Essay 6

At K-State, I have been given many different tools to assess student learning, progress,

and how to use that information to inform my decisions for future instruction. In University

Band, I conducted a piece of music and ran about 30 minutes of rehearsal twice a week. In those

lessons, I used many different forms of assessment including; check lists just to make sure

everyone had everything they needed, rubrics to evaluate playing and growth over time, small

journaling exercises to see what they understood and what I needed to go over, and peer

assessment to see if they could use the correct language to describe what was wrong in other’s

playing. In my private lessons, I use a lot of the same tools for assessment but they are on a

much smaller scale and not done as organized as I did in the large ensemble scale.

My students will use the same tools for assessment as I lead in the University Band, as

well as longer journaling exercises, playing tests, listening guides and portfolios, holding

everything that they do in the semester or year. Through my process of assessment, I will have

documentation of the everything that students do in the semester to show to them, their parents,

or administrators. Students will also have a clear expectation of what I want them to do in their

assignments from written instructions and clear standards for each grade given.

I have developed a ways to assess students that set clear and consistent goals for them to

do more than just play their instrument or sing but to develop a well-rounded musician.