Seven Goals

Anthony Foye
Goal One: Our graduates will be knowledgable in the subjects they teach and how to teach those
subjects to students.
Outcomes: Our graduates are able to:
a. Demonstrate knowledge of how to teach subject matter to their students.
b. Use multiple approaches to facilitate student learning.
Achievement:
During the 2015 fall marching band season we competed at various schools in Maine, as a part of the
MBDA. To compete, the group had to learn a complex combination of moves, steps and sets that in
coordination with the music, created a musical and visual performance. Given the level of difficulty to
put all of these many pieces together, it required a lot of work and a lot of instruction and critique to put
the performance together. For the first time in school history, we received a gold medal and five star
rating in all captions.
Goal Two: Our graduates will be committed to their students and their learning.
Outcomes: Our graduates will be able to:
a. Recognize diversity among their students and adjust their practice accordingly.
b. Understand how students develop and learn.
c. Treat students equitably.
d. Work diligently to help each student reach his or her potential
Achievement:
Over my student teaching class I was given full reign on a beginning guitar course. Given the very
wide range of natural ability and prior experience of the students, it would have been a complete failure
had I tried to force one style or pace of learning. Some students had never read music before, others
had never touched a guitar, and some were on the opposite end of the spectrum. To connect to some of
the students I found I had to utilize more relatable songs to be the vehicle to teach techniques because
just grinding through the course book proved to be ineffective.
Given the different levels of ability of the students, to maintain a classroom where each student felt
challenged, yet also prevent a pace that left some students behind, I tiered lessons so that those with
extra ability had an extra layer of challenge. Each student was required to learn all the material, but the
stronger musicians were given an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and be leaned on by their
classmates.
Goal Three: Our students will be responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
Outcomes: Our graduates are able to:
a. Employ multiple methods to meet their teaching and learning goals.
b. Develop appropriate objectives for themselves and their students.
c. Orchestrate learning in group settings.
d. Place a premium on student engagement and thoughtfulness.

e. Use multiple strategies to motivate students.

f. Regularly assess student progress, selecting appropriate measures.
g. Plan and implement their teaching and learning objectives.
Achievement:
As a student teacher at Central Elementary School, I was given the task of managing an entire class of
young learners. These classes were always a juggling act and a constant recalibration for both the class
and individual learners. Given their young age students are prone to lose focus quickly so being able to
adjust on the fly and reign individuals into productive learning.
Given the huge emotional and attention swings given, as well as the large variance in learning ability, it
is key to use different activities to teach and reinforce the same concepts. I believe it is important to
have a high variation of educational instruction but have very specific and price goals and learning
objectives that you're covering. Otherwise, while variance and interest while be high, retention will be
low and learning will be inefficient.
Goal Four: Our graduates will be effective organizers of the classroom environment.
Outcomes: Our graduates are able to:
a. Create and maintain an atmosphere conducive to learning.
b. Create and contribute to a community of learners.
c. Create and maintain an atmosphere fostering mutual respect and caring.
d. Cultivate within their own students a recognition and valuing of diversity.
Achievement:
During my guitar class, one strategy I found useful to both engagement and creating inter-class
relations was to break the groups into small ensembles to work on a piece together. I would create
three different parts and have the group individually assign parts and work on blending together as an
small ensemble for a grade.
Not only did this process prove to be an effective learning tool, the students took more ownership over
their work, but they also have been much more communicative to each other. Students are now
frequently helping one another out and I give them independent practice time to both help other
students or receive help from others (or myself).
Goal Five: Our graduates will be thoughtful and reflective practitioners who learn from experience.
Outcomes: Our graduates are able to:
a. Make well-reasoned choices and decisions within the conflictual, complex, and demanding
conditions of teaching.
b. Analyze the effects of their actions and make changes accordingly.
c. Take into account the moral and philosophical implication of educational decision.
d. Improve their practice by reflecting on their own experience, observing others, seeking advice, and
drawing upon educational research and scholarship.
Achievement:
When I first started my guitar course, I tried to very rigidly grind through material to teach how to read
and perform music. In my experience with concert band students, this method would work; I learned

however, that that grinding method largely works because of the individual commitment and musical
understanding those students already have, and in a general music course such as beginning guitar, that
patience and understanding level was much lower.
Give the composition of my class, I decided to switch up my methods and attempt to meet the students
half way. While jamming out for an entire class is not going to be an effective method of education,
it is possible to teach techniques and apply them to common songs that they feel is the equivalent to a
focused jam session. Furthermore, instead of painstakingly going through each note of a very bland
and boring song, I found more relatable pieces that are enjoyable and musically fulfilling to perform.
On a more micro scale, I often found myself consulting both my cooperating teacher, as well as my
educational materials from my previous courses. Teaching is an inexact art and each student dictates a
slightly modified lesson plan and I found myself constantly trying to recalibrate and balance the class
for each individual.
Goal Six: Our graduates will be informed decision-makers and agents of change.
Outcomes: Our graduates are able to:
a. Develop and articulate their own conceptual and philosophical perspective on teaching and learning
based on professional experience and current theories and research in education.
Achievement:
As alluded to in goal five, I've constantly been revising what my personal beliefs of what a teacher is
and what makes an effective teacher through my student teaching process. The most important aspect
of teaching to me is that it is not enough to (figuratively) hit the students over the head with material
and expect it to become learned material. Students need to be guided and being a teacher is so much
more than presenting material.
Goal Seven: Our graduates will be active members of learning and professional communities.
Outcomes: Our graduates are able to:
a. Engage colleagues in efforts to enhance their own teaching, learning, and professional development.
b. Participate in professional organizations.
Achievement:
Over the summer of 2015, I was given the humongous opportunity of participating at the Teaching
Guitar Workshop. It was a 5 day boot camp of not only learning guitar, but how to teach guitar. It
was an extremely fulfilling process that for me drastically improved my ability, and comfort level of
teaching guitar, but not only that, gave me a wonderful experience meeting and learning from other
music teachers.
I personally believe that it would be extremely foolish to not try to draw on the experience of other
teachers, many of whom have spent most of their lives doing so. Even if many teachers have
conflicting thoughts or personal philosophies, as an educational community it is important for us to
constantly be revising and improving how we teach and seek new opinions and perspectives. As a new
teacher with very little professional experience, it would be very hard headed of me to not listen to
others, and I believe it is of huge importance that all teachers constantly seek to improve.