Teaching Strategies for Performers with Special Needs

Because of previously discussed changes in philosophy and policy, the demographics of our performing ensembles are constantly changing. Many school districts have moved toward a policy of full inclusion of students with special needs. This has led to an increased number of students with special needs in performing ensembles and has challenged many conductors to find ways to include many students with disabilities who were not previously a part of performing ensembles. In addition, this has forced many conductors to reexamine their underlying philosophy of what it means to be a successful ensemble conductor. The purpose of this chapter is to offer techniques for choral and instrumental conductors who teach performers with special needs and to suggest ideas for consideration for those who are preparing to conduct performing ensembles. These strategies come from extensive work researching, consulting with ensemble conductors, and working with parents of performers with special needs. This chapter is designed to alleviate any anxieties conductors and conducting students may have and to provide confidence when teaching students with disabilities. Typically the percentage of students with disabilities in performing ensembles is far less than the overall percentage of students with disabilities in a school. This is anecdotal data, however; the open challenge exists to those who teach performing ensembles to truly examine this phenomenon throughout their school system (Pre-K through 12). Band, choir, and orchestra directors can inadvertently discourage participation of students with special needs in their ensembles in many ways. For example, many band and orchestra programs have an entry point in or around fifth grade. However, after that point, students are not allowed to join. Unfortunately, many students with special needs are not developmentally ready to join an instrumental or choral ensemble in fifth grade. Many of these same students would be extremely successful if given another point of entry later in their school career. Small curricular nuances such as a floating entry point to beginning band, choir or orchestra can make a meaningful difference in developing an inclusive performing ensemble program in a public school.

Curriculum and Assessment for Students with Special Needs

Every successful music educator has a curriculum that contains a scope (overarching goals) and sequence (how we will achieve our goals and in what order) that are critical to reaching meaningful educational goals within the music classroom. Walker and Soltis (2004) state: “Working with the curriculum is an integral part of all teachers’ daily lives”. When specific curricula are not mandated (by the state, or federal government), most music educators use a set of standards or guidelines to devise a scope and sequence for classroom teaching (i.e., the National Standards). It is important as music educators to consider their curriculum when preparing to teach all students, not just students with learning challenges. This is what separates an educator from a therapist or a service provider. The questions that we will address in this chapter include: How do music educators maintain a focus on their own curricular goals while adapting that same curriculum to the individual needs of students? And how do we assess and reflect on these goals to make adjustments in our curriculum? These are difficult questions to answer. In fact, this has been a challenge for teachers since the inclusion of students with special needs began following the passage of P.L. 94–142 more than 35 years ago. Walker and Soltis explain, “While many teachers supported the goal, many were offended that rigid regulations were imposed on them without their consent”. All these issues require a thoughtful and sequential approach when preparing, presenting, and assessing instruction in the music classroom. However, the stronger the underlying curricular focus is, the easier it will be to adapt and modify your existing curriculum to individualize instruction for students who have learning differences. Your specific curriculum, if not mandated by your state or school system, will be a result of your philosophy of music education. Even when utilizing prescribed curricula, your choices in scope and sequence will reflect your values in the classroom. These same values will be reflected in the choices you make in modifying your curricula for students with special needs.

Developing a Student-centered and Inclusive Music Classroom

Classroom behavior is a common concern among many music educators. This is particularly true for music educators who teach in inclusive settings. This chapter is designed to provide effective tools and strategies at the micro-level (e.g., behavior and management techniques), and the macro-level by informing the reader of philosophical underpinnings that encompass a successful inclusive classroom. The socialization and lasting relationships that all students develop in school are also of considerable importance. Therefore it is imperative for music educators to strive for a caring, inclusive environment that is conducive for all students to learn. The practical strategies suggested at the end of this chapter are presented to encourage music educators to create a tolerant, caring classroom that is conducive for music teaching and learning. Many of the techniques discussed in this chapter are just examples of good teaching regardless of what population of students you are teaching. Effective classroom management begins long before the students enter the music room. A well-prepared environment is essential for optimal instruction and is particularly important when teaching music to students with special needs. This groundwork can be time-consuming and requires a thoughtful approach to the classroom setting; however, it is well worth the planning when the classroom becomes an inclusive and student-centered environment. Conroy, Sutherland, Snyder and Marsh (2008), explains that specific teacher interventions can lead to improved student behavior. These interventions include: (a) close supervision and monitoring, (b) classroom rules, (c) opportunities to respond, and (d) contingent praise. As music educators, we can apply these principles to music classrooms. The next section of this chapter is designed to relate these interventions to music teaching and learning, and to provide strategies for music teachers. Close supervision and monitoring. Conroy et. al found that close supervision and monitoring can by implemented in the music classroom in the following ways: (a) student proximity to the teacher; (b) a music teacher’s ability to visually monitor all students; (c) active engagement with students; (d) student access to teacher; and (e) ratio of adults to students that is conducive to close supervision.

