FIU

Off-Campus Observation Map

E-Mail: Kpere147@fiu.edu

Name Kelly Perez

Name of School

Zelda Glazier

Name of Teacher Observed

Observation Date

Town
Mr. Dejesus

10/6/14

Time

Miami
Class

9:15

Band
Date Submitted

State Florida
Grade(s)

7-9

10/7/14

Describe the teaching

environment. Who are the
children? Who is the teacher?
How might the school environment
impact what happens in the
classroom?

The environment in the classroom was open and inviting. There was no abundance of clutter on the walls other
than picture collages of past years of the program and a few genre posters. Dejesus seems to be a very motivated
and inspiring teacher overall, but the flutes seemed to be unmotivated and discouragedfrom what I saw. The skill
levels spanned a large gap and the lower side could not understand how to read music and had a fear to actively
seek assistance. Lack of drive is apparent with the flutes, especially with the flutist who just switched from sax.
Dejesus goals were to have the students get better versed with the music as well as strengthening the
What were the teachers goals for fundamentals of their instruments. He had the college students assist in teaching their own (primary instrument)
the class/ensemble? How did
sections to better explain and teach using first-hand, personal knowledge.
she/he act on those?

What teaching/rehearsal
strategies did you see? What was
the learning sequence?

He sent all the sections into different rooms to practice the music that was given to them. He left them to do their
own thing in the rooms. He would go and work with the students in sections.

In future lessons I would either work one on one with students that need the most assistance or achieve the same

What would you do differently?

effect by having visitors/assistants work one on one. There is a very apparent lack in reading skills across the board,
What was missing from the lesson?

I would focus some more time on basic rhythm reading.

What evidence did you observe

that would indicate that the
learning goals were met?

The students became more open to seeking assistance through asking and answering questions and were more
eager to play as the lesson went on and they understood more about it.

What evidence of critical thinking,

critical feeling and/or critical action
did you see?

By asking questions relating to the music and technical skills, we had the students engage in critical thinking and
begin to open up more to answering questions and being corrected rather than fearful of answering incorrectly.

What National Standards did you

see?

Improving the reading skill for music, Understanding expression.

How did students engage in the

classroom? What was happening
at the time when students were
really focused?

Students engaged in the classroom by being relatively solitary and focused for the most part. At the peak of focus,
they were awaiting instruction with little to no talking, looking over and marking their music.

Describe a "teachable moment"

that you might have witnessed.

The students began to break out of their introvert shells and began assisting each other without any college
students or the teacher telling them to.

What constructive comments might you make about this lesson/rehearsal?

There was a struggle for dominance in the flute room. Even though this was resolved later in the lesson,
earlier in the lesson the college students would not agree on what to do first. They all had their motives and
plans and were too headstrong to be flexible. Taking from this, I would either have smaller university student
groups assisting in sections or find some possible planning beforehand to avoid wasting the teachers and the
students valuable time.

What is your overall assessment of this teacher, the students and the lesson/rehearsal?
Dejesus seems to be a very knowledgeable teacher, and the students are on the right track to advancing
themselves as artists. Dejesus is very approachable, friendly, but professional and confident in the way he
teaches. The students themselves pick up new information and put it into practice very quickly, showing that
they have great potential that may need to be nurtured a bit more for some people.