Grand Ledge Visit 1

Doug Armstead – 7^th grade women’s chorus

Josh Gronlund – student teacher

Doug, as expected by his reputation, has great control over his classroom through true student engagement. The beginning of rehearsal starts with no spoken instruction. Students take their cues visually and repeat vocalises and/or movements of various kinds. Doug uses this as a classroom management tool as well, either repeating the noise/movement until everyone is repeating it back, or waiting quietly for the attention to direct itself where it should be. The students respond well to this, probably because they’re usually not just expected to sit quiet, but they’re able to do something to engage in the expectations.

Doug had the girls doing a lot of activities (a dance to a country song, another game with switching chairs) that didn’t necessarily have an immediate “impact” on their choral repertoire, but he talked to us after and explained that it’s so worth it to take the time to do those sort of bonding activities. Choirs that are happy together, sing better together!

I’m looking forward to working with Doug and his girls chorus this semester! He’s given us the task of leading sectionals already, which I think will be an awesome experience and an opportunity to get his real-time feedback!