429 Teacher Work Sample

Contextual Factors

Kayla Goldman
9/30/14
Woodmont High School has a chorus room that is designed for success. There is an office
as you walk in the door for Mrs. Owens, the chorus teacher. There is a desk where she can place
her computer and has plenty of space for her to do paperwork. She has two cabinets for storage
and a file cabinet for student files, IEPs, 504 plans, etc. The physical features of the actual
classroom are different than that of a general education classroom. There are no desks, only
chairs that sit on risers, not on the floor. The floor is carpet and the ceiling in the chorus room is
very high and is built this way for high-quality acoustic sound. There are eight windows and 6 of
them are on one wall. The students backs are to the windows during class for minimal
distractions. There are six different shelves around the classroom that hold different things, such
as books, student notebooks and trophies from competitions. There is a television in one corner
of the room for educational use whenever it is needed. Additionally, there are two practice rooms
in the back left of the classroom for student/sectional use during class.
There are some available technology resources. A Promethean Board and projector are
installed in the chorus room and are used frequently. Computer plugs are also accessible if the
teacher needs to plug up the computer for demonstration during a lesson. Mrs. Owens has an
overhead projector in her classroom to use if it facilitates learning for the students.
There is a great amount of equipment in Woodmonts chorus room. The main piece of
equipment is the piano that the teacher uses to play during rehearsal. A white board is attached to
the wall for teacher use, as well as a white board with 5 staves permanently printed on it to make
teaching written music easier. There are chairs and risers provided as equipment for the
classroom that are used by students in rehearsal. The classroom has five small CD players and 10

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Contextual Factors

keyboards obtainable for individual use and are usually only used in Mrs. Owens Vocal
Performance class, but are available whenever needed.
Resources are available for the students for reference. I think the teacher is a valuable
resource in a chorus classroom. The teacher demonstrates what she needs and can help the
students vocally when they need guidance. There are also textbooks for class use and books of
other kind that the students have at hand to help them, such as workbooks, various repertoire
books, musical dictionaries and such.
Mrs. Owens said that the parental involvement in the chorus program is not what you
would imagine because she doesnt have a booster club like some choral programs have, but she
does have parent volunteers that chaperone trips, distribute fundraisers and video tape concerts.
Clearly, the parental involvement is not present during class time, but it is very helpful to the
choral program, especially since there are so many students involved in chorus at Woodmont
High School.
There are five classroom rules in the chorus room, and are as followed: 1)We will
observe all school rules, 2) We will respect others, their property and ourselves, 3) We will come
to class prepared and on time, 4) We will remain quiet and in our seats, and 5) We will follow
directions and class procedures. From my observations, the students follow these rules. The
routine is the same for all choral classes. The students come in and get their notebooks from the
shelf and sit in their assigned seat. Mrs. Owens gives them a writing activity every day that
ranges content, whether it is ear training such as interval identification or something in music
theory such as naming the notes on a staff. After the students complete their written assignments,
they turn them in, begin rehearsal and rehearse until class is over. The vocal performance class

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and music appreciation class have a different routine because they are different from the chorus
classes, but they have the same rules.
The students in Chorus 1, 2, 3 and 4 all sit in the same grouping pattern. The chairs are
aligned in a backwards L shape with the piano in the open space facing the students, so when
the teacher is at the piano she is facing the students. To the left of the piano sit the sopranos,
which are all female students. Moving in clockwise direction, next to the sopranos sit the tenors
and basses respectively and are all male students. Next, sit the altos, which are also all female
students. Each individual section has an appointed section leader.
Mrs. Owens teaches 5 classes in a day: Chorus 1-4, Vocal Performance and Music
Appreciation. The class that I teach is beginner chorus, Chorus 1. In Chorus 1, there are 48
students with 7 being male and 41 being female. It is made up of Caucasian students, African
American students and students of mixed ethnicity. There are also two Puerto Rican students and
two Hispanic students, so the spectrum of ethnicity in this class is wide. Of these students, there
are four that are special needs or need accommodations. One is on a 504 plan and has to type his
written responses on a computer as opposed to actually writing them with a pencil and paper. He
has to be given extended time on assignments and has to be given a copy of the teachers class
notes when told to take notes in class. Three students have an IEP and these students have to be
in preferential seating and the teacher has to provide visual images when explaining things. They
have to have directions explained to them more than one time to fully understand what they are
being asked to do, and some have to have direct eye contact. There are a couple of students that
have to have their tests read aloud to them and be in small groups. Since this class is so large,
Mrs. Owens appoints an advanced to student to read the tests aloud to these students that have
this written in their IEPs.

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Mrs. Owens chorus classroom at Woodmont High School demonstrates a well organized
environment for her students. There are necessary resources and equipment to provide her
students with an affluent musical learning experience.