1/24/2017
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Tracy Thielen
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I had a student with elephantitus. We had him play the cello because his hands were large, but luckily, his left hand was more averaged size, which made it easier for him to place his fingers on the strings. I have a student who is on the autism spectrum. I have to be sure to make eye contact with her and give her small sections to play for each new piece of music. If I keep those sections small enough she is able to work and have success, but if I ask her to play a phrase that is too long, she tends to get frustrated. I work hard to not let that frustration level even get started. |
1/24/2017
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Tracy Thielen
|
I teach Suzuki violin. With my student on the autism spectrum, she has trouble memorizing a whole entire piece so we work to have her find the notes gradually and then I have her write them down so she has them for reference when she gets home to practice. She is still learning by ear but with the dded step of writing the fingerings, she is better able to practice at home without the frustration of trying to re learn the notes once she gets home. Every week, she comes to her lesson having already memorized her piece. I also tell her exactly how many times to practice each song or new phrase and she uses a practice chart to keep track. |
1/24/2017
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Tracy Thielen
|
The two strategies I would implement are tiered lessons and mnemonic tools. For the tiered lessons I give a practice with very small pieces of a piece of music, with many repetitions. Gradually the student would put together 2 or more parts, making them longer and playing longer phrases. I use mnemonics all the time with note reading and the names of the strings on each instrument, |