PDQP Sharing and Advising Future Students,
Finishing Up, and
Reflection Signature Assignment
Ciana L.
Whitfield
National
University
Author
Note:
Ciana
Whitfield, Department of Music, Parkside Middle School.
In
partial fulfillment of the requirements for TED 690 Capstone for Professor
Clifton Johnson.
Correspondence
concerning this document should be addressed to Ciana Whitfield, Department of Music,
Parkside Middle School, San Bruno, CA 94066. Contact: cwhitfield@sbpsd.k12.ca.us
Abstract
This is document number four
to complete the Capstone PDQP and combined, are the culmination of my
specialization of U.S. Education in a Global Context. This reflective “finishing-up” signature
assignment will provide information for sharing and advising future students, and
a) comments regarding my
journey, content, timelines, things that worked and things that did not; b)
changes made throughout the project, rationale for changes, and impact on
achieving my professional development goals; c) achievements, frustrations, and
lessons learned during the development of my PDQP; d) implications on future
teaching practices and student learning; and finally, e) any advice I would
give future students regarding the PDQP process, its purpose, and the finished
product. All information related to my experience and comments regarding
the above five elements is written to share personal experience as advice for
future students and reflecting upon my own process for the ultimate goal of
improvement for all. TPE Domains B and E
will be populated with three artifacts. One
artifact for each TPE domain will be a supporting literature review and each chosen
artifact will be justified.
Keywords: pdqp,
music education
PDQP- Sharing and Advising Future Students,
Finishing Up, and Reflection Signature Assignment
An important step in the process of
creating a PDQP is reflection. Reflection
is important as it allows us to assess our work and adjust elements that can
use improvement. Singapore and Finland
are two of the top national education systems and both are huge proponents of
reflection (Darling-Hammond, 2009, pgs. 170 & 191). In Finland, “groups engage in a cycle of
planning, action, and reflection/ evaluation that is reinforced throughout the
teacher education and is, in fact, a model for what teachers will plan for
their own students, who are expected to use similar kinds of research and
inquiry in their own studies” (Darling-Hammond, 2009, p. 170). Regarding the importance of reflection upon
an portfolio such as the PDQP, (the teaching portfolio provides authentic
evidence of a teacher’s work and is a vehicle for fostering reflection on the art and practice of teaching” (Costantino
& De Lorenzo, 2009, p. 2). Examples
of reflective inquires can include what is listed in the abstract above as well
as what advice (do differently and do again) I would give them about
developing, selecting artifacts for, and sharing a PDQP, participating in a
positive learning community, and describing what parts of the course were most
beneficial. Again, all information related to my
experience and comments regarding the above five elements is written to share
personal experience as advice for future students and reflecting upon my own
process for the ultimate goal of improvement for all. TPE Domains B and E will be populated with three
artifacts. One artifact for each TPE
domain will be a supporting literature review and each chosen artifact will be
justified.
Literature Review
There are two articles discussed in this
document. For TPE Domain B, the selected
supporting literature review is entitled “Debating assessment in music
education” from the Research
and Issues in Music Education Journal in 2008 by Ryan
Fisher. For TPE Domain E, the selected
supporting literature review is entitled “Finding Inspiration in Middle School
General Music” from the General Music Today Journal in 2011 by Elizabeth McAnally.
Article number one to be discussed is for TPE Domain B, “Debating
assessment in music education” from the Research and Issues in Music Education Journal in
2008 by Ryan Fisher. Ryan Fisher ‘is Assistant Professor of Choral Music
Education at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). Dr. Fisher earned a BME from Lee University,
a MM in choral conducting and a PhD in music education from the University of
North Texas and his previous teaching experience includes elementary music,
middle school chorus, and high school chorus in Texas. Dr. Fisher is involved in many activities
such as being an active choral clinician and adjudicator with research
interests involving the male voice change, assessment in music education, and
arts education collaboration’ (Fisher, 2008).
