Hammel and Hourigan Reading

1. Discuss how the advocacy efforts employed during the civil rights movement was mirrored by those advocating for persons with special needs (and students with special needs)      Brown v. the Board of Education wasn’t just important for segregation in schools, it also affected persons with disabilities. This is just one regulation during the Civil Rights Movement that worked towards facilitating an equal education for everyone. During this time parents and supporters of an equal education worked with advocacy groups to further their cause for an equal education. The Elementary and Secondary act of 1965 was important piece of legislation ensured that if equal education was offered to the economically disadvantaged, it needed to be provided to students with disabilities. This is an example of the affect advocacy groups had on education for students with disabilities. These groups were able to speak their voice and have results because there were large discussions on how to improve educational opportunities for all students.
2. How did P.L. 94–142, and later IDEA, expand during the 35-year history?

Public Law 94-142 was the first law that specifically mandated free and appropriate education for all students with special needs. In 1986, 11 years after the bill was first passed, the bill expanded to include children aged 3-21, and stated that students are guaranteed early intervention and early childhood education no matter the severity of their disability. In 1990 the bill was amended and became IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act). There were major changes; they changed the name handicapped to persons with disabilities, children were now know as individuals, the created transition plans for students looking to enter the workforce and education beyond a secondary one, and autism and traumatic brain injury were added to the list of identified disabilities. In 1997 they amended IDEA. It was now made up of four parts; general plans for students with disabilities, assistance for education of all children with disabilities, inclusion of infants and toddlers with disabilities, and activities to improve education of children with disabilities. This law also protects students from being suspended or expelled. In 2002-2004 new safeguards, and teacher provisions were added. The most recent change occurred in 2008, which states a school must stop services to a student with disabilities if a parent sends notification to end all measures for their child.
   3. What are the six principles of IDEA and how does each apply in the music classroom?The first principle of IDEA is known as Zero Reject. This states that a student can’t be excluded from a classroom because he/she has a disability. Even in the case of a music classroom, students with disabilities can’t be excluded from a music class. The second principle is called Non-discriminatory Evaluation. This process involves several professionals who evaluate and observe a student. They uses this assessment to determine the appropriate provisions, accommodation, educational settings, and services for that student. As a music teacher you should discuss any concerns you have the general teacher for a student with disabilities. The third provision is Free and Appropriate Education. This is the part of the process where they determine the education placement for the student. They create an IEP (Individualized Education Program). As a music teacher it is our job to study all the students with special needs who will be in our classrooms. The fourth provision is called the LRE (Least Restrictive Environment). This states that students with disabilities will be included the maximum amount possible in a classroom with students who aren’t disabled. This can include music classrooms. Teachers can create lesson plans are inclusive for students with disabilities. The last two provisions are Due Process and Parental Involvement. If a parent doesn’t agree with where their child was placed they can request a change of placement, services, or teacher.
      4.Describe “least restrictive environment” and state how this may be achieved in the music classroom (at least three examples).Least Restrictive Environment means that students with disabilities will be educated with students without disabilities to the greatest extent that is appropriate. In a music classroom this can be creating a lesson plan that makes it easier for a student to engage with the rest of the class. For example, in a general music class that might be using a simpler song to sing, so that a student with a disability is able to sings, and even creating some kind of movement that every student can do. In a band setting it could be writing a part along with the piece, so the student with a disability can play along, or giving them an easier part you know they’ll be able to play. Another example might be pairing them with a student without a disability who helps guide them through the lesson. This might make them feel more included if it was a student helping them rather than a teacher.
       5. How would you respond to a teacher who wants to keep a student from attending your class to take part in remediation to meet AYP under NCLB? What data demonstrating the effectiveness and applicability of your instruction would you be able to cite?If another teacher wanted to keep a student from attending my class I would tell them how important music can be in both academic and other areas of a students education. I would explain how it is more important that a student have a well-rounded education, then to just learn specific subjects they need for a test. It would use data from this book, as well as other research to demonstrate the importance of music to education.
    6.What are some ways you, as the music teacher, could participate as part of the RTI system at your school?    As teacher I could monitor students in my classroom for early intervention. I can observe behavior in students that might hint at some sort of learning disability. By learning earlier, I can modify curriculum for students on what the research-based screenings show. I could also work with other teachers, or instructors, to provide the best instruction for all students.
     7. What are the advantages or disadvantages of fieldwork in a special needs setting?By completing fieldwork in a special needs setting instructors are able to see different approaches to teaching that are more inclusive. By observing a classroom with special needs future teachers are able to work with paraprofessionals to learn more about techniques they can use in a musical classroom. Professionals can help music educators by explaining some language or content to implement the classroom to make it easier for students with disabilities to understand. However, depending on the type of classroom you are placed in you might not get a full picture of classes with various students with disabilities.
    8. Discuss the steps mentioned in this chapter and how you plan to implement each step in your future fieldwork.I think it would be beneficial in my fieldwork if I could observe students with disabilities in a classroom setting. I would then meet with their paraprofessionals and teachers to learn more about each individual, especially if they’re going to be in my classroom. This chapter mentions different settings that educators can observe, so they can become more prepared for working with students with special disabilities. There are both inclusive and self-contained classrooms, as well as opportunities to observe music therapists. I will use the student’s IEP and other information I have to plan instruction that ensures they get the most out of each lesson.
     9. Discuss your experiences (if you have had them) in each type of special education environment.    I have had the opportunity to observe both an inclusive and self-contained classroom setting.  What I liked about the inclusive classroom is that the teacher provided opportunities for the student with disabilities to participate just like everyone else. The instructor also paired her up with someone in the class, so they helped her through all the activities the class was going through. I also had the chance to observe 2 self-inclusive general music classes. I was surprised because they each only lasted 15 minutes. However, the lesson plan was pretty much the same every week so the students were able to get into a routine. They had a song that started every class, so the students would know they were in music class. The teacher went up to each student and interacted with him or her, so they would get that personal connection. The teacher used visuals as alternatives to speaking, and the students seemed to respond to that better. The instructor would also communicate with paraprofessionals so she would know how to treat each of the students on a day-to-day basis.
   10. Pose 3 questions informed by your reading that you could ask Dr. Hammel and/or the class to encourage discussion

