Madison Gilleland

MUED 480 – Block 3

Final Self-Reflection
February 28th, 2024

I chose to record and reflect on myself teaching the advanced treble voice ensemble for

this self-reflection. This lesson took place during my second to last week with these students

and I immediately noticed some clear differences and improvements from the midpoint self-

relection I completed back in February. My overall confidence has grown and the lesson pacing

kept students engaged for longer.

The areas of strength I observed from this recording are once again my enthusiasm and

energy. Once again, this was clearly apparent in the recording and has a huge impact on the

student engagement. My connections with the student have only gotten stronger, which works

hand-in-hand with the ability to create an enthusiastic and positive classroom setting. I also

noticed improvements in my ability to wind lessons forward and/or back. In this specific lesson,

the students were moving at a quicker pace than I had anticipated, so we were able to move

ahead and sight read the ending of the song we were learning. My comments and

demonstrations have also become clearer and more specific compared to my last self

reflection.

The main areas in which I strive to continue growing are still piano skills and pacing.

While both of these things have drastically improved during my time at this placement, they

are still a work in progress. I’m becoming increasingly more confident in my piano skills,

especially with playing along to warm-ups. However, I still plan to practice diligently and
improve my accompanying skills for each piece of repertoire I encounter. Similarly, my lesson

pacing has improved since my last self-reflection, but it’s still something that’s developing and

becoming more habitual or second nature to me. Overall, this experience has been wonderful

and I have learned a lot from when I first began. The students and my cooperating teacher

have welcomed me with open arms and provided me with a safe and encouraging environment

to learn and grow as a music educator. I am eager to continue my student teaching experience

and will leave from this placement stronger than I first began.