Assessment

This chapter explores how music teachers may assess students in ways unique to music education while remaining open to using the components of teacher evaluation to improve their assessment practices. First, the chapter reviews how assessment is commonly part of teacher evaluation. Second, it briefly covers some critiques of the assessment aspects of teacher evaluation. Third, the chapter defines some common vocabulary and tenets used in assessment. These include assessment, evaluation, measurement, validity, triangulation, data, and formative and summative assessments. This vocabulary may help music teachers work through these critiques of assessment. Finally, the chapter provides specific ways music teachers might apply assessment vocabulary and tenets to the assessment components of teacher evaluation. This includes when teachers are required to create the assessments alone or in a group and when assessments are chosen or mandated by the district or state. Sample assessments are included in the chapter.

Questioning Strategies

This chapter examines questioning strategies and the ways music teachers can integrate requirements of evaluation systems to improve student participation, learning, and understanding. These improvements may be achieved while still preserving music making, skill building, and effective rehearsal strategies. First the chapter describes the connection between questioning and teacher evaluation. Then it discusses the importance of asking questions and addresses some concerns music teachers often have about asking questions. The chapter identifies the different types of questions teachers might ask and how to word them, then provides strategies to respond to students’ answers in the “third turn.” It concludes by offering strategies to implement and sequence questioning techniques in a lesson plan, including ways to “layer” questions. Sample lesson plans implementing effective questioning strategies are included in the second half of the chapter.

Teacher Evaluation

This chapter provides a background on laws and policies related to teacher evaluation in the United States. This background might help music teachers navigate teacher evaluation systems and avoid misunderstanding evaluators’ motivations and pressures. First, the chapter provides a brief history of federal and state education law and education policy. This history is presented as a series of four phases, each aimed to standardize public education. These phases move from evaluating standards through student performance and standardized tests to teacher performance and quality through instructional practice. Second, there is an investigation of how history and policy have led to tensions, disagreements, and contradictions within teacher evaluation processes and policies. Finally, the chapter describes how these tensions have resulted in the common characteristics of teacher evaluation systems found throughout the country. By understanding this background and history, music teachers may begin to actively and constructively participate in teacher evaluation.

Postlude

This postlude orients readers toward the larger aim of teacher evaluation most useful to music teachers: the improvement of teacher practice. Rather than providing a high score, teacher evaluation might be used as a process to reflect on music teaching with the aim of improving teaching practice. The postlude reminds the reader of some mindsets described throughout the book that will help music teachers focus on this important aim of positively using teacher evaluation as a process to “support and develop” rather than as a tool to “sort and measure” music educators. These mindsets can help music teachers reflect on their teaching and participate in teacher evaluation for professional growth, yielding a constructive experience.

Talking to Evaluators

This chapter provides strategies for music educators to foster effective dialogue with evaluators and administrators in the teacher evaluation process. First, it describes the key components of teacher evaluation discussions, including the feedback, the rules and procedures required of teacher evaluation systems, and the evaluator’s and music teacher’s expectations and pressures. Second, the chapter provides advice for preparing for meetings, including the types of questions to anticipate and how to tailor answers to those questions depending on different evaluators. Next, it provides a framework for listening to and responding to feedback effectively and constructively during meetings. The chapter concludes with a description of the steps music teachers can take after meetings to spark professional growth and maintain communication with evaluators. These include immediately implementing feedback, reporting the results, and continuing dialogue to further professional growth.

Differentiation

This chapter looks at the terms differentiation and differentiated instruction in the music classroom and their relation to teacher evaluation. Differentiation is a strategy and philosophy of tailoring student learning to each individual student or groups of students. First, the chapter describes the need for differentiated instruction and how it is expressed in teacher evaluation. Second, it provides the key qualities of differentiation, including differentiating the products, content, and process in the curriculum and differentiating for students’ readiness, interests, learner profiles, and cultural backgrounds. This section also addresses some concerns that music teachers might have with the concept of differentiation. Next, the chapter provides some strategies for how music teachers might differentiate their instruction and curriculum. Finally, the chapter applies differentiation to teacher evaluation so that music teachers may successfully complete this aspect of their evaluation. Sample lesson plans implementing differentiation are included in the chapter.

Introduction

This introduction provides a rationale for why music teachers should engage in teacher evaluation. First, it names some concerns music teachers have with teacher evaluation to help them understand and address these challenges and avoid negative experiences. These include concerns that teacher evaluation systems are applied to teaching in general and are not specific to music; that evaluators often do not have backgrounds in music teaching and therefore do not have the expertise to evaluate music teachers or provide valuable feedback; that music teachers receive mixed messages about what is good teaching from evaluators; and that music teachers do not receive sufficient time and attention from evaluators to implement effective teacher evaluation. To address these frustrations, the introduction provides a rationale for working past them and using teacher evaluation to improve teacher practice and professional growth.

Literacy

This chapter describes the ways music teachers can “authentically” implement a variety of literacy strategies in their classrooms. This “authentic” approach to literacy may contribute to the teaching of musical content rather than to an added burden of teaching literacy separate from music. These approaches can help music teachers better articulate their literacy practices to evaluators. First, the chapter lists the different ways music teachers commonly conceive of literacy and the relationship of those perceptions to teacher evaluation. Second, it provides a framework of “disciplinary literacy” and “artistic literacy” to implement literacy in music classrooms. Next, the chapter outlines ways in which disciplinary literacy and artistic literacy may be used to improve communication with evaluators. Finally, the chapter applies the concept of literacy to teacher evaluation and provides strategies for incorporating these varieties of approaches into the music classroom. Sample lesson plans implementing literacy strategies are included in the chapter.

Developing a Mindset to Succeed in Teacher Evaluation Systems

This chapter discusses some of the common problems music teachers have with teacher evaluation and provides an overall framework or approach that can help music teachers overcome them. This framework can help teachers develop the best mindset and strategies when working through these common challenges. Music teachers commonly mention that the criteria for teacher evaluation are not applicable to music teaching and that non-music evaluators do not provide useful feedback. The framework requires teachers to distinguish between what are commonly called “content knowledge,” “general pedagogical knowledge,” and “pedagogical content knowledge.” In doing this, music teachers might balance advocating for themselves with having an openness to critique and improving as professionals. Through this balance, music teachers can use teacher evaluation to not just survive but also thrive, to successfully advocate for their teaching, and to grow professionally.