FIU

Off-Campus Observation Map

Your

Name

Name of School

Gian Melo

E-Mail: gmelo004@fiu.edu

Zelda Glazer Middle School

Town

Name of Teacher Observed Mr. De Jesus

Observation Date 10/6/2014

Miami

State

Class Band
Time

9:30- 10:40

Florida

Grade(s) 6-9
Date Submitted

10/7/2014

Describe the teaching

environment. Who are the
children? Who is the teacher?
How might the school environment
impact what happens in the
classroom?

-The setting is an instrumental classroom

-Based on a conversation I had with Mr. De Jesus, he seems to be someone who worries to
provide a learning environment that promotes the musical growth of the students, for his
curriculum focuses in introduction and refining of repertoire (quality vs quantity) with no
competitive purposes.
- The students seem to be self-driven individuals, who are aware of their capabilities an also
focus on the task that must get done to improve themselves.
- The goal of the lesson seemed to be the practice and polishing of the repertoire being
What were the teachers goals for studied.
the class/ensemble?
she/he act on those?

How

did

What teaching/rehearsal
s t r a t e g i e s did you see? What
was the learning sequence?

What would you do differently?

What was missing from the lesson?

- The students were practicing in their corresponding instrumental sections.

-Teacher would check progress by walking around, section by section.

What evidence did you observe

that would indicate that the
learning goals were met?

I would take into account the students working on their own on the repertoire.

What evidence of critical thinking,

critical feeling and/or critical action
did you see?

I didnt see it myself but in class discussion; it was mention that Mr. De Jesus would go
section by section asking questions about performance approaches and variations these.

One teachable moment was with the snare duet, they were struggling with one section of
the work they were studying, I asked them to slow down so they would polish some of the
complicated rudiments; they were not able to keep a steady beat at a slow tempo
(tendency to speed up) so I told them to try and focus while they play on inhaling and
exhaling for two measures and exhaling for two measures so there is even breathing
( lack of oxygen in the body tends to accelerate heart rate, this may result in increasing
the speed of body movement).l

What National Standards did you

see?

How did students engage in the

classroom? What was happening
at the time when students were
really focused?

Describe a "teachable moment"

that you might have witnessed.

What constructive comments might you make about this lesson/rehearsal?

- It puts in perspective the many aspects that a music teacher in a band setting has to go through to deliver the proper
instruction to obtain the desired results.
- It makes one aware that even though ones strengths lay on a specific branch of the music education field; it is still
possible to make an attempt and succeed (or fail, failure is experience) in having students engage in musical
experiences and growth.

What is your overall assessment of this teacher, the students and the lesson/rehearsal?
We didnt have the time to experience the closure of the days lesson, therefore; the only aspect I would count as
assessment is that students were sitting working on the repertoire.