BMus3 The Teaching Musician Assignment Brief 2025

BMus3 Assessment / Assignment Brief

Assessment Task:

Portfolio Including: A. Teaching video (20 mins); B. Rationale (1000 words +/- 20%); and C. Supporting materials (not in wordcount). 

Complete all parts:

PART A. Plan, deliver and video a 20-minute class demonstrating your values as a musician and your approach to beginner instruction in your musical discipline for a specified learner (or group of learners). N.B. Composers may submit video excerpts totaling 20mins, however students from all other disciplines must submit one complete 20min class.

PART B. Write 1,000 words (+/- 20%) to justify the teaching and learning approaches, content, resources and methods of delivery used in your videoed lesson in relation to the following: Your values and/or ethics as a teaching musician.

The health and well-being of the learner(s).

Academic theories and current pedagogical practice in your discipline.

PART C. Present a portfolio of supportive materials (or an 'appendix') including:

• Consent form(s) for any and all students, or other individuals, featured in your video recording. Lesson plan listing planned activities, resources required and time management strategy. Contextual information about the motivations, interests and background of your student(s). Notes from at least four hours of teaching observation.
• Full bibliography listing the resources used in the development of your portfolio.
• Please note, for legal reasons, we cannot pass your project if consent forms are not included for everyone (asides from you) that appears in your video.

BMus3 Assessment criteria

You will be assessed according to the following criteria:

Practical application of knowledge of content, resources and delivery strategies appropriate to current teaching practices.

Awareness of professional values and ethical issues in an educational setting.

• Effective communication skills and responsiveness in a practical teaching environment.
  See the final page of this document for the full assessment rubric.

BMus3 Submission requirements:

• 100% Online Moodle Submission - all work must be uploaded directly to Moodle. Written work should be in Word or PDF format.
• Video files should be in mp4 format and need to be under 500mb for upload to Moodle. Please use free (open source) software called 'HandBrake', to compress, (i.e. reduce), the file size of your video without loss of quality, prior to submission (this software is on all the computers in the RCS IT suite and also available for free download, here): HandBrake: The open. source video transcoder
• PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE IT TO THE LAST MINUTE TO UPLOAD YOUR VIDEO, as the more people do this, (and the more people upload uncompressed files), the more Moodle and/ the RCS server may struggle, (i.e. systems may be slowed / effected).
• You must upload your video to Moodle within the RCS building on Renfrew Street. Please note, assignment work cannot be accepted through any other platform except Moodle, (so, work cannot be accepted via email, OneDrive, or YouTube, for example).

Under/Over-Length Penalties:

• Grade will be capped at 'borderline pass' where the video submission is shorter or longer than the standard RCS 'plus or minus 10%' tolerance.
• Grade will be capped at 'borderline pass' where the written commentary is shorter or longer than the stated 'plus or minus 20%' tolerance.
• Coursework submissions that are under length may fail if the submitted work does not adequately meet the assessment criteria.
  The examiner will not read any commentaries beyond the +20% tolerance, nor will they watch any videos beyond the +10% tolerance.

BMus3 Assessment Rubrics: