MUED2302: Classroom Management

Student well-being hub journal entries (40%), Problem solving exercise (20%), Classroom Management plan (40%).

MUED1010 or MUED1005 or MUED1009 or MUED1008

MUED2302 is a new unit that was added to the enrolment pattern for Music Education students in 2020. After feedback from previous cohorts about the importance of dedicating time to classroom management, this course was created and designed to prepare us for the challenges that may arise in a contemporary music classroom.

The classes ran online and are supposed to be two hours in length. However, a majority decision from our cohort changed this to one hour intensives which ended up being more effective. This meant that we were concentrating fully for the entire duration of the class but that we were also not spending an unnecessary amount of time doing extra reading or preparation that would have been probably required for a second hour. I enjoyed the blended approach to learning about classroom management from both theoretical perspectives and practical strategies for application. The course content was also varied in what we covered (wellbeing, mobile phone use and handling of instruments are some examples of what we discussed), and updated to what classroom management involves today. The assessments for this unit were also reasonable for what was a 3cp unit and examined the subject matter of the course well. I particularly liked that our last assessment was to devise an actual classroom management plan because it not only encouraged me to reflect more deeply about my own philosophy and beliefs about what managing a class means to me, but also because I now either could use it in a school or have it as a model for future CMP's I might need to write when I'm out teaching.

My experience in this unit was really positive overall and it definitely shows with how insanely high my final result was. I have to say it definitely exceeded my expectations because I thought it was going to be way worse since it was the first time this course was run, it was done entirely online and it also was the reason why I had to overload last semester. Despite the circumstances that I was taking this unit in, I found that it was run with high levels of professionalism. I really appreciate the depth of feedback I received for the assessments and how considerate Jennifer and Tom were towards the learning difficulties and stress many of us were going through during the semester. I only wonder what it would have been like in person and I definitely think one thing the unit might choose to take on board in future is to have an observation of a class component embedded within it. I felt that I was quite overwhelmed on my first placement with just how different classroom management looked in my particular school so perhaps a week or two where students are asked to analyse a teacher's strategies (whether it be video recorded or in person, though I imagine the first for logistical reasons) and evaluate them in relation to the theories we explored in the unit. Otherwise, I came out of this unit feeling far more confident and open to the challenges that might come with classroom management and I hope its impact will continue to be felt as I enter my next two years of the degree.

1x 2 hour seminar

3/5

Yes; all classes were run live and recordings were uploaded by the end of the day.

Jennifer Rowley, Tom Fienberg

None; all the readings and resources for this unit were provided on Canvas for us to access.

4.5/5

None

2020, Semester 2

98 HD