MUED 376 - Choral Music, Materials & Techniques

Assignment A.12. Dr. Alice Hammel:

Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs: A Label-Free Approach

Chapter 8 discussion questions

NAME: Jenny Hoye

Discussion Questions

Music educators can prepare for the inclusion of a student with enhanced cognition
in the music classroom or ensemble by taking an individualized approach to
interacting with their students. Each learner, gifted or not, is unique and will have
different levels of ability, needs, and curiosities to be explored in the music
classroom. A commitment to getting to know these things in each of your student is
the first and arguably most important step in preparation for meeting those needs.
On a more practical level, the suggestions this chapter gives such as asking those
students if theyd be interested in doing some projects like repertoire research,
experimenting with arranging or composition, recording, etc. There are many ideas
you could offer. They shouldnt be assigned as extra work, but the teacher should
work with the student to find out what interests them and give them the
opportunity to expand on what everyone else is working on if it would better serve
their needs.

If a teacher has a third-grader who has already mastered general music curriculum,
then my first suggestion would be to take a look at that curriculum. I dont think any
curriculum should be so prescribed that its a checklist that a student could be
finished with by third grade. There is always more to learn. If you think more
broadly about the curriculum and the types of musicking your students are
participating in, there are endless opportunities to engage gifted students. Say your
curriculum is focused on literacy and notation youre teaching eighth and
sixteenth notes and this student already knows all of that. Either teach them the
next step in standard notation, or search for information on other kinds of notation
to engage them with such as symbols or notation from other countries. Ask them to
make up their own notation system. Again, there are endless possibilities.

Secondary music ensemble directors have the challenge of engaging students of

different cognitive ability in a large group setting. In dealing with this, my first
thought went to some of the things weve learned in class over the past few weeks,
such as teaching to the top group and then dialing back when needed. Rather than
starting at the bottom, challenge everyone at first, and then back up to catch anyone
whos lost when you need to. I think thats a good rule of thumb. With repertoire, as
well, I think Dr. Vs example of a 7-song set with 2 easy songs, 3 middle songs,
and 2 hard songs is a good way to think about it. Youre providing opportunities
for those with different cognitive abilities on either end of the spectrum, as well as
giving them time to meet in the middle. You could also let the gifted students lead in
sectionals or take on other responsibilities within the ensemble to engage them
further. Ensembles provide plenty of opportunities for student leadership and
creativity, and its important to capitalize on as many as you can.

Consulting with any professionals within the school who have experience with
communication challenges such as a speech teacher would be a good place to start
in dealing with a student who has great cognitive abilities but trouble with
communication. Making sure your music classroom has plenty of opportunities to
engage with music physically and visually is important moving around the room,
drawing, using picture cards, even writing reflections versus on-the-spot verbal
communication may all be more comfortable activities for students with
communication challenges.

My Questions

Question #1: What are strategies to help the rest of the class continue to feel special
if they notice that certain students that need more challenging work are getting
offered extra opportunities for further engagement?

Question #2: How can we help gifted students to feel empowered and proud of their
gifts rather than downplaying them for fear of being labeled a nerd or teachers
pet?

Question #3: What are specific strategies we can employ when students that are
cognitively gifted are struggling with the new challenge of music to help them
succeed?