9/17/2018
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Rosemarie A Fernburg
|
I have a blind student in my Strings class with 50% hearing loss. I have been working with her teacher to encode her music into a modified braille system so that she can experience the same level of independence that the other students have. Other modifications have been to use more tactile stickers to mark her finger placement on the fingerboard and to support her development of a good bow hold. She uses a microphone with her implant and so far she has been successful with the early steps of learning to play a stringed instrument. I am becoming more aware of the way I verbalize instructions. I find myself trying to eliminate visual only demonstrations. If it truly is a concept where the visual matters, I look for ways to provide physical markers for her so she can find them on her own. The way I teach bow placement, in particular, has changed. This year I am having students listen for the tonal difference rather than solely rely on visual feedback. I was really nervous about her joining our class, but we a both learning a lot! |
9/17/2018
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Rosemarie A Fernburg
|
My student is blind and 50% deaf. She already uses an amplifier microphone to hear instruction better, but we have found that I need to avoid demonstrating on the e string when I am wearing it. I just use the lower register more often for her comfort. I have also made extensive use of recordings for her. I record several short clips of a new piece or new technique and email them home so that she can hear the example and instructions during home practice. After reading previous posts I am interested in researching CANVAS to see if it will assist us. As an itinerant teacher I do not often have access to anything more than a laptop to share with my classes, so I am always looking for apps that they can use on thier own to reinforce classroom goals.
Some of the strategies that I routinely use are tiered instruction, chaining and mnemonic devices. Our first experiences with literature keep us on Open Strings and repeated rhythms. Eventually fingering is added and the melodic and rhythmic complexity rises with each new song. Using the open string arrangements allows my beginning students to play side by side with my more advanced classes, exposing them to more advanced techniques and rhythms, while keeping their learning task to attainable tonal development goals. |
9/17/2018
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Rosemarie A Fernburg
|
My student is blind and 50% deaf. She already uses an amplifier microphone to hear instruction better, but we have found that I need to avoid demonstrating on the e string when I am wearing it. I just use the lower register more often for her comfort. I have also made extensive use of recordings for her. I record several short clips of a new piece or new technique and email them home so that she can hear the example and instructions during home practice. After reading previous posts I am interested in researching CANVAS to see if it will assist us. As an itinerant teacher I do not often have access to anything more than a laptop to share with my classes, so I am always looking for apps that they can use on thier own to reinforce classroom goals.
Some of the strategies that I routinely use are tiered instruction, chaining and mnemonic devices. Our first experiences with literature keep us on Open Strings and repeated rhythms. Eventually fingering is added and the melodic and rhythmic complexity rises with each new song. Using the open string arrangements allows my beginning students to play side by side with my more advanced classes, exposing them to more advanced techniques and rhythms, while keeping their learning task to attainable tonal development goals. |
9/17/2018
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Rosemarie A Fernburg
|
My student is blind and 50% deaf. Although much of my assessment is conducted through performance, I have found when teaching beginning concepts of notation that it can be best assessed in a more concrete paper and pencil way. For my student. I took advice from her general music teacher and created a tactile board from hot glue, so she can feel the staff and clef. I use felt circles to represent the note heads and popsicle sticks to represent rhythmic stems. (At this point I have not assessed for pitch and rhythm simultaneously as in true dictation) We are only working within 1 octave right now. I find this way I can quiz her with the other students instead of only one on one. |