To what extent does rhythm, meter, and tempo increase student achievement in fractions?

Project Background

Through the 4th grade Mathematical Composing Unit, students had the ability to identify, compose, and preform music that supports the curriculum objectives of the California State Math Standards. By teaching for transfer, students compared and contrasted elements in both music and fractions focusing on the following elements: time signature, note value, and number lines. Finally, all fourth grade students were involved in sharing fundamental concepts of the fractions and music through group made compositions that focus on different time signatures.

Partnership Overview

The vision of El Dorado’s M+MI projects is to enhance student achievement by integrating music learning with other academic areas in partnerships with local arts learning organizations (MuST and SF Opera),partner laboratory schools (Oakland Unified and Ravenswood School District Learning Laboratory Schools), and support and guidance from the Music-in-Education National Consortium (New England Conservatory Research Center).

El Dorado Elementary participated in three action research projects that aligned to this mission. The first project includes the development of the 2nd grade opera, the second project includes the 3rd grade Science of Music Project, and the third project focuses on a 4th grade Mathematical Composing Unit.

As part of the Music-in-Education National Consortium, El Dorado’s Music Learning Leadership Staff (administration, classroom and music teachers) received monthly professional development in a) M+MI curriculum unit design based on fundamental concepts of literacy shared between music and language, b) teaching for transfer strategies, c) music and music integration literacy skill assessment, and d) action research based documentation of student learning through collaboration with MuST, MIENC guided practices consultants, and SF Opera.

To what extent does the understanding of how instruments are played and make sound correlate to the students understanding of energy, sound, and matter?

Project Background

The 3rd grade Science of Music Project is based on the belief that music has an explicit connection to Physical Science. To achieve this end, every student was lead through a series of 7 musical experiments that tied into the Science FOSS curriculum. By the end of this projects every child had the ability to perform, to create, and to listen to music with understanding of how music relates to energy and matter.

Partnership Overview

The vision of El Dorado’s M+MI projects is to enhance student achievement by integrating music learning with other academic areas in partnerships with local arts learning organizations (MuST and SF Opera),partner laboratory schools (Oakland Unified and Ravenswood School District Learning Laboratory Schools), and support and guidance from the Music-in-Education National Consortium (New England Conservatory Research Center).

El Dorado Elementary participated in three action research projects that aligned to this mission. The first project includes the development of the 2nd grade opera, the second project includes the 3rd grade Science of Music Project, and the third project focuses on a 4th grade Mathematical Composing Unit.

As part of the Music-in-Education National Consortium, El Dorado’s Music Learning Leadership Staff (administration, classroom and music teachers) received monthly professional development in a) M+MI curriculum unit design based on fundamental concepts of literacy shared between music and language, b) teaching for transfer strategies, c) music and music integration literacy skill assessment, and d) action research based documentation of student learning through collaboration with MuST, MIENC guided practices consultants, and SF Opera.

To what extent does an Opera enhance comprehension strategies in Language Arts as well as give students the love of music?

Project Background

The 2nd grade Opera Project is based on the belief that music has an explicit connection to Language Arts. To achieve this end, every student participated in a 20 week SF Opera residency where teaching artist and classroom teacher co-taught lessons that integrated opera with comprehension skills. By the end of this projects every child had the ability to create and perform an opera with the ultimate understanding of how Opera relates to stories.

Partnership Overview

The vision of El Dorado’s M+MI projects is to enhance student achievement by integrating music learning with other academic areas in partnerships with local arts learning organizations (MuST and SF Opera),partner laboratory schools (Oakland Unified and Ravenswood School District Learning Laboratory Schools), and support and guidance from the Music-in-Education National Consortium (New England Conservatory Research Center).

El Dorado Elementary participated in three action research projects that aligned to this mission. The first project includes the development of the 2nd grade opera, the second project includes the 3rd grade Science of Music Project, and the third project focuses on a 4th grade Mathematical Composing Unit.

As part of the Music-in-Education National Consortium, El Dorado’s Music Learning Leadership Staff (administration, classroom and music teachers) received monthly professional development in a) M+MI curriculum unit design based on fundamental concepts of literacy shared between music and language, b) teaching for transfer strategies, c) music and music integration literacy skill assessment, and d) action research based documentation of student learning through collaboration with MuST, MIENC guided practices consultants, and SF Opera.

