All projects must be transmitted to me by e-mail.
Ten extra points given to students who also put their presentation/lesson plan up on a Web page.
Giving presentations, whether to a class, employer, church or
community group, is a basic skill or tool required of those with
a college education. Throughout your life, you will be asked
to give a presentation, talk, demonstration, or lesson. When
that happens, the format given below is a useful starting point.
Given the scope of this final assignment and my expectations for
a thorough and well-developed presentation plan, this project
will constitute two-thirds of the final exam grade. There will
be no other essay component to the final exam, but there will
be a written theory-lab given in class that will constitute one-third
of the final grade. If you have questions or wish to discuss
your presentation/lesson plan, please e-mail or see me during
office hours. (Don't let too much time go by before you begin
to consider the specific concept or skill that you want to present.)
Develop a lesson plan or presentation which integrates music and
technology. The plan should be specific and well-conceived.
It should have a well-defined, narrow target audience (e.g. second
graders who have learned several folk songs, or non-piano players
currently living in a retirement center). You should clearly
define the goal or behavioral objective of the lesson. (It should
be specific, measurable, and capable of achievement/completion
within the scope of a thirty minute lesson.) The lesson plan
should include at least four music vocabulary words related to
the particular concept or skill being taught. The lesson plan
should specifically address all materials needed for completion
including hardware, software, Web connectivity, particular Web
pages, books, CDs, musical instruments, materials, flashcards,
and other educational tools. The lesson plan should have a well-thought-out
step-by-step approach or clearly delineated strategy for attaining
the specific goal or objective. The lesson plan should have an
evaluative component which allows you to measure or test whether
the goal or behavioral objective has been met. The lesson plan
should also briefly discuss or analyze the skill or concept being
taught, particularly in regard to the technological means by which
the goal is achieved.
An overall outline form is acceptable, though many of the points
in the outline will need to be developed using complete sentences
and thorough discussion.
The basic structure of the lesson plan might look something like
this.
Here's how a sample lesson plan might look in outline form.
A. Target Audience: Urban eighth graders with little musical
training
B. Objective:
Students should be able to define syncopation, explaining what
is ragged in ragtime, and be able to differentiate between a syncopated
rag and a waltz or march played on a CD or piano. They should
also be able to name a ragtime composer such as Scott Joplin,
Jelly Roll Morton, or Marian Davis. They should also be able
to locate the roots of ragtime in American African-American culture.
C. Vocabulary:
syncopation, ragtime, stride, Scott Joplin, 1890s (key
dates in development of ragtime), waltz, off beat, pulse
D. Teaching Materials:
E. Step by Step Strategy for Teaching Syncopation in Ragtime:
F. Evaluation
The evaluation in this particular lesson will take place by the
teacher-student interaction at each computer station. Utilizing
the downloaded examples such as Baltimore Todolo by Eubie Blake
which alternates between syncopated and steady rhythms, ask students
to correctly identify the syncopated passages. Ask students to
describe what makes the passage syncopated. Students' answers should
include words such as off-beat, main beat, rhythms, pulse. Students
not using these words likely do not understand the concept, and
should repeat the lesson. If there are too many students for
this mode of evaluation, students should be able to correctly
identify syncopated passages and non-syncopated when played on
a piano or off a CD such as Riches and Rags (which contains
non-syncopated traditional piano music as well as rags. Quiz
in form of written definition of syncopation is optional.
G. Analysis.
(Explain and analyze how this lesson utilizes technology. Explore
in detail why you chose the concept or skill to teach, and how
particular Web sites, music software, and other materials help
you reach your particular behavioral objective.)