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Music Tech Week 5

This week has been a great reminder on lesson design, and the roles that technologies should serve when working on the designs of all lessons, units, and the curriculum . One aspect that I found extremely engaging for me is the section on Project-Based Learning. This is because I was just approved to incorporate Project-Based Learning for my 7-12 band and choir.

The project that my students will be completing is designing and performing in a concert that is designed to raise funds for our music department. Traditionally, my school puts on a concert called Desserts, Music, and More that is planned by the music boosters in October. Due to certain events this year, it had to be cancelled. While long-term planning, I realized that I have over a month between the spring concert and graduation. This seemed like the perfect event to place between them.

The questions and statements posed in this section of the reading served as a great thought provokers, and I believe that I will continue to refer back to this section as I begin working through the planning process for this benefit concert. The eight essential elements for Project-Based Learning provided by The Buck Institute for Education are what I will definitely need to refer back to (Bauer, 2014, 150).

However, I have begun to formulate the components for those elements.
  1. The significant content based on standards central to the performance-based classroom is that the students will be required to perform at this event.
  2. Students will have to utilize their "creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration" skills to complete this task in a timely manner as it will be a community event that is raising funds for the music department (Bauer, 2014, 150).
  3. Students will have to ask questions on how to book a space, order food, order decorations, and others. The question they have to answer is how to organize and program a benefit concert.
  4. The project provides motivation because the students are the planners. They will have to seek out the knowledge if they do not know or understand how to accomplish something.
  5. They will also be demonstrating their musicianship skills.
  6. This project will also allow the students to have the freedom to make their choices with some limitations. For example, the students wanted to have the event during the school day. However, the superintendent would not allow that as the purpose is to be a fundraising event open to the community. If the event occurs during the school day, the music department would lose potential earnings due to individuals having to be at work.
  7. I will be able to provide opportunities for student feedback. I believe I am going to incorporate Office 365's OneNote as a collaboration forum where I and the students can monitor progress and decisions. That will also serve as a technology integration that promotes collaboration during this process.
  8. The product of this Project-Based Learning process is presented in full to the community. However, I believe I will have the students present how they arrived at their decisions through some type of PowerPoint or Prezi at the opening of the concert. This is to demonstrate to the students the importance of the entire process along with demonstrating their skills to stakeholders.
This process also helps to promote backwards planning. I have started with my big picture objective: the students will organize and program a benefit concert. I have begun to formulate the checklist. However, it is not complete now. Ultimately, I look forward to the opportunity to put this chapter into practice as I develop this type of unit for my students, and I hope I can implement and improve this process again in the future.


Bauer, W. I. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating,                     
            performing, and  responding to music. New York City: Oxford University
            Press.

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