17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

Lesson Plan

Topic area: Stage of Learner: Stage 4 Syllabus Pages:

Pitch
Date: Location Booked: Lesson Number: /

Time: Total Number of students Printing/preparation

Whiteboard
Keyboards /
tuned percussion

Teoria.com

Outcomes Assessment Students learn about Students learn to

4.5 Notates compositions • notating • explore forms of
using traditional and/or non- compositions using musical notation,
traditional notation. various forms of including computer-
traditional and non- based applications, as a
4.9 Demonstrates musical traditional notation method of recording
literacy through the use of their own musical ideas
notation, terminology, and • identifying,
the reading and interpreting understanding and • respond to the range
of scores used in the music describing how
the of repertoire used for
selected for study concepts of music listening
have been used and
manipulated

Time Teaching and learning actions

10
min Review previous lesson on rhythm asking students to recount note types/names

Echo clapping exercise

Rhythm dictation: Play some examples and have students write what they hear (using
teoria.com).

5 Teacher explains the Staff, and explains the Treble Clef dictates what notes are presented
min on the staff.

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17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

Label the notes.

Explain that there are 7 “white” notes in music and these are arranged in a repeating
pattern.

Using a “keyboard” drawn on the whiteboard explain the repeating pattern of white notes.

10 Give acronym “Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit” and “FACE” for remembering notes on
min the staff. Ask students to come up with their own.

Write words on stave using notation, ie DEAF, FAÇADE, BEE, BEAD, CABBAGE

Students copy “words” and write letter nam es underneath

(Students can invent their own words)

Explain the concept of comparing pitch in terms of Higher and Lower. Play two notes on
an instrument, have students decide whether the second is higher or lower. Repeat a
5min number of times for clarity.

Explain the concept is presented on the staff. The higher the note on the page, the higher
the pitch.

Students raise hands for higher and point to ground for lower notes

10 Using a keyboard diagram on whiteboard explain where notes on the stave are located on
mins the keyboard.

Students locate specific pitches on keyboards / tuned percussion

Have students find high and low notes (ie high C, lower C) on keyboard

Students locate high C / lower C etc on keyboard or tuned percussion.

5 Notate a simple two bar melody on whiteboard.

mins
Explain how pitch and rhythm can be notated together

Ask students to clap rhythm then name the pitches.

Discuss which notes are higher / which are lower.

Play the melody and ask students to raise hands when pitch gets higher and point to the
floor when it becomes lower.

Students attempt to play the teacher notated melody on keyboard / tuned percussion

Students compose, perform and notate their own simple melody and perform to class

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17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

5 Quick Summary of lesson

mins
Pack up

How am I measuring the outcomes of this lesson?

Learning Outcome Method of measurement and recording

4.5 Notates compositions Informal assessment of student responses to teaching
using traditional and/or and learning activities.
non-traditional notation.

4.9 Demonstrates musical Informal assessment of student responses to teaching

literacy through the use of and learning activities.
notation, terminology, and
the reading and interpreting
of scores used in the music
selected for study

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 17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

102086 Designing Teaching & Learning

Assignment 2: QT Analysis Template

Evaluate the lesson plan according to the following NSW Quality Teaching model elements.

1 Intellectual quality
1.1 Deep knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: The topic area of ‘pitch’ is central to understanding the concepts of music
as outlined in the syllabus. Complex relations between other key ideas are also evident
in the class’s review of rhythm from the previous lesson.

1.2 Deep understanding

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Healthy balance between teacher led directives and active student
participation. Concept of pitch is taught both auditorily, visually and physically,
allowing for variety in teaching methods. Be wary of cognitive load and what methods
seem more effective than others.

1.3 Problematic knowledge

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Lesson topic area relates to a type of set “rule” in music. Lesson plan hasn’t
been constructed in a way that encourages students to question results or lend a
different perspective.

1.4 Higher-order thinking

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Intention to promote higher-order thinking evident towards the end of the
lesson through newfound knowledge of pitch being synthesized and implemented into
original compositions. However, time management and allocation will prove
problematic in allowing students to sufficiently demonstrate higher-order thinking
through the given activity.

1.5 Metalanguage
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Lesson is extremely activity driven and is limited to promoting
metalanguage through explanations of the treble clef and forming acronyms, which are
only surface level and do not promote discussion on the role of language as a form of
learning.

1.6 Substantive communication

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Activities are structured to focus on the topic of pitch whilst facilitating
sustained, reciprocal communication between the teacher and student.

Quality learning environment

2.1 Explicit quality criteria
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Certain expectations and criteria are illustrated in the lesson plan as an aim
for the day, but it isn’t always clear what activities are intended to achieve which
outcomes.

2.2 Engagement
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Student engagement was a core focus in the designing process of this
lesson plan, as is evident by the nature of the activities which encourage student

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 17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

participation, such as clapping rhythms, identifying call and response through played
pitches and performing their own original melodies.
2.3 High expectations
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Progression in difficulty from initial introduction to pitch to the end of the
lesson indicates high expectations for the students to understand the scope of the topic.
Teacher should be wary of differences in student ability in activities that require the
student to work on their own (e.g. composing their own melody) and should adjust their
expectations accordingly.