• What are some strategies to include students with disabilities in a general music setting?
• When trying to decide the appropriate classroom setting for a student with a disability, what qualities/characteristics do teachers look at?
• What are some other resources we can find about teaching students with special needs?

Hammel, A. M., & Hourigan, R. M. (2011). Chapter 2: The current structure of special education in our schools: A brief history of legislation and litigation in the united states. In Teaching music to students with special needs: A label-free approach (pp. 23-39). New York: Oxford University Press. 
Hammel, A. M., & Hourigan, R. M. (2011). Chapter 3: Preparing to teach fieldwork and engagement opportunities in special education for pre-service and in-service music educators. In Teaching music to students with special needs: A label-free approach (pp. 45-57). New York: Oxford University Press. 

Bowlby's Attachment Theory
This theory describes the types of attachments that we form at birth, and how the effect our development. He states that babies need attachment for survival. When they are first born they need someone to feed, bathe, an clothe them. Aspects such as crying, or smiling, show parents what their child need. This helps them survive by being able to communicate what they want. He believes that the most important attachment is to ones mother. He states that if students aren't able to make these attachments they can become aggressive, depressed,  and even unable to express affection. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfnzLon90C4 

Vygotsky's Social Development Theory 
 Lee Vygotsky believes that most people get their cognitive skills from social environments. By watching how adults act and their habits children discover what is right and wrong. They also learn these skills from interaction in the environment. He states that students learn social skills before cognitive skills, so it's important that a child develops so they don't have trouble later in life with their cognitive skills. Part of  Vygotsky's theory is the zone of proximal development. This means that students can determine when they need help, and when they are able to work something out on their own. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p_-0n2f35o

David Kolb's learning theory
Kola's theory can be described in 2 parts, the Experimental Learning Cycle and the four learning styles. The Experimental Learning cycle is the process where knowledge comes from reflection and analysis of experience. There are four stages; Concrete experience, Reflective observation, Abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. He believe that students learn through repetition of these four stages. The second part of the theory is the four learning styles; Diverging, assimilating, converging, and accommodating. The important part about this portion of the theory is that learn differently, using a combination of these different styles. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObQ2DheGOKA

For this assignment I chose to research Jerome Bruner' and his stages of representation theory. Bruner's theory focuses more on student centered learning, meaning that they will have more participation in their own learning process. He explains that cognitive developments involves an interaction between basic human capabilities, that can be amplified by technology. There are three aspects to Bruners theory; Enactive, Iconic, and Symbolic representation. Enactive representation involves ending action based information and storing it in our brain to use later. The next level is known as Iconic representation where information is stored in images. This could be in the form of a chart of diagram, that accompany's a lecture, to help students better understand the material. The third and final is called Symbolic representation. This involves using symbols, such as language, to store information. That good thing about symbolic representation is that it can be manipulated, or classified so it's easier to memorize and store information. What is different about this theory than other theorists, such as Piagets, is that while these are technically in a series of stages, they can be applied to learners of any age. This theory is useful in a classroom because teachers can ask as a facilitator to student's learning by creating activities that allow students to explore on their own. This theory also allows a more open communication between students and teachers, so instead of just listening to a teacher lecture, they can get involved in their own learning. However, I think that this theory won't work for all students because some will need that direct instruction from a teacher, otherwise they'll end up confused.  While Bruner's Stages of Representation has a few drawbacks, I believe it is effective when used in a classroom.
Additional resources: 
www.brighthubeducation.com/teaching-methods-tips/76645-pros-and-cons-of-constructivist-learning-theory/
http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/constructivism/bruner/
​www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/constructivism/bruner/

