6/21/2018
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Jillian Savia
|
My first year of teaching I taught a music class to all of the self contained ESE students at my school. One student in particular with Autism and a severe speech impairment had been struggling with several of the musical activities I was planning at the time. Her speech impairment made it difficult for her to succeed in activities where she needed to "describe or name" what she as hearing. Her hand flapping and trouble focusing made activities that used coloring, singing lyrics, and trying most instruments difficult as well. One day, I decided to experiment with bucket drums and teaching notation/rhythm by using food associated words that fit the syllables of the rhythms. An example of this would be using the word "pear" for 1 quarter note, the word "Apple" for 2 eighth notes and the word "Watermelon" for 4 sixteenth notes. The same day, this same student, who had struggled with so many other aspects of music, played all of the rhythms perfectly on the bucket drums with drum sticks. I put up various rhythms for her and she continued to get them all right when other students would struggle. That day we found what she excelled at and her main teachers as well as parents were informed so that they could begin incorporating rhythm into other aspects of her learning. |
6/21/2018
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Jillian Savia
|
A way that I have used technology to meet the needs of a students with a disability in my classroom was through the use of SMARTMusic Technology. This year I had a visually impaired student who struggled to see the smaller notes in her method book during beginning orchestra. When there were times that I couldn't copy the music bigger for her to see, or there weren't enough extra books for me to put on the document camera, I would pull up SMARTMusic and she would be able to see the music at a much larger font on the screen. The technology also helped her an many other students understand and see how music is read so they could learn how to read the music correctly and follow along during those early classes in orchestra 1. |
6/21/2018
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Jillian Savia
|
Provide/Describe one or more examples of adapted or alternative assessments you have successfully used in the music classroom for students with disabilities. Be sure to identify the student's disability. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
The End of Course Exam for Orchestra 1 is a computer based test in my district. Usually there is a day scheduled where I bring my entire class down to the media center to complete this exam. Students with extra time are given that time by either being able to stay later than the rest of my class or by being moved into another room with other students who require extra time as well. This year I had 1 student in one of my Orchestra 1 classes who as an accommodation on his IEP required a "read out loud" as well as "small group"for assessments. I accommodated him by setting up a certain date alongside my administrator in which this particular student would take the test one on one with someone who would read every question and the instructions out loud for the student for the amount of time he needed to complete his test.
edited by Jillian Savia on 6/21/2018 |
6/29/2023
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Jillian Savia
|
Think of a student with a disability you have now or in the past. Describe ways in which their disability affected their learning in your class.
This year I had a student with ADHD and a behavioral disability. This affected their ability to listen and pay attention during orchestra class. This student would get very distracted and would sometimes need information explained to them multiple times before they were able to process what was said and what they needed to do in class. In order to assist this student, I chose to sit them in the front row of the beginning orchestra class so that they could be closer to the sound source; whether it be my voice or the speakers of my SMART BOARD. I also paired them with a supportive peer as their stand partner so that they could get clarification from them on any information that they may have missed. Additionally, I used a microphone when teaching in my classroom all year so that my voice was loud enough for that student to hear in order to increase their ability to focus. I also took time to help create an orchestra folder for them so their music would be organized, I provided them with a specific place to keep their music folder in the room all year so it would not get lost in the classroom, and I printed their orchestra music on different colorful paper so that the bright colors on the paper would help grab their attention and keep their eyes on the music when needed.
edited by Jillian Savia on 6/29/2023 |
6/29/2023
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Jillian Savia
|
James Cochran wrote:
Administrator wrote:
Think of a music student with a disability you have now, or have had in the past. Identify their disability. Describe the way in which their disability affected their music learning. Describe at least one or more ways you successfully accommodated or modified instruction for this student. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
I had a student that was visually impaired. Even with glasses she was unable to read the music well. She was determined to learn to play the baritone. I would adapt the music by blowing it up to a larger size so she could read. She now has a BM in music and working on her MM.
