Social Media: Friend or Foe to Music Educators?

Welcome, new followers and anyone stopping by to take a look :)

I have just returned from a busy weekend at the Maryland Music Educators Conference. I was a chaperone for the junior All-State Band, a clinician/presenter, and a presider. I had a great time! Today, of course is a "do-all-my-weekend-chores-in-one-day" kind of day, but it was worth it.

First, here is my presentation from this weekend, and here is the handout... super simple items, but I am one of those people who believe that visuals are meant to enhance my presentation, not replace it. I presented the topic of Social Media, pointing out how the use of Social Media can either force a change of career or greatly enhance the career of a music educator, all dependent on personal choices. If you need further information after viewing the documents, please comment or email your questions.


And now for the entertainment:

Those who attended my conference (or asked me "How did it go?") found out that things did not go very smoothly for my technology. So here is the full story.

HOW PRESENTATIONS BEFORE THIS WEEKEND WOULD GO:
I hook up my projector to my iPad and load my presentation through Keynote. I link my iPhone to the iPad to run the presentation remotely. I give the presentation. Bam.

HOW THIS PRESENTATION WENT DOWN:
I hook up my projector to my iPad and attempt to load my presentation through Keynote. First, DropBox has difficulty loading my presentation. After patiently waiting 10 minutes, my presentation is finally recognized by DropBox, however there is no preview... hmmm. So I select my presentation to open in Keynote. Keynote informs me that the program needs to be upgraded prior to opening this presentation. I hurriedly contact my husband for his login info (a whole separate story) and finally approve the upgrade... only to discover WiFi is required for this download. No WiFi at the convention center. Next plan, run the presentation through DropBox... still no preview. Next plan, run the presentation through my iPhone... I do not have Keynote loaded (need WiFi to load it) and still no preview in DropBox. Next plan, run the presentation through my MacBook Air... I do not have the correct adapter to attach to the projector. Should I go find someone with the adapter or any mac computer I can borrow that has WiFi ability to get to DropBox & Keynote so I can run the presentation? Uh, not enough time, only 10 minutes until start.

Final plan: Wing It. I was able to access all of the graphics I used for my presentation from the DropBox, so I can connect my iPad to the projector, show the visuals, and go for it. The only downfall: my outline, which is housed in Evernote, had not synced recently so most of my outline was not there. When I began my presentation for the brave educators who attended I briefly mentioned my "tech-tastrophy," related it to classroom experiences where tech fails us & we teach on our feet, and jumped in. Sort-of Bam. Thankfully, the presentation went well considering the circumstances and I received good verbal feedback from some of the attendees.

Yes, I get the humor of the situation: I presented on a tech-related topic and my tech failed me. Murphy's Law and I have a loooooooong history...

Nature versus Nurture via "The Talent Code"

As a music teacher, I have taught thousands of students over the past 12 years. Among those thousands are the small percentage of super-talented students, some of whom choose a career in music. These students have a love of music, an intrinsic motivation to constantly improve, and recognize that hard work pays off. No, they are not all music "prodigies." Their effortless ability is a result of passion and practice.

I recently read "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle. Being a person who witnesses this talent every year, I wanted to see the insight Coyle could bring to this process. Are there really prodigies? Or is it simply the result hard work and ambition?

Coyle found that these prodigies are simply people with a combination of intense desire and purposeful practice. These talented people, whether in art, sports, or academics, have a targeted focus, gather the necessary resources to make progress towards that focus, and practice purposefully & deeply to achieve the focus. The process is rather scientific.

"Skill is a cellular insulation that wraps neural circuits and that grows in response to certain signals." (page 15)

"Deep practice is built on a paradox: struggling in certain targeted ways - operating at the edges of your ability, where you make mistakes - makes you smarter." (page 28)

"Deliberate practice is working on technique, seeking constant critical feedback, and focusing ruthlessly on shoring up weaknesses." (page 80)

Ability is less about who or how long, than what and how much. As I read the book, I found many of Coyle's discoveries and connections to really make sense. Of course deep practice would result in greater skill! Of course the presentation of challenges instead of repetition creates better learning experiences!

"The trick is to choose a goal just beyond your present abilities; to target the struggle." (page 31)

"Players touching the ball 600 percent more often learn far faster." (page 44)

Coyle consulted scientists who research and study the brain to simplify the process down to three steps:

1. Every human movement, thought, or feeling is a precisely timed electric signal traveling through a chain of neurons.
2. Myelin is the insulation that wraps these nerve fibers and increase signal strength, speed, and accuracy.
3. The more we fire a particular circuit, the more myelin optimizes that circuit, and the stronger, faster, and more fluent our movements and thoughts become. (page 51)

That makes complete sense. Those of us who have experienced this process, personally or through someone close to us, are more likely to understand. For example, I impress on my students that muscle-memory is a key component to improvement. Once the muscles can do these tasks automatically, the brain can then focus on more challenging tasks.

Coyle then gives three rules for encouraging this process to occur. These rules can be used personally or for coaching purposes. Being a music teacher, and teaching band, these are not completely foreign to what I do in the classroom.

1. RULE ONE: Chunk it up. Look at the task as a whole, then divide it into the smallest possible chunks. Slow the action down and speed it up to learn the inner architecture. Eventually link them together in progressively larger groupings. (pages 124, 131)
2. RULE TWO: Repeat it. Systematically fire the circuits required for the skill. (page 136)
3. RULE THREE: Learn to feel it. Students don't like the "taste" of deep practice at first; eventually they begin to tolerate and even enjoy the experience. (page 143)

"...the deepest truth about deep practice: to get good, it's helpful to be willing, even enthusiastic, about being bad." (page 145)

For anyone to be willing to commit to deep practice, something has to motivate them. Coyle labels this Ignition, motivational fuel. "Where deep practice is a cool, conscious act, ignition is a hot, mysterious burst, an awakening." (page 154).

