Getting to Know Your Students and their Parents: Online Surveys

August 7, 2018

As I write this blog entry, I am exactly one week away from one of my favorite nights of the year:  The night before the first day of school!  If you're like me, your mind is flooded with dozens of thoughts and emotions as you prepare to meet your students for the first time.

As the sixth-grade band teacher at a 6-8 middle school, the students are almost all unknown to me before the start of the year.  Though I go to all of their fifth-grade concerts and try to interact as much as I can during the pre-concert prep time, I really do not have the opportunity to get to know the students personally during those short periods of time.

For several years I did a paper survey that I would pass out to the students on the first day of school.  Often the papers would trickle in over the first several days of school, and I always felt like I went into that first day completely "green" as to who my students would be.  In addition to the slow returns, I found that many of the students' handwriting were not exactly legible.

Four years ago, our district went 1-1 for all grades.  Google programs like Docs, Sheets, Forms, and Slides became the norm for both teachers and students.  It was at that time that I transitioned from paper surveys passed out on day one to Google Form Surveys sent home at the start of August.

Since sending the survey one week ago, 50% of the students are already done.  It has been great getting to know the students by reading their responses.  The best part is that I do not have to worry about lesson plans for tomorrow or even three days from now.  I can sit back with a tasty Diet Pepsi, a good movie on Netflix, and read all about my future students.  Though I will not be an expert on my students' interest on the first day, I will have a great head start!

After having great success with the student surveys, I created a survey for the parents too. This was a great way to get parent info in spreadsheet form (remember the data from Google Forms easily transfers into a Google spreadsheet).  I asked the parents about their child's learning styles, the parents' music preferences and experiences, the child's practice habits from fifth grade, and information that will help me better teach their child.  I send this Google Form to the Parents right after I send the student survey (2 weeks before school).  So far 66% of parents have responded.  Like with the student surveys, I can read about the students (from a parent perspective) by simply clicking my computer!

Here are some screenshots from the surveys.  I'll list the questions I use below the pics.

Screenshots from Parent Survey:

Student Survey Questions I included this year:

• Favorite type of music and favorite performing artist or favorite song
• Favorite food, sports team, subject in school
• Do you have a pet(s)?  What are they and what are their names?
• What subjects in school do you excel in?
• Using Linear scale (1-10), how much do you like:  Music, Band last year, Sports, Art, Dance, Computers, Helping Others, Reading Books, Being Outside
• Set a Goal for Band this year:
• What is something really cool about you?
• Write a Question for Mr. Buckley

Parent Survey Questions I included this year:

• The preferred mode of communication (email, phone, written correspondence, Remind text, website)--click all that apply
• A place for parents to sign up to volunteer to help the band, the boosters, etc. (click all that apply)
• Parent music preferences
• Does the parent play an instrument or sing?  (options: Yes, No, I want to) (if yes, what?)
• How would you describe your child's fifth-grade practice habits?
• Linear Scale:  Rate your child's Learning Styles--1-5 for Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic
• Is there something that Mr. Buckley should know about your child that will help him teach your child most effectively
• How does your child respond to feedback?
• Do you have a question for Mr. Buckley

There are many ways to get these surveys to the students and parents.  I wait until I have the parents' emails and student school emails provided in our online grade book (PowerSchool).  I then create links for each survey and email the links to the parents.  I also put the links on our website.  I'll send out gentle reminders about one time per week via email to my students and parents.  I have received a lot of very positive feedback about these surveys from parents and students.  I hope that if you're thinking of doing this for your class, this post can be of some help!  

I hope everybody who reads this has a great start to your school year!

Introducing Scales: A Helpful Worksheet

My paternal grandfather was an outstanding singer in his youth.  He was an Irish Tenor whose voice was compared to the great Irish Tenors of the day.  Though nobody would confuse him with Bing Crosby, on the local scene he was good...REALLY Good!  During the late 1920's and early 1930's, my grandfather was often featured as a soloist on the radio in his hometown of Aurora, IL.  In fact, he was so good that he occasionally sang on the Chicago radio stations including WGN.  It was during these times that he was given the opportunity to take lessons from one of the top voice teachers in the Midwest.  The teacher was the go-to voice teacher for celebrity singers including Gene Autrey.  At one of his first lessons, this teacher told my grandfather to only practice scales until his next lesson.  Well, to make a long story short, my grandfather sang a few songs during the week amongst all of the scales.  At his next lesson, the voice teacher could immediately tell that my grandfather had not followed instructions.  Needless to say, that was his last lesson with that esteemed teacher.  The lesson my grandfather learned from that experience was that scales were very important and needed to be more of focus of his practice sessions.

My band students are fully introduced to one-octave (and in some cases two-octave) scales in sixth grade.  Some students start the year with a few scales under their belt from private teachers.  For most of the students, learning to play a scale is a brand new concept.

As part of my SLO (Student Learning Objective), students are required to master six major scales.  This is the start of a three-year process that will see the students learn all 12 major scales (in most cases full-range) by the time they finish 8th grade.  Our percussion students learn G.H. Green Exercises for 9 major scales in 7th grade and all 12 Arpeggio-Inversion exercises in 8th grade.

My students consistently score very well on the formative check-in scale quizzes and summative post-test.  That's good news, Right?  Yes...But!  Of course, there is always a "but."  But...I don't feel all of the students (especially those in the middle and lower skill levels) have a thorough understanding of the construction of the scale.  Honestly, I think that many students simply memorize the order of fingerings.  Unfortunately, that does not transfer to other music written in the same key. 

This has had me thinking for a while about how to get the students to completely understand each scale they perform.  I not only want them to be able to perform the scale accurately but also I want them to be able to explain it to me.  By fully understanding the concepts, future scales, lesson materials, and concert music will be easier to learn.

I set off on a quest to find a worksheet that I could use to introduce and reinforce the different scales.  I was going through the Band Director's Facebook Group File Repository looking for answers.  I saw some great things from several of the members.   These worksheet ideas really helped me figure out exactly what I wanted to do.

In the end, I decided to create a worksheet that could be used for any scale.  I wanted the students to get practice writing the key signature, writing the scale's alphabet (the notes in order), and drawing in the fingerings.  By completing these steps, and then using the scale worksheet as a study guide, I could expand on my students' understanding of each key (scale).  I could also use the worksheet for formative check-in assessments to see how the students were progressing.

Because my students are being introduced to scales, I did not want to get too technical.  I think teaching the concepts of whole steps and half steps, the circle of 4ths/5ths, and expanding octaves are all very important.  In the case of this worksheet, I did not want to overload them with concepts that can be scaffolded later when the basics are mastered.

The good news is that this worksheet can be modified to fit your needs.  It would be very easy to add a second page to allow for teaching the circle of 4ths, the relationships of whole steps and half steps, major & relative minor, and even adding a second or third octave.   

I have included a screenshot of the flute worksheet below.  Below that, I provided the links for all of the worksheets for all wind instruments.  All of the links below have editing rights.  I ask that you simply make yourself a copy first before editing.

 I did not include a worksheet for percussion.  As a percussionist, I think percussionists with the minimal piano background will easily pick up scales.  Once mastered,  I encourage teachers to push their percussionists beyond the scales to learn thirds exercises, G.H. Green exercises, arpeggios, etc.  Our percussionists love playing these more advanced exercises.