Personal Reflection
I found this chapter by Allsup very relevant to my own education, and it also offered some insights of how I should think about my classroom and students when I begin teaching. When he’s talking in the beginning of the chapter about how every second of the day is mapped out by teachers, especially music teachers (pg.66) I looked back on my own education, and realized the only breaks I got during the 7 hours of instruction were 7 minutes in between classes and 30 minutes for lunch. I found myself dragging by the end of the day because I was mentally exhausted. The same went for band class we had 90 minutes every other day, and each second was spent with one group playing, or the whole group playing. The instructor was so focused on getting ready for the next concert or the next assessment that there was very little time to stop. Allsup introduces the concept of museums and laboratories with regard to education. I believe that a classroom can be both of these things if the instructor is willing to put in the time and the effort to learn about changing students and technologies you can apply them to what is already being taught, and what is considered the set curriculum. I think incorporating the laboratory into the precedent that has already been set can be good for students because they become more interested in learning. You can ask students the way they would prefer to learn the lesson, maybe a game or a song, reading from the textbook, that way they will be more engaged in their learning since they helped choose. I think there are several ways we can approach teaching and curriculum that allows us to instruct on what is required by the state while incorporating new technologies and strategies that engage learners that are changing and growing each year.
 
 
In the beginning of this chapter Allsup describes two concepts of education, the museum and the laboratory. He begins the chapter by criticizing how educators map out every second of the day for their students, but the plans are teacher oriented. Instead of thinking about what the students could benefit from, the teacher uses what they learned or what they’ve seen their own teachers do to create their instruction. This introduces the concept of the museum in education. Allsup describes the museum  as a representation of how we hold on to traditions and the precedents of teachers before when we begin teaching in the classroom, as well as the same curriculum, books, and other materials that have already been used for 20 years.  Instead of taking into account the changing times and demographics of those in our classrooms, we end up doing the same thing year after year, with little change, because it is comfortable for us. The museum is a way for us to record what people have created in the past. In contrast, a laboratory is described as a place where innovation and creation can take place. In a classroom this can mean that curriculum is changing every year to meet the needs of new students and technologies that emerge as times change. However, both of these concepts can be useful in the classroom. While it may be harder for the teacher they can still come up with ways of using new technologies and catering to new types of students, while still instructing students on important concepts, like singing, rhythm, solfege etc, that have already been a part of the curriculum for many years.
Allsup continues the second half of the chapter by expanding on the idea of the laboratory versus the museum. He discusses that the laboratory educational setting is not without the presence of the teacher, but rather a setting where there is a mutual desire between the teacher and students to engage in the learning process. This relationship is meant to be cohesive, so that the student gets as much out of the learning process as they can. Allsup disagrees that the complex nature of the laboratory should be condensed to a paragraph in a lesson plan format. He asserts that the dynamic is too complex and active to write down in such a brief and detached manner. Allsup also confronts the idea that students who have no experience with an open classroom such as the laboratory, feel that it is “unstructured” and does not prepare them to be the music educators they want to become. Allsup feels that this open style of learning is approached with a more student-centered focus than controlled learning, which he feel is more for the teacher than the student. This sets up the big question that Allsup is asking: How can a teacher design a lesson in a classroom that has a focused objective but still fosters open learning? Allsup also claims that words such as “structure” and “authentic” need re-evaluating because they can “indicate an insider versus outsider perspective.” Overall, Allsup determines that the laboratory setting fosters a more open learning environment and allows students to learn in a more personal way.

Discussion Questions:
 

1. Is there a way for us to incorporate students in the planning of our curriculum, or the activities we plan for class?
2. What are some ways to have a music class (say general music) that combines both the concepts of a laboratory and a museum?
3. How do we engage disinterested/unmotivated students in the laboratory?
4. In what ways can we as music educators redefine or debunk so to speak, terms such as “authentic,” “structure,” “genuine,” etc when it comes to musicianship and music?