2.4 Social support

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Social support is best represented through the tasks that require the whole
class to participate, such as identifying what pitch is higher or lower, and asking
students to clap the rhythm of the notated pitches. However, density and total amount
of tasks for the day might overwhelm some students. This could be addressed by
lowering the number of tasks for the day and increasing the allocated time for the
activities that remain.

2.5 Students’ self-regulation

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Group tasks that involve the whole classroom are more manageable in this
regard, but there are times where the nature of the activity itself may be harder to ensure
student self-regulation, such as the acronym task. Rather than having students come up
with acronyms on their own, the teacher could put the students into groups where they
would then present their acronyms to the class, hopefully minimizing the potential for
misbehavior.
2.6 Student direction
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Despite high student engagement, the lesson plan doesn’t encourage
students to have an active role in the decision-making process when it comes to
choosing activities that could explore the new topic. Furthermore, students may feel
like they need more time on more task but the density of the lesson plan doesn’t leave
much breathing room for expanding the length of an activity.

3 Significance
3.1 Background knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Background knowledge is acknowledged in the form of relating the new
topic of pitch to previously acquired schooling knowledge about rhythm, which is also
mentioned in the learning outcomes table (concepts of music). However, there isn’t
any identifiable consideration of other types of background knowledge, such as
accounting for students who have a stronger background in music theory and
performance.

3.2 Cultural knowledge

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments: Lesson plan is rigid in its exploration of the concept and does not provide
5 the students with the opportunity to relate their own cultural knowledge or background
to the learning of the topic.

3.3 Knowledge integration

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Again, the lesson focuses a lot on incorporating knowledge from previous
lessons on rhythm into the new topic area of pitch. Furthermore, students are

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 17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

encouraged to hone their technological literacy in their writing of rhythms, specifically

through the ICT resource teoria.com.

3.4 Inclusivity
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: The lesson plan isn’t overt in its intention to be mindful of students with
different backgrounds in lesson proceedings. Despite the majority of the tasks being
group oriented on a class wide level, it is difficult to assess what considerations have
been made for students of different social or cultural backgrounds as no information in
the lesson plan indicates this.

3.5 Connectedness
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Activities in the lesson plan do not encourage the students to apply these
newfound concepts outside of the classroom.

3.6 Narrative
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 Comments: Nothing in the lesson plan indicates an intention to progress a narrative for
the purpose of improving student learning in the classroom.

Identifying Areas for Improvement

Identify the four NSW QT model elements you are targeting for improvement.

QT model
1) 1.4 Higher-Order Thinking 2) 2.6 Student Direction
3) 3.1 Background Knowledge 4) 3.2 Cultural Knowledge

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 17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

Lesson Plan

Topic area: Stage of Learner: Stage 4 Syllabus Pages:

Pitch
Date: Location Booked: Lesson Number: /

Time: Total Number of students Printing/preparation

Whiteboard
Keyboards /
tuned percussion

Teoria.com

Outcomes Assessment Students learn about Students learn to

4.5 Notates compositions using • notating • explore forms of
traditional and/or non-traditional compositions using musical notation,
notation. various forms of including
traditional and non- computer-based
4.9 Demonstrates musical literacy traditional notation applications, as a
through the use of notation, method of
terminology, and the reading and • identifying, recording their own
interpreting of scores used in the understanding and musical ideas
music selected for study describing how
the
concepts of music • respond to the
have been used and range of repertoire
manipulated used for listening

Time Teaching and learning actions

10
min Review previous lesson on rhythm asking students to recount note types/names

Echo clapping exercise

Rhythm dictation: Play some examples and have students write what they hear (using
teoria.com).

5 Teacher explains the Staff, and explains the Treble Clef dictates what notes are presented
min on the staff.

Label the notes.

Explain that there are 7 “white” notes in music and these are arranged in a repeating

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 17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

pattern.

Using a “keyboard” drawn on the whiteboard explain the repeating pattern of white notes.

Give acronym “Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit” and “FACE” for remembering notes on
the staff. Ask students to come up with their own.

Write words on stave using notation, ie DEAF, FAÇADE, BEE, BEAD, CABBAGE

10 Form students into groups of 5-6 and have each group be assigned a country. Each group
min will find a song from that particular country and play it for the class on Youtube so that
the class can analyse how pitch is utilized in the song.

Explain the concept of comparing pitch in terms of Higher and Lower. Play two notes on
an instrument, have students decide whether the second is higher or lower. Repeat a
5min number of times for clarity.

Explain the concept is presented on the staff. The higher the note on the page, the higher
the pitch.

Students raise hands for higher and point to ground for lower notes

15 Notate a simple eight bar melody on whiteboard.

mins
Explain how pitch and rhythm can be notated together

Ask students to clap rhythm then name the pitches.

Discuss which notes are higher / which are lower.

Play the melody and ask students to raise hands when pitch gets higher and point to the
floor when it becomes lower.

