6/6/2016
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Cristina Ledford
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| 1) 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: |
I recall many times when I have had a band student with a disability. This one particular student that comes to mind had a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). His was also quite evident. Half of his skull was caved in and sometimes he couldn't speak. When we first met, he informed me that he didn't want the other students to make fun of the shape of his head so I told him that wearing a hat would be acceptable on any day that he would like to wear it. This made him comfortable around me immediately and then he began expressing his hope of playing in the percussion section. Every few minutes or so his eyes would close and he would begin to slur his speech. I told him that we would try him on the bass drum to start and progressively work our way around the percussion section and I informed him that this is a normal way for the section to function, so that everyone gets a turn. I assigned him a peer tutor, who stood behind him to help him recover his part when he felt like he was going to slip. The student was also allowed to sit for extended breaks, put his head down when a headache was coming on, or simply not participate if he was having a bad day and all without penalty.
2) Describe at least one way you have used technology to meet the needs of a student with a disability in your classroom: I frequently would simplify the music for a student's part by re-writing it out on an overhead projector if the part was too challenging. The other students were not bothered by this and it helped this particular student keep up with the class at his own pace.
3) Describe how two of the strategies discussed could potentially be implemented in your classroom. Be sure to identify the two strategies by name and describe how they could be used to address a student with a disabilities needs.
1) Orthopedic impairment - due to this student's TBI (traumatic brain injury), I was able to differentiate his instruction by simplifying or rewriting his part to make it more accommodating to him. When he would get frustrated, I would move to the back of the room and he would explain that the rhythms were moving too fast for him. It was a simple fix to just remove some of the 8th notes and keep it very basic. It didn't affect the band at all and he would leave happy!
2) Visual impairment - I have had several visually impaired students in my Music World class. These students benefitted greatly just by sitting close to the front, and having a copy of anything that I put on the board. Providing large projections of vocabulary words and pictures of composers and instruments were essential to their success. I also allowed them to use their cell phones to take pictures of anything that was on the board. |
6/7/2016
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Cristina Ledford
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I had a beginning trombone student who was injured in a car accident and wasn't going to be able to play for the remainder of the year. Because she wasn't able to play at all (use her hands), I moved her to bass drum but instead had her use the pedal bass off of a drum set. It made her feel important and in the process she verbally went over her trombone parts (naming notes, slide positions and speaking rhythms) to be able to keep up with her section. |
6/7/2016
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Cristina Ledford
|
Describe at least one way you have used technology to meet the needs of a student with a disability in your classroom: I frequently would simplify the music for a student's part by re-writing it out on an overhead projector if the part was too challenging. The other students were not bothered by this and it helped this particular student keep up with the class at his own pace. |