Dakeyan C. Graham

Accomplished Practice # 2: Communication

Illustration # 1

Source of Illustration

MUE 3311

Professor

Dr. Timothy S. Brophy

Semester

Fall 2005

Type of Assignment

This communication example stems from a portion of a lesson plan developed and used in teaching a second grade music class at P.K. Younge Elementary School. The students attending the class were engaged in a musical lesson evaluating rhythm, key signature knowledge, and symbol identification. The job of the teachers was to communicate their ideas and purposes to the students in an effort to make them more competent in identifying musical symbols and rhythms and playing their instruments.

Description of Assignment

We were teaching a lesson at P.K. Younge Elementary School in an effort to become more acquainted with teaching an actual class, as opposed to teaching ones peers and having them act as though they were in elementary school; real life representative on-the-job training. The students of MUE 3311 are required to create a lesson plan in which they are given examples of previous lesson plans and the aspect of music they are supposed to cover on their time to teach, i.e. rhythms, sons on sol-mi-do, 'America', etc. The students then prepare visual aids and whatever other materials they need to be able to engage the class and teach as if they were the teachers in the class. This lesson plan demonstrates Accomplished Practice #2 in the following ways:

• uses correct grammar in speaking and writing

• Communicates purpose and value of music instruction to students, parents, and other interested persons

• Communicates to students in behavioral terms followed by concepts as they are learned

Artistic Processes/Medium

This would be a responding example in that there was response necessary to determine if this aspect of teaching was successful. Communication works both ways, in that the students are communicating back to the teachers what they communicated to them. If the students are able to give a clear demonstration of what the teacher asked, then it is evident that the teachers were successful in communicating their ideas. In this communication example, both the students and the teachers were engaged in discussion, listening, and evaluation activities throughout the course of the class. For example, once the students learned 'The Spider Song', a discussion was held on the characteristics of spiders. This discussion did not simply cover the prior knowledge that the students knew about spiders, but also incorporated what the spider was doing in the song. They were also questioned about the actions of the pumpkin in 'The Pumpkin Song' after listening to it performed.

Rationale

This entire lesson plan is built on communication; the ability to convey the thoughts of two teachers from the physical construction of the lesson plan on paper to the students in the classroom. This lesson demonstrates Accomplished Practice #2 in that all forms of conveyance require understandable communication. The students would not be able to complete the tasks assigned to them if they were unable to understand what they were being asked to do.

Illustration

At the beginning of each activity the teachers gave clear and concise instructions for the students to follow. Each activity ran smoothly and the students not only learned the planned material but also enjoyed themselves during the process. There were few disciplinary issues because early on in the class a sign was created that brought the students' focus back on to the lesson. To see the exact layout of the communication ideas and how they fit into the lesson plan, see Lesson Plan.
 

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