Documenting Student Growth in 12 Easy Steps!
Chris Anne Powers and Robin Chenot
Sunday July 27th – 8:30 – 9:30 AM – Session III
Do the music teachers in your district use a common curriculum to guide their instruction? Do they grade using consistent rubrics? Does your school district require you to show evidence of student growth? In this session, we will share how our elementary Core Music Team developed a music curriculum based on the work of Dr. John Feierabend and how we created assessments to align with this curriculum. We will take you through each step in Unit 2 and will show our students’ growth by sharing assessment data, student artifacts, additional resources and how we use technology for both assessing and record-keeping purposes.
Participants will leave with:
- A better understanding of the 12-step process in Unit 2.
- A desire to create rubrics and assessments for their classes.
- Strategies to utilize technology for assessment creation and record keeping.
- Enthusiasm for student data and for their own student’s growth.
Chris Anne Powers has been an elementary music specialist for 18 years. She currently teaches K-5 Core Music, Band and Chorus at Cos Cob School in Greenwich, Connecticut. Chris received her undergraduate degree in Music Education from The Hartt School, where she had the good fortune of studying with John Feierabend. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Sacred Heart University and received her Kodaly Certificate from The Hartt School. Given her strong commitment to the Feierabend approach, she was a driving force in the adoption of the First Steps In Music For Preschool & Beyond and Conversational Solfege materials as the basis of the Greenwich Public Schools Music Curriculum. Chris created and presented professional development workshops based on the Feierabend approach to facilitate the implementation of the new curriculum. She lives a music-filled life in Cos Cob with her husband Jed and their boys – Jay and Tommy.
Robin Chenot has been an elementary music essentialist in the Greenwich Public Schools since 1999. She currently teaches K-5 Core Music and Chorus at North Mianus School and serves as a network liason for the district. Robin received her undergraduate degree from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and received her Masters in Music Education at the Hartt School of Music. During her time at Hartt, Robin obtained her Kodaly Certificate and received training in First Steps In Music For Pre-School And Beyond and both levels of Conversational Solfege from Dr. Feierabend. Most recently, Robin was part of the team that developed the new Greenwich Public Schools music curriculum, which adopted the First Steps and Conversational Solfege methods. She also played an integral part in the development of the district rubrics that complement the curriculum. Robin is the proud mom of three young boys Luke, Michael and Nicholas.