class. 3. Participating in the MSVMA district choral festival where sight-singing is tested by a professional choral adju- dicator.
The goal includes the ability of students to become consum- ers of choral music, where they simultaneously read and internalize musical notation. Sight-singing enhances higher order thinking skills as the students must be able to analyze and evaluate their thinking within seconds of time. Learning at the creative level of thinking is achieved through sponta- neously observing notation and interpreting the music as a melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic entity. The goal of 75% proficiency greatly enhances the enjoyment of making mu- sic as the composer intended.
Instructional strategies include learning intervallic relation- ships with singing games, practicing the singing of major scales, and utilizing MSVMA sight reading materials. Other strategies include recording sight reading activities for self- assessment. The methods for sight reading include the Ko- daly method of learning notation, Curwin hand signs, and Gordon’s neutral syllable system for learning rhythm.
Indicators of Success: The final indicator for success will be the composite score in sight-singing given by the adjudicator at district choral festival. By November 1, the MSVMA sight-singing rubric will be used to pre-test sight-singing skills. This will allow me to assess the extent to which I must develop activities for student growth. A second test will be given the first week of the 2nd semester. The choral festival is scheduled for March.
Data will be collected from final scores from testing sight- singing. Students are graded on a scale of 1-5, with 1 be- ing excellent and 5 being poor. Six individual exercises are graded. A composite score of 6 is a perfect score.
The pretest assesses the ability to perform sight reading using a rubric with the following dimensions: 1. Rhythm, 2. Rhythm with unison melody, 3. New rhythm, 4. New rhythm, new melody new harmony, 5. All of 1-4 plus added harmony, 6. Overall factors: student concentratiojn, focus, attitude, method and technique used. Mid-test assessment use the same rubric. Posttest is participation in choral festi- val and uses the same rubric.
After the approval meeting with my administrator, I began the measuring process in November. I was officially observed in one of my classes at the end of January (see observation form). After this observation, a meeting was held again to discuss my teaching and fill out the interim goal form. My final observation meeting to examine student improvement and my overall job performance was held in late April.
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Method
The method for gathering data was the implementation of a pretest in November, mid-test in January, and a posttest at the actual district choir festival sponsored by the Michigan School Vocal Music Association. I used the rubric for sight reading from the MSVMA festival procedure. The pretest was given on November 1 after two months of sight read- ing instruction in my classes. After sight reading instruction continued through December and into January, the mid-test was given as part of the 1st semester exam. The posttest oc- curred while participating in the district choir festival in the middle of March. I graded my students for the first two tests. An official MSVMA judge graded my students at the festi- val.
Results
The goal for my students in Women’s Ensemble, Chamber Choir, Varsity Men, and Chorale was to acquire sight-singing skills that allow them to read music for the first time using solfege syllables with 75% accuracy. Women’s and Varsity Men read music at the primary level, while Chamber Choir and Chorale read at the intermediate level (according to the Michigan School Vocal Music Association standards). The data show that all choirs achieved 75% accuracy at one point over 5 months. Additionally, the data show that all choirs im- proved over time in their ability to sight-read. This is espe- cially acute when observing the data from the Varsity Men’s Chorus, where in November they read at 21% accuracy, and in March they read with 100% accuracy.
Pre-test in November 2011: Varsity Men
Women’s Chorus Chamber Choir Chorale
Women’s Chorus Chamber Choir Chorale
Women’s Chorus Chamber Choir Chorale
= 21% accuracy = 54% accuracy = 46% accuracy = 46% accuracy
Mid-test in Janaury 2012: Varsity Men
= 21% accuracy = 79% accuracy = 83% accuracy = 75% accuracy
Post-test at District Festival test March 2012 Varsity Men
= 100% accuracy = 95% accuracy = 71% accuracy = 71% accuracy
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