How can an integrated team of classroom and arts specialists, administration and arts partners help develop an arts plus arts integration unified community?

How can meeting weekly with each member of the team to develop, implement, present and discuss an individual action research plan in his/her own specialist area for team review contribute positively to unity in and through the arts for all staff and students?

Project Background

This project focuses on the need to develop the learning leadership of the arts specialists: music, visual arts, Latin American cultural arts, media, dance, movement. The goal of the team is to develop school unity through the arts. The first objective for the team was to develop a professional learning workshop for the entire Ramsey staff. The second objective was to establish an arts study group that would meet weekly.

Partnership Overview

Ramsey has been a Fine Arts Magnet school since 1989. Receiving Annenburg and Arts for Academic Achievement grants since 1994, Ramsey has developed and implemented arts partnerships with all grade levels and various artists and arts organizations in the Twin Cities community. Each year, every grade participates in an arts-integrated residency. With our partners, Ramsey engages in action research to determine the impact of these residencies on student learning, both in the arts and in other academic areas.

Ramsey was originally established 20 years ago as a fine arts magnet in the Minneapolis MN public school distict.  While the focus of MIENC is music plus music integration, Ramsey established an Arts Learning Leadership Team in order to focus on all the arts and arts integration.

Specialists within a school community are often isolated from one another and from classroom teachers due to union negotiations for specialists to provide “prep” time for classroom teachers  and/or spatial location of their classrooms.  In this case, as a result of the positive impact already observed from attending the MLL institute at the University of Maryland, Ramsey applied the model from last summer.  They created a similar group team configuration of arts specialists, classroom teachers and arts partners, directed by the school principal.  This is a brand new paradigm of leadership and collaboration, growing out of the MLL model.

How can music help us build fluency and to what extent does fluency contribute to reading comprehension for the beginning and transition reader?

How can composing music enhance student’s understanding of character through the use of elements of music?

The inquiry questions above were common threads of interest on many grade levels and central to classwork throughout the school. Additionally, the following question was used as a guide to develop and refine professional learning opportunities to inform the work taking place in the classroom.

How can the implementation of a thoughtful professional learning program, steeped in the needs of faculty and students, inform and document the integrated music teaching and learning taking place throughout the school?

Project Background

The partnership was designed to develop the skills and build appreciation for the arts in both the students and teachers. It sought to improve students’ verbal skills (such as expansion of vocabulary and word usage), provide measurable improvement in students’ social and emotional skills (assessed through teacher observation, pre- and post- evaluations, etc.), and continuously refine and redefine the entire school’s curriculum map.

Partnership Overview

The aim of this partnership was to grow and sustain a whole-school collaboration between the Metropolitan Opera Guild and PS 10, designed to reach every child from Pre-K through Grade 5.  Throughout the year every teacher in the school incorporated some element of opera into his or her classroom at a level appropriate to both each class’s comfort and ability. As a result the partnership was able to incorporate every student in the school. It was also important for the collaboratation to take into account PS 10’s dedication as an inclusive, barrier-free school.  It was important to meet the needs of all the students, and it was therefore necessary to make modifications to the curriculum to accommodate the entire school body, ensuring that all could actively contribute and participate.

To ensure that all students had a meaningful experience during the program, the Guild and PS 10 provided several professional learning opportunities to meet the needs of both novice and experienced teachers, providing support to all related service providers and other staff members. In addition, the auditorium was used as a school-wide performance “space” for teachers, students, administrators, parents, staff, teaching artists and visitors.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild’s PS 10 partnership strives to connect all arts experience to the creation and understanding of the arts; sustain an arena of program creators and audience to include the entire community; connect to the NYC Department of Education Arts Blueprints; and document and assess work in participating classrooms.

Within these categories, the partnership with PS 10 aimed to; observe an atmosphere of performance energy within the whole building and in all subject areas; identify PS10 as a place to see and hear art and a place where creating art is as important as test preparation; observe students describing connections to what they are learning and creating and ask questions about this work; create small and large arts performances and exhibits; work through, identify and make connections; cultivate partnerships; learn to create documentation (videotape, portfolio, exhibits, reflection and questioning, student journals, etc . .); and observe the work of others on a regular basis.