This article was selected for TPE Domain B as it is
regarding a very important and commonly debated element of music education-
assessment. As music is a very
performance-centered subject and an art, is it often debated if this form of
self-expression should be graded and in addition, include competition. If music is often part of life for the
purposes of music-making for music’s sake instead of being graded as a subject,
how do we as music educators move forward with planning and assessment?
This article “serves to discuss the
current debate on national music assessment and to argue that music education's
place in the core curriculum demands an increase in oversight through
standardized music assessment of students in music education classes” (Fisher,
2008).
The
article begins with a review of music education assessment history and the
three (to the article date) administered music assessments in the United
States and their related details of age and outcomes. The first two assessments were quite positive
in the 1970’s while the last assessment of the 1990’s shows decline and
conflicted reviews.
Following the introduction is the discussion and comparison
of the supporters and opposition of national music assessments. Supporters arguments include adhering to the
current data-driven climate, accountability for teachers and NCLB, testing
creating a belief that music is a serious subject instead of just a fun
elective, support to inform professional development needs to show areas needing
improvement, and academic credibility- showing success in music to create a
greater appreciation for the subject (Fisher, 2008). “While most music educators would largely
promote informally assessing music students within the classroom, many remain
strongly opposed to a national standardized music assessment” (Fisher, 2008). Those in opposition to music education
assessment argue that music is a form of artistic expression that isn’t to be
assessed and that arts are not to be treated as a similar subject to others-
according to Hoffa 1994 in Fisher, 2008, Hoffa argues “that the arts ‘defy the
norms of objective measurement by which learning is assessed in other
subjects.’ Other listed concerns include
the teachers being held accountable for adopting a student with unsuccessful
results due to another teacher’s lessons and the element of performance
pressure- how can music teachers teach to a test in addition to all of the
ensemble work middle and high schools have?
The positives and negatives are then followed with discussions
regarding the necessity for national music assessment and accountability, music
education and political gain, protection of instructional time, and a national
gauge of music organizations. The article concludes that “though those in opposition
to national music assessment have compelling arguments that deserve
consideration, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks” (Fisher, 2008). This has been an ongoing argument in the
United States that joins the collection of standardized tests that are being
questioned and set-up for long-term debate.
Article number two to be discussed is for TPE Domain E is
entitled “Finding Inspiration in Middle School General Music” from the General
Music Today Journal in 2011 by Elizabeth
McAnally. Elizabeth McAnally ‘is a
general music teacher and choral director at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in
Philadelphia, PA and is the author of another middle school music article’
(McAnally, 2011).
This article was selected for TPE Domain E as it discusses
the importance of the music classroom atmosphere. Middle school students are at a critical
point of change between childhood and adulthood and the artistic zone within
which they are contained must provide a safe, engaging, and fun space for these
minds to do an enormous of growing. It
is the teacher’s responsibility to not only create a great physical classroom
atmosphere but also a platform of all elements related to atmosphere such as
character, professional development, problem-solving skills, mental health and
exceptionality assessment and modification and adaptations, procedures and
classroom management, and excellent music education to only name a few.
This article ‘discusses how to work
with rather than against adolescents' age appropriate characteristics when
planning content, process, assessment, and classroom environment and offers a brief description of thematic study
from the author’s own general music classroom, through which students explore
five composers and the inspiration for their work” (McAnally, 2011). The introduction of the article discusses
common belief’s regarding the author’s position as a middle school music
teacher. McAnally discusses how to make positive
the common middle-school characteristics such as inquisition and widespread
tendencies.
The next part of the article
discusses that “as music educators, we all strive for vibrant, exciting
lessons, where students participate eagerly in making and learning about music,
ask and answer challenging questions, and find meaningful connections between
music and their lives” and suggests that we can achieve these goals by properly
planning and maximizing the components of content (what), process (how),
assessment (how), and environment (what) (McAnally, 2011). Content, process, assessment, and environment
are then discussed in full throughout the article.
