CMP Insights Newsletter: Strategies: How to accomplish your outcomes

Strategies are the teacher’s playground because they are an opportunity to be creative, motivational, and fun.  Outcomes establish what you want your students to learn and strategies become the vehicle for how you are going to teach your student so they achieve the outcomes.  It is not enough to write interesting teaching strategies.  Because students’ learning preferences vary greatly, one strategy does not fit all.  Therefore, when you design effective strategies, consider the following approaches to planning and writing strategies:

Use Verbs for Writing Teaching Strategies:

Learning Styles:

Visual – write on blackboard, use handouts, have students write in music
Auditory – play intervals, read out loud, model parts, and phrasing
Kinesthetic – clapping, bowing, moving, stepping, physically describing

Student-centered Strategies

Students interpret music, conduct sectionals, design rehearsal strategies, lead warm-ups, give opinions, listen and critique, determine shape of phrases, discuss in small groups, give feedback to partners

Warm-ups

Start with outcomes in mind and then design warm-ups that prepare students for performing with understanding during rehearsal.  You should have both short and long-term goals in mind.

Take out the Piece- How many different ways can you refer to your piece?

Introducing the Piece – You only get one chance to make a good first impression!  Start with:

For further information, visit Chapter 3 from Shaping Sound Musicians.