Dr. Steven Morrison

School of Music 31C
Phone: 543-8986 / Fax: 616-4098
E-mail: sjmorris@uw.edu

Office hours: Monday & Friday 12:30-1:30

The relationship between classroom management and academic evaluation is deeply intertwined. It is not possible to effectively evaluate the educational progress of a class that is off-task to the matters at hand. Similarly, it is not reasonable to expect students to attend to a teacher when that teacher has no idea what he or she wants them to learn. The key to both these crucial topics is the clear IDENTIFICATION, OBSERVATION and RECORDING of behavior coupled with an appropriate and thoughtful RESPONSE . . . and that will be the main theme that runs through this class.

Specifically, during this course you will have the opportunity to:
1. Develop operational definitions for musical and social concepts;
2. Study principles of behavior management;
3. Learn observation techniques that focus on specific teacher and student activity;
4. Compare a variety of classroom management philosophies and practices;
5. Observe selected practices in action across a variety of teaching settings;
6. Develop tools for assessment and procedures for evaluation of musical objectives.

Required Materials

The following texts are required for this class:

    Madsen, Charles H., Jr., and Clifford K. Madsen. Teaching/Discipline: A Positive Approach for Educational Development. 4th ed. Raleigh, NC: Contemporary Publishing Company, 1998. (available at the UW Bookstore)

    Wolfgang, Charles H. Solving Discipline and Classroom Management Problems. 7th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. (This text is available as an e-book from the publisher here and as subscription through CourseSmart here. Both offer a substantial discount from the paperback version; please note that the e-book is yours to keep while the less expensive subscription is good for 180 days.)

1.  This is an interactive, experience-based course.  Learning can only happen if you are present for the class meetings.  Participation and preparation are a significant part of your grade.

2. Most assignments for this course will be submitted electronically either by email or in the appropriate Catalyst Dropbox accessed using your UW NetID. Assignments are due at the beginning of the class meeting on the due date. Late assignments will receive a 1-point deduction for each calendar day late beginning at the start of the class period. Absence from class is not an excuse.

3. Every item you produce should reflect the highest level of professionalism. All written assignments should be typed/word-processed and checked thoroughly for spelling, grammatical and structural errors. Notated musical materials should be in the neatest of manuscript or generated by a notation program. Assignments not meeting a high standard of presentation will be returned for revision and re-submission. Poorly presented assignments reflect inadequate preparation and will affect your grade.

Final grades in this course are determined by the final total of points earned on all assignments, exams, participation and preparation. The following scale shows the minimum number of points required to earn the given landmark grades. Other grades not shown (i.e., 3.9 or 2.7) will also be calculated using this scale.

4.0 = 96 - 100 points
3.5 = 90.5 points
3.0 = 85 points
2.5 = 79.5 points
2.0 = 74 points (minimum grade to fulfill Music Education major requirement)
1.5 = 68.5 points
1.0 = 63 points
0.7 = 60 points
0.0 = < 60 points

Follow this link for information on the general UW grading system.