Analysis & Reflection:  Case Study

This year I started an instrumental music program in my school, largely due to the fact that we had a closet full of brand new flutes and clarinets that had never been used.  I decided to form two main groups:  a 2nd grade ensemble that would use recorders, Orff and hand percussion and a more traditional elementary school band with 3rd and 4th grade students.  I decided to include some special needs students in these groups and that has been a very enlightening experience.  So instead of focusing on one child for this study, I felt it would be more beneficial to discuss my endeavor with mainstreaming a few special needs students into my instrumental ensembles.    My process for selecting the students was very informal.  I did not consult any administrators with regard to which students or teachers to approach, but merely asked a couple teachers who had upper grade special needs students in their classes.  At the time, I was unaware of the availability of background information on these students and therefore, did not do any formal research with regard to their IEP status. So I decided to ask a few teachers for recommendations of students who might be good candidates for either ensemble.  Based on teacher recommendation and my personal experiences, I selected four students to participate.  There are about fifty students in the program overall.  Since this is a new program and I am a new teacher, I was reticent to include a large number of special needs children for fear that I might over-burden myself in an already stressful situation.  All of the students selected were at the 4th or 5th grade age level; however, they were all at very different levels academically.  A brief profile of each follows and includes information that was acquired long after the selection process. The Subjects “Sam” is a 4th grader who lives with his grandmother and is in good health.  He has cognitive and academic delays and is currently at a 2nd grade reading/math level.  He sometimes withdraws, but is very helpful and pleasant.  Sam was chosen to participate based mainly on my personal experiences with him last year.  He responds enthusiastically to music and demonstrates an inherent talent for pitch and rhythm in the classroom.  He was also a member of the recorder group during the previous school year.  His classroom teacher also felt he would be a good candidate and so he was invited to join 4th grade band. “Brad” is a 5th grader with multiple disabilities and physical limitations.  He has Down syndrome and related developmental delays and also has hearing aids in both ears as well as visual/perceptual skill problems.  He was reading at a 1st grade level according to his 2004 IEP.  Brad has a good sense of humor, is amiable and follows simple directions, although he has poor attention skills.  He also receives speech therapy.  Brad was invited to join the 2nd grade recorder ensemble primarily at his teacher’s insistence.  My previous experience with him hadn’t convinced me that he was especially musically inclined, although he was enthusiastic about music class.  However, his teacher felt that he was a good candidate and that he could function at a 2nd grade level adequate for the class. In previous music classes “Nancy” had demonstrated significant skill with rhythm and pitch and therefore was one of my personal choices for inclusion in the 2nd grade ensemble.  I expressed concern about including her in a group of children so much younger than she was, but her teacher felt that it would not be a problem.  She is a 5th grader with mental retardation and was reading at a 1st grade level according to her 2004 IEP.  She is curious and asks questions, as well as being cooperative, friendly and outspoken.  She is a classroom leader.  Although she has balance difficulties, she is in good health.  She can follow multi-step directions. “Charlie” is in 4th grade and is emotionally disturbed.  He is good in math, although he has difficulty with comprehension and needs constant cues and guidance.  He is easily distracted and sometimes displays inappropriate behaviors.  While he often participates, if things don’t go his way he becomes frustrated and may cry.  He is friendly and values friendships but occasionally teases or provokes others.  Sometimes he seeks attention in negative ways and is easily angered.  However, he is outgoing and in good health.  His behavioral problems interfere with his academic functioning.  Charlie was the only student I’d never had in class before, but he came highly recommended by his teacher and she is someone I respect a great deal.  His inclusion in 4th grade band was based solely on the teacher’s recommendation. Methods Employed & Results Sam seemed to be genuinely interested at the start, but did not return his permission slip in order to receive an instrument.  He continually missed class due to busing issues.  I tried to interview Sam several times regarding his interest level and whether or not he would be returning the permission slip, but I would just get blank stares or little more than a small nod.  Frustrated, I tried to work with the teacher in order to make sure communication with his guardian was adequate and the permission slip would be returned.  Eventually he stopped coming to class altogether and the teacher was unable to get a response from the guardian, so we abandoned the idea of Sam joining band.  Brad had a lot of trouble cognitively with reading notes, but could do fingerings on the recorder when shown.  I worked with him one-on-one as much as possible, but unfortunately, he did not retain the information, despite how frequently it was re-taught.  