| All education professionals need to be flexible. This is | | | | meantime, though, he is developing his fine-motor skills, |
| especially true when teaching students with autism. | | | | participating in a structured activity and shares the |
| During a half-hour piano lesson an instructor may be | | | | possibility of future involvement in the musical |
| required to drastically change their reinforcement | | | | community. |
| schedule, replace the current reinforcer(s) altogether, | | | | It is appropriate for instructors to focus on skill |
| further individualize the material for a student or decide | | | | acquisition in the early stages of a student's |
| that behavior reduction has become an immediate | | | | development at the piano. This allows them the |
| priority (as opposed to the instructional material). What | | | | chance to generalize the skill across locations, |
| works for one student may not work for another and | | | | teachers and materials - i.e. practicing at home, with his |
| what doesn't affect one student's performance may | | | | or her parent/guardian and on a new keyboard. At a |
| drastically improve another's. And then there's what will | | | | certain point though, all students would benefit from a |
| work for tomorrow's lesson. | | | | structured and supervised system of community |
| There are very few rules and many, many guidelines. | | | | involvement. This could be a parent/guardian bringing |
| While defining a successful teaching strategy for each | | | | the student to a musical performance or on a trip to a |
| student is challenging, determining what 'success' is for | | | | museum with a friend. For the vast majority of all |
| that student can also be arbitrary and hard to nail | | | | students who pursue the piano, the instrument |
| down. Is a student successful when they play a song | | | | eventually provides an enriching hobby or pastime. Our |
| independently? Or should the criteria be that they also | | | | goal is not to foster virtuosi or seek out prodigies at |
| perform the piece without any mistakes? Perhaps, | | | | the piano. |
| playing and performing piano pieces are only a means | | | | Rather, it is to develop a skill which will provide the |
| