Teaching Videos

Throughout his time at Westminster, Sam has recorded videos of him teaching his lessons to multiple different classes and musical groups. This page will highlight his proficiency and growth as an educator over time.

Note - Access to certain teaching videos is restricted to ensure student safety, as although all participants have given written permission to be filmed, there are minors in some of the high school teaching videos. These videos are restricted, but available upon request if wanted or necessary. Please see the contact page for access and more information
Orchestra Rehearsal.mp4

Here is a video of Sam running a full rehearsal with a Chamber Choir and a Chamber Orchestra. This was his first time he had worked with this orchestra, and it really shows his growth as a conductor, educator, and a clinician.

IPA Lesson.mp4

In Sam's student teaching, he taught a unit on the International Phonetic Alphabet, This is a clip of one of the first lessons on IPA he taught for that class, in which he gives the class the basics of IPA and begins teaching about the common vowels used in IPA. Multiple students in this classroom have 504s and IEPs, so Sam makes sure to both visually and aurally demonstrate each sound. He also has the classroom ask questions as they come up, creating an environment where students are not discouraged for asking questions, but rather further encouraged. Sam also asks for student feedback, an important factor to his philosophy on Reciprocal Teaching, which can be read about in the Written Scholarship tab.

Exit Slip.mp4

From that same lesson as the last video, Sam created and distributed an comprehension exit slip for the class. He passed it out near the end of class and gave them class time to work on it in groups. This assessment strategy worked very well, as he was not only able to use their exit slips as evidence of comprehension, but he was able to walk around the room and answer any questions the students may have had. This worked especially well for the students with 504s in the class, as Sam was able to monitor how they were managing and provide individualized help when needed.

As COVID-19 restrictions were lessened and the availability of vaccines grew, the concept of small in-person rehearsal became more and more feasible. Here is a video of Sam leading a rehearsal for the A Cappella group Soulfege, teaching the group a new piece, an arrangement of "House of the Rising Sun".