Outside Observation 2

Teacher Observed/Location: Ben Yoder, HIJH

Date: 3/24/16
Class observed: 6th grade orchestra
Length of Observation: 25 minutes (length of class)
Overview: Mr. Yoder teaches orchestra at both HIJH and Fall Creek
Junior High. He spends the second half of the day with us at HIJH, and
much like the band, he has a 6th grade orchestra for the last 25-30
minutes of the day. The size of the class varies depending on who gets
dismissed from their teachers; there are roughly 50 students.
Observation Narrative:
When I arrived at Mr. Yoders class he was tuning each student.
This is an essential, yet time consuming element of class. Mr. Yoder
manages his time wisely though, and had a written exercise for the
students to complete while he tuned. The students had to identify
different key signatures and clefs. When tuning was complete Mr. Yoder
led the class in some echo patterns. He used the first two strings and
the first four notes on each string to do this. I thought this was a great
way to start class! It engages everyone immediately, works on basic
technique, and playing by ear is so important. I have done this some
with individual sections, but I have yet to do it with a full ensemble.
After the initial echo patterns, the class played the D major scale up
and down, by ear. I thought this was especially impressive, since our

students are not playing scales. They played with different bow
patterns as well. Overall, the warm-up in this classroom is extremely
efficient.
There are two aspects to Mr. Yoders teaching that I especially
liked: he uses a microphone and he plays piano throughout the entire
warm-up. The microphone is meant to help a student with a hearing
disorder, but it really benefits everyone (UDL!). I would love to have a
mike in the 6th grade band class, since its even bigger than the
orchestra. I had been in Mr. Yoders room before to have sectionals,
and I had always found his set-up to be somewhat odd. He keeps his
piano right in front of his podium and has a chair on the podium. I felt
that this really blocked the teacher off from the rest of the class;
however, Mr. Yoder uses it to his advantage. He played accompanying
piano parts throughout the entire warm-up. Even when he was giving
instructions for the next exercises he played quietly; this really drew
students in to what he was saying and kept the room focused.
After the warm-up, Mr. Yoder asked a member of each section
(violin, viola, cello/bass) to come to the board and write a key signature
in his/her respective clef. After the students wrote their answers, the
rest of the class was asked to stand if they agreed with the person
from their section. I thought this was a good was to show physical
response in the classroom. The person at the board was then asked to

pick a new person for the section to come up; this was a nice
opportunity for social engagement.
During this time Mr. Yoder was walking around the room to
monitor students. I know one challenge of a string classroom is that
students can talk and play at the same time; it can get loud. Mr. Yoder
had some effective management techniques to combat this problem.
His instructions for not playing were very clear; he said bow and
hands off the string. He also had a saying for the appropriate way to
speak up in class: hands in the air if you have something to share. I
think a lot of teachers avoid rhymes because they dont want to baby
their students, but the students did respond very well.
The class moved next to working on a new exercise out of their
book that included dotted-quarter notes. This is where we are at with
the band too, so I was happy to know our curriculums move at the
same pace. The students did use process work to learn the new
exercise, but there were some different/added steps. First, the students
clapped every time they counted their rhythms. We do this some, but it
can become a hassle to ask a tuba player to put the instrument down
just to pick it back up again. As a sixth grader, our tubas are not strong
enough to hold the instrument while they clap. In the orchestra
however, it is very easy for players to clap while holding on to his or
her instrument, or setting it in their lap. The students also play each

exercise pizzicato before they play with the bow. This is an added step
we dont have in band; they also sing note names and silent practice.
Mr. Yoders use of questioning was very effective throughout the
lesson. One of the first higher-level questions he asked was if you
were the teacher, how would you explain this to the class? The
students answers not only supplied the correct information, but also
were in complete sentences, and they all used proper grammar when
speaking. The students were also asked many questions about
phrasing and modeled different ways to phrase the music. The main
concept for the last piece they worked on was call and response.
Students were asked to demonstrate this concept by labeling it in their
music, and playing it for the director.
Overall I found Mr. Yoder to be a very effective teacher and I
really enjoyed being in the orchestra classroom. There were a few
differences between band and orchestra that I had never really
considered from the directors viewpoint. First, there are fewer parts in
string orchestra than in band. I know thats obvious, but as a player,
Ive only ever worked with full orchestras. I had never considered how
it affects how a rehearsal is run. I also love that Mr. Yoder has the
students have stand partners. Band students are selfish when it comes
to stands! I always had my own stand because I was always the only
oboe player, but I could never understand why two flutes just couldnt
share. I would like to implement stand partners in my beginning band; I

think it would help students to share as well as give them some more
support. Finally, Mr. Yoder had some of his older students come down
during their SLT time to assist him in the class; this would be very
helpful in a band class with ten different instruments.