MUED 376 - Choral Music, Materials & Techniques

Assignment 10S. Dr. Alice Hammel

Chapter 8 discussion questions
DUE 10/30 on Canvas!!!

Students – please read chapter 8 and respond to the discussion questions. Please
craft three discussions of your own below and submit to Canvas.

NAME____Wylie____________________________________________________________________________
.
Discussion Questions:
1. A music educator can prepare for the inclusion of a student with enhanced
cognition in the music classroom or ensemble by providing alternate winding
forward and back actions throughout their lesson plan. The teacher can
prepare class time devoted to group work where every student has the
opportunity to lead or follow as much as they feel comfortable. It also assists in
giving gifted students social and leadership opportunities.
2. If a third-grade student has already mastered the curriculum for elementary
general music, it may be beneficial to provide the whole class a larger personal
project for a semester. Something that the student can choose from, that also
ties in with the rest of the materials the rest of the class is in need of mastering.
There would be the opportunity for the gifted student to continue to pay
attention to and transfer from the lesson at hand to their long-term learning.
Maybe also providing some way to test out of at least that year of general
music and allowing them to participate in private lessons or tutoring after
school for furthering their music education would prove to be beneficial.
3. A secondary music ensemble conductor can differentiate instruction in a small
or large ensemble setting to meet the needs of students at varying levels of
cognitive ability possibly by encouraging part work of certain sections through
solfege or rhythmic marking. Opening the conversation for a piece of music to
relate the text or musical motives to other pieces in the rep, popular music the
ensemble knows, or maybe researching how the piece can apply to a worldly
event. I know I have experienced an ensemble director who would let us develop
concert themes or even concert order to help us all communicate why we
thought one way or another. There are also pieces that invite students to
improvise, and some other pieces like folk songs that can invite improvisations
from students gifted in that light.
4. Strategies outlined in Chapter 4 that would be effective when working with
student who have enhanced cognition abilities and also have challenges in the
area of communication include working with a student’s parents as well as
communicating with special education professionals (which involve a speech
 teacher). These sources can suggest using visual aids, or provide insights to the
gifted student in question that may not have been observed prior.

Questions for Dr. Hammel:

#1: How would we as music educators provide accommodations to gifted students

without appearing to favor any student?

#2: Many school systems rely on standards-which appear rigid, what can a music
educator do to go beyond those standards, while still adhering to them?

Question #3: How would a music educator, let’s say in secondary education, begin the
process for a gifted student who had never received accommodations? Would
communicating to their other teachers and parents still apply? What are the different
difficulties presented to a teacher being the first to accommodate for this student?