A Resourceful and Pedagogical Approach to Teaching Students with Special Needs

The vignette regarding Gregory introduces an approach to teaching students with special needs that may be new for many music educators (and music education students). Collegiate students are not always given the opportunity to think critically and constructively about adaptations and accommodations for students with special needs prior to graduation from undergraduate school (Hammel, 1999; Nocera, 1979). Skills developed while brainstorming ideas for students via vignettes may assist music educators as they derive strategies for students with special needs in music classrooms. This skill preparation also introduces the idea of a “team approach” when interacting with faculty, administration, students, and families (Ansuini, 1979; Atterbury, 1993). For these reasons, vignettes are included within the text to encourage this process when preparing to teach students with special needs. The most effective approach when working within a school and school system is to become a part of the existing team of professionals (Dalrymple, 1993). Teachers often become compartmentalized when teaching music in another part of the building or when traveling from building to building. Successful child-centered schools function as teams, and active participation is important for each individual teacher as well as for the overall success of the school (Gfeller, Darrow, & Hedden, 1990; Gilbert & Asmus, 1981; Heller, 1994; Williams, 1988). Being proactive and positive can assist teachers as they become involved as integral “team members” within a school. Maintaining a positive and inclusive attitude will increase the view that the music program is an important and necessary component of school life for all students (Ozonoff, Rogers, & Hendren, 2003; Pierce & Schreibman, 1997; Wagner, 1999). Being aware of the students in the music classroom, as well as their academic and behavioral needs, is a critical initial strategy in developing an inclusive scope and sequence for classrooms and ensembles (Hart & Risley, 1975; Prizant & Wetherby, 1998). Knowing that we teach students, with music as a catalyst, and that students come to the music classroom with a variety of independent and individualized needs is important to inclusive-oriented music educators.

The Current Structure of Special Education in Our Schools

Legal wrangling, court decisions, and the timeline of a bill as it becomes law are not always met with public scrutiny or interest. However, there are many seminal moments that have shaped policies, legislation, and litigation in the areas of civil rights and the education of students with special needs. The keystone legislation examined in this chapter has continued to define us as a country and shape our public policy. Influenced by the civil rights movement, parents and advocates of students with special needs learned that true progress for their causes is steeped in the court houses and lawmaking bodies of our states, districts, and in Washington, DC. It is through legislation and litigation that change becomes reality. It was through this paradigm shift that the lives of students with special needs and their families improved. In addition, advocates learned that it is also possible to improve the quality of life for all students. It is through inclusion and an increasingly widened lens when viewing differences and diversity that all students (those with and without special needs) in our schools have the opportunity to learn and grow with those who are different. The path for all, then, is expanded and enriched for the experiences shared through an inclusive and diverse environment. While Linda Brown, and all other students who are African-American are now eligible to attend their neighborhood schools, students with special needs are often bused far from their neighborhoods to be educated with other students because the school system has decided to segregate them according to ability and disability. If Linda had autism today, she might have to ride a bus for an hour and a half (each way) to school every day when her local elementary school is no farther from her home than the Sumner School was in 1951. We clearly still have a long way to go in delineating the rights of all citizens to equal access under the law. The Brown v. Board of Education (1954) case was very important to the cause of those seeking to have students with special needs included in the public schools.

Public School Education within a Democracy

The beginning of the school year is a time when situations similar to Mrs. Johnson’s first day occur. It is when these first lessons go awry that some music teachers first begin to think of their individual students, rather than the collective group. Who is the girl who moves slower than the rest and uses a walker? Who are the students in the small group who come late each day with a teacher to assist them? Who is the boy who bounds down the hall and begins to take down one of the brand new bulletin boards that have just been finished? The answer to the questions above is that they are all our students. They all have a place in our schools and they all deserve to have an education that includes music. As music teachers, we have both the right and responsibility to educate all the students in our schools. We are charged with studying each student who enters our classroom and with providing all students the music education they deserve. To do this, however, we must begin to plan for the inclusive education of all students before that first group heads down our hall on the first day of school. Unfortunately, until recently this was not the educational philosophy of public schools within the United States. This chapter will introduce the process we as a nation have experienced as we have come to the understanding of what an education for all students in the United States entails, including: challenges within families; the real-world realities of inclusion in practice; and a label-free approach to teaching music in the public school setting. This book is designed to facilitate the planning, implementation, and assessment of music education for students with special needs. It is written from a paradigm that advocates thoughtful inclusion and honors the teaching and learning relationship between music teachers and their students. It is hoped that this text will present a philosophy and a set of guiding principles for teaching students with special needs in a helpful and pragmatic manner.

