Practicum Reflection 3

This week I had the opportunity to observe a concert band class for the third time. The instructor gave me the chance to teach a sectional during the class. The teacher had the class play scales at the beginning in the sixteenth note triple rhythm so they could apply it to the piece they were working on. After their warm up I had 15 minutes to work with the flute section on the beginning of one their pieces. Since I didn't have a lot of warning I had to come up with what to do as I was teaching. It was challenging because I was trying to explain rhythms they had never seen before, and I had never seen the piece prior to this. The section had a hard time grasping different rhythms so while some of them got it, a lot of them were just trying to follow along. Another reason it didn't go well was because some of the students didn't want to play. They would just stand there, and not listen when I asked them to play. It was frustrating because we could have gotten so much more done if the students just paid attention and played.  However, we were still able to go over all the rhythms and notes we were supposed to. After the sectional, the instructor had the whole band play the sections we went over. Since, we had just worked on it, they were able to help the rest of the band who were reading it for the first time. The teacher ended the class by finishing reading their pieces for the spring concert. Some things I noticed during class was how many of them were inattentive. Some were on their phones/computers, eating candy, or talking over the instructor. The instructor would try to get their attention by shushing them, and it never really worked. She also continued to talk over them, which it didn't help the talking either. Overall, I think the class went and the sectional I taught went well. However, some of the student's inattentiveness and talking during class inhibited the amount they were able to do get done during their time together.