1/7/2019
Topic:
Students with Disabilities
Riley Batts
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I had a student in the high school marching band that I taught two years ago. He had severe skeletal and muscular orthopedic impairments to his face and hands. His lips did not form correctly as well as his oral cavity, and his hands were missing most fingers. Working with the parents we improved his ability to perform in a high school ensemble by selecting a trombone mouthpiece that best formed to his unique lips, and to create a shaft hooked to his trombone slide in order for him to consistently use the slide without fingers. He was a successful student in my band program and not only performed in the concert band but also in the marching band. Unfortunately he became very depressed due to his condition and bullying from other students at the school. There were often practice days where he needed to sit out and take a break because of his recurring thoughts that he was a "monster" and shouldn't be in a group with other students. My band students were very helpful and sweet towards him, helping him feel accepted and helping him through the bad thoughts.
There were a few difficult points in my classroom setting when it came down to music performance assessments. I had to help guide him one-on-one with tone production to help him best create the warm tone that adjudicators listen for in the trombone section during concert season. This was difficult and frustrating for him and he would often give up. Giving positive compliments mixed with constructive criticism helped him tremendously, and forming a support group from my positive students did as well. |
1/7/2019
Topic:
Tools and Strategies
Riley Batts
|
The first strategy that I could implement in my middle school music classroom would be peer partners. This can and has helped a lot of my students in the past that were struggling with the music. My section leaders were always there to help them and even sometimes assigned other peers to help them from their section that were strong singers/players.
The second strategy that I have implemented is mnemonics. When I teach students how to read music in both bass and treble clef I always have them make up their own acronym for the spaces and lines. This year, a student has always remembered her treble clef lines using: Every Giraffe Bites Dirty Feet. Weird, but it works for her! |
1/7/2019
Topic:
Assessment of Learning
Riley Batts
|
I have had several students suffer from anxiety while performing playing tests. The students who could not do it in front of the class were allowed to go into a practice room and record themselves performing the playing test. This has mitigated a lot of the anxiety around their performance. They delivered the same product as the rest of the class, but accommodated their performance of it. |