Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I was most proud of the information i have researched and presented for my presentation, they were very informational and i think i did a great job explaining the informations i had for my topic and answers.


(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

 P        

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

P      

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

The research note book helped me researched on many articles and books the CRAP test forced me to choose more wisely on the information i used.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I would change my independent component 2 if i could go back and change it. I would like to actually teach someone music instead of taking piano lessons. 

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

The final presentation was a big challenge to me, and i feel more comfortable talking in front of people now, also the I-Search paper really help me learn a lot with the In-Text citation and how important to give author their credits. 

Blog 22: Mentorship

Mentorship         Mrs. Wang, Violin teacher at Rowland Privite Music School. 6262178156Interpretive Through my mentorship, i get to actual experience the process of muisc education from both the teacher and student’s perspective. I was able to talk to the parents who send their child to afterschool music classes, and knowing why they feel music is important as part of their child’s development education.  Applied From my mentorship, i get to know the how teacher feel when they are giving muisc education and what do they really want to bring to the students, which were creativity thinking and senstive hearing about the outside world, most teacher wanted their student to be able to think postivily and have a outgoing persdonality, my mentor believes muisc is the best way to express the inner feelings and to reduse stress. Muisc education could bring a huge difference in a child’s life.

Exit Interview

(1) Essential Question: How can music education maximize child’s brain development?

     Answer#1:Children should be provided with music rich environment to have access to music lesson that helps develop his or her brain at a young age.

     Answer#2:School  should provide music lessons, or music appreciation class as mandatory classes for students

     Answer#3: Music has the ability to perceive emotion in music is said to develop early in childhood, and improve significantly throughout adolescence time period development.

My best answer is my answer #1 Children should be provided with music rich environment to have access to music lesson that helps develop his or her brain at a young age.The reason the first answer is my best answer because this one gives a general view of all the impact of music education, the benefits of it could be covered all in this response, music rich environment is necessary for children's, research had proved that by only listening to Mozart's could bring your a higher IQ. The younger the children started to have music experience, the deeper the impact music could bring.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

I started to studying for information about the neuroscience involved in music education, explanation of developments of the brain with the impact of music.Musicians are usually finding with a better functioning memory compare to others, due to the long period of music note reading training they have received. An early childhood training on the memory task with music instrument can significantly improve the abilities to recall memories and help children's to visualize better and develop abstract thinking skills. These abilities of focusing, effective listening prepared by music education are integral to school educations. Music rich environment is the best way for children to develop early music participation skills, and ear training.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

I had trouble with finding my third answer, i felt like the first two answer covered all the aspect i wanted to mention throughout my project, with includes the development of children's, but then my mentor talked to me about music therapy, and Mrs. Ortega has letting us read a book that related to adolescence, i tied these two parts together during my research and then came up with my final third answer which was; Music has the ability to perceive emotion in music is said to develop early in childhood, and improve significantly throughout adolescence time period development.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

     The two main sources i have used was the book A Philosophy of Music Education by Bennett Reimer, and Research Report of studies for music education. The book helped me with founding the overall explanation of question i had throughout my research, like the meaning of the sounds and the example stories of how music have helped people growing up as well as the changes of music throughout the history. The research reports were done by different Universities, there were all beneficial for my researches, these actual evidence data helped me conform my thoughts and my answers.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

“I, Zihan Xu, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
I have took 8 piano classes at Diamond bar music school ofr my independent componet #2, they offer a 2 hours long one to one classes for begineer  piano lessons, I was taught with basic informations of piano, the names of the keys, instructions on how to play, and most importanly ear training.
My teacher started with simple chords to start, and the proper hand posture, how to correctly move your fingers, I practice the scales and homwork at home with my keyboard.

My piano teacher taught me the twinkle twinkle little stars song~ 

My piano teacher told me the most important part in learning an instrument is to figure out the sounds, and break them down by know all the keys, i was taught to find out the name and sounds to different chords and scales, this isn't a one day thing, it takes long practices and experience, i had violin backgrounds before so i am able to figure out the notes of most out them, but the chords were hard to figure out. For the last class which was today, i asked him to teach me my favorite kpop song baby don't cry by EXO, it is a simple but super pretty song, he made notes for me and corrected my finger postures and helped me with the temple, now i am able to play it, i still need practice.

My essential question was how can music education maximize child's brain development, this piano class supported my first answer, children should be provided with a music rich environment, because music build your confidence and satisfaction when you successfully plays out a piece of music by yourself, and playing piano, you have to focus your left and right hands playing separate different notes while you are reading the sheet music, and also have to follow the right speed. Piano help you focus several different things at the same time and fully maximized the balance of the left and right brain.  

Extra Blog Apr.

The place where I mentor at starts getting extremely busy, new courses are coming up at this time of the year, I have been working all my time on doing the student registration, getting all the information and payments down. My mentor has been teaching a beginning violin class this month, I'm also helping her out but making copies of her class materials, and also helping the students a little bit with renting violin and etc.

Extra Blog Mar.

I was trying to get the Introduction to music class at Cal Poly Pomona, but the course I'm trying was too full the wait list is super long too, so I couldn't get into that class. However, I have found another classical piano class outside of school. The class I took is an individual one to one 2 hours long class every Sunday. I have already taken the first two classes, my teacher started with basic note reading and the simply scales like C major, and also how to play different chords, with a few finger warm-up exercise.

Extra Blog Feb.

I have completed my Indipendened component one this month and started with my second independent component. I took the certificate of merit exam level 5 for violin as my independent component 1, this exam was held by the California music teacher associate, gives you permission to start your  music class and become an actual music teacher. For my independent component 2, I'm planning on taking a music class at Cal Poly Pomona, I'm trying to feel the experience of college level music class and see college course have the same effect as outside of school classes.