In this post we looked at why we need Universal Design in the music classroom.
In this post we considered some ways we can add more opportunities or engagement for all our students.
Today we’ll look at how we present information in the classroom, and the space we make for students to perceive and comprehend that information.
How do we present information to students? How do we ask them to take in the information? How do we ask them to use the information?
How can we offer our information in different forms so that students with variables in backgrounds and learning preferences can comprehend the material?
The key will be looking for multiple ways to represent musical sounds, ideas, and practices.
Let’s jump in.
Do I need More Means of Representation?With any new suggestion of a change in our teaching practices, a worthy question might be, Do I really need to do this?
How we answer this question is very simple. We’ll look at our students.
Look at the students. Listen to the students.For example, in a month of teaching a 2nd grade general music class, do you observe that…
If so, it may be time to try some new opportunities for how we represent information in the music classroom.
PerceptionThere are specific ways we can perceive information in music. We take in information through what we see (notation, movements, playing examples, etc.) what we hear (a melody, a rhythm, text, etc.), and what we physically feel (instruments, body percussion, movement, singing, etc.).
Offer ways of customizing the display of information
Students can choose how the information is displayed - if it’s larger or smaller, plays faster or slower, etc. The presentation of the information is flexible.
What if when we use rhythmic building blocks we could choose large or small text? What if when we move to fast or slow options?
The key here is that the user can make the change. Tricky. This guideline focuses on independent work, and so much of what we do in music is collaborative.
But in centers, students could have options…. Like in Seesaw
Offer alternatives for auditory information
Provide American Sign Language (ASL) for spoken English: One of the key ideas of UDL is that it is not exclusively for students labeled as “unique,” or “special.” It’s for all learners because all learners have variables. When we provide sign language to reinforce verbal cues, we take steps toward helping all our students take in information. We can use hand signs for common classroom cues, such as sit, stand, listen, sing, speak, move, make a circle, or other classroom instructions.
Provide visual or tactile equivalents for sound effects or alerts: One possibility of creating tactile equivalent to an auditory event is with melodic work. When we sing melodic patterns, we can use hand signs like the Curwen hand signs or body solfege. We can also show melodic patterns through barred instruments since students physically move the pitches higher and lower to create the sound.
Use text equivalents in the form of captions or automated speech-to-text (voice recognition) for spoken language: Students have so much auditory information coming from teachers throughout the day. When we stop to think about how much we talk as teachers, it becomes clear that some students would benefit from additional ways of receiving information. If you find yourself repeating directions or getting the sense that the classroom is a bit too hectic, we can try representing directions in additional ways. Having directions written out on the board, perhaps accompanied by helpful images, can be helpful with games, centers, or activities that are new.
Offer alternatives for visual information
Provide physical objects and spatial models to convey perspective or interaction: When working with rhythmic patterns, one way we could display information is through standard western notation. However, there are also many more possibilities! We can embody a spatial model by tiptoeing, stepping, and sliding the rhythm. We could point to the sound relationships with graphic notation. When we build upon these experiences intentionally - starting with a physical model, moving to graphic notation, and then introducing standard notation - we set students up for success by letting them explore many avenues of the same thing.
Use touch equivalents (tactile graphics or objects of reference) for key visuals that represent concepts: We can use manipulatives. We can listen to key characteristics in a song and show them through movement.
Language and Symbols
Music class deals with many vocabulary sets and symbols! We use linguistic information (that is written, aural, and verbal - Vocabulary and symbols for standard notation are certainly common, but there are also other types of musical content we represent such as verbal instructions, instrument technique, or game directions. We write music in a specific “code”
Clarify vocabulary and symbols
Pre-teach vocabulary and symbols, especially in ways that promote connection to the learners’ experience and prior knowledge: This is one reason we don’t begin the learning process with notation. When we begin with the vocabulary and symbol without providing context, we take away valuable parts of the learning experience. Instead, we can begin by giving students tactile experiences that are grounded in play. Next, we notice the characteristics of the new element and relate them to previous knowledge (this element is longer than, shorter than, higher than, lower than, etc.). After connecting to experience and previous knowledge, we’re ready to create graphic notation for the new sound. After all these experiences we can introduce the standard notation symbol.
Provide graphic symbols with alternative text descriptions: Graphic notation can be such a beautiful way for students to show their musical knowledge! Often, it can also depict musical events more efficiently than standard Western notation. For example, when working with the song, Who Has Seen the Wind, a graphic can show an elongated sound more effectively than an empty circle with a line. (visual here) Graphics can also be helpful when learning instruments like recorders
Descriptive notation - describes the sounds the performer will create. When we use standard Western notation to paint a specific visual image of sonic events we are asking students to engage in descriptive notation.