The discussion of four key
components of a successful middle school music program starts with
content. The article mentions that
although there are standards, there is no list of required repertoire,
therefore there is an enormous amount of material with which teachers can work
which brings the article to the key content point of the importance of
diversity. The component of process
which highlights the importance of engaging material to keep the students busy,
learning, and interested as well as allowing students to become someone of
their own identity. Assessment suggests
that “rather than relying strictly on traditional paper-and pencil tests,
assessment embedded in instruction is a particularly helpful tool” (McAnally,
2011). The component of environment is
discussed last and states that “a productive and inspiring middle school music
room is characterized by an underlying, consistent layer of respect” (McAnally,
2011).
The final part of the article
discusses the author’s thoughts regarding projects that inspire the
students. The article discusses the
students studying five composers and how they are inspired by this
project. It concludes with the author
reiterating her high quality of work-life and that the use of the components
and inspiration will set a strong foundation for success.
Discussion
A reflective signature assignment will be provided for all final
work of the online PDQP Capstone. This
reflective “finishing-up” signature assignment will provide information for
sharing and advising future students, collective reflective comments on the
PDPQ, and any advice I would give future students regarding the PDQP. TPE Domains B and E will be
populated with three artifacts. One
artifact for each TPE domain will be a supporting literature review and each
chosen artifact will be justified with rationale.
Comments
Regarding my Journey, Content, Timelines, and Things that Worked and Things
that did Not for the Purpose of Advising Future Students and Reflection
for Improvement for All
Regarding my journey, content, timelines, and things that worked and
didn’t, the consistent remained that everything was in need of organization for
a final goal of a portfolio that was comprehensive and clear while also diverse
and intricate. The journey most
definitely started and continued with a quest for artifacts that were
applicable as well as well-rounded and intricately interconnected while driven
towards long-term goals for myself, students, my school, community, professional
world, and global society. It was
imperative for the class and my personal education goals that the content and timeline
were directly tied to the ultimate professional development goals, the
improvement of my school and teaching, and connection to my Master
specialization of U.S. Education in a Global Context.
Many things worked
throughout the class, the development of the PDQP, and each paper. My first great decision that worked was to,
although thinking for four months that my final project would be in a
PowerPoint format, opt for an online blog to represent my portfolio. This made it very easy to share my content
with peers and the class from the beginning.
Having internal class email, standard email, and discussion boards also
worked in order to connect with the Professor and connecting with peers in
order to get assistance and gain ideas for each project to create each element
of the weekly work. Utilizing prior
class examples as models also was a huge help as far as completing work and
being confident that I was doing work that was correct, interesting, and
professional. I also very much enjoyed
reading professional, peer-reviewed literature about music education
topics.
Regarding what did not
work in the class, there is not nearly as much to comment on as there was for
what did work. One element that did not
work well was the time required to put together the portfolio to the best of my
ability as I have a full-time teaching position with many ensembles and
performances that require an enormous amount of time and effort inside and away
from each work day. Another element that
did not work as well as I had hoped was connecting my profile to my
specialization of U.S. Education in a Global Context. I feel there could have been more emphasis
put on this although it was fantastic to be able to be working with music as a
focus of my education training again as in other classes, this was not always
the case. A final concern was getting to know the blog website in a short
period of time that also required papers and the collection of acceptable,
applicable, and interesting artifacts.
It takes some time to be able to get familiar with the formatting of
making a website and this was an additional difficulty. Unfortunately, there were a few elements of
the website design I had to disregard in interest of efficiency- examples
include not being able to change red text with black underlines, spacing and
font between pages, and change in format of the home page.
