Charlotte Haertling EDUC 5313 Blog

In Chapter Five of  How People Learn II, it is emphasized that when students (and humans in general) already have prior knowledge of a particular subject area, learning new content in that same realm of subject matter is much easier. There are several strategies teachers can employ when trying to elicit prior knowledge of a certain subject in students before presenting new information. Some of these strategies include asking initial questions to spark previous knowledge or having students draw, write or create something based on that previous knowledge. Once this knowledge is re-actived and fresh, students are able to input new subject matter easier. Sharing new information is a crucial step in assessing student comprehension. There are many avenues for sharing. Some are more academic (a test, worksheet, or student verbal or written summaries), some are more creative (a project, presentation, drawing, play/skit, etc). Gura's philosophy would lean towards the more creative student o...

  PART 1:  Authentic Individual Work (AIW) refers to educational activities and assignments that require students to participate in relevant and meaningful tasks that align with the instructional content of the lesson/class. AIW goes beyond instructional strategies such as memorization and passive learning and encourages children to actively apply their new knowledge and skills to tangible, real-world contexts beyond what they would ordinarily experience int he classroom. By teaching AIW, students become more curious and motivated to learn and develop a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Additionally, AIW goes hand in hand with natural assessment. Written test and memorization-based exams are not a part of AIW. Rather, AIW assessments occur by students demonstrating their knowledge and skills in relevant contexts that they have chosen and contributed too. This type of assessment provides a more comprensive and robust viewpoint of students' cababilities and unde...

ISTE Standard 1.6: Creative Communicator - a. Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.  Part II: Students in a 5th grade general music class could address this ISTE standard by choosing a digital music creation software program from a list provided to compose their own 12-bar blues melodies. One of the units in my 5th grade music curriculum is The History and Song Structure of the Blues. Students learn about the roots and origin of this music genre, as well as the song structure. Students are then asked to compose their own Blues melodies while following the 12-bar blue song structure. Students would begin by accessing my Wakelet  (have not made, but would make if this were a real assignment) to choose a music creation program to compose their melody with. There would be a total of 3-4 programs to choose from. Students would already know the basics of how to use these programs from previous ...

 My name is Charlotte and I am an elementary music teacher in Denver, CO. I just completed my eighth year of teaching. I have taught in a variety of educational settings: private school, public school, private one-on-one music lessons, summer school, and summer camps. I feel as if I have now reached the 'sweet spot' of teaching - I am not a brand new teacher anymore and have a curriculum and classroom management system established, yet still have a lot of energy and excitement everyday when I enter my classroom. Currently I am working on my Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Music Education. I will be completing this program in Spring 2024. I intend to continue teaching music, attend relevant professional development opportunities, and to continue to grow as an educator.  Outside of education I am a competitive runner - I train here at altitude and travel to races at sea level, a yogi - you can catch me handstanding in the yoga studio, and dog...