PART 1 - Adaptive Music Class 101: Guiding Principles for Teaching Special Education Music Classes

It is becoming more common for music teachers to be tasked with teaching an “Adaptive Music” class. While the names of these kinds of classes varies, these are music classes that are solely made up of special education students. For many educators, new and experienced, these classes can present an instructional challenge as many teachers have not received training on working this population. In this series of posts, I will discuss some of the most important concepts and principles for teachers to think about when designing and implementing music instruction in an adaptive music setting. There is no simple formula for success as the makeup of these classes and the nature of the students’ disabilities will always be different. However, these principles should help ensure a good foundation to creating a successful musical environment for students to learn in.

Structure

One of the first things you need to develop for your class is a consistent and clear structure. Structure creates predictability and reduces anxiety in the students. One of the first ways to accomplish this is with a beginning of class ritual and end of class ritual. With younger students this often takes the form of a Hello Song and a Goodbye Song. These experiences are paramount as they help orient the student in transitioning to or from music class. As students are transitioning to your class (especially if they are coming to your classroom) you may find that it is hard to start “on time” and with everyone. In anticipation of that, you might have a “pre-hello song” ritual in place. I often will place some instruments out for the students to use in a designated area (maybe ones they might be using in the lesson later) and allow for them to explore and use the instruments how they see fit. I will usually put a timer of 2 to 3 minutes on the board (lots of visual timers available on YouTube) during this unstructured activity. This allows the students time to explore the instruments as well as gives time to students who are having trouble transitioning to music class. When the time is up, we go to our seats, and being the Hello Song.

Another structural element to consider is the use of a visual schedule of the day’s activities. This could take the form of pictures on a velcro board or a checklist on the board. This is another orienting device you can use and is extremely helpful for many students with autism who may benefit from being able to see the structure of the class and to “know what is next.” The schedule can also be a participatory device as well. Students can take turns removing or checking off activities when they are done. Having a visual schedule doesn’t mean there isn’t room for spontaneity or a change of plans, but it will be something you will have to be clear to address when they occur.

Finally, when developing your lesson plans and thinking about long term goals understand that repetition of activities and lessons can be extremely beneficial for your classes. Often, adaptive classes need to live with the material and lessons longer than traditional music classes. Doing an activity the same way (or with some small changes) over several classes allows many of the students the processing time needed to engage in the activity more fully. Over time the students may feel more comfortable with the material and more empowered to participate in the way that you want them to.

The next part of this series will look at COMMUNICATION and what considerations teachers need to make for their students in an adaptive music class setting.