General

The new year—whether a new calendar year or the start of a new school year—is always a great opportunity to think about doing things differently. Doing things better! Students, families, administrators, colleagues. No one thinks twice about committing to new routines, new strategies, or new resources in a new year. This is our annual chance to start fresh!

It is April 2020 and we are living with the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. Schools across the United States have been closed for about a month and we are teaching from home in the middle of a new experience called distance learning. Some days my colleagues and I feel like we’re drinking from a fire hose. 

It is April 2020 and we are living with the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. Schools across the United States have been closed for about a month and we are teaching from home in the middle of a new experience called distance learning. Some days my colleagues and I feel like we’re drinking from a fire hose. 

From the podium we constantly assess our ensemble's performance. Students may have only played the first few notes and we are already asking ourselves, “How can I help the band play this better?” This question is fundamental to assessment that takes place in the middle of learning — assessment often referred to as assessment for learning or formative assessment. How we provide feedback to the students directly affects their potential for improvement.