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Duke, Robert A. "Feedback." Intelligent Music Teaching: Essays on the Core Principles of Effective Instruction. Austin: Learning and Behavior Resources, 2005. 121-37. Print.

This chapter from Duke's book discusses the use of feedback in the classroom with a specific emphasis on music. Duke discusses the nature and purpose of feedback, emphasizing how it is often misinterpreted by the student. Even teachers tend to think of feedback incorrectly. The perception of positive vs. negative feedback is incorrect. All feedback is intended to help the student grow, so even "negative" feedback is done out of care. Near the end, Duke writes about how feedback is given and how it could be done more efficiently. Too much time is spent sugarcoating feedback to cater to the student's feelings. When both teacher and student understand that there is nothing wrong with being "incorrect," feedback may be given in a much more truthful and genuine manner.

I thoroughly enjoyed everything that Duke had to say in this chapter of his book. In particular, the part at the end about genuine feedback resonated with me strongly. Additionally, reminding the reader that it is not an inherently bad thing to be wrong is extremely helpful from both a student and educators standpoint.
1. How can a teacher establish a relationship with the students in which genuine feedback becomes understood and not misinterpreted as mean?
2. In a large ensemble, is it possible to give feedback many times every minute like the author suggests?  
3. How can this be achieved without making the lesson seem disjunct?



Wiggins, Jackie. "Learning." Teaching for Musical Understanding. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2001. 2-13. Print.

This excerpt from Wiggins' book provides in depth detail regarding how people learn and make connections. "Schema, Metaphor, Image, and Embodied" were the four categories of understanding discussed in the chapter. Schema describes a mental construct used to organize information. It's similar to a web or a network. Metaphor states that each individual places new information into a previously existing context that they are personally familiar with as a way to connect with the information more effectively. The two sub-categories of Image are perceptual image (based on sensory information) and recalled images (that allow us to bring back past images and build on them). Embodied understanding is the actual process that happens in the brain to make information make sense.

This relatively dense chapter of reading was informative and useful but often difficult to follow. I don't believe that it reiterated as often as I understood it do so, meaning that I am not sure I interpreted it correctly all the time. Nevertheless, I particularly enjoyed reading about understanding through metaphor. I feel that this is a method used by the brain from a very early age that never ceases to be useful, making it an ideal way to promote a higher rate of understanding in students.
1. Are there more texts on this specific topic (Schema, Metaphor, Image, Embodied)? I would like to try to learn more about all of them, but particularly Embodied.
2. How can these concepts be integrated into a lesson plan effectively?
3. Is one of these methods more prevalent than the others? If so, which?