Search

This article tells the story of an instrumental music instructor, cooperating special education teacher, and a twenty-nine-member band. Although they could have chosen many paths, these two particular teachers adopted an inclusive attitude and found ways to integrate students with disabilities. The author then discusses what existing research has identified as five signs of a model program that successfully includes students with disabilities. They are: (1) positive teacher attitudes; (2) collaboration; (3) curriculum modifications; (4) accommodations; and (5) peer tutors. The author then continues to show how each member of the team in the story demonstrated the use of those principles, thus achieving successful integration of disabled students into the band program. Parents of the disabled students had many good things to say, and were pleased to have their children enjoying interaction with students on higher levels, and achieve social and musical benefits. Students in the program who were not disabled also saw benefits. One student stated that he did not see the value of inclusion when it began, but he concluded, "When you are forced to spend time with someone, you learn to understand the person." He was thankful for the opportunity in band to interact with persons with disabilities. Other students praised the disabled students for their focus and sense of responsibility. (Contains 1 figure and 8 notes.)

Physical skills, such as fine and gross motor skills, are necessary for students to play musical instruments. Cognitive skills are necessary for students to comprehend music concepts. Emotional and social skills are necessary for students to participate in musical ensembles and general music classes. Attention to these extramusical goals in music class does not necessarily require additional instructional time--only an awareness in planning and delivering instruction. But, when faced with a student with disabilities in the music classroom, many educators experience frustration due to lack of training or experience. The fear of not knowing what students can and can not do and what can and can not be expected from them--musically, socially, and academically--often leads an educator to overlook these students. Music educators, who already feel overworked and isolated, should realize that they are not alone when trying to plan and teach a music lesson in an inclusive classroom. Forming a partnership with another professional who is familiar with music or various disabilities can make planning easier and more rewarding. This article discusses a model for addressing students' musical and extramusical goals through partnering with music therapists. (Contains 2 figures, 10 resources, 1 online resource, and 4 notes.)

In this article, the authors offer insight into the challenges of helping children with disabilities succeed in music through a collaborative effort of music educators and special educators. Making the curriculum flexible and accommodating a variety of learning styles produces better results and eliminates the need to customize adaptations for specific students with disabilities. By collaborating, special educators and music educators can contribute their individual expertise toward this mutual goal. The outcomes are access, participation, and success in music--for all students. The authors present some articles that focus on two topics that are sometimes forgotten in discussions of helping children with disabilities--the importance of collaboration and special challenges related to inclusion in instrumental music. (Contains 1 figure, 9 notes, 17 online resources and 18 resources.)

Music teachers around the country are dealing with an exponential increase in the number of students with disabilities in their classrooms and ensembles. Teachers often do this without any training, support, or specialized information about how best to educate these children. They do their best to include all children in their music classes, but if they are not involved in the planning process for an individual child, they sometimes are left with feelings of isolation and frustration. In this article, the author discusses how to build a bridge between music educators and parents of students with disabilities to achieve success in music. (Contains 10 online resources and 1 note.)

Many school systems are moving toward an inclusion model for teaching special learners in which all students are included in general classrooms. The basic premise is that all students should first be placed in the general classroom. Students receive as many necessary supplementary aids and services as possible in the general classroom, and then, as needed, students are removed from the general classroom to receive any adaptations and accommodations that cannot be provided in that setting. This concept is different from mainstreaming in which students begin their placement process in separate classrooms or buildings and are moved into general classrooms as they become more able to participate with supplementary aids and services. Some students with more severe disabilities, however, may still be placed exclusively in a separate classroom or building fro much or all of their instruction in either model. The inclusion process can create a diverse and healthy environment for learning. It can also be frustrating for teachers who do not possess the tools necessary to fully include all learners in their classrooms. Research, study, and practice have identified some important strategies that have been used in many music classrooms with great success. Implementing the strategies discussed in this article can lead to greater success when working with all students, special and general learners alike, in inclusive settings.

Describe four different laws related to the education of children with disabilities: (1) Public Law 94-142; (2) Public Law 99-457; (3) Public Law 101-336 ADA; and (4) Public Law 101-476 IDEA. Discusses the topic of mainstreaming and highlights the recent legal decisions that have occurred. (CMK)

Addresses the fears teachers feel when confronted with special learners in a regular classroom. Outlines strategies for dealing with the management of mainstreamed children including techniques for lesson preparation, getting acquainted with the special needs of mainstreamed students, classroom activities, and lesson plan implementation. (RW)

Discusses the effects of mainstreaming on music education. Includes a statement published by the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) on mainstreaming, and addresses unresolved issues of mainstreaming. Examines the special needs of disabled students, teacher training issues, instructional strategies, and the management of mainstreamed children in regular classes. Outlines mainstreaming goals and limitations. (RW)

