Xaiver Williams

Dr. Maynard

MUS 307

30 September 2020
Practicum Reflection – 09/30/2020

This practicum experience was like no other as it was my first official practicum

experience as a JMU Music Education major. There are so many lessons to learn from the

instructor that we met with. Her excitement and dedication to helping students have a positive

music education experience in a pandemic and financial hardships are inspirational to me as I am

on my journey to the field of education. During the virtual visit, there were a few things that the

orchestra teacher mentioned that caught my attention.

First, it shocked me when the teacher mentioned that she could tell when here students

had to work with the cows or came to school covered in mud from working on the family farm.

With a median family income of $40,115 and a majority of the families being in or out of the

poverty level, music education at this particular school is truly a challenge. At that moment, I

could only help but think about how different my life maybe if I were in the shoes of one of the

students that attended this school. Also, this school is in a rural portion of the state and there are

very few numbers of rural orchestra programs. This means that the ability for students to be

educated like suburban or urban students is very limited. This portion of our conversation

reminded me of the importance of helping students be holistic learners. An idea that came to

mind for me as a future educator is to partner with nearby post-secondary institutions to help

with giving students experiences that they may not be able to receive through the classroom or in

the community. This discussion shows the reason why educators have to be connected with the

community that their students live in to build effective relationships.

Xaiver Williams

Dr. Maynard

MUS 307

30 September 2020
Secondly, the teacher used several techniques that I think helped get the content to

students in a fun and interactive way. When teaching students, the role the viola has in the

orchestra, the teacher used presentations aids to helps students visualize what she was

explaining. She used a virtual viola that included different size rubber bands, dance moves to go

with the placement of the strings, and a change in vocal pitch to explain the highs and lows of

string sounds. With education currently being done on a virtual platform, the teacher showed us

how she stays in contact with students to help them with class assignments and still provided a

social aspect to learning.

One key takeaway that I will use in my classroom is the significance of keeping

communication with students positive. The teacher explained the video assessment method that

is used to help the students improve with their playing. The teacher provides three glows (three

positives) that the student did and one grow (areas of improvement) that the student should work

on to do better. This is a great method that I believe is very effective as it shows that is not about

what you say, but how you say it that can help a student feel encouraged and empowered to

continue to work hard.