Teaching Music to Students Who Are Intellectually Gifted

There are students like Hannah in our public schools. They are inquisitive, questioning, exceptionally interested, and have a distinct look about them as they learn new information. They are the students who learn difficult concepts instantly and completely. They are the students who can comprehend an entire scope and sequence of a topic, seemingly in an instant. They are also at great risk in our classrooms that are often designed for the average student and offer accommodations for students with other types of special needs. The special needs of students who are intellectually gifted are often delayed, ignored, and denied. For these students, the promise of tomorrow and a teacher who will finally challenge them begins to fade. This reality often sets in during the late elementary and middle school years. While the philosophy of this text has placed importance on encouraging “label-free learning” for students with special needs, there are times when a distinction is necessary. One of these distinctions is in the cognitive area. Most often, music educators adapt teaching to accommodate students who learn at a slower rate; however, it is important to also consider adapting our teaching for those students who learn at a faster rate than their peers. These students are often identified as being gifted. The philosophical premise that students learn best and teachers are most prepared when a label-free environment is established remains a hallmark of this book. We (the co-authors) consider the decision to briefly digress as we discuss students who are gifted as necessary to understand the specific special needs of students whose cognition capabilities are vastly increased. We will return to our label-free approach at the end of the chapter as we summarize the information gleaned from this area of students with special needs. The identification of students who are gifted has had a long and circuitous journey. Alfred Binet was the first to develop a measure for judgment or mental age to screen and provide educational barriers for children not considered intelligent enough for a formal education (Binet, 1894).

Resources for Music Teachers and Music Teacher Educators Regarding Teaching Students with Special Needs

The majority of this text has been built around the concept of teaching students with special needs in an inclusive, label-free, environment built around the five areas of music teaching and learning. As mentioned in chapter 1, music teachers must also learn about the challenges a student might be facing in their general or self-contained classroom. This is equally important in learning to teach a student who might be faced with the challenge of a disability. This chapter will consist of three sections. Section 1 is a comprehensive list (as of the publication date) of the standard Internet-based resources for students with a variety of special needs. Section 2 is an up-to-date resource list of practitioner articles, books, and research in the field of teaching students with special needs. The following web-based resources follow the IDEA (2004) categorization of disabilities. Each URL has been tested and reviewed by the authors and editors. http://www.ability.org.uk/autism.html This site has over 150 links to other autism-related resources. The Internet resources are wide in scope and include sites from countries all over the world. This site is a great resource for learning more about autism. http://www.autismone.org/ This site contains many media images and links regarding various aspects of autism. You will also find current articles on related topics including research, treatments, awareness, and social networking for parents and teachers. Links to several notable autism sites are included as part of the A+ Autism Collaboration. http://www.autism.com/ari/ Although this site cites current autism research as the main topic, it also includes concise information about autism, treatment options, and frequently asked questions. Triggers for autism and dietary treatment as well as several links to articles on many topics related to autism treatment and recovery are embedded in this interactive site. http://www.autism-society.org/ This site offers basic information about autism and signs for early identification. Treatment options, education laws, family issues, and links to the autism community are also provided. This site offers access to current research on autism, resources for parents, and a link to a very large database called Autism-source, which contains sources for autism-related services and support.

Preparing to Teach

There are varying degrees of undergraduate and graduate preparation for students with special needs. Music educators may have had a general special education class or the opportunity to study topics regarding students with special needs embedded within a music methods course. The topic of students with special needs may have been included in an educational psychology course, or a teaching music to students with special needs course that was part of the curriculum (Heller, 1994, York & Reynolds, 1996). More often than not, music educators have little or no background or instruction in this area (Wilson & McCrary, 1996). Therefore, music educators must be resourceful in gaining insight into the skills, strategies, and understandings that accompany the experience of teaching a student with special needs. Music teacher educators often have little or no preparation as to how to educate future music educators regarding the inclusion of music students with disabilities or how to plan, implement, and assess lessons in self-contained and inclusive music classrooms. Oftentimes, this lack of understanding results in either glossing over the topic or ignoring it altogether. Licensure requirements can leave little room for “special” topics in the methods classroom. Fieldwork and engagement with special education faculty and staff in a variety of environments can assist music educators in finding ways to reach students with special needs. This chapter may appear to be designed for the music teacher educator. However, practicing music educators are encouraged to utilize the observation protocols and other strategies to obtain on-the-job and authentic experience through self-imposed fieldwork, observation, and discussion within the special education framework. This may be beneficial to music educators in understanding the subculture of students, parents, educators, and administrators that surround a student with special needs. This fieldwork may need to be conducted during preparation/planning time or through permission from an administrator. For music teacher educators, this chapter is designed as a guide to develop fieldwork opportunities for pre-service music educators. Included in this chapter will be strategies for engagement in self-contained classrooms, resource rooms, inclusive settings, and summer enrichment programs.