Addresses the issue of mainstreaming through numerous music educators' personal experiences with physically challenged students in the classroom. Focuses on strategies for success, teaching methods, support systems, and an awareness of individual needs. Includes discussion on secondary music programs and the legal aspects of mainstreaming. (RW)

Traces the history of mainstreaming prior to and after the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Discusses the particulars of the law focusing on its least restrictive environment clause. Addresses the music educator's role in implementing the act. Includes school districts' responsibilities under the law. (RW)

Maintains that an educational philosophy grounded in motivation and a positive attitude leads to successful implementation of mainstreaming instructional strategies. Outlines 12 strategies for dealing with mainstreamed students and their diverse needs that include instructional objectives, lesson plans, themes, using tutors and teachers' aides, and materials development. (RW)

Urges music educators' involvement in placement decisions for exceptional students in order to avoid poor placements and to enable all learners to experience musical success. Explains that educators need to understand applications of current law to teaching situations. Describes instructional strategies and aids and services that will ensure music learning for all students. (LS)

Suggests steps for facilitating the integration of students with emotional or behavioral disorders into the regular music classroom. Recommends easing mainstreaming by: (1) setting up systematic placement procedures; (2) providing adequate classroom structure; (3) "generalizing" programs used in special education; and (4) attending to the students' academic deficits. (LS)

As part of Lapham Elementary School's mainstreaming project MAZE, student volunteers serve as aides in the music classes of their handicapped schoolmates. (SJL)

Discusses the music educator's role in working with mainstreamed, handicapped students in the schools. The author emphasizes the need to clarify educational goals, use interdisciplinary teams, develop criteria for general music achievement, and modify teaching strategies. (AM)

An approach to planning and teaching that emphasizes individual success in music could begin to provide the necessary social antidotes to inappropriate mainstreaming situations. Such an approach is discussed. (RM)

The author cites these benefits of music to the visually handicapped student: physiological music activities enhance psychomotor coordination and promote relaxation and the ability to cope with frustration; participation in music events encourages interaction with sighted peers. Organizations providing music instructional materials for the visually impaired are listed. (SJL)

Describes teacher-training programs designed to increase music teacher effectiveness in working with mainstreamed special students. The discussion covers workshops, and inservice and preservice training opportunities available in all parts of the United States. (AM)

Discusses how the Orff-Schulwerk approach to music education can be applied to the needs of mainstreamed, elementary-level, special education students. The Orff method stresses multisensory experiences, creativity, and individualized instruction. The author shows how an activity from a regular, elementary Orff class can be modified for special students. (AM)

Mainstreaming is a fact of life for music teachers. Suggestions to help music teachers deal with handicapped students are provided. Both immediate and long-term solutions are discussed. (RM)

The Total Communication Choir of the Saginaw, Michigan, public schools integrates deaf and hearing elementary and junior high students in music performance. All students both sign and sing. Methods used to instruct the choir are described. (SJL)

Discusses the adaptation of music teaching methods and classroom environments for mainstreamed special students. Teachers must identify handicapped students, establish individualized goals for them, and modify the classroom, class activities, and teaching techniques to meet their special needs. The discussion includes the use of behavior modification techniques in classroom management. (AM)

Contains a bibliography listing books and journal articles dealing with mainstreaming and music education. (AM)

Discusses ways that elementary music teachers can design class activities which will meet individual needs of mainstreamed special students. Activities described encompass a wide range of difficulty and provide opportunities for individualized, small-group or out-of-class instruction and for creative response. (AM)

Discusses teaching methods and instructional aids developed to integrate blind students into a private class for elementary-school-aged piano students. Instructional aids incorporate auditory and tactile stimuli to teach music notation skills. Commercial games, like Bingo, were modified with Braille symbols to teach rhythm concepts. (AM)

In separate articles three authors discuss (1) the beneficial "normalizing effect" of mainstreaming for handicapped students; (2) how to help the nonreader in music class; and (3) what a research study has shown about wind instrument instruction for educable mentally handicapped (EMH) students. (SJL)

Discusses classroom management techniques and music activities for handicapped children in mainstreamed and special education classes. Classroom techniques are designed around students' poor reading and concentration abilities, multisensory experiences, and consistent discipline using positive reinforcement. Music activities are used to reinforce development of specific motor, learning, and social skills. (AM)

Although music teachers are likely to encounter students with emotional disturbances in the classroom, many educators are overwhelmed by the challenges presented by the needs of these students. Limited preservice training and a lack of professional development addressing the disability further compound the issue. Available resources often address an audience of psychologists, crisis interventionists, and classroom teachers, but seldom music teachers. Based on the experience of a practicing music teacher, this article offers strategies and considerations for the music teacher to support students dealing with emotional challenges. With greater attention to consistency, structure, room setup, proper planning, and the identification of emotional triggers, students with emotional disturbances (and their teachers) can find success in the music classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]