Planning

The planning process in this teaching was a bit easier than other teachings, since we have

more freedom. I also think that I’m just getting better at planning from continued experience. I

planned VT exercises that would apply to the literature as well, which was quite helpful during

the lesson (InTASC #7). I didn’t quite plan for the timing correct, as my actual lesson was off a

bit on the time marks from the plan. If I had to change one aspect of my plan, however, I would

have added a bit of the dotted quarter and eighth note figures. If I had done this, it would have

led into the repertoire a bit better even though that was not the focus of the plan.

Preparation/Practice for the teaching event

If I’m quite honest, I did not do nearly the amount of practicing for this teaching as I

could have. Even though it likely is not noticeable in the video, I felt as though I was quite

unprepared to teach. Even though it went well, I could have been more secure in my teaching if I

had run through the whole lesson by myself before running it with Katie. If I had done this, my

movements, transitions, and modeling might have been a bit tighter. I also was not very prepared

for the lag on the zoom call. Katie’s WIFI was not very good, so it was quite difficult to deal

with the lag at points. You can’t tell in the video, because it fixed some of the audio issues after

the fact.

All this being said, I prepared a couple ideas for what to discuss during the repertoire

section of the lesson which worked quite well during the teaching. I figured that Katie would

have certain tone issues, as she is still a developing singer and I know her voice pretty well. I

prepared a couple different ways to discuss each topic on vocal tone if necessary, and this was

quite useful in the lesson (InTASC #5). Although I could have done more to prepare myself for

this teaching, I think my work was plenty sufficient for a good teaching experience.
Strengths of the teaching event

I thought that there were a lot of strengths in this teaching event. As always, I think that

my demeanor was very welcoming and bright, which helped make Katie feel very comfortable

with the teaching experience (InTASC #3). I knew Katie would be a little nervous for this

lesson, so I was sure to be very supportive about her work as she sang. I think this helped the

lesson run better and made everyone feel more comfortable. I also thought that I did a good job

analyzing Katie’s performance, even while the Zoom audio was being quite finicky.

I think another strength of my teaching was that I knew the likely mistakes Katie would

make, which helped me throughout the process of the lesson (InTASC #4). This helped me a bit

with the Zoom lag, since I knew what I was listening for. When the audio was a bit too quiet, I

was able to focus on the areas that were more likely to have mistakes. On the same lines, I think I

delt with the issues of the technology quite well throughout the lesson, which made things go a

little bit smoother. I also asked questions throughout the lesson, which was helpful in

understanding what Katie knew throughout the teaching (InTASC #6). For the most part, I think

the questions were useful and helpful in the teaching process.

Areas of improvement needed for future teaching events

I tried to give legitimate and specific feedback throughout the lesson, but a few of the

times I think it fell a bit short. Most of it was fine, but I think I could have been more specific. If

I had done this, it would have helped Katie have a deeper understanding of expectations and

content (InTASC #8). I also think that I could have looked at the screen more. When I was trying

to listen to the sound, I put my head down to be closer to the computer. On the call, it looks like

I’m distracted, even though I was trying to hear better. I could easily fix this issue with

headphones, but I didn’t notice until after the fact.

 Although this couldn’t be seen clearly in the video. I was not very prepared with my files

and such on the Zoom call. I should have had all the applications more organized for the

teaching, as it was a bit difficult getting to the information I needed. This was apparent when I

needed to share my screen, as it took a little longer than necessary. This is a small detail, but it

could have helped either way. Similarly, there were a few areas in the teaching with dead space

that could have been avoided. I wasn’t sure what was coming next, so I had to look at my plan. If

I had planned it out a bit better, I could have avoided these moments entirely.