I also tried pairing him with a partner for some peer-to-peer instruction.  The partner I chose was Nancy, who is also a special needs student, but functions at a higher level.  This method seemed to work for a little while, but ultimately she seemed to get as frustrated as I did with Brad’s short attention span and lack of retention and she lost interest in helping him.  One of the physical therapists at my school observed a class session and later told me that Brad was having trouble sitting in the chair as instructed because of his physical limitations.  She informed me that several of her Down syndrome students insist on crossing their legs when they sit because it gives them a stronger center of gravity.  For Brad to sit in a chair with his feet flat on the floor was far more difficult for him than the other children.  This was something I had never considered and therefore this new information has had an impact on how I approach that task, as I am more understanding of a child who has a tendency to sit in another manner.  Because Brad has been unable to retain the skills necessary to play the recorder after several months of instruction, I have been introducing different hand percussion into the group with the hope that he will be successful on another instrument.  Thus far, we have had limited success.  However, Brad always shows pride and enthusiasm due to the fact that he is participating in a special activity. Nancy was intimidated and self-conscious about being in a class with general education 2nd graders.  She voiced her concerns to me in the hallway on the way to our second class session together.  I talked with her privately and tried to assuage her fears by telling her that I chose her to be in the class because she was a talented musician and I thought she could help the other students.  Then I made an effort to praise her for every positive event in front of the other children and I paired her with Brad (see above).  At first this seemed to make her feel more comfortable, but she has never formed any sort of bond with the other students in the class and remains somewhat separated, as does Brad.  She struggles with the physical task of playing the recorder, but seems to have grasped reading the notes.  She has definitely received help from people at home.  I think if I had communicated some ideas with her guardian she might have been given enough help at home to compensate for her difficulties in class.  However, the introduction of hand percussion has helped her to feel successful in class because she has a very strong feel for the beat.  Next time, I will have a better strategy for helping such a student form relationships with other students in class.  Perhaps I should have paired Nancy with a struggling 2nd grade student rather than another special needs student. Charlie has been the most successful inclusion student in band, although he is not at the same level as most of the other band students.  He is late or absent a lot due to busing issues or forgetting his instrument, which has kept him a step behind everyone, but when he is present and focused on a task, he picks it up quickly.  His cognitive skills are definitely at a high enough level to comprehend what is being taught.  I try to give Charlie as much individual attention as possible, and this seems to be very effective, however it is difficult to give the amount he needs without losing the other children.  As a result, I have partnered him with a general education student on the same instrument and that has worked well.  Charlie gets along well with the other kids and is very friendly, although I have to keep a close eye on him when class is over and we are packing up because he frequently journeys off by himself to investigate things like the piano, etc. rather than assisting his classmates in clean up.  Overall, I would say that his participation in band has increased in correlation to the strength of increase in his personal relationships within the group. Conclusions In general, I think my attempt at mainstreaming special needs children into performance groups was not as successful as I would have liked, but it was certainly not a futile exercise.  Perhaps I should have tried mainstreaming students into my choral group instead of the instrumental groups first and waited to include special needs students next year after the program was more solid.  However, I think these kids will ultimately go away from the class with a feeling of accomplishment and that is all that really matters.  Now that I am more cognizant of the resources available to me for researching student IEPs, etc. I will be better able next year to choose more viable candidates by utilizing background information in addition to teacher recommendations.  This year I think teachers were either a) unaware of what being in these groups really entailed on a cognitive level or b) had other reasons for wanting a specific child included. Inviting these students into my performance ensembles has made me more aware of the need to give clear, simple steps for each task and that benefits all students in the class.  I think in future years I will attempt to work with these students outside of class on an individual or small group basis so that they can receive the type of instruction necessary to make them as successful as their classmates.  Ultimately, I hope to expand the amount of inclusion in my performance ensembles because it is an excellent avenue for making these students, who so often feel secluded from the rest of the student population, a valuable, visible part of the school community.