Week 2

Applications of Research in Music Education

This article discusses the different obstacles that music teachers face when dealing with students with learning disabilities (LD). It focuses on their exclusion from IEP meetings and their unfamiliarity with assistive technology (AT). The authors conducted a survey of 1,416 music teachers in the Midwest and asked them to self-report on their comfort with implementing AT and their involvement in IEP meetings. The study found that many teachers where not informed when IEP meetings took place and almost 70% indicated that they had very little to no knowledge of AT and how to use it in their classroom.

The thing that struck me about this article it that I have never really thought about the need for AT in non-core classes. If you had asked me before reading this article if I though there could be AT solutions for a student that were specific to a music class I may have said no but no now I know better. I obviously know that AT can help students both in and out of the classroom but this article forced me to realize that it is just as important that students have it in non-core classes. I’m sure that if I had sat down and thought about it I could have come to the conclusion that it is just as difficult, if not more difficult for non core teachers to get the AT that is needed for students in the courses but I don’t think I ever would have thought of it without reading this article. The one thing that made me nod my head while reading this article was the part about music teachers being shut out of IEP meetings. I feel that in most schools the announcements about when IEP meetings will take place is always last minute and that all teachers are not always represented at them. As someone who has done two long-term sub positions I have always felt somewhat disconnected from the IEP process and how to best help my students. I can only imagine the frustrations that a music teacher would face being a full time faculty member.

This article was very important for me to read as it provided me with yet another way of thinking about AT. As I stated earlier it forced me to see the issue of incorporating AT from a non-core class perspective. It also has helped me see the importance of including all of a student’s teachers in IEP meetings. Moving forward in class I am hoping that I can look at AT and the topics discussed with a wider lens than I have previously done and try to think about all different subject areas not just my own.