Christina Saldivar

Dr. Crosby
Article Summary
Engaging Lessons/Lesson planning
In the magazine article entitled, The Art of the Engaging Lesson Plan, Andrew S. Berman
explained how music educators can balance solid planning with flexibility and spontaneity.
Berman uses examples of lesson plan methods from the NAfME member Ryan Shaw, who is a
professor of music education at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
Ryan Shaw and Tim Cibor presented a method to develop more effective lessons called
The Creative Spark: Lesson Planning to invigorate Your Teaching. The method describes how
an objective approach doesnt always work for the benefit of the music teacher. If you have a
linear planning method, then you will not be able to meet the students where they are.
One technique that Shaw emphasized on was a lesson plan method that encouraged music
educators to attack their lesson plans from diverse standpoints. If a music educator engages in
this technique, then their students will have a range of experiences. I believe that changing the
way things usually are done will stimulate students. Students may get bored when they perform
various tasks the same all the time. This will cause students to become uninterested and it will
hinder the learning process.
When a student is not aware of what is going to be taught next or how its going to be
taught, they are engaged more in the learning process. Shaw is a strong advocate for lessons that
have freedom from linear planning. Shaw described a clever example of how to view your lesson

plan, eventually, treat the lesson plan like a menu you can order from or like a lead sheet in
Jazz. The chord changes and structure are there, but the soloist will improvise.
Andrew Berman. (2016). The Art of the Engaging Lesson Plan. Teaching Music Magazine,
23(3), 58.