Changes
Made Throughout the Project, Rationale for Changes, and Impact on Achieving my Professional
Development Goals- Comments for the Purpose of Advising Future Students and
Reflection for Improvement for All
I made many changes throughout the project. The first change I made was to go from
working only with a PowerPoint to utilizing an online blog. The rationale for this change is that it made
it immediately available to my peers and professor, the design was easier to and
a nicer display than that of PowerPoint, and I knew I would enjoy making my own
website. I imagined that the blog would
be designed by the creators to withhold a larger amount of information that
would have more efficient design and capacity and I was correct. The impact on achieving my professional
development goals is that in making this change, I improved on my use of
technology in the enhancement of my music education career and completed an
element of the ultimate goal of earning my degree.
Another change I made
was to stop putting just observations from different organizations and to
include more diverse and interesting artifacts in order to better highlight the
good work I do in the classroom and to collaborate with others in the future. Initially I was utilizing my BTSA and
National University student teaching observations as artifacts. After better grasping the concept of the
course and the ultimate goals of the project I decided to expand my quest to
have a broader knowledge base.
Achievements,
Frustrations, and Lessons Learned During the Development of my PDQP for the
Purpose of Advising Future Students and Reflection for Improvement for All
I had many achievements, frustrations, and lessons learning throughout my
PDQP quest and development. Achievements
included the completion of my BTSA program which was tied to my successes in my
National classes, successful weeks in this course- a success strongly tied to
my hard work and a professor that has been a great guide, and the flowering of
my PDQP which initially seemed quite barren and technical. I found myself enjoying it and sharing it
with others, something that always proves that I am enjoying the work I am
doing.
In hand with achievement is the process of coping with frustration. My largest frustrations were with the time
and efficiency of completing each week coinciding with my job, admiring
personal progress over perfection, and finding artifacts that exactly matched
my goals. In order to utilize my
frustration for something productive, I have come to the conclusion that the
lessons learned from these frustrations with the development of my PDQP include
making sure I have an even tighter process for prioritization, the
understanding that I must be in a peaceful state of mind to do efficient and
quality work, and that connecting to peers is an excellent and healthy method
for helping with efficiency and great work.
Implications
on Future Teaching Practices and Student Learning for the Purpose of Advising
Future Students and Reflection for Improvement for All
The PDQP has many implications on future teaching practices and students
learning. First and foremost, the most
successful elements of the strongest education systems include many factors but
the according to all information reviewed in prior classes, the “number one
factor in success is developing high-quality teachers” (Serdyukov, 2015) and
therefore the PDQP’s emphasis on professional development is programmed for the
United States to move in the correct direction for furthering this success in
our schools and employees. This emphasis
on professional development and the infusion of a detailed timeline lay a solid
foundation as a path to success for all involved in the teacher’s future.
The PDQP and artifacts should be engaging and
unique, well-organized, current, applicable, relevant, and accessible by a
positive learning community. In a
technology-driven, quickly-evolving global society, the PDQP should reflect and
showcase many elements of the teacher’s proficiency in all elements of their
subject matter in addition to the teaching profession. The PDQP should allow the teacher to look
back and add to their PDQP as a guide in the future, should serve as a glimpse
into the teacher’s classroom before even meeting the teacher, and serve as a
foundation of future accomplishment.
Advice
I Would Give to Future Students Regarding the PDQP Process, its Purpose, and
the Finished Product for the Purpose of Advising Future Students and Reflection
for Improvement for All
The first advice I would give to future students regarding the PDQP
process, its purpose, and the finished product is to have a conversation with
the professor after reviewing all weeks of the project in order to iron out any
details or worries. This will alleviate
any tension, allow for a greater creative process, correct assignments and
achievement of goals, and time for creating a schedule of processing. It is important to mentioned that work must
be done early, regularly, and with regular connection to the class. I would advise the students to create a class
checklist and a folder with four subfolders and documents that include weekly
work and information. Within the main
folder, I would tell the students to create an “artifact checklist,” “article
selection list,” a shell for each weekly
paper, and a document for collecting references whether it be on a sheet
document or online blog. I would advise
that the students collect all TPE domain artifacts and articles in the first
week and document them in their checklist so that in the last three weeks, they
would be able to focus on the papers, design, and improvement of their site
artifacts. I would then tell the students to review a
variety of PDQP’s online and any sample assignments as these are great examples
and a very helpful form of modeling.
