Tips for Administrators in Evaluating Music Educators
By Steffen Parker
A critical piece of the relationship between an administrator and the teachers in his/her school is centered on each teacher's annual evaluation. While the two may be equal colleagues in their daily interactions, and friends or social acquaintances in and outside of school, they are boss and employee when it's time for the administrator to evaluate the effectiveness of the teacher in performing his/her duties for the school.
This interaction is not only important to both as part of fulfilling any contractual requirements, but can and should benefit both of them, their school in general, and the music students in particular. And while most administrators have had previous careers as classroom educators themselves, that experience only provides them with a solid understanding of how teachers function within a traditional classroom, not how music educators function within a sectional or rehearsal opportunity.
Given that a fair portion, if not the majority, of most music educators' positions are reflected within their assigned ensemble rehearsals, a fair portion of their evaluations should be conducted there as well.
Evaluating a band, chorus, orchestra, jazz or sectional rehearsal is an entirely different process than evaluating a history lesson or math class, and the administrator should be prepared for those differences. Those differences encompass a wide variety of classroom aspects that are endemic to just about every rehearsal situation and provide the administrator with a wide variety of challenges in providing an accurate, effective and subjective evaluation.
To help, following are some thoughts and suggestions. If you have an evaluation process (pre-evaluation meeting, post-evaluation meeting, evaluation form), please follow it, but I would suggest that you ask the music educator for his/her thoughts on the evaluation form and how it may or may not fit what you are going to observe.
DON'T HIDE: Come before the rehearsal starts, sit in the back, but speak with the students who come by your seat, stay to the end, be a part of the experience for all to see. Your presence will allow the music students to show off a bit just for you, so let them know you are there.
NUMBERS: Most school ensembles have more students in them than the standard classroom. And rehearsals, especially those involving band, orchestra and jazz ensemble instruments, require more time to begin than the standard class. Be aware that a lot of students will be moving about, preparing instruments, connecting with others, checking on information with the director or others in the group, and getting mentally and physically ready to rehearse. That process takes time and creates quite a bit of sound and confusion. The capability of the students to know what they need to do to complete that preparation, the availability of the resources for them to do it mostly unassisted, and the director's ability to bring that warm-up effort to a close and focus the students on the day's task at hand are the key elements in dealing with that many students getting ready to learn.
RESOURCES: It takes a lot of resources to run a school performance ensemble, and the ability of the student-musician to access them when they are needed, to properly maintain them (especially since most are school property), and to receive additional assistance when it becomes necessary allows the ensemble to make the progress it needs for each rehearsal to be successful.
Evaluate how well the students know their roles; how they handle their instruments, their music, their position in the rehearsal space; and how they solicit and receive help from older students or the director. Be aware that the director is also not only trying to prepare mentally and physically for rehearsal, but also deal with attendance, late slips, announcements, equipment issues and the like. The management of time and information at the beginning of rehearsal sets the tone for the rest of the period.
ATTENTION: While each music student knows his/her role in that large group, there are many sub-groups within the larger group, and each has a selected or perceived student-leader. Relating to others in each sub-group, as well as receiving instruction and direction from the student-leader, allows the learning to be more direct and better retained by each member. This interaction may seem unfocused and ineffective, but when appropriately supported by the director, can help move the group forward. Look for the director to be aware of this interaction, to keep it under control, and to be able to bring the group back to one focus easily (and often).
ONE GOAL, MANY TASKS: A performance ensemble is made up of many individuals who all have one shared goal. However, each member's task to successfully reach that goal, his/her current level of contributing to that task, and the amount of improvement expected is different for each individual.
Learning how to collectively perform a piece of music is a long-term process, successfully accomplished through a lot of little steps made along the way. The closer an ensemble is to the end of that process - its public performance the more the rehearsal will involve all of the students focused on the same section of the music at the same time. But even at that point, and much more so the earlier in that effort the group is, the more the music educator will need to address specific issues with small groups and individuals - teaching, reviewing, reinforcing, complimenting.
RELATIONSHIPS: The successful ensemble is one that relates not only to the music being performed, but to each other while rehearsing and performing together. The seating of students, the support of their interactions, the highlighting of not only the issues to be addressed, but the small successes that occur each day allow the director to be connected to the students themselves and gives them the opportunity to extend those relationships to the music and to the world beyond.
Making the most of every teaching moment by providing acknowledgment for students' successes, and correction and support for their failures, allows the music educator to share a deeper understanding of the music with each student. While there may be distractions in the room while the teacher is giving that individual attention to one student, the relationship being built will help that individual student to grow immeasurably as person and musician. Rehearsals have to have time for that relationship building to be successful.
SEQUENCING: Ensemble rehearsals are like building a house with lumber that isn't quite the right shape, color or size yet. Put together, it's not right, so you take a board off here, adjust it, put it back and then go on to fix another one that seems out of place.
In a rehearsal, the director will have the group perform a part of a piece of music (maybe at a slower tempo or without one aspect), but it's apparent that some things are not right. The director will focus comments on one section of students, offer some suggestions, ask that section to try it (sometimes a few times), give some more suggestions (or hopefully some praise for accomplishing the task) and then either work with another section on their issue, or try the entire piece again. Some assembly required is how it goes, with the director building upon each success, extending the amount of the music that can be played without stopping, adding more elements, slowly getting it closer and closer to performance quality.
Through all of this, it should be apparent to the students what the director wants the music to sound like and what it will take to get there as individuals and as an ensemble. As an evaluator, be aware that the ultimate goal (the public performance) allows for the daily progress to vary as long as progress gets made each day.
VARIETY: Most ensembles are preparing multiple pieces for their next performance and each is at a different point in their steps to success. For every rehearsal, the director has had to analyze where the group was the last rehearsal on each piece, where it can improve, how much rehearsal time is left until the concert, and how he/she can best help the students reach their goals. Thus, some rehearsals are very focused on one piece (or even just one section of one piece), and others move from piece to piece quite often during the rehearsal. How smoothly those transitions take place, how the connections between one and the other are made, and how the director retains the group's focus and energy are all evaluative quantities.
IT'S OVER: If you thought that the sound at the beginning was loud, the sound of an instrumental ensemble ending rehearsal can be deafening. Again, students who know what is expected of them, who know what resources are there, who maintain equipment properly, and who leave with clear instructions on how to improve and what is expected of them by the next rehearsal, are students who have a quality music educator teaching them and sharing their love for music. How that gets done is different in every music room, but it should be clear to each ensemble member what his/her role is in making things better.
BUT IT'S NOT OVER: Now that you have seen the effort being made and heard a small part of the progress required to be a successful music program, please make sure that you are there for the public performance (and bring some friends). The students and the director will greatly appreciate it.
Steffen Parker, a ninth-generation Vermonter, has been an instrumental music educator for 29 years, with degrees in performance, education and conducting. Parker organizes several music events in his state and region, and is in his 14th year as the Vermont All State Music Festival Director. He started a computer company, Music Festival Software Solutions, to help other states move their data processing online and provides that type of service to several groups, including the Vermont Principals' Association and the Vermont Superintendents' Association.
