MUED 376: Choral Music, Materials & Techniques

(M2 & T)
Direct Instruction: Self-Assessment
Instructions: Select a 4 - 7 minute clip from one of your practicum teaching rehearsals
and review your direct instruction through answering the following questions. Please
write 3- 7 sentence answers for each question. Be thorough and specific.

1. Had I written out my script in a direct instruction model? Would it have helped
my lesson delivery and success if I had done so?
My lesson was completely scripted and written out prior to the rehearsal.
It was really helpful because it reminded me of everything I wanted to do
and how I wanted to wind things forward during the lesson.

2. What was my ratio of 1, 2 and 3’s?

I had no 3’s throughout my rehearsal because I was so focused on getting
through the looping section. I think an appropriate place to put a 3 would
have been after the looping activity before we did the full run through.

3. Were my students doing lots of 2’s the entire time? Were they on task?
The students were on task for the rehearsal and were aware of when I
wanted them to come in and sing their part. I was also specific about
whether I wanted them to sing on text or solfege.

4. Did I talk too much between every 2 and back to a 1?

I was able to keep my speech limited in between each 2 and 1 while I was
looping the different parts of the choir. I switched simultaneously between
singing in text and solfege to the choir and was able to get them to come in
promptly after I was done demonstrating.

5. What kind of 3’s did I use in this clip? Do I need to improve my use of 3’s and if
so, in what way?
I need to improve my use of 3’s by actually giving feed back and making
sure that it is either specific or related to what we are doing.

6. Were there any DI errors in this script?

Many of my directions were outlined specifically in my lesson plan, but I
made an error in the instruction for where we were in the music. I gave the
page number of the piece rather than giving the page number and measure
for where we were actually starting. Next time, I plan to put this directly in
my lesson plan so that I remember to give the students the right location in
the score and eliminate confusion.

7. Did I turn any 1o’s into a 1a?

I was not able to turn any 1o’s into one 1a’s but I think that was because I
was very focused on making it through the lesson plan. Additionally, there
was not really any off task behaviors in the choir for me to feed off of.

8. What was the ‘pattern’ of the best ‘chunk’ in this teaching sequence? (For
example, 1a, 2p, 1a, 1d, 2v, 1o, 1a , 2p, 3sra)
 1a, 2nv, 1a, 2nv, 1d, 2p

9. To summarize, what were the strengths of my Direct Instruction Model in this

lesson?
My strengths were keeping a good pace through the rehearsal and giving
direct instruction for 90% of the time.

10. To summarize, what were the weaknesses of my Direct Instruction Model in this
lesson?
My weakness was not giving any feedback to the choir.

11. What are my next steps?

My next step would be to remember to give the choir feedback at the
conclusion of an activity. Another good thing would be to incorporate my
specific directions about page numbers and measures into my lesson plan.