That is wonderful that the accommodations you provided to your student in the past resulted in them finding success in the performing arts and perusing music as their career! |
6/29/2023
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Jillian Savia
|
Option 1: Describe how two of the strategies discussed could potentially be implemented in your music classroom. Be sure to identify the two strategies by name, and describe how they could be used to address the student's disability. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
Two strategies discussed that I could implement in my music classroom would be Mnemonic Instruction and Peer Partners.
Mnemonic Instruction can be helpful when teaching the notes of the lines and the spaces on the musical staff for particular clefs. Popular ones taught are FACE for the spaces of treble clef and Every Good Boy Does Fine to teaching the lines EGBDF of the treble clef. To make this even more engaging and memorable for students, they can even come up with their own Mnemonic devices to describe the lines and spaces. This can be especially helpful for students with Other Health Impairments such as ADD or ADHD, as well as for students with Aural and Visual Impairments.
Peer Partners such as orchestra stand partners or specific instrument sectional groups can be really useful for students who have behavioral disabilities as well as students with ADD or ADHD. Students may find it helpful to have a partner or friend to follow along with during rehearsals not only to help keep their attention, but also for help with getting support or clarification on a concept or task that they may be struggling with. |
6/29/2023
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Jillian Savia
|
Katie Aucremann wrote:
I love the idea of "cubing" as a way to go deeper into a piece of music we're learning. I don't often ask any of my students to research or learn about the composer so this would be a great activity- and not a worksheet or completely open ended assignment.
I also think doing more cooperative learning in small groups- whether it's working on a small ensemble piece or improving a band piece- would be a good strategy for all my students not just those with disabilities.
I also agree that I would like to implement more "cubing" into my instructional practices for teaching orchestra! I think it would be a great engagement activity for the students to become more knowledgeable and passionate about the musical literature that they are learning each day! |
6/29/2023
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Jillian Savia
|
Option 1: Provide/Describe one or more examples of adapted or alternative assessments you have successfully used in the music classroom for students with disabilities. Be sure to identify the student's disability. Share your response in the threaded discussion.
This past school year I had a student who broke his arm and had a physical disability for several weeks in my Orchestra class. Because of his injury, he was not allowed to play his cello with a bow during the time that he was healing as his right arm was the one that was broken, and he would not be able to use his bow arm safely. This was in a beginning level orchestra class and during this time of the year we were learning the finger placement of new notes on our instrument, and we were also learning more about rhythms and recognizing and incorporating dynamics through our playing. In order for the student to still be able to participate in learning and for me to be able to assess their understanding of the concepts, I made several adaptations for him and used alternative assessments. One adaptation was to have him show me how he could recognize where to place his fingers on the fingerboard with just his left hand as that hand and arm was not injured. It worked well that he played the cello as that instrument could just lean on him and did not require him to hold it up like a violin, viola, or bass. An adaptation I made to allow him to practice rhythms and dynamics on an instrument was giving him a drum pad and one drumstick that he could use with his left hand/arm only since it was his right arm that was injured. The student was able to demonstrate their understanding of rhythms and performed them using the single drumstick on the drum pad. The student was also able to practice dynamics by controlling how loud or softly they hit the drum pad with their un-injured arm. I also specifically placed a peer next to them who played the cello so that from time to time, the student could watch their partner demonstrate how this new knowledge transferred over to the cello and the student could feel more comfortable with eventually performing these techniques on their cello once their right arm had finished healing several weeks later. |
6/29/2023
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Jillian Savia
|
Jennifer Adams wrote:
A student with Autism in band is allowed to use his tablet to respond to questions either with words or pictures as opposed to having to speak - something he cannot do typically. The same student is allowed to make musical sounds and rhythms using a music app. He can count out beats in a measure and even identify some note values creating the correct rhythms.
This is such an amazing accommodation! What a great way to use technology in order to make performing music accessible for this student! |