Students attempt to play the teacher notated melody on keyboard / tuned percussion

Students compose, perform and notate their own simple melody and perform to class.

Identify which students have a stronger background in music theory and performance and
group them with 2-3 other students who don’t have as strong of a background in these
areas (see Vygotsky).

5 Quick Summary of lesson

mins
Pack up

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 17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

How am I measuring the outcomes of this lesson?

Learning Outcome Method of measurement and recording

4.5 Notates compositions Informal assessment of student responses to teaching
using traditional and/or and learning activities.
non-traditional notation.

4.9 Demonstrates musical Informal assessment of student responses to teaching

literacy through the use of and learning activities.
notation, terminology,
analysis of music from
other cultures, and group
based performance tasks

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17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

Academic Justification

It is important to emphasise that parts of this lesson plan were intentionally left unchanged

because the nature of the activities is pertinent to the understanding of the six concepts of

music. This is mostly in relation to the theory aspects of the unit, as can be seen in

explanations of the treble clef, its role in theory, call and response and distinguishing between

high and low pitches. The intention of this modified lesson plan is to retain the value of these

foundation concepts but also include additional activities to address some of the limitations of

the lesson. To clarify, the original lesson plan was quite comprehensive to begin with but it

was necessary to alter it to best achieve a healthy balance between musical theory, optimal

student learning and retaining student interest and participation throughout the duration of the

class.

It is growing increasingly necessary for teachers to challenge the rigidity of traditional

approaches to education, which usually revolves around the notion that set routines and

practices should be applied in the classroom to achieve efficient learning outcomes (John,

PD, 2006). It is important to re-evaluate our approach to education in the face of changing

values and approaches in our contemporary society to best meet the needs of students in

today’s classrooms. Given that the lesson plan is quite dense in the amount of activities listed,

it was deemed necessary to address the limitations of the lesson plan by reducing the amount

of time allocated to certain activities or erasing them completely. In doing so, there is an

opportunity to design new tasks that can address the issues of the lesson plan. The main

strategy employed in the modified lesson plan was to streamline the activities so that it can

address more than one issue at a time. For example, rather than having standards 1.4 and 3.1

be incorporated into their own activities, the issues were addressed through the addition of a

group based composition/performance task at the end of the lesson. The intention was to

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17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

utilize the concepts founded in Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development by grouping

students with a more established background in musical theory and performance with

students who aren’t as well versed in the same concepts. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal

Development relates to the gap between what children or adolescents can achieve or learn

through their own means before needing guidance by an adult, mentor or someone more

experienced to progress their learning (Fani & Ghaemi, 2011). Modifying the compositional

task at the end of the original lesson plan to be group led by students with a stronger

background in musical theory and performance helps to address the concerns of arisen from

standards 1.4 and 3.1. This is because the task requires them to synthesize their newfound

knowledge of pitch in the form of a composition (1.4 higher-ordered thinking) whilst also

utilizing the potential of students who have varying backgrounds to benefit the rest of the

class (3.1 background knowledge).

A similar approach was applied in the new approach to tackling the issues of standards 2.6

and 3.2. The original lesson plan was very group oriented and ensured a high level of class

participation, but it did not encourage students to have an active role in determining how each

of the activities were navigated. Furthermore, there was nothing in the original lesson plan

that indicated how the teacher might be able to encourage students to reflect on their learning

through the scope of another culture. In response to this and with consideration of the time

limit of the class, a new activity was designed to address both standards issues at once. The

Youtube task allows for students to utilize a platform that they are familiar with to play a

song for the class that their group has chosen. This also benefits the students through the

incorporation of an additional ICT resource, which grounds the activity in a modern approach

to education whilst allowing teachers to be able to “respond, critically and creatively, to the

needs of the new social and economic relatity that is, constantly, changing” (Anastasiades &

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17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

Zaranis, 2016, p. 17). In addition to this, the allocation of a country to each group allows for

the recognition that different cultures approach music differently. The analysis that follows

the clip that they show allows the students to apply their newfound knowledge of pitch to

music of different cultures to have a better understanding of how music takes on many

different forms.

Whilst the two newly designed tasks explored above were the predominant changes in the

modified lesson plan, it should also be noted that the time given to other tasks was reduced.

This was done so because the tasks were becoming a bit repetitive as the class went on, and it

was also important to allow enough time for the new activities. Furthermore, Learning

Outcome 4.6 was altered to account for the problems that were addressed in each of the new

tasks. Learning Outcome 4.6 now recognizes the utilization of cultural music and group

based performance tasks as a method of assessing student ability.

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17465016 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Two

Reference List

Fani, T., & Ghaemi, F. (2011). Implications of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development

(ZPD) in teacher education: ZPTD and self-scaffolding. Procedia-Social and Behavioral

Sciences, 29, 1549-1554.

Anastasiades, P., & Zaranis, Nicholas. (2016). Research on e-Learning and ICT in

Education : Technological, Pedagogical and Instructional Perspectives.

John, P. D. (2006). Lesson planning and the student teacher: re‐thinking the dominant

model. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 38(4), 483-498.

Weebly Link:

https://mjregan.weebly.com/

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