The most beneficial
element of the course is to be exiting with a final product that can be
utilized in the future. The PDQP is not
an assignment that is left in a folder to think about from time-to-time but a
portfolio to utilize, share, and collaborate with for the purpose of
progress. Another beneficial element
included the classlive sessions and connections to other students. A final beneficial element included the
regular review of the TPE domains that should be infused into every teacher’s
class design.
TPE
Domain Artifact Review
Regarding completed TPE domains, week one TPE Domain A addressed making
subject matter comprehensible to students and included the “Telling My Story”
assignment which included the exploration of the six TPE Domains and related
artifacts as well as my introduction to my learning community where I shared my
interconnected TPE Domain and artifact findings with the learning community. Week two TPE Domain F addressed the
continuation of my quest to become a more effective teacher, developing as a professional educator, and
included the “Professional Development Plan” and timeline assignment based on
the week one goals. Week three TPE
Domain C addressed engaging and supporting students in learning while TPE Domain
D addressed planning instruction and designing learning experiences for
students. Week three had the assignment “PDQP Progress Report.” Final week 4 Domain B is regarding assessing
student learning and TPE E, creating and maintaining effective environments for
student learning. This final week has
the assignment “Reflection on ePortfolio Process and Advice for Future Students”
(Whitfield, 2015, p. 9-10).
TPE Domain
B Artifacts and Justification/Rationale.
TPE Domain B is about assessing
student learning. Domain B includes monitoring
student learning during instruction and interpretation and use of assessments.
Artifact one has two
elements- a written visual and aural assessment of students playing their
twelve major scales and gradebook entries for each student’s weekly progress.
Artifact one is evidence of teaching as the students must not only have
this knowledge as musicians for the enjoyment of music-making but also to
adhere to California standards and use of assessments. Documentation of student progress allows for
the students to regularly know if they are adequately prepared in a timely
manner as well as for the teacher to have a checkpoint to reflect upon for the
improvement of the system in place for enhancing their student’s experiences. Artifact one relates to Domain B as Domain B discusses
assessments and monitoring student learning.
Artifact two includes
embedded videos and active links of many videos showing examples of the result
of my Parkside class teaching. Artifact
one is evidence of teaching as the videos directly show the culmination of
class training performance. ‘The most
important thing about assessment is knowing what it is that you should be able
to do- the best way for me to think about it is a child learning a sport or a
child learning an art form, because it is completely unmysterious what you have
to be to be a quarterback or a figure skater or a violin player as you see it,
you try it out, you're coached, you know when you're getting better, you know
how you're doing compared to other kids’ (PBS, 2009). Artifact two relates to
Domain B as Domain B discusses assessments and monitoring student learning and
concerts achieve both elements.
Artifact three chosen
is a review of supporting literature entitled
“Debating assessment in music education” from the Research and Issues in Music Education Journal in
2008 by Ryan Fisher. This article is important and was selected for TPE Domain B, as
mentioned in the above literature review, because
it is related to the content within the domain regarding assessment and
monitoring student learning during instruction.
Although music educators have split views regarding the assessment of
music education, informal to formal assessment can be a useful tool for the
improvement of general artistic expression and testing. The article describes the importance of both
views and it is a music educator’s job to incorporate the positive elements of
both sides into their lessons.
TPE Domains E Artifacts
and Justification. TPE Domain E is about creating and maintaining
effective environments for student learning.
Domain E includes instructional time and social environment.
Artifact one is a video
multimedia project created by a student.
Artifact one is evidence of teaching as the students have taken the
requirements of the class project and produces a video with a performance
including skills adopted from the music class.
