Differentiating Music Learning: Creating Meaningful
Experiences And Establishing an Inclusive Classroom
Sophia Anzalone
MUED 380, Fall 2018
Rationale:
The field of music education demands and challenges its
teachers to know how to provide an inclusive space for their
students. How many, and what kind of resources are out there
for music educators? What does differentiating music learning
look like for hearing-impaired students, specifically? Each
student brings something unique to the classroom and interacts
with the world in a different way and as an educator, it is crucial
to be prepared to meet and work with students who have
various ways of processing and sharing information.
Questions:
What are ways to create multiple means of representation
for young learners to engage with musical concepts?
How might music educators develop an engaging and
inclusive space for learners with differences?
Implications for Practice:
Teachers should strive to include every student in their
classroom, seeking out help from faculty members and
furthering their research. Adapting the following principles of
universal design can aid inclusion: equitable use, flexibility in use,
simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance and
error, low physical effort, size and space for approach and use.
Future Research:
There are many resources for developing an inclusive
classroom, but few on how to better help hearing impaired
students, I found. That being said, I'm anxious to see the
development of more advanced technology that can be used
in the classroom to teach these students.
Article Summaries:
1. Burnard (2008): Building on students’ natural aesthetic
response to music making through discovery learning and
intrinsic motivated activities is a useful strategy for
inclusion.
2. Darrow (1993): Musical activities enjoyed most by deaf
individuals are singing/signing songs, listening to music, and
moving or dancing to music. However, many say music makes
them feel stupid.
3. Darrow (2010): When used correctly, universal design has
proven to be highly effective for teachers in promoting the
learning of students and is a good starting point towards
inclusion in the classroom.
4. Hammel (2017): Different forms of assessments should be
used by educators to meet the needs of various types of
learners.
5. Hash (2003): Suggestions for teaching hearing impaired
students include: seeking out help from outside sources,
teaching them a stringed instrument, and placing them in
the center of the first row of a classroom or ensemble.
6. Maler (2013): Song signing is useful in creating a new
means of representation for hearing impaired students,
exposing other students to deaf culture and getting rid of
the “othering” tendencies that students tend to have
towards classmates who are different than them.
7. Mazur (2004): There are four types of special learners
that educators may encounter: students with emotional and
intellectual challenges, visual impairments, hearing
impairments and orthopedic impairments.
8. Nordlund (2006): There are four keys to classroom
management that should be expanded to address the
inclusive classroom: attitude, communication, organization,
and instructional planning.