Coming up November 7-19, OSMD will be having student evaluations. What is the purpose of evaluations? Actually, there is more to the process then you might think! Evaluations are good for both the student AND the teacher. The main purpose for evaluations is for the teacher to find out what the student has learned and if they way they taught the concept was effective. The teachers may ask themselves, “Am I teaching what I think I am teaching?” “Are my students learning what they are supposed to be learning?” “Is there a better way I can teach the subject matter?”
Through student evaluations, students become aware of what their strengths are, and also what their challenges are too. They should learn through the evaluations how to improve upon their playing, singing, or dancing. The teacher and student can use the outcome of the evaluation to identify goals and objectives to work on in the lessons or classes. Knowing the student’s strengths and weaknesses will help to develop activities that will help them master the objectives they are working towards. Hopefully the teacher knows the student’s learning styles well enough to develop helpful these activities that will be the most useful to them.
Our student evaluations at OSMD are of the informal nature. Our students are not given any tests to measure how they are reaching their goals. Twice a year, our teachers fill out an evaluation form for each student. The evaluation lists skills that the student demonstrates properly and also skills the student will continue to work on. This gives the teacher and student goals to work on for the next few months until the next evaluation. It also tells parents what their child has been working on in their lessons.
If your child is in a group class at OSMD, such as Intro to Piano, Intro to Violin, Intro to Guitar, Children’s Choir, or Music FunTime, the evaluation process also helps our instructors to determine if it is time for these students to move into private lessons, or if they need to stay in the group setting for awhile longer. When “graduating” from Music FunTime, students usually move into an Intro class to determine what instrument they are interested in playing or to see if they like singing in the Children’s Choir. When “graduating” from the Intro classes, students move into private lessons where they get one on one attention from the teacher and can really start to focus on playing the instrument of their choice.
If you are interested in music or dance classes at OSMD, just check out our website for information or to register! www.omahaschoolofmusicanddance.com
