Instructor Insights

Instructor Insights pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.

Instructor Insights

Photograph of the instructor standing in front of a painting.

Teresa Neff, Lecturer in Music and Theater Arts.

In the following pages, Teresa Neff describes various aspects of how she taught 21M.299 The Beatles.

I had a blast leading this class. The students were amazing. They were invested and brought so much to the class. I enjoyed every minute of it.

— Teresa Neff

 

Curriculum Information

Prerequisites

21M.030 Introduction to World Music or permission of the instructor

Requirements Satisfied

GIR

HASS

Offered

Every fall and spring semester; topics vary

The Classroom

  • Photograph of classroom with a piano on the far wall, white boards on the far and left wall. Tablet chairs along the right wall of windows.

    Room 1 of 1

    Seminar

    Seminars were held in a classroom equipped with a piano, white boards, and an A/V system.

 

Assessment

Grade Breakdown

The students' grades were based on the following activities:

The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by weekly analysis. 70% Weekly analysis (10 projects, 7% each)
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by final project. 13% Final project (essay and discussion)
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by reflection on weekly analysis. 10% Reflection on weekly analysis (2 papers, 5% each)
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by participation. 7% Participation

Rubrics

Read Teresa Neff’s insights on Using Assignment Guidelines to Make Expectations Explicit.

Student Information

23 students took this course when it was taught in Fall 2017.

Breakdown by Year

Mostly juniors and seniors

Breakdown by Major

Variety of majors 

Typical Student Background

Many students had taken a course on harmony and counterpoint, and as a result, were comfortable with the language of musical analysis. A few students had no musical background, but quickly came to understand the musical patterns we discussed during the class.

 

How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

In Class

3 hours per week
  • Met 2 times per week for 1.5 hours per session; 28 sessions total. Mandatory attendance.
  • About half the class sessions involved student presentations of their musical analyses.
 

Out of Class

9 hours per week
  • Outside of class, students completed weekly analyses for selected songs, wrote reflections on others’ analyses, and prepared final essays.
 

Semester Breakdown

WEEK M T W Th F
1 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
2 Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
3 Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
4 Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
5 Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
6 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
7 Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
8 Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
9 Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
10 Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
11 Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
12 Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. Student presentation scheduled. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
13 Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. Student presentation scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
14 Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. Student presentation scheduled and papers due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
15 Paper discussion scheduled. No session scheduled. Lecture scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
16 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
Displays the color and pattern used on the preceding table to indicate dates when classes are not held at MIT. No classes throughout MIT
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when lectures are held. Lecture
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when paper discussion is held. Paper discussion
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when no class session is scheduled. No class session scheduled
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when student presentations are scheduled. Student presentations
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when papers are due. Papers due