1/2/2018
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Brittany Smith
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I currently have a student with Autism. She is one of the sweetest and most attentive students I have. I am thrilled that my other students have embraced her. I have paired this student with another, who is patiently teaching her as we go along. My student with autism needs personal attention for every concept and direction. She needs to be refocused and asked very specific questions in order to understand. I have been surprised at how much she is able to comprehend, and at how willing she is to work on one concept for an extended amount of time. She is capable of learning most of the concepts we cover, but her disability creates the need to spend much more time on each step of the spiral learning, and the need to have an aid to her learning who is always available for questions. |
1/2/2018
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Brittany Smith
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Two of the strategies that I use on a regular basis are cooperative learning and peer partners. I use cooperative learning when I ask the students to work in sections. This allows the students to isolate only the notes, rhythms, and musical concepts that are specific to their own part. This also allows an opportunity for students to ask questions in a less formal setting with less people. The second strategy is peer partners. In my choral program we have "Bigs" and "Littles." The Bigs are students who have been in the program for more than one year, and they are partnered with first-year students. I seat the Bigs with their Littles so that they are there as a consistent resource for questions throughout every class period. The pairs also spend time together outside of the classroom so that the relationship is strengthened and becomes a safe resource for questions. |
1/2/2018
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Brittany Smith
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I currently have a student with Autism. She was struggling with a section of a written test on which she had to determine the starting solfege syllable using a key signature, then label all of the following pitches with the appropriate solfege syllable. I saw that she was labeling almost all of them incorrectly even though, though formative assessment, I know that she has the ability to sing them correctly. I did not change the expectation, but simply the format of the test. I had her sit with me at my desk and sing through the example. As she sang each note, she would pause to write it down, and she was much more successful! |