Kaitlin Bunger's Portfolio Page

Navigation links: ETAP 623 Fall 2023 | Sample Student's Mini-course title

About Me

Hi! I'm Kaitlin, an Instrumental Music Teacher in New York State. I primarily teach Beginning Band students in grades 4-6, with 4th grade being the first available year for the Band Program. I also have experience working with older and more experienced student-musicians in extra-curricular ensembles such as Middle School Jazz Band (grades 6-8), competitive Field Band (grades 7-12), and Indoor Percussion Ensemble (also grades 7-12). Additionally, I teach private lessons to local students (grades 4-12) and I work as an Applied Music Instructor at a local two-year college.

My Topic and Purpose

I have been involved in music, however casually or professionally, for most of my life. As a result, I have both had and met many wonderful teachers. I do not, however, remember ever learning how to help students create an effective practice routine for themselves. Over the years I have learned myriad trips, tricks, and terms when it comes to improving my own musicianship. But there was very little in my training that focused on helping students become not only better musicians, but better at creating their own practice regimen or session.

This mini-course aims to address the gap that exists between assigning a student to practice and a student sitting down at home and playing their instrument without a scientifically-supported plan in place.

Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content

This mini-course will use musical terminology and therefore might be better suited for music education applications. That is not to say, however, that understanding theories of practice (particularly in the context of tackling multiple tasks) does not have value in settings besides music. Learners with musical backgrounds will benefit the most from this mini-course, as they will understand its specific vocabulary and also be able to apply what they've learned not only in music but in other areas of their lives.

Learners will re-think their approach to assigning students at-home practice. Instead of seeing this as un-guided practice, this course aims to empower educators to not only explain the differences between practice frequency and/or duration, as well as the components that make up a 'good' practice session.

Needs Assessment

(MOD 5) Report findings from your needs analysis to clarify the gap of knowledge/skills that exists related to your mini-course topic. See the chapter of Shambaugh & Magliaro (1997) Needs Assessment provided in Mod 5. You may use a literature review or/and survey to inform your analysis of the current reality, the "ideal," and the gap in between.

You may use the following subheadings to organize your report in this section (feel free to adjust as you need).

• The educational problem or opportunity
• The learners/participants involved (be brief here; more detailed analysis to be added in the following section)
• Analysis of gaps in term of know vs. need to know (reality vs. ideal)
• Existing efforts to address this gap
• Intent statement: how will this mini-course help your participants address their needs?

Analysis of the Learner and Context

(MOD 5) Write here your more detailed analysis of your learner and the context in which they will learn using this mini-course. Who are the participants (learners)? Prior personal/cultural experiences, knowledge and skills, or interests they have? In what settings will they use this mini-course to learn? How much time will they spend? What resources will they need?

Performance-Based Objectives

(MOD 6) Define course-level target objective (not the learning units yet). The objectives need to describe what the learner will be able to perform/do as the result of learning with this course. Consider the important learning gains and consider how the participants may demonstrate it or use it to do something authentic. Communicate the objectives using clear, performance-based terms, such as:

After completing this mini-course, learners will be able to:

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Task and Content Analysis

(MOD 7-8) For each course-level target objective, consider 1) what the participants need to know in order to achieve this objective (e.g. the prerequisites that enable or support the objective); 2) what specific learning content and activities may address the prerequisites and target objectives. Then consider how the learning contents and activities will be organized into a process of learning through several learning units (e.g. 3-5). See example Task Analysis).

Curriculum Map

(MOD 7-8) Upload a visual map to show the sequence of learning units, each with its own objectives and activities. The units should work coherently to support the achievement of the ultimate objectives of the whole mini-course. Use this map to guide the creation of the actual learning units while adapting it when needed. The key idea is to fine-tune the objective-content/process-assessment alignment.

References and Resources

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