Maine Motif Maine Motif May 2017 Issue 3 Volume I | Page 12

Teaching students to assess their own skill development empowers them. According to
Wesolowski (2012), “rubrics offer many advantages in the music performance medium
(including)…a bridge between student learning and teacher expectation” (pg. 38).
Analytic rubrics provide constructive feedback that outline the next steps to
improvement serving as an effective tool for goal setting. Teachers can not only provide
feedback, but use the feedback as a tool to teach students how to assess themselves.
Learning what to listen for is a significant benefit of skill assessment (Burrack, 2002).
Regardless of what format is used, having students submit sample recordings of their
performance is a resource to provide helpful, personalized feedback, and a way to
document progress. Although most teachers would not want to base a student’s grade on
skill alone, there needs to be some accountability. This process allows students to have
an active role in their learning.
Quantitative data can be attained in many ways, including written work, and online
quizzes. Collecting objective data can help us focus our teaching and identify areas of
strengths and weaknesses. Grading criteria should be structured so students understand
what shapes the outcome.
As soon as students take ownership of their education and become partners with you,
the faster you will get results. Students need to know that we are their fan, coach,
cheerleader and mentor and it is our goal to give them all the tools they need to succeed,
and not just in music. These tools will benefit them in all aspects of life. Students will
develop resilience, self-discipline, responsibility, initiative, work-ethic, perseverance
and grit which makes them not only better people and musicians, but better employees
and leaders.
Outlining the functions of evaluation is also important, especially regarding teacher
effectiveness. Most students probably never think to see how the tools they are using are
also helpful for the teacher. According to Hale and Green (2009), it is important to
“explain to students how you are changing your practice on the basis of information you
have collected” (pg. 31). This sends the message that you are also evaluating yourself
and it is part of being a good educator. It also doesn’t hurt to admit when you see that
something you try doesn’t work well. When we make it safe to make mistakes, students
are much more open to try new things and stretch their limits. This also helps them see
the assessment results as a tool instead of a permanent label.
Feedback is the most important part of our job as teachers. We know how easy it is to
make a student smile and feel cared for with a simple comment acknowledging them.