More of What was Learned and Experienced In Observations

I really enjoyed the school observations and found them to be some of the most useful and insightful experiences in my music ed. classes. For the most part, I saw great things happening in the class room. The most successful teachers were the ones who kept the pace of the class moving and kept the students constantly involved, even when a different section was being worked with. This is especially important in music classes where you have large class sizes and students who all have giant noise makers in their hands. The teachers who were prepared and had a plan for how they would keep students engaged while they were not directly involved in what was being taught had great success. Conversely, the teachers that were least successful were the ones who were unprepared for their classes. For example, one teacher I observed was working out how to conduct a passage while she was trying to teach her students which really didn't work because the students instantly lost interest and began to chat with their neighbour or generally lose focus. Overall, one of the many important things I learned and liked was to be prepared always!