How will learning about music in an integrated approach be reflected in other subjects and within the school community?

Project Background

Students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade receive weekly, focused music instruction. In these lessons, they are encouraged to engage in listening, questioning, creating, and performance of music…followed by reflection. The goal of this type of instruction is to provide multiple entry points into learning, because every student has the right to learn in a manner that engages them most fully and creates opportunities to draw connections across curriculum.

Partnership Overview

Valuing the many facets of a well-rounded, cognitively-rich education, the Atrium School sought out someone to fill the role of Music Director. After much searching, the administrators decided on partnering with New England Conservatory and its Music-in-Education Department. This partnership sparked the formation of a team of NEC interns, guided by professionals in the field, to research and carry out the project of integrating music into the Atrium community.

These portfolio excerpts will be published in the upcoming issue of the Journal for Music-In-Education, and are being featured here in our first installment of the MIE Portfolio Showcase.

–Randy Wong,
MIE Program Coordinator

For starters, sometimes it helps people to think of their portfolio in the same way that they would think of a press kit. More than a business card, and often more ‘official’ than a website, artists use press kits all the time to show off their accomplishments, repertoire, references, media reviews, and etc. An MIE Portfolio can be used the same way – it’s like a press kit for teaching artists. A well-organized portfolio is like currency, when it comes to applying for teaching jobs or artist residencies! Prospective employers, whether they are at music schools, youth symphonies, or even parents looking for a private teacher for their child, can look at your MIE portfolio and get a very good glimpse at who you are as a teacher. Most likely, your MIE portfolio will include at least a learning narrative, rationale towards teaching, or a statement of self-assessment; and many peoples’ portfolios also have sample lesson plans, article responses, and pictures or video of past teaching experiences. This collection of documents says far more about who you are, and your experience as a teaching artist, than just a resume could.

While the sharing of some types of artifacts may be more relevant to some jobs than others, it’s important not to overlook the potential that ALL artifacts can have, if they are presented in an appropriate fashion. For example, just because you may be being considered as a private instructor for a young instrumentalist (as opposed to an assistant at a research center), I would encourage you to include some reading responses in your portfolio. If you chose articles (i.e. from the Journal for Learning Through Music) that are relevant to your teaching approach with young students, and included thoughtful reading responses, then prospective parents would see that you are not only familiar with current research in music-in-education, but that you strive to let that research inform who you are, in your own practice, as a teaching artist.

Another example of this deals with MIE alums who apply for jobs in arts administration. On occasion, one might find a community organization who wants to start a music program at their site, but isn’t sure what would be an appropriate approach. In an interview for such a job, the organization might ask its applicants what approaches similar organizations have taken. Or what trends are current in the field. Or if there might be an already-established program somewhere that could be replicated at their site. For the uninformed applicant, this could be a daunting question. However, for the MIE alum, who has done readings in national music-in-education journals where the journals report on similar programs across the country, the question becomes very easy. In fact, some of our Guided Interns at the Research Center have decided to focus their internships on gleaming that kind of information from sites across the MIE National Consortium, and their portfolios will reflect these trends.

Finally, I wanted to address some concerns that making an MIE Portfolio is a “daunting task,” especially for non-native English speakers. Portfolio work, like most types of homework or class assignments, is meant to be done in stages. This means that, along the way, students have the time to edit, proofread, and adjust their writing so that they can get it to the most professional standards. Working with an experienced English coach or writing instructor can have profound, and long-lasting, positive effects. Luckily, students of any degree program at New England Conservatory have the services of Patrick Keppel and the Writing Center at their disposal. (Patrick Keppel is the Editor of the Journal for Learning Through Music and the soon-to-be-published Journal for Music-in-Education, and is very familiar with the portfolio strategy used by the MIE Concentration Program).

Anyways, those are some specific ways that MIE portfolios can be applied to career-building situations. If you can think of any others, or have some questions, please post comments below!

-Randy,

P.S.: I cannot stress enough how effective a well-written and organized portfolio can be.

Randy Wong is Program Coordinator for the Center for Music-in-Education and Information Architect for the Music-in-Education National Consortium

Links to MIE Alumni Teaching Blogs:

Links to MIE Alumni Sample Portfolios:

–Randy Wong,
MIE Program Coordinator