band Using Composition as an
Assessment Tool in Band Julie Brown, WMEA State Chair, Band
A couple of years ago, I was reflecting on my own teaching and came to the con- clusion that the stu- dents I taught were not doing enough compos i t ion in band. This didn’t happen overnight; I
actually prided myself on the amount of compositional work the students I taught did in class during the first ten years of my career. The students composed often and regularly in their learning about melody, counterpoint, and various compositional devices. But, as time with the students became less, I found myself focusing so much on the performances and made the decision that we just didn’t have time to the composition projects that we once did. Things didn’t feel balanced, though, and I vowed to figure out a way to incorporate composition into the classroom again. After much thought, I decided to use composition as a way to assess student understanding of basic theory the students were learning in beginning band.
What Makes Composition Such an Effective Assessment Tool? We all know Bloom’s Taxonomy, right? If a student can create something using the knowledge he or she has learned, they are more likely to not only retain the information learned, but also have a greater understanding of what was learned. It only makes sense, then, that assessing students using tools higher up on Bloom’s Taxonomy will give us educators more
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE MUSIC DEPARTMENT
information about the depth and trans- ferability of the students’ knowledge. When students compose music, they are functioning as high as one can in looking at this model.
Setting Boundaries to Better Assess Student Understanding If composition is going to be used as an assessment tool, the teacher must set very concrete boundaries for the composition.
On-Campus Auditions
for incoming freshmen and transfer students 36
» November 4, 2017 » February 2-3, 2018 » March 2-3, 2018
NEED A DIFFERENT AUDITION TIME? Contact Dr. Mary Tollefson at
mtollefson@uwlax.edu
$1,000+ scholarships available for music and non-music majors
for audition requirements visit:
www.uwlax.edu/music September 2017
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