Links to worksheets for all of the Instruments

(Please make a copy of each form before you edit it)

Flute: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_m8ioF_s9_ZsuEX-xqYNy-OHDrWC4b5TEy-BFZUJheY/edit?usp=sharing

Oboe:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rQEnnkKd-crsMLVMbXoOnNm3-26DdsAWEXuzHPePDwI/edit?usp=sharing

Bassoon:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hriZoObL5VdCRO_-tXEDIix4INtCRQkNKjDvsifZNhg/edit?usp=sharing

Clarinet:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/136Toaj35_-hD3NM3grgMcrHpTRC9f_MpnTsr2tOZE9Q/edit?usp=sharing

Saxophone:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PEZqAx2WJCFC3hi-YOkela9nPSo7x3hLqEV7qOPZXSk/edit?usp=sharing

Trumpet:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DkbALxTnCI1w8LhKy_6U9Yqze_kgq9mj9xbsUcZvtKc/edit?usp=sharing

Horn:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DOjOaJW1KOJ0QMqDuz23staLIEZRstSXjMZke_Bz24o/edit?usp=sharing

Trombone:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H15e3qH3C59g_AMz0Q9yus8vx8gYgaMNw6K5GSVCA18/edit?usp=sharing

Baritone:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1om4ltFaJALWte2T20sCr8MTml6HlXD1QWWOLg01GqYw/edit?usp=sharing

Tuba:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-U6YYCbfDdvNzEbSrIwDWcxSEeBQCdSeWfBFYO8CkCw/edit?usp=sharing

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Exit Slips...Some ideas

About two weeks ago, my friend and colleague Keith Ozsvath posted a great question on the Band Director's Facebook Group (a group I highly recommend you join if you are not already a member--provided you're a band director of course).  He posted a question about how directors use the last five minutes of class.  There were great answers given by dozens of teachers.  My answer centered around exit slips.  Though I don't use them daily or sometimes even weekly, I find that I get a great deal of valuable data when I use the exit slip.  This post will offer some ideas for possible exit slips you can use with your students.

Here's the disclaimer:  My primary podium (rehearsal) time is spent with sixth graders.  You'll notice that the questions/graphics reflect this age group.

Many of the screenshots will only show a portion of the page.  I have included links to the templates for the first two templates at the end of this post.  Feel free to make a copy and edit!

Self-Assessment Exit Slip Ideas

1.  Emoji Check-In

In this exit slip, the students write down a "strength", a "work in progress," and an area of trouble or confusion for them.  Though all of the answers are important, knowing what is still confusing my students (especially those who may not want to share that with the class) really helps my short and long-term planning.  This can be done with pencil/paper or can be done using google docs or google form (create this as a survey).

2.  Self-Assessment Rubric

We've all seen rubrics like this.  We may even use them when assessing our students.  How many times do the students assess themselves?  Self-assessment rubrics can be used to assess the full ensemble, the section (as this example shows), or the individual student.  By seeing the rubric, students begin to see what "makes it a great performance."  I think students gain a lot of insight on their progress and growth by doing these assessments from time to time.  We are a big Growth Mindset school so you will notice the word YET appears in the lowest column.

There can be a lot for a student to read on a rubric like this.  To simplify, you can ask students to only assess 2-3 categories on a larger rubric saving the rest of the categories for another day.

3. Theory Terms/Symbols Check-Ins

The end-of-class is a great time to find out what your students remember about a particular concept that was recently taught in class.  These short assessments can be customized to your needs.

4. Journal Entries

As I became more involved with CMP, I began having my students journal their thoughts on specific topics that relate to the music.  I use both paper journal cards or sheets and online journals.  Since our school is 1-1, students can easily pull out the Chromebook during the last few minutes to answer a question.  I will often have the students fill out journals to reflect on what they like about the difference concert pieces.  I then will pick some of the answers to include in my program notes.  If you do the journal online, it's as simple as Copy-Paste!

When I first started having the students journal, I made the mistake of asking deeper questions right away.  Students were not ready for the deeper questions and struggled to answer them.  The solution to this problem is to start with simple journal questions (see first example above).  Once students are comfortable sharing their thoughts, you can add rigor to the questions.  

I hope that one or more of these Exit Slip ideas can be used in your classroom.  If you have a great idea for an exit slip, please feel free to share it in the comments!

