Music Teaching Observation Form #2
MUED 211: Foundations of Music Education
Observer’s Name: Nick Sparshott
Teacher’s name: Mr. Rolle
Activities
List all the things that you see the teacher and
students do in class.
 Teacher instructs students to set up
their instruments at the start of
practice.
 After students have set up, the
teacher asks for suggestions for a new chance to control how class will go.
song for the group to learn.
 The teacher then has students warm
up with playing their instruments.
 The teacher runs the first tune with
the students. During the song, the
teacher gives feedback to the
students. After finishing, the teacher
has students play the last section of
the song.
 In the next tune, the teacher has
students run the whole song.
Afterwards, the teacher works on
certain sections of the song.
 When a student loses attention while
the teacher is instructing, the teacher
re-focuses the student and asks
another classmate to fill the student
in on instruction
 After rehearsing the tune, the teacher
asks students for suggestions. The
Instruction
List possible reasons for the activity that you
observed. Why did the teacher or student do
this?
The teacher does this to get class started and
to encourage independence with the
students.
This promotes inclusion and gives students a
This gives students a chance to warm up for
performance and/or practice certain parts pf
a song and gives a chance for the teacher to
ready the lesson.
By the teacher giving feedback during
playing, the students can make quick
corrections. Repeating the section of the
song gives students more practice with the
song while not spending the entire class on
one song.
Having the students practice certain sections
of the song give students more practice with
while not spending the entire class on one
song.
The teacher encourages discipline by
regaining the student’s attention and having
another classmate correct the student.
 Music Teaching Observation Form #2
MUED 211: Foundations of Music Education
group decides on a suggestion, and
they run the tune.
 The teacher has students take a 5-
minute break.
 After break, the teacher has students
practice individually parts of songs
they need work on for 25 minutes.
 After individual practice, the teacher
goes over the day of the concert,
including the time to be there, set up,
and the set list.
 After practicing the set list, the
teacher discusses the energy of the
group and how students should have
movement while playing
 The teacher steps in during
rehearsing the song with a woodblock
to help students who got off tempo
 The teacher talks individually to some
students to help them with certain
sections of the songs.
 After further discussion of song order
and practicing sections of different
songs, the group runs the order.
 The teacher ends with some finishing
thoughts then instructs students to
pack up.
This promotes inclusion and gives students a
chance to control how class will go.
The teacher does this to give students a
chance to relax and mingle with their
classmates, which keeps students engaged
later in the class.
The teacher does this so students can
practice any parts of songs they worked on
which establishes independence.
The teacher does this to inform students on
what the plans are for the day of the concert.
These older students can retain this
information much easier.
The teacher encourages the students to have
movement when playing which can help
engage listeners (especially for a steel drum
band).
The teacher does this to keep students from
losing their spot in the music, which also
helps the entire ensemble from losing
complete control of the song.
Having the teacher come around and
individually help students establishes
student-teacher relationships and can target
individual corrections needed to be made
The teacher runs the entire song order to
prep the students for how the concert will
run.
Finishing thoughts help re-cap the lesson and
establish what the students both did great at
and what needs some work.
 Music Teaching Observation Form #2
MUED 211: Foundations of Music Education

General Reflection Questions

What delivery skills (i.e., voice, body, face, gesture) did this teacher demonstrate in class? What
was the most effective moment you observed related to effective use of delivery skills?

The teacher overall conducted themselves in a very calm yet authoritative manner. The teacher
only raised their voice when gaining student attention, and used a room-level, calm voice when
instructing the students. The teacher’s posture was very relaxed and welcoming. Although the
teacher had a mask, the teachers face based on their eyes felt relaxed yet engaged. The teacher
also used very welcoming gestures as opposed to flailing their body. The most effective delivery
skill was the teacher’s tone of voice. They could manipulate their tone multiple ways to keep
the student’s attention depending on the situation. For example, when students began to go
off-task, the teacher regained their attention by raising their voice, then went back to a softer
voice when instructing. Overall, the teacher maintained a very positive attitude.

What evidence did you observe that suggests this teacher focused on student learning?

The teacher would often give students the chance to pick what song they want to learn on. This
makes the lesson path depend entirely on the students’ decisions. The teacher would also allow
students to practice individually on their songs, which gives students the ability to choose what
how they work on something

What evidence of diversity did you observe in this classroom? How did the teacher manage the
instruction to accommodate diverse learners?

Some diversity I saw was with a student with a disability. When it came to playing a song, the
teacher would always count in next to the student to make sure the student would come in on
time.

What did this teacher do to establish or maintain rapport with the students in the classroom?

The teacher would walk around the classroom during individual practice time to make sure if
anyone needed help on a section or if they were practicing a section correctly. The teacher also
stayed after class just in case any students wanted to just talk or have something personal
they’d like to discuss with the teacher.
 Music Teaching Observation Form #2
MUED 211: Foundations of Music Education
How did this teacher help students establish musical independence?

The teacher would let the students pick what songs they were going to practice for the class
and what order the songs would be for the concert. The teacher also allowed students to
practice individually for 25 minutes, allowing students to practice whatever they personally
needed.

What was your general impression of this class? Why?

I thought the class was very enjoyable, not just because of the music, but the engagement of
the students because of the teacher. I thought the teacher did a great job at maintaining the
engagement of the class, which made instruction easy and made the performances enjoyable.

Please write a paragraph detailing any additional thoughts, questions, or concerns you have
after completing this observation.

Some additional observations I noticed that I could use in my future teaching were the use of
the word “sticks”. Steel pans are played with a type of drumming stick. In order for the teacher
to capture the attention of the class, the teacher would say “sticks”, which means to stop
playing and listen to the teacher. Having a word like “sticks” is great since the use of it is to grab
students’ attention and the word Itself coincides with the class. Another thing I observed was
how the teacher was able to have songs rehearsed in the beginning of class to be worked on
later in class. I think this a great concept, in that the overall topic of a lesson can be introduced
with a song, and later on in class be elaborated on, giving more time in the beginning of the
class to efficiently go over the topic of the lesson.