I know as a public school teacher, I wonder how to spark that ignition. Most of my students begin to play an instrument because they think it will be fun. After about 10 weeks, the realization that playing an instrument is work settles in... and they hit their first wall. I then work hard to re-ignite them and get them past this wall. And repeat this process whenever the next wall appears.

The moment I finished the final page of this book, my mind was swirling with information and ideas. These are the key adjustments I am making to my day-to-day "coaching" tactics in my classroom as a result of this book:

1. I will impress upon my beginners that it is a long-term commitment. I will not say "if you continue;" I will speak in absolutes regarding the continuation of learning music. My change of mindset will affect the mindset of my students.
2. I will be more creative in providing learning & practice opportunities that focus on challenges and not just repetition.
3. I will recognize and commend skill achievement appropriately, since this leads to greater confidence which will encourage more risk-taking in efforts of gaining more skill. This affects my choice of words: "You really tried hard" and "That must have taken focus and energy to achieve."
4. My "coaching" needs to be delivered in short bursts. STOP THE LECTURES, whether intentional or not!
5. Make sure I mention to my students how the myelin process works, that skill is not just about natural talent (everyone does have natural aptitudes) but about what you are passionate about and  how you work towards your goal.

NAfME Pre-Conference Day Two

What another incredible day!!! Lots of great information was shared, plus practical examples and opportunities to put the info to use.

On a side note, some of the presenters used PollEverywhere.com for us to interact... pretty cool stuff!

Here is the basic summary of the topics and discussions today:

Introduction to the Workbook - Kelly Parkes, VA Tech
What IS evidence of student achievement?
How do we collect and track the data?
School systems are being asked to implement a "one size fits all" system
The NAfME Workbooks are available for general music and school ensemble focus.
The need for these workbooks is outlined on the NAfME website.

Workbook in Detail:
Divided into: Introduction, Use, Sample Forms, Opportunity to Learn, References, Resources, Comparison Chart (between Workbook, Danielson, Marzano, and McREL)

**Designed to be used by an evaluator with a music background, or to at least bridge the gap between music educator and a non-music evaluator

Largely based on Danielson - the task force believed Danielson best fit the needs of music educators and modeled the language while substituting music learning expectations and examples

The purpose of the Workbook is for Professional Development.
The task force is working with a vendor to make it web-enabled.


Guided Group Evaluations 
Karen Steele (principal in Towson) & Rebecca Wilhelm (middle school band teacher)


Criteria for Evaluation Section of Workbook:
1. Supporting Structures - use the NAfME Opportunity-to-Learn Standards (appendix 1 or online) to outline to admin what is or is not available in the building
2. Curricular Goals and Measures - separated into Creating, Performing, and Responding
3. Professional Practice - refers to the Domains, can adapt to any model the district uses
4. Additional Program Expectations and Collective/General Measures


Practical Evaluations - Glenn Nierman
We watched 2 video examples and used the tools as practice (2c & 2d for an "opera" general music lesson for 8th grade; 3c & 3d for "rodeo" general music lesson for 2nd grade)


Practical Student Outcome Assessments - Scott Shuler & Johanna Siebert
We watched two video examples of lessons and discussed pre-observation, evidence collection, and post-observation.

Threats to Quality Content Supervision

• "Fine Arts" leadership consolidation - instead of "Music"
• Loss of content-specific supervisor positions
• Narrowing of preparation programs for non-arts teachers and administrators - no time to take arts-related courses

5 Key Attributes of Effective Teachers

1. Content expertise
2. Content-specific pedagogy
3. Generic pedagogy
4. Personal qualities
5. Professional dispositions

School admin can only speak to 3, 4, and 5; the music expert can focus on 1 and 2.
Content-Expert Supervisors can provide more detailed input to teachers and are better prepared to address those 2 key areas. They can provide feedback/evaluation on content-specific teacher standards and content. They can compare classroom content to curriculum, apply generic rubric domains with contextual understanding, and prescribe and identify appropriate PD for teacher growth.

Consequences of Content Leadership Void:

• Irrelevant district PD
• Lack of support/guidance for budget, curriculum, assessment, teacher growth, and professional participation (conferences, boards, etc.)
• Loss of statewide leadership

Strategies for Filling the Void

• Outside expert consultants (MEA network of expert retirees, university faculty trained in the state system)
• Shared supervisor (multi-district)
• Regional network (county)
• Trained peer coaches

Advice for Music Teachers

• SMART goals
• Learn and leverage the system - educate yourself on the rules/procedures, use the system to improve, set clear outcomes, link goals to opportunities for PD
• Measuring growth - select an issue, focus on a subgroup, focus the SLO/Measure, and focus the PD
• Video record - both when not being observed and during observations, preferably from both perspectives (back of class and front of class)

Possible Pretest Strategies

1. Complete entire Final Assessment: benefit = exact comparison, challenge = unfair/upsetting
2. Complete One Pre-Task from Final Assessment: benefit = exact comparison, challenge = limits scope
3. Complete easier Final Assessment: benefit = adjusted to current ability, challenge = how to compare scores (factor in difficulty)

... and 2 more that I did not catch; I will update once I receive the PPT files of these presentations.

What Are the Next Steps? - Mike Blakeslee
Continuously collecting comments and improvements
New editions will be released yearly, including digital versions (from Innovate School Music)


Thus the Pre-Conference was brought to a close. I feel... enlightened and empowered. I have gained insight and information to be shared with music colleagues and administrators in my county. I feel that I can advocate for myself and my music education profession in a much more informed manner.

And I feel I can conquer the world! No, wait... I'm getting a little carried away. Perhaps just conquer this new phase of teacher accountability :)