Here are the full templates for the first two exit slip ideas.

Emoji

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CW6bn_CSSDIxJTGkP3BkQSbQBFPe4HBayuUdjegUlxQ/edit?usp=sharing

Self-Reflection Rubric

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T9yFj-AIRy__58zE3Vg4UFXm7KS3bpJhy19u5n-VZes/edit?usp=sharing

Sharing Playing Test Results with Students: A Paperless Approach

A few years ago, I was sitting in a CMP (Comprehensive Music through Performance) workshop, and Chris Gleason was talking to us about how he shares feedback with parents and students during grade reporting times (report cards/progress reports, etc). He used google apps to create both the online survey he/his students would fill out as well as the docs where the results of the survey would magically look like a professional document showing the students' results.  If you don't know Chris, he is an incredible educator who always seems to be five steps ahead of the curve.  My mouth hit the floor.  This was an incredible way to show parents and students and any other stakeholders a comprehensive report of student growth.  The best part was that you did not have to print out paper, pass out the paper, and hope and pray that it made it home.  The entire report was turned into a PDF file and emailed home.

As my mind was swimming with this idea.  I knew I had to try it.  For the past three years, I have been sending home my own version of this "progress report" at grade report time.  I'll blog about this particular "progress report" soon.

What really interested me though was the idea of sending my students instant (or near instant) feedback on playing assessments.   I can give feedback through many different methods.  I like this approach for several reasons:
1.)  It's paperless!  Not only do you save a tree, but you can send the document to many different people--the student, the parent (guardian), and the administrator (Danielson 4b, 4c, and 4f)
2.) It's very easy to customize!  Doing a scale quiz?  No problem!  Having your students do a 4-measure playing quiz in class?  Easy to create!  Because you're going to create the Google Form and the corresponding Google Doc, you will have complete autonomy on how you want it to look!
3.) It's easy for your record keeping!  Not only does the computer email the document to the stakeholders, but also it puts a PDF form in a specific folder found in your Google Drive!  If you ever need to look up the specific results, send another copy to the stakeholders, and/or place the documents in a student portfolio, you will always have a permanent copy.

Let's Get Started:
1.  Open up Google Forms and create a new form!

Once you create a new form, there are a few things you will want to do.

If this is your first time using Google forms, you will want to name the file.  In the upper left corner, give your form a name.  I always name it after the assessment.  For example "C Concert Scale Quiz."

The first field I create is for student names.  You can skip this step and replace it with student email addresses if your students have their own school-issued email address.  To keep my record keeping easy for me and for others who may see the files, I do both.

I have multiple sections of my class.  I have tried it both ways:  One large list and separate lists for each class.  Google works better with one list.

I make a separate spreadsheet with the student's names listed alphabetically (first-last) and emails.  That way, I simply copy and paste those lists into a drop-down menu.  This step takes a little time on the front end, but it saves a lot of time each time you want to do this.

I also have a drop-down menu for instrument and for the class period.  

When we do scale assessments, we score our scales on a 10-point scale.  Each error is -1 point.  I'll post our "scoring rubric further down.  On the Google Form, I create a 10-point scale using the Linear Scale option.  Since I count the errors, I want it to be 0-10 (see rubric for breakdown).  

What makes this so customizable, is that you can use this with multiple choice, checkboxes, short answers, long answers...it's really up to your preference and the type of assessment you want to use.

I give my sixth graders extra credit if they play the scale from memory and score 0 errors.  I also give the students points for steady tempo (5-point scale).  In addition, students can earn extra credit if they memorize the scale and play with 100% accuracy.  I simply use checkboxes for extra credit and pre-made comments.

I like to pre-make the standard comments.  Simply click the box and you're all set.  It beats writing out the same comments over and over.











Once you have your form filled out to your liking, you're ready to create your google doc.
This is the form your students and parents will receive that contains the assessment results.  You can design this any way you like.  Here is an example that I made for the recent test seen in the Google Form.

How to do this:

1.  What you are essentially doing is creating a merge document.  All of the "answers" to your "questions" from the Google Form will appear in this document.

2.  The chrome extension I use is called "autocrat."  I'll explain that below.

3.  You will use chevrons << >> on either side of the question title from your form.  The "answer" to that question will appear on the document for each student.

4.  Make sure type the "question name" precisely between the <<  >>.




On average, it takes me about 20 minutes to create the Google Form and about 20 minutes to create a short quiz document.  The last step takes about 10 minutes.



Here's the last step:  THE MERGE!
Step 1:  Go to Google Drive and Create a new Folder.  Name the Folder the same as your assessment.
Step 2:  Go to the Google Form for the Assessment.-->Click on Responses Link-->Click on Google Sheets icon.

This opens up the Google Sheets spreadsheet that was created with all of your assessment data.

Once you have the spreadsheet open, you will have to add an "add-ons" called Autocrat if you have not already done so.  It's free and works with Google Sheets.  It's a Merge tool.

Step 3:  Once you have Autocrat added to your computer, you'll launch it.

Step 4:  Name your File:  I simply use the name of the assignment.  -->Click Next

Step 5:  Attach the Template.  You will now attach the template you made in Google Docs.  Click on the button "from Drive" to find your Google Doc template. 

Step 6:  You are going to make sure all of your tags merge.  If the tags do not show up, simply click the drop-down menu and find the correct tag.  You want to make sure all tags line up.  Don't worry about the email tag--we'll add that later.

Once all of the tags line up, click Next button.












Step 7:  File Settings:  Name the file <<Student Name>> or whatever you use for the student's name in your Google Form.  Make sure it is set to PDF.  Make sure it is set to "Multiple Output Mode."  This creates a separate document for each student doc.  Otherwise, everybody gets a massive document with everybody's results.

Click Next button.









Step 8 (almost done!):  Choose Destination Folder--Click Blue +Choose Folder button.  Pick the folder you created in step 1.  Once it appears, click Next Button.

Step 9:  Skip the next two steps on the Autocrat set up (#6 and #7).

Step 10:  If you want to share this document via email, this is where you put the email link.
In the Address line, type the heading you used to collect addresses <<Student Email>>.
If you want to send this to parents, simply create a heading in the original Google Form for parent emails.  Paste them in while filling out the survey.  Then, you can include <<Parent Email>> in the "cc"  Though it is not visible in the image, put an email subject in the email template and write a short message "These are the results of the C Concert Scale"

Click "Next" button once the email template is complete.

I skip the next step (setting up triggers") because I want to make sure the data is exactly how I want it to look.  So you can click the red "Save" button.





That's it!
When you have your data, simply click the "Add-ons" drop-down menu in sheets.  Click on Autocrat and click the play button.  It will begin your merge!  Depending on the amount of data you are merging, it may take a while.

I hope you can use this.  Please contact me if you're having any trouble and I can help.

Welcome to my Blog

Greetings!  My name is Rob Buckley, and I am a middle school music teacher in Batavia, IL.  I currently teach band to about 330 talented students along with two amazing colleagues.  I was really lucky to student teach in Batavia at Batavia High School and  Rotolo Middle School back in 1997.  It took about 3 minutes to fall in love with the community.  The year following my student teaching stint, I was fortunate enough to accept the sixth-grade band teaching position.  Twenty+ years later, I am still teaching at this amazing school.

As I have matured as a teacher, I have come to the realization that I am just scratching the surface of this thing we call teaching.  I have so much to learn.  I have learned so much from colleagues, friends, and mentors.  I have also learned so much from great books, articles, and blogs on a wide variety of subjects.

Through the process, I have figured some things out that help me be a better teacher for my students.  In this blog, I'll share with you what I have done that has worked well.  It's my hope that something I blog about helps you and your students.