​     Every band director knows the struggle: trying to hear fifteen trumpets and ten flutes play Concert D while fixing intonation for the entire ensemble. We have all wondered what would happen in our ensembles if our students could assess their own pitch accuracy and make adjustments in real time. The implementation of new technology in band classrooms would address the deficit of students performing with “accurate and individual intonation within and between musical lines” (University Interscholastic League [UIL], 2024). Intonation individually and within sections is one of the most difficult skills to develop in young musicians. However, it is one of the most important aspects of instrumental instruction in band classrooms (Springer, Schlegel, & Lewis, 2021). One way to bridge the gap between performance evaluation and daily learning is through formative assessment embedded in rehearsal routines.

     According to Killian (2019), effective technology integration allows for individualized learning, while Kordes, Sicherl Kafol, and Holcar Brunauer (2014) show how formative assessment structures can enhance student reflection and achievement; together, these ideas highlight the value of embedding assessment into rehearsal routines. Too often in instrumental music, assessments happen only at the end of a rehearsal cycle- through chair tests, concerts, or contests- rather than during the learning process itself. By embedding formative assessment opportunities into daily rehearsals, directors can provide their students with immediate feedback while playing, which increases engagement, makes rehearsals more efficient, and leads to a more authentic evaluation of musical skill. Directors can also increase the music literacy of their students. These opportunities can be supported by digital tools such as Edpuzzle, iPads, MakeMusic, and the Tonal Energy app. When combined with traditional rehearsal methods these resources empower students to take ownership of their musical growth and help ensembles achieve superior musical performances. This integration empowers all students to gain confidence while discovering their musical talents (Order, 2015).

 

Formative Assessment As Appraisal

     Formative assessment is one of the most beneficial ways to help our students grow into well prepared musicians. During the T-Tess appraisal pre-conference and Student Learning Objective (SLO) pre-conference directors are often asked how they know a concept has been learned by the students in their classroom. The typical director wants to respond with the words “You can hear it.” Administrators are typically looking for a more concrete and understandable answer. Being able to provide concrete answers helps the pre-conference move from ethereal to tangible- administrators speak and understand data. Directors have to do a better job of relaying the success their students have to administrators who do not understand the nature of music. One SLO that I continue to use yearly states: Students will be able to understand and apply musical terms and signs by the end of the school year. Order (2015) found that the usability of apps directly affects how effectively teachers can integrate technology for learning, which is a consideration directors must keep in mind when selecting tools to support student growth. Music literacy is a large but often overlooked part of instrumental music making, and there are tech tools available that directors can utilize to help their students grow in this area.

 

Formative Assessment For Music Literacy

     Edpuzzle has been a complete game changer in my classroom. When Covid hit in 2020, we were thrown into the world of digital learning. We had to figure out how to translate all of our information into tangible ways for our students to learn if we wanted to keep our programs alive. When we got sent home for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, we focused on solo work for our students. However, when it was discovered that we would be starting the 2020-2021 school year remotely, we had to think outside the box. How can we teach instrumental music without being able to be in the same room with our students? This was when I discovered my favorite tool for formative assessment- Edpuzzle. Edpuzzle is a platform that allows you to take videos from YouTube or videos that you have recorded and load them into the program. Once the video is loaded you can create multiple choice questions that are auto-graded. When the grades are completed, you can use the GradeTransferer extension on Google Chrome to easily load the grades from Edpuzzle into your Learning Management System (LMS).

 

 

 

 

                                                  

                                                                                             Edpuzzle​​

     Once I discovered this platform, I began to create many videos. The process began with music theory videos. I realized I couldn’t teach rhythm without teaching foot tap, and I did not like any of the foot tap videos I found on YouTube- so I made one myself. I used Google Slides to make presentations, I used Screencastify to record those presentations. Then I uploaded the video into Edpuzzle and created questions for my students to answer. All of this was accessed through Google Classroom, although now we are fully integrated with Canvas. At the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, I was managing 27 Google Classrooms at the same time. To say it was a challenge was an understatement. However, I am thankful for this part of the remote learning experience because it has led me to expand my boundaries when it comes to formative assessment in the classroom.

     Another form of formative assessment for theory work is Blooket and Kahoot. I know that it may seem like a sin to take a rehearsal to play a game on a computer, but when you see the benefits of these games you will be more inclined to make space for them in your rehearsals. As a teacher, you design the questions and answers, so I created a set of questions to review for our final exams. I included music theory, vocabulary, and musical symbols in my Kahoot review. Once the teacher initially starts the game, the program essentially runs the game while the students play. Teachers can limit what students are able to call their characters, so there are no uncomfortable moments during class. Teachers can also receive a report at the end of the game that includes frequently missed questions and what answers were chosen. You can see who gets the top three scores and how quickly students are answering the questions.  My students love playing Robot Run on Kahoot, and it is also a great team building activity. A similar set of games is Blooket. This is basically the same set-up as Kahoot, teachers design the questions and answers, but there are more options for different games for students to play. Cryptohack is a current favorite among my middle school students! These formative assessments are great for half days, and days where playing instruments may not be possible for whatever reason.

One benefit all of these formative assessments have is the ability to track data.You are physically able to see if students understand how many beats a whole note receives- based on their answers. This concrete data helped me to communicate with parents about student grades. The data also helped me create an SLO that I could track through the year. These games and videos also offer tech-supported feedback for students and can act as a study tool for as long as students have access to the platform. Edpuzzle also offers an opportunity for individualized learning- not everyone has to complete the same video assignment, or the level of questioning can be changed to be more or less difficult depending on your class. Additionally, another benefit is the ability to use these videos as part of substitute plans. This is a concrete way to keep your class busy and help your guest educator have a smooth day.

 

Instrumental Formative Assessment

     After I realized how much I enjoyed making the music theory videos, I transitioned into making instrumental videos. I started with instrument assembly and went on to posting the fingerings for the third octave of the clarinet All-Region scales. I then graduated into practice tracks that involved rhythmic explanations, fingering explanations, and then examples of myself playing the student’s part for them on their instrument so they could practice along with it. During this part of the remote learning process, I realized that I enjoyed traditional rehearsal methods for instrumental teaching. Sometimes you just need to see the student in front of you so you can quickly diagnose and correct mistakes. I found that teaching instrumental music solely online was an area I struggled in, and I was very thankful when we were all back to in-person teaching.
     Moving forward, I decided to investigate other forms of technology that could help my kids with their instrumental progress. My district currently has a 1:1 Chromebook setup, but I have always loved the Tonal Energy App on iPads. As a professional musician I use this app to check my pitch during solo performances, as well as during ensemble rehearsals. The app gives an incredible amount of feedback to performers, including pitch accuracy, tuning, quality of entrances and releases, and tone quality. This instant feedback enhances student learning during rehearsals by allowing for real-time corrections to embouchure and pitch (Palazón & Giráldez, 2018). Beyond intonation, using iPads in school creates more opportunities for students to increase their musical literacy in an interactive and structured environment (Fick & Bulgren, 2022). The benefit of student musicians being able to see all of this information is limitless, and I often recommend this app to my students when they are practicing on their own. However, when my students do use their Chromebooks to make recordings there are many times I prefer for my students to upload the recordings into Canvas. I like being able to leave my students feedback from a list of prescribed comments that I have pre-created. After I grade the videos in Canvas using SpeedGrader, I can use the grade transferer app to transfer grades over to my LMS quickly.

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                                                                                     Tonal Energy

     MakeMusic is another great formative assessment tool for instrumental music. One of the benefits of this tool is that it allows you to create practice tracks for your students. MakeMusic has a large catalogue of instrumental music for you to select from- including a significant number of pieces from the PML. Instrumental solo music is also available in this program, as well. A teacher can assign a recording to a student and the program will auto-grade it, however, I always go back and listen to the recordings myself. These recordings can be used for pass-offs, formative assessment grades, or even just used for the director’s benefit of hearing individual playing from their students. It also logs practice time if the students are trained to utilize the program correctly. This kind of information is invaluable to teachers because it saves rehearsal time and can help inform your lesson plans. It also gives concrete information to parents and administrators wondering about a student’s performance in class.

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                                                                          MakeMusic

 

Impact of Formative Assessment

    In a world where instrumental music classes seem to be getting closer to the chopping block on a daily basis, being able to assess students in a way that parents and administrators can understand is invaluable. While it may seem strange to hold space for a day where your students do not play their instruments in class, these little assessments can have a big impact over time. These formative assessments can help develop your students’ musical literacy and instrumental playing skills. By enhancing both of these within our students, our performances at concerts and evaluations will be noticeably better. This is a chance to connect with our students in a way that previous directors were not able to experience, and we should embrace that opportunity within our classrooms. After all, if we can find a way to reach one more student in our class, then it’s worth the effort.