Piaget Blog

Explain how you would teach a specific topic at the concrete level. Be sure to include how you would cause disequilibrium, how you would help them assimilate, and how you would help them accommodate.

What would you add for the formal level?

If I was teaching students how to read music, to teach at the concrete level I would need to introduce the ideas of the staff, notes, and clefs. I would need to do this not only by verbally describing, but by showing each element separately, as well as showing them each element in an example (most likely from their method book). One way to introduce disequilibrium would be to point out that the lines and spaces of the staff mean something different for each clef. A way to help them assimilate this information would be to explain to them that middle C is their key, and show them where to find middle C for each clef. I could also help them by showing notes on the staff, blending and overlapping from bass clef, through tenor clef, up to treble clef. Another way to help them would be to play the piano and point out that the lower sounding notes belong to the lower clef, and the higher notes to the higher clef. I could also have them sing pitches to match what notes they are looking at and I am playing (for example, if they are looking at an A, I can play the A and have them sing it, to help internalize the concept of that note/sound).

For the formal level, I could ask them to make musical words from the notes, or to write a simple melody for the class to play.

Arts in Education Conference

• What did you learn from the article(s) you read about the connections between learning, arts, and the brain?
• What session(s) did you attend at the conference and what were your major takeaways from each?
• How will the knowledge and skills you gained from the article(s) and session(s) impact your teaching practice? Why?

The Dana Article I read was "How Arts Training Influences Cognition" - I was really interested in the arts theory that different arts help different parts of the brain develop. They discovered that training in the arts actually had an effect on a wide variety of cognitive areas, and that improvement seemed to be based more on how interested and rewarded a child felt about the art they were studying, as opposed to what particular art form they were learning. They also discovered a sort of cycle - the arts a child was most aesthetically appreciative of were the same art forms that a child found most rewarding. That led to a cycle of reward and motivation - the more rewarding the creation of an art, the more motivated a child was to continue. The more motivated they were to create, the more they were able to focus and sustain their attention, thus leading to greater reward - it's like a big happy cycle of practicing! It didn't seem to matter if it was music or dance or visual arts, all of the arts forms encouraged this positive cycle of reinforcement and artistic satisfaction. The last part of the article talked about dopamine and how some children have one of two genes relating to dopamine transmission, and children with a particular gene seem to be able to focus and anticipate learning better - I could see how the arts can light up our brains and encourage the production of dopamine, and the children with more effective dopamine transmission might find themselves more likely to practice and enjoy the process of creation, and children without that gene might find themselves needing to work harder to stay focused.

I attended the keynote lecture, the class led by Dr. Demske on using music to help teach other subjects, and the class on mixing traditional and contemporary music training. The keynote lecture focused on teaching students to get out of their comfort zones, to trust their ability to learn new things, help them be willing to take risks,  and to help students see that there are many ways to approach things. They also discussed teaching strategies that help students form connections between subject areas, and learning how to bridge cultural gaps in the classroom. The class by Dr. Demske was really useful ways to incorporate music into the classroom in ways besides just singing little ditties to help you memorize things, but instead getting music to open the pathways to critical and creative thinking. The class on mixing traditional and contemporary music was really interesting, we discussed taking something like a musical instrument or a piece of traditional music from another culture, and using it as a nexus for discussion (cultural, historical, technical backgrounds of the various subjects). We also discussed using different musical styles as a way to find the right language to address learning issues - not all students will identify with traditional classical music and learning techniques, we need to tap in to the cultures and roots of where our students are coming from.

I think the things I learned will impact my teaching by helping me find ways to lead my students to think more creatively, to be more brave in voicing their ideas, and to find ways to guide them into making deeper and more personal connections to their learning. The more they understand and identify with what I am teaching, the more they are going to actually learn something useful, instead of just going through the motions to get a grade. I want my students to learn to feel like they are a part of this world, not isolated, and I want them to be able to identify with not only the current culture we are living in, but to connect to all the places we have come from, or may be going to - the more they can feel connected to the world around them, the more secure they will feel, and I think that is key to getting them to really internalize what they are learning.

Differentiation Blog

For a specific topic in your content area, explain how you would differentiate instruction for readiness. Ideas may include the use of grouping, different levels of scaffolding, intervention/enrichment, and/or the use of technology.


If my chosen topic was "getting a student to play their instrument for the first time," I might have a range of readiness - some kids might have older siblings that they have watched, others might have tried their instruments before coming to school, and others may have not even opened their instrument case before their first day of class. I would need to find a few different ways to teach them how to put together and play their instruments. We might read the beginning pages of their method books - most method books have a page or two about assembly and tone production, and the better ones include illustrations for the more visual learners. I might choose to show a video clip of people putting together and playing various instruments, but a better choice might be to demonstrate it myself - that would show the students how to put it together, but also would show them that I am competent and they can trust me to guide them. I might also need to go by students individually, or in smaller groups, to help them with questions they have. Another thing I could do is have students make sound on only part of the instrument (the mouthpiece, head joint, etc) - that would make it less intimidating, since everyone will be making weird sounds, instead of kids focusing on being embarrassed if they can't make the correct sound right away. Some of my students might only need one of these scaffolding steps, but some might need all of these.