Update on Group Progress: 09/03/11

Hey guys! This is David on my first blog post. Let's see, what have we done since the last post...

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All the groups went to Grace Orchard School to see the facilities, Ms Kwan, and the kids. We had a meeting with Ms Kwan and discussed our objectives and the possibilities for our projects. She outlined a few things for us:

1. The Choir has a conductor, and we might interfere with her plans and lesson style.

2. We could organize a Choir camp for our charges.

3. We could teach music theory instead of singing.

There were quite a few things for us to consider, as our original plan had been simply to teach the charges how to sing. It was apparent we were going to have to take another look at our plans and adapt to fit the situation.

After the meeting, she took us on a tour on the facilities of the school. Their Choir room has a computer, screen, a piano, keyboard and several benches. This is the room we are mostly likely going to have to use. They also have a Band room which has many different instruments including a piano, and has a smart screen that requires a tablet with the necessary software. Unfortunately, the Band practice coincides with the Choir practice on Fridays, so if we still persist in having the lessons, we can't use the Band room.

The next session, we completed out group project proposal, submitting it after we had all contributed something to it.

Research Proposal:

1. Interest Areas
1. Choral singing
2. Musical Theory
3. Teaching those with Mental Disabilities
2. Research Topic
1. Teaching music to those with Mild Intellectual Disability (MID)
3. Rationale for Topic
1. Music is a conduit to connect with the children
2. We want to lift the spirits, self-esteem and support the children in their lives and learning.
4. Aims and objectives for study
1. Service Objectives
1. Inculcating a love for music and singing in GOS students.
2. Developing communication and expression abilities through singing.
3. Helping build confidence through singing and performing.
4. Inspiring the students through music.
5. Cultivating a sense of belonging among the choir as a whole.
6. Helping them understand the importance of teamwork.
2. Learning Objectives
1. Learn about the behaviour of students with MID and how best to interact with them
2. Learn to guide and teach students better
3. having patience, determination etc, that I will need to successfully guide them well
4. pushing my creativity to think of good methods that can be used to teach
5. To be more adaptable and flexible
6. To be more patient and determined
5. Research Questions
1. How can we enrich the lives of our charges through music?
6. Significance
1. This will help our charges in their daily interaction with others, as well as exploring their hidden potentials.
7. Methodology
1. After every session, write a description of the session, including the problems that we faced and the behavior of our charges.
2. Write a reflection. This will consist of the possible reasons for the problems arising, as well as possible solutions to them. We will also try to understand the perspectives of our charges through their actions. Over the many weeks, we hope to gain a clearer picture on our charges and their methods of learning. This will also help us to gain an insight into the world that they experience.
3. In the lesson plan for the following lesson, we will try to incorporate the solutions to the problems from previous lesson and utilise the knowledge of our charges, to improve upon our teaching methods. Hopefully this will help our charges to learn better. In the next reflection, these solutions will be assessed and appropriate changes may be made.
8. Resources
1. Our choir members and their training
2. Our instrumental abilities and background.
3. Our other strengths such as drawing, organising etc.
4. Online and offline research on MID
5. The teachers at GOS
9. Flexibility/Manageability of research (possible challenges)
1. Miscommunication between us and charges
1. Can be overcome using different means of communication e.g. visual rather than solely verbal
10. End Product
1. Concert by charges GOS or RI
2. Choir/Enrichment Camp for charges
3. Recordings of songs by charges
4. Teaching package

Here it is. :)

I guess that's all for now. We'll be checking back here as we continue our journey with the kids and ourselves. Thanks! Bye!

-David on behalf of Stand Up and Sing