Hello there,

WHOOO The semester is coming to an end. I'm grateful to be able to study, but what a year it's been. It was a crazy year, and I am looking forward to spending time with family and friends after a year of working, learning, and trying to keep up with life. Today, I am appreciative for this year, for wonderful friends, for support, and most of all, for family and friends.

“Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.”
― Roy T. Bennett

Individual reflection

1.           Please share your story as an LSKM 221 student by comparing your knowledge, skills, experiences, abilities, and attitude towards music education from the start of the semester to the end of the semester.

Answer:

This semester's LSKM221 subject well exceeded my expectations. I had no prior experience of how to teach music or even where to begin when it came to music. I liked studying unit two the most since I like music but don't understand anything about beats, rhymes, and so on. Overall, I am optimistic about music and the many notions about music and how to incorporate them into your daily and monthly sessions in class. When I remember back to the beginning of the semester when I was overwhelmed, confused, and stressed out about the new ideas that we needed to comprehend and learn, how I feel today is nearly incomparable. I am pleased and grateful to have had the opportunity to study this subject and have a more basic understanding of music and how to teach it to students.

2.           What was your experience of the role of individual reflection as part of the teaching and learning process? Use the following prompts to reflect on your blogging experience and the role that individual reflection played (or not) in your teaching and learning experience this semester:

•            What did you learn from your reflections?

Answer: I learned to recall what I studied in each study unit by conducting individual reflections. The questions also allow you to think and conduct further research, which I liked doing.

•            What did you find challenging?

Answer: Trying to finish all the assignments and the rest of the subjects' assignments on time while also keeping up with the blogs and forums was difficult for me, but it was all worth it in the end.

•            Did you find the individual reflections meaningful? Please motivate your answer.

Answer: Yes, I believe that by doing so, Ms. Rina Francis can obtain valuable feedback from her students on what they think and how they feel, and we as students can remember what we learned, which benefits us "the students," because we learn to share our feelings, thoughts, and ideas, and we learn to think outside the box.

•            What would you change if you had the opportunity in the future?

Answer: When I think back and go through the study units, I won’t change anything.  I loved writing blogs, participating in forums, and completing tasks. I enjoyed reading and studying the lessons, as well as watching the videos offered by Ms. Rina Francis. I thought her videos were a lot of fun, and if I could suggest anything, it would be to make additional videos to teach the topics to the students. It's more enjoyable, fascinating, and we learn more when we see someone explain it in a video, and it's even better if the videos are fun and interesting. Thank you for all your hard work this semester, Ms. Rina Francis. We sincerely thank you!

3.           Please share what you would change in the LSKM221 module if you had the opportunity. The following prompts can guide your reflection:

•            What did you find interesting and meaningful?

Answer: Study unit 2 was interesting and meaningful to me because I learned a lot about music that I did not know before, such as the duration of tone, notes and values, rhythm, beat, pitch and tone, and types of music activities in Foundation Phase. It was also interesting to learn how movement activities contribute to the holistic development of Foundation Phase learners.

•            What challenged you, and what do you still struggle to understand?

Answer: Study unit 2 pushed me; it was a lot of effort to go through and grasp because I didn't have any prior knowledge, and I don't even know how to play a musical instrument, but after working through the study units a few times, I loved learning and understanding the ideas of music and how to respond and teach music.

•            What didn’t you find valuable for your future teaching practice?

Answer: Nothing, I believe that from each study subject, we as prospective teachers may take something meaningful and learn from it, which we can then incorporate into our teaching.

I've discovered that music affects children in a variety of ways, including social skills, creativity, and imagination, the development of motor skills, the improvement of balance, coordination, and rhythm through dance and movement activities, and much more. All I can say is thank you, Ms. Rina Francis, for teaching this module to us. I hope we get the opportunity to have you as a lecturer in our third and fourth years.

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain” - Bob Marley