Adrianne Tomlinson

MUED 480 - Student Teaching

30 January 2020
Background Information: Student A

During my student teaching experience, I was tasked with studying students with special

needs. Student A is a female sixth grader in chorus class. She was adopted and her adoptive

mother happens to be a special education teacher. This student was born blind in both eyes from

having ​septo optic dysplasia and suffering from retinopathy of prematurity. While in school, she

has been learning how to read braille. In addition to being blind, Student A also has other

disabilities. She has a language delay and needs extended wait time, repetition of oral materials,

and time to talk aloud to process. Because of this, sometimes she needs prompting to be social

and have a conversation with others. Student A may also be distracted in an environment that has

too much extraneous noise. Another disability that Student A has is an orthopedic impairment

that was caused by a congenital anomaly and arthrogryposis. Because of this, some days she

utilizes a wheelchair while other days she walks and uses a support cane to locate obstacles and

aid in going to a specific location or path of travel. This also causes her to need assistance when

ascending and descending steps; she can not do it on her own.

After observing this student in class and doing research by reading her special education

files, I have come up with a variety of ways to allow this student to be successful in a music

class. Because the student is still learning to read braille and music with braille is not readily

available, I would have Student A sit close to the piano so that they can hear the pitches well and

learn the melodies of the different pieces. Musical melodies can also be recorded and uploaded

for her to practice at home. Additionally, I believe she could also be seated with a strong choral
student that can help explain the transitions we make in the music. Another thing that can be

done to help this student would be to give verbal cues out loud that are specific while I teach and

or conduct. By incorporating cues and saying them out loud, it will help her understand what

specific tasks we are working on. It would also be beneficial to be repetitive in what I say to

accomodate for the language delay she possesses. Once it comes time for a concert, in order for

the student to navigate the stage and risers, she could use her support cane and be placed on the

floor row so that she does not have to ascend or descend risers. By incorporating these

accommodations into music class, I believe Student A will be more successful in chorus.