School of Rock
I chose this clip not only because it was a comedy which I enjoyed, but because this particular clip has a good example of both good and bad teaching. As well the clip shows two methods of teaching which are traditional and oral teaching.
In this movie the main character is Dewey who at the start of the movie is in a bar band. Soon after the opening scenes he gets kicked out of the band and has to live with his friend Ned who happens to be an elementary school supply. In one of the scenes Ned gets called by a school in need of a supply but Dewey (Jack Black) picks up the phone and accepts the job since he needs the money, as well he poses as Ned. He is put in a class and since he does not know anything about teaching he just makes the students do whatever they please. But as you will see in the clip he realizes some of the students are very musically talented. As you will see in the clip he decides to turn them into a rock band so he can compete in "Battle of the Bands" against his old band mates, and so the scene progresses on.
I chose this clip not only because it was a comedy which I enjoyed, but because this particular clip has a good example of both good and bad teaching. As well the clip shows two methods of teaching which are traditional and oral teaching.
In this movie the main character is Dewey who at the start of the movie is in a bar band. Soon after the opening scenes he gets kicked out of the band and has to live with his friend Ned who happens to be an elementary school supply. In one of the scenes Ned gets called by a school in need of a supply but Dewey (Jack Black) picks up the phone and accepts the job since he needs the money, as well he poses as Ned. He is put in a class and since he does not know anything about teaching he just makes the students do whatever they please. But as you will see in the clip he realizes some of the students are very musically talented. As you will see in the clip he decides to turn them into a rock band so he can compete in "Battle of the Bands" against his old band mates, and so the scene progresses on.
In the beginning of the scene we can see the first type of teaching which is the traditional style. In the clip the students are set up in orchestra formation and each is playing the music that is written on the paper. This type of teaching has been the most common used since the beginning. This type of teaching makes the students feel as if they have to learn what is on the page. To me it feels as though they have no liberty in playing the music. This can make the learning not as interesting and the students could either like it or most of the times not take it seriously. As well the students have to learn what is expected of them to learn, they won't feel any sense of creativity because they are always expected to play what is on the page, rather than trying to come up with a melody on their own.
As the scene progresses Dewey teaches the students the instruments in a visual way, which is much different from the traditional way of showing the students by having them learn the theory of the instrument and then begin with the practical. He makes it interesting for them to learn this as well as simple so that they can learn quickly. He is a bit crazy when he instructs them, but he is not being aggressive or getting angry with them when they don't play the write note or rhythm. He also tries to assign each student to the instrument which they like the most. For example he asked if anyone knew how to play the drums and one of the students said to him that in band class he played the percussion. Dewey then placed him on the drums, and we could see on the child's face how much he enjoyed playing the drums. This is also a bad example because towards the end of the clip he did not include all of the students in the activity which shows favoritism and in a way making the other students feel bad, because it sends a message that they are not good enough.
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Theresa Jones' Teaching Philosophy and Examples
In this clip it seems that the teacher is showing the different methods and songs she teaches her kindergarten class. I also chose the clip because I liked the different techniques she had developed so that her class could learn songs as well as develop their musicianship skills.
I noticed that she mostly taught in an oral way since her the students in her class are so young. I also feel like this is a good technique especially for younger kids since they don't have the capacity to focus for an hour with a teacher just talking to them about what a quarter note is, or what the solfege technique is. In turn this is much better because they are learning orally and I feel that by doing it this way they can learn much quicker than by just listening. This is because it might even take longer for a student to understand the concept they are being taught by listening rather than orally.
I also thought her way of teaching was very inclusive of all the students because all of the clips she had, they were always sitting in a circle which is the way people feel like they are connected to the rest of the group as well a included. She also was very articulate when she spoke to the students, for example when she explained what they needed to do as well she used a lot of hand gestures for them to better understand her, since the students were so young. An example is also when she was teaching them a song in a different language and she pointed to her eyes to signify that she is talking about her eyes in that language. As well she used singing to incorporate to everyday habits like taking baths. I also noticed she used a lot of instruments to teach them rhythms as well as teach them different note intervals.
Overall I liked her method of teaching this kindergarten class because she incorporated very basic music skills which younger children can learn and that are not difficult to understand. I also liked how she was inclusive of all the kids, and when she talked to them she looked at each one of them.