Prescriptive notation - describes the actions the performer should take, what the performer will do. For example, tablature. When we add information on how the sound should be created (
Visual from The Planning Binder with Jack and Jill barred instruments
Clarify syntax and structure
Clarify unfamiliar syntax (in language or in math formulas) or underlying structure (in diagrams, graphs, illustrations, extended expositions or narratives) through alternatives that highlight structural relations or make them more explicit: When teaching note names on the staff, one way to help students memorize the names of the lines and spaces is to teach that every good boy does fine. This is an approach many teachers choose because it can be easily memorized by many students. However, what if we considered showing the underlying structure of the pitches and making them more explicit so the syntax of the staff has more clarity? If we want to clarify unfamiliar syntax and the structure of pitch, we might first make sure students have many years of experience using barred instruments to show pitch and noticing steps and skips on barred instruments. We could place the instrument vertically and notice that the top makes the high sound and the bottom makes low sounds. Then we could show how the steps and skips and pitch relationships on barred instruments are the same on the staff.
Clarify unfamiliar syntax (in language or in math formulas) or underlying structure (in diagrams, graphs, illustrations, extended expositions or narratives) through alternatives that make connections to previously learned structures: When we introduce a new pitch or rhythmic understanding, we can compare it to conscious information from previous classes. We can aurally notice if the new melodic element is higher or lower than pitches we’ve learned before. We can aurally notice if the new rhythmic element is longer or shorter than pitches we’ve learned before. After that, we can create a graphic image that shows the structure of the new musical element based on what we notice aurally.
Support decoding of text, mathematical notation, and symbols
Allow for flexibility and easy access to multiple representations of notation where appropriate: When we use musical “codes” (i.e. musical notation), we don’t start straight with the standardized Western symbol. While this system of communication cognitively makes sense to us as teachers, it’s worth considering how unintuitive the symbol might be in comparison to something like graphic notation. When students work with rhythmic building blocks, they might have the option of using a side of the card with standard Western notation and graphic notation, or only with standard Western notation.
Offer clarification of notation through lists of key terms: We want to be sure all students have access to knowledge of symbols. This is one reason many teachers use posters of key words along the wall. We can also add images of common classroom formations for games and dances, such as concentric circles and double lines.
Promote understanding across languages
Link key vocabulary words to definitions and pronunciations in both dominant and heritage languages:
Make all key information in the dominant language (e.g., English) also available in first languages (e.g., Spanish) for learners with limited-English proficiency and in ASL for learners who are deaf:
Embed visual, non-linguistic supports for vocabulary clarification: When we sing songs in English, we can support learners who are more new to English by using motions, movement, vocal expression, facial expression, and pictures. The converse scenario is also applicable: When we sing songs in non-English languages in classes of English speakers, we can use the same supports to help comprehension.
Illustrate through multiple media
Most subjects rely heavily on written text - like textbooks, worksheet packets, to communicate. Students are asked to read text books with narrative descriptions of concepts, directions on worksheets with step by step guidance. Music is unique to those other subjects in that in an active music room, our information naturally comes in multiple media
Present key concepts in one form of symbolic representation with an alternative form: Symbol and movement; symbol and image; symbol and barred instrument; symbol and graphic symbol; symbol and text
Make explicit links between information provided in texts and any accompanying representation of that information in illustrations, equations, charts, or diagrams:We want a direct link between textual information and other representations of that language
Comprehension
Providing access to information is a wonderful place to start our thinking about UDL, but access alone is not the end of the student journey. Students take information and transform it into knowledge through intentional action. How can we design, present, and scaffold information so students actively move through a learning sequence of concepts and skills?
Activate or supply background knowledge
Anchor instruction by linking to and activating relevant prior knowledge (e.g., using visual imagery, concept anchoring, or concept mastery routines):
Pre-teach critical prerequisite concepts through demonstration or models:
Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships
Highlight previously learned skills that can be used to solve unfamiliar problems: We know where do is, and we can hear the new low pitch is a skip below do. We also know about how steps and skips live on barred instruments. Students work with a partner to figure out where low la lives on barred instruments. Students can also work with a partner to figure out the melody of a song
Guide information processing and visualization
Maximize transfer and generalization
CLOSING:
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Notes