Erin M. Grady's ePortfolio

Communication

The teacher uses knowledge of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.

My thoughts on communication are very similar to those on instructional strategies. In order to communicate effectively to all students, a teacher must employ diverse methods of communication. Just as there is more than one way of learning, there is more than one way of effectively relating to others. Perhaps this is the reason why music is such an enticing subject for students - it is a unique form of human expression. But as music teachers, we must try to pigeon-hole this unique form of expression into ways which bring students from what they already know to that which is unfamiliar. Doing this requires that the teacher be proficient in multiple forms of communication.

The standard of communication not only includes communicating information to students, but also communicating with students. Teachers can often learn just as much from their students as their students can from them, and an active dialogue between the two parties is a great way to improve upon one's classroom practices. Getting feedback from students, both in the form of formal reflections and more informal conversations, can be a valuable tool that a teacher should not overlook.

In addition to communication within the classroom, a music teacher must also be proficient in communicating with parents, the administration, and the community. In this digital age, there are many resources a teacher can use in attaining this goal, as some of the artifacts below reflect.

Communication Artifacts

Sample Podcast for a High School Choral Department (mp3 File)

This podcast represents one way in which a high school choral director could use technology to communicate with parents and community members. Using the sequencing program GarageBand, a choral director can easily create podcast episodes which highlight recent learning in her classroom and provide valuable information about choral department events. The podcast could be posted on the department's website, or parents could automatically download each new episode using iTunes or an RSS aggregator.

A Music Newsletter (PDF File)
This newsletter, created using MS Word for a Technology for Music Educators class taken in the Spring of 2007, represents one possibility for communicating current events about a music program to parents and booster club members.

Lesson Plan for a Podcast (PDF File)
This lesson plan provides instructions for using GarageBand (part of the Apple iLife suite) to help students create a weekly podcast. In addition to being a great project for the students to complete, podcasts allow for a unique means of communication. In addition to podcasts which allow students to listen to each other's work, podcasts can be used to communicate information about a teacher's choral program to parents and administrators.

Music Advocacy Letter (PDF File)
This is a sample letter which might be written to a principal or school administrator in defense of a music program in an elementary school. It shows my ability to convey music's importance to those in many different branches of education, and to communicate music's importance in general.

Music Report Card Supplement (PDF File)
This document is a music report card supplement to be sent home along with a child's regular report cards. This would give both the child and the parent more detailed feedback than a regular report card typically provides on specific strengths and developing skills that students exhibit in a music class.

Conducting Dynamic Contrast in "Can't Buy Me Love" (Quicktime Movie File)

This video is from the Spring 2008 Concert of the Case University Singers, an unauditioned collegiate ensemble of about 40 singers. In this clip, I am conducting a King's Singers arrangement of the Beatles' "Cant Buy Me Love." Both dynamic contrast and differentiation between staccato and legato singing are important features of this arrangement, and this clip shows how I can use conducting gestures as an effective communication technique to elicit this in the singers' performance.

Modeling in the Choral Rehearsal (Quicktime Movie File)

This excerpt from a lesson on Ernst Toch's "Geographical Fugue" that I taught for my Spring 2007 Choral Methods class at Case Western illustrates the use of a teacher vocal model as a communication device. In this excerpt, I am introducing the piece for the first time. By using examples and non-examples of dynamics, diction, and vocal register, I am able to present the piece several times, allowing the students to learn the rhythm as well as think critically about their own performances.

Playing Instructions for "Aura Lee" (Quicktime Movie File)

In this video clip, I am delivering playing instructions to a sixth grade percussion class on how to play the duet "Aura Lee." I divide up students using their names and visual gestures, ask them to raise their hands to demonstrate that they had understood my instructions, and verbally give them their instructions for setting their mallets correctly.

Teaching Cross-over Mallet Technique (Quicktime Movie File)

This video shows my ability to teach the cross-over mallet technique using kinesthetic modeling as well as aural modeling, questioning, and verbal instructions. This wide array of instructional techniques used in a short section of a lesson demonstrate my ability to address a number of different learning styles.

Case Concert Choir Members Page (Web Link)
I have been maintaining this site for the Case Concert Choir since 2006. It can be used as a powerful communication device. Choir members can access this site to reflect upon recordings of their performances, access rehearsal plans, and view memorization deadlines. Websites such as this one are excellent tools for teachers to employ. This site is password protected. Username=concertchoir; Password="pinkham" Please use this information only to view this site as an artifact.