5/16/2016
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Chris Endsley
|
I recall having a high-functioning autistic student who enrolled in my AP Music Theory class. I was concerned at the beginning that the class was too difficult for her, but after hearing her play (she was a pianist) and visiting with her private teacher, guidance counselor and parent, I decided to let her stay. I did have to make some modifications in that I often had to provide extra explanation and I found that teaching her at the piano really helped. I also had to "stick to the plan". For instance, I announced at the beginning of the year Wednesdays would be sight-singing/ear-training days. Well, the first day I skipped that to continue with a lesson from the previous day, she said to me, "I am really disappointed we didn't do ear-training today. You said Wednesday is ear-training day". So, if I had to alter the schedule I made sure to let her know in advance so she could have an opportunity to process the change in schedule. She also carried a slinky that provided some sort of outlet for her. When she needed to play with it, I let her without drawing attention to it. I was also able to pair her with another student who was vision impaired and they had done Very Special Arts together. They helped each other out during the year and both young ladies earned a 5 on the AP exam. It was an amazing experience! |
5/21/2016
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Chris Endsley
|
Option 2: I had a student in my AP Music Theory class who had difficulty in note taking. I allowed this student to bring his iPad to class and take all of his notes on it. Additionally, he had a music writing program on it that enabled him to complete much of the notation work on the same iPad. At the same time, I encourage him to also work on traditional staff paper since that is what is required on the FRQ questions on the actual AP exam. The combination of technology and traditional hand-written work proved quite successful for this student, who is now a Vocal Performance major. |
5/21/2016
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Chris Endsley
|
Option 1: A Few years ago I had a student with a vision impairment. She was in both my choral program and my AP Music Theory class. While she was able to do much of the work on regular paper, I would regularly enlarge the work for her, be it choral music or AP Work. She was also able to see more clearly work that was projected onto a large screen, so I would scan items into my computer and project it onto a screen in the classroom. For the AP exam she was able to take a computer-based test rather than the hand-written test. |
5/21/2016
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Chris Endsley
|
Option 2: I had a student in my AP Music Theory class who had difficulty in note taking. I allowed this student to bring his iPad to class and take all of his notes on it. Additionally, he had a music writing program on it that enabled him to complete much of the notation work on the same iPad. At the same time, I encourage him to also work on traditional staff paper since that is what is required on the FRQ questions on the actual AP exam. The combination of technology and traditional hand-written work proved quite successful for this student, who is now a Vocal Performance major. |