MUED1010: Key Ideas in Music Education, MUED1005 Key Approaches in Music Education

For MUED1010: Peer teaching assessment (50%), weekly ePortfolio reflective entries (50%). For MUED1005: Peer teaching assessment (50%), sight reading test on chosen instrument (25%), weekly ePortfolio reflective entries (25%).

None

These are the foundation units music education students do as an introduction into pedagogy and practical methods for teaching. KIME and KAME were similarly structured with six weeks of training in a particular method (Orff and Kodaly respectively) and the rest looking at contemporary pedagogies and other ways of learning and teaching music. They're 3 credit points so it only has a two hour class per week but that being said, demanded a lot of work and attention for me to do well in.

The assessments are hugely weighted as you can see above which forced me to think and start early. The ePortfolio reflections were really difficult to do because not only did it have to be sophisticated and critical each week, but they also needed to look professional. I'm not fantastic with technology so my entries were quite bland and uninspiring for the first semester which is also perhaps why I was significantly dragged down results-wise. I also suspect incorrect referencing was a reason for this shock (it was alluded to in my feedback and most of my cohort members also lost marks for it). I really learnt from this in Semester 2 so I spent much more time on them, incorporated a variety of academic sources and readings and ended up getting a HD for the portfolio section of my mark. I also picked up ukulele this semester in this unit and have become quite attached to my uke Edwood. The sight-reading assessment was more of a jam session which I loved and although I made a few slips up, I felt good coming out of it. As for the peer teaching assessments, I did well in both and really pushed myself with Kodaly by choreographing my own dance and arranging an accompaniment part on my ukulele (which is why I'm taking the AKC this year!) to get my mark into a HD. I felt like the five minutes restriction we got ended up being really helpful because it forced me to be creative and present my best teaching forward. These assessments have shaped me well as an educator thinking about and applying ideas and approaches to education.

Overall, these subjects were really enjoyable. My only issue was perhaps the inconsistencies in marking that were experienced and felt by all the students throughout this year but I do think that's something being actively revised right now. Other than that, we always have so much fun dancing, jamming and singing in these units. I've really been able to bond with my cohort members because of these units and I'm excited to do more music education units with them in the next three years

1x 2 hour seminar

4/5

Yes; all classes are recorded and uploaded on the day.

James Humberstone and other guest lecturers

None

4/5

None; there are no set textbooks but I would recommend getting doing the supplementary readings to enhance the reflections you have to write.

2019 Semester 1, 2

MUED1010: 73 CR, MUED1005: 85 HD