The students are thriving in a successful musical environment and are
able to transfer that knowledge off-campus- the goal of long-term learning. Artifact
one relates to Domain E as Domain E discusses the importance of a thriving
learning atmosphere and the maximization of instructional time.
Artifact two is a series
of classroom photos to capture evidence of the social environment within which
my music students learn. The classroom
displays the materials needed in order to conduct multiple daily ensembles. The photos also show the variety of posters
and equipment that make the room a comfortable yet educational atmosphere. It is expected that ‘teachers know how to
establish rapport with all students and their families for supporting academic
and personal success through caring, respect, and fairness’ (The California Teaching
Performance Expectations (TPEs), 2012, p. 15). Artifact two relates to
Domain E as Domain E discusses the importance of a strong learning environment
with clear rules and consistent patterns.
Artifact three includes
a series of classroom management documents retrieved from a BTSA classroom
management training. These elements are
staples for every classroom as no matter the subject, the class needs an
accepting, educational, and structured atmosphere with guidelines that give a
path down any possible discipline incident, classroom procedure, and
event. There are many commonalities
between classrooms despite the vast differences in teaching styles and
subjects. These commonalities must be
researched and prepared for in advance.
Artifact three relates to Domain E as Domain E discusses the importance
of a structured learning environment with again, clear rules and consistent
patterns.
Artifact four chosen for
TPE Domain E is a
review of supporting literature entitled “Finding
Inspiration in Middle School General Music” from the General
Music Today Journal in 2011 by Elizabeth
McAnally.
This article is important and was selected
for TPE Domain E, as mentioned in the above literature review, as it is related to the content within the domain such as
social environment and instructional time.
It is extremely important to not only maintain a physical environment of
a classroom but a mental environment.
Middle school students are going from childhood to adulthood and
artistic expression is prevalent- a music classroom is commonly safe place
where middle school students can be where they are comfortable and able to
express themselves. How can the music
educator best prepare this environment and instruction time to cater to each
student?
Conclusions and Future Study
Reflection
is a critical tool for the progressing educator and their PDQP. To enhance the educational futures of
students, education professionals, the community, and the world is not only the
job of every teacher but a personal mission for those teaching to create waves
of positive change. A positive and
collaborative learning environment is a strong path toward the future of
changing the education culture and the PDQP supports this path. It is on this path that we walk together
towards our collective success.
References
Costantino, P. & De Lorenzo, M. (2009). Developing
a Professional Teaching Portfolio:
A Guide for Success, Third
Edition. Pearson Education.
Darling-Hammond, Linda. (2009). The
Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment
to Equity Will Determine Our
Future (Multicultural Education Series). Teachers College
Press. Kindle Edition.
Fisher, R. (2008). Debating assessment in music
education. Research and Issues in Music
Education, 6(1). Retrieved from
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA193298677&v=2.1&u=nu_main&it=r&
p=AONE&sw=w&asid=46c20a6ad6e6141ab7fe85c2a5667453
McAnally, E. A. (2011). Finding Inspiration in
Middle School General Music. General Music
Today, 24(3), 5-9.
doi:10.1177/1048371310370562
PBS. (2009). "Howard Gardner Multiple
Intelligence Theory." Education
Resources. Retrieved
from: http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-howard-gardner-video
Serdyukov, P.
(2015). Lecture 1. Retrieved
from:
https://nu.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_3585
_1&content_id=_238527_1&mode=reset
The California Teaching Performance
Expectations (TPEs). (2012). CalTPA Candidate
Handbook, Appendix A, Retrieved
from http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/TPA-
files/CandidateHandbook-AppendixA-TPEs.pdf
on October 7, 2012
Whitfield, Ciana. (2015). PDQP Progress Report.
(Unit #
4: Assignment 4)
TED690:
CAPSTONE
April
27, 2015
Subm
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