Martin Cohen. Sponsor of many of the worlds most recognized percussionist from pop to rock, and educators of world percussion.
V. Web site design and Ease of navigation:
Once you enter this web page it seems like there isn’t much to browse through. However, once you’ve found the menu bar that runs across the top pf the page you will find collapsible menus that lead you to many other pages on this web space. The quickest way for any first time browser is to view the site map directory to fully grasp the contents of this web site. The navigation of the website isn’t difficult at all. The main scroll of menus remains at the top of every page for easy access to the entire site. The color scheme and layout of the site is very innovative and strike me as very inviting to observe the site. Anyone can find any video from pandeiro technique to tuning cowbells on this page. The availability of these resources is scarce o find but here on this website any teacher or students can browse the child safe content and learn about instruments from around the world, and also how to play them authentically, with a lesson from a native of that culture or heritage. This site can compliment any lesson having to do with world music, or music from other countries or cultures, at literally the click of a mouse.
VI. Response and Recommendation for use:
Often times it is rear you have a train musical instructor in your school who has experience performing ethnic instruments of music from other countries. However, there is a remedy for our students, this web page. The list of educators recognized by LP Percussion is a tribute to the effort this company makes to provide information for educators and students to accelerate their studies and enjoyment of music. For any educator especially in the elementary music area of teaching, this site has great resources for classroom activities and lesson ideas, as well as the links to their product inventory so you may furnish your classroom with appropriate instruments for you instruction plans. Now for the performer/educator, this site also contains a calendar of events around the country of clinics and master classes for continuing education of anyone interested. Also, a final note: In the instance when in a classroom situation a student has a language barrier such as primarily speaks Spanish. This site allows a person who primarily speaks Spanish, to be able to enjoy all the benefits of this page by simply clicking on a link that translates all the pages to Spanish, how convenient.
0 Comments
Website Evaluation #5
04.27.08 (11:31 pm) [edit ]
I. Name of Website:
Vic Firth: The World's Largest Manufacturer of Drumsticks and Mallets
II. Web Site Address:
http://www.vicfirth.com/educa...
III. Copyright date and/or last update:
© 2007 Vic Firth Incorporated, All Rights Reserved
IV. Author/organization credentials:
Mark Wessels, Director of Internet Activities, Email: mwessels@vicfirth.com; Andrew Tamulynas, Assistant Web Designer, Email: andrew@vicfirth.com
V. Web site design and Ease of navigation:
Once you’ve entered the home page for Vic Firth’s educational portions of their website, you’ll find a long list of options to choose from. There are over 24 links to different video lessons in various fields of percussion. There is a table to the left hand side of the screen that allows the viewer to have instant access to the product catalogue, and other featured interview video available on the site. At the bottom of the web page there are links for music educators to research articles the web managers at Vic Firth.com have received as valuable and useful information pertaining to percussion playing and players. The overall layout of the web page and the pages it leads you to are well labeled and easily accessible. The best feature about this site that makes it very user friendly is the way the links are set up. There is a title and a brief synopsis (<50 characters) about the contents on the link page.
VI. Response and Recommendation for uses:
As a music educator of primarily percussion students, I find this site very valuable. I have used the resources to plan lessons, adjust teaching styles to different students and find new approaches to pedagogical issues I have and may continue to encounter. Any teacher who teaches beginner musicians at the Elementary or Middle School levels, needs to be aware of this website and it’s contents. The endless resources of information about playing specific instruments, or understanding a certain style of music or rhythms, are all available in some generalized lesson for all ages. The content on this page is appropriate for people of all ages and the opportunity presents itself to students and educators alike to enjoy the contents and features of this website with easy navigation.>
0 Comments
Article Evaluation #1
04.27.08 (11:30 pm) [edit ]
1. Article:
#30, Unit: #7, pp. 202-205.
2. Title:
The Story of Ourselves: Fostering Multiple Historical Perspectives
3. Author:
Michael O. Tunnel and Richard Ammon
4. Reprint Information:
From Social Education Vol.64, No. 4, April/May 1996, pages 212-215. Copyright © 1996 by National Council for Social Studies. Reprinted by permission.
5. Implications for Classroom Use:
The example from this article used the explorer Christopher Columbus and from a historical stance try to understand the explorer for who he really was, and make truth from the evidence about him. This technique had been used in many different forms; however the main theme for learning is present. It is only with the student having to ask themselves, question to place themselves in the shoes of others, more specifically persons who may have lived in different time periods and have them reflect on the time of study and the social issues that caused the chain of events to unfold as they did. The student must develop a sense of subjective thinking when reading history and understand that history itself is a subjective topic. True interpretation comes from evaluation and reflection of events and historical accounts.
6. Personal Notes/Comments:
The ides of reflecting on multiple sources for information are always good. It is always a good idea to have multiple references, especially in a subjective field. As a musical artist I feel that when approaching a new style of music or school of performance etiquette, I find it best to go with the majority, but not always. In history the facts exists, but may not be available or have been lost. Here is where interpretation comes in handy. It is that interpretation of parts of information that students need to understand how to recognize and take initiative to learn. The Example provided by Tunnel and Ammon, with the Fifth graders putting Christopher Columbus on trial and with the evidence from all of their sources, attempt to defend or prosecute the historical figure. Basing as much information on fact, many new discoveries and assumptions cam be made about the famous (or infamous) explorer. This lesson can be transposed into any field and can be equally effective if the student(s) are made aware of the subjections of their studies, and to basically have had a lesson in taking things with a gain of salt. My studies as a music major have brought me across some contradicting information about composers and their lives. I guess having students understand that their birth was no more significant that anyone else's, but what path he/ she lives and how different impacts on this persons life affect the motives any person may have.
0 Comments
Article Evaluation #2
04.27.08 (11:28 pm) [edit ]
1. Article:
#25, Unit: #5, pp. 168-171.
2. Title:
Literature for Children and Young Adults is a History Classroom
3. Author:
Judy E. Van Middendorp & Sharon Lee
4. Reprint Information:
From The Social Studies, May/June1994, pages 117-120. ©1994 by Heldref Publications, 1319, Eighteenth St., NW, Washington, DC 20036-1802. Reprinted with Permission of the Helen Dwight Reed Foundation. 5. Implications for Classroom Use: The process to best implement strategy in a classroom would be to use the area reading content as a source for the activity. The article gives an example of using a classroom and a reading passage about pioneers in the United States Unsettle West in the 19th Century. The students read selected or prescribed passages about people places and events. More activities could include some hands on activities to perform task or write a journal imitating stories similar to those of the time period. Students may also be asked to write a reflection assignment and compare and contrast their life to another historic figure, and concentrate on the time of that person's life when they were student's age. With older students such topics as sexism, racism, and equality rights cold be brought into discussion, and have the children ration their thoughts and idea with each other to develop a better understand of different people and ideas, and promoting a mutual respect for ideas and beliefs in the classroom. A well structured environment for students to widen their spectrum of cognitive understanding of texts and events is vital to a person's ability in other parts of life.
5. Personal Notes/Comments:
Part of the reason I chose this article to evaluate, is because of the connection I always seem to find in Music and History. Understanding Music and its progression through time allows a person to understand how the shape of sound has continued to grow and unfold into the form we know as music today. Likewise with history and with other arts. Once a students realizes the path of others before them, the get a sense of realizing that they are no different from the people who flew to the moon, are on MTV, became president of the United States. They were kids to, some went to public school, others only had one parent etc. What every situation one student may come across, it is dwelled in them to understand how they are affected by outside influences, whether they be learned knowledge, physical events, or emotional situation; a students best tool for survival is the ability to make sense of details into organized ideas of though and have the students develop a sense of confidence because they have made the connections all thought their education.
0 Comments
Article Evaluation #3
04.27.08 (11:26 pm) [edit ]
1. Article:
#11, Unit: #4, pp. 73-75.
2. Title:
Reading And Understanding Textbooks Author: Katherine E. Misulis, Associate Professor, School of Education, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
3. Reprint Information:
From Reading Improvement, 1994, pages 200-202. Copyright © 1994 by Project Innovation, Inc. Reprinted with Permission
4. Summary of Research:
The article goes over three types of reading/study guides for use with students when reflecting texts from school textbooks, and understanding the information better. The three types of examples provided are the K – W – L (Ogle, 1986), Selective Reading Guide – O – Rama (Cunningham & Shablak, 1975), and the Levels of Comprehension Guide (Herber, 1978; 1985). These ideas are to assist the student in locating useful or vital information in the text. 5. Implications for the Classroom The KWL is a tool to assist a student with pre and post reading assignments or though. The idea is to get children to think about what they already know, what they would like to learn, and how the lesson may have taught them more about what they knew and placing the information correctly in their knowledge database. The next strategy presented was the Selective Reading Guide. This consists of the teacher having a lesson or activity design a reading passage and structuring the lesson so that the student will look for specific information and ideas in the text relevant to the lesson. The students may have a sheet to fill out as he/she reads the passage and comes across the valued information. The teacher has an assignment divided into three parts, I, II, III, each correlating to three levels of thought. The questions in each category would ask the students to use evidence in the text to support their answers. At Level three the synthesis of a situation allows the students to recreate a said scenario and apply their evident to describe its outcome. The third activity presented was the Levels of Comprehension Guide. The activity asks students to think at three cognitive levels: literal, interpretative, and applied.
5. Personal Notes/ Comments:
The first activity presented was familiar to me. I may have completed an assignment similar to this one when I was a student. I felt the second activity was to teacher lead, however for some situations this may prove to be the best method of having the students understand the subject matter. I can see how in a math lesson or in music, there are vital pieces of information to learn before further studies can continue. My favorite lesson activity/ Evaluation technique was the last one. The levels of comprehension. I felt that this allows teachers to accurately evaluate a students understanding of the subject matter on different “levelsâ€, hey-O! Also the range of students in any classroom can cover a wide spectrum, but this assignment allows the student to provide some feedback and not necessarily force them to learn facts and tricks for a test, just neat information that supports an idea or reasons for being.
0 Comments
Article Evaluation #4
04.27.08 (11:24 pm) [edit ]
1. Article: #3, Unit: #1, pp. 20-23.
2. Title: “What Do We Mean By Literacy Now?” Author: Jerome C. Harste
3. Reprint Information: from Voices from the MiddleVol. 10, No. 3, March 2003 pages 8-12. Copyright ©2003 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Reprinted
4. Summary of Research: The emphasis place on education is vital to our children and to their future; however there must be an emphasis placed on making sense of why a child is learning what they are learning. It is mentioned in the text how lessons should incorporate the child’s literacy from their own observed learning. To add to this the teacher needs to facilitate or “relocate the personal” (Fine, 2001), and get the student to understand why or how different influences in their lives have shaped their personalities and ideals as a human being. There is a larger scope to get children to see through, and without understanding a “bigger picture” when reading texts, studying any one subject, reflecting on their actions, or others actions. The spectrum us critical thinking is vast and the lesson plan and teacher need to get the child to think constantly reflect on learned material and understand its reason for occurring or being.
5. Implications for classroom practice: A great activity to get students to exercise this style of teaching is as follows; have students take four sticky notes. On separate sticky notes, students are asked to jot down one observation, one connection, one surprise, and one question they have as a result of reading the text being studied. Once the students have their sticky notes completed, have them get into groups of four to five. (Depending on size of class) This pre-activity should allow the students to gather thoughts on how they feel as individuals and how they feel as a classroom. With this being covered in class through open discussion. Require using evidence from the text; the students are then required to use valid arguments with textual information from the provided example to explain their claims. 6. Personal Notes/ Comments: The article was quite interesting and a reason I decided to read this article was because of the title. The points made by the author are great tips for many teachers to think about. Designing a lesson plan around concepts and understanding “how” and “why” are two important tools for students to learn. As a musician I teach beginner players by having them understand how to make sound, not music. A good sound will allow you to make good music. This is a very interdisciplinary idea. I thought the application example could have been better. A student reading a text passage and having to respond to it may have been a better example on because I feel there is a situation where many students fall into trouble when interpreting text. By introducing different strategies or concepts to tech children so it my be practiced individually and allow the student an opportunity to take learning into their own hands and have a conceptualized mode of thought in their heads that always has them thinking “how” and “why”, and influences them to learn more, and seek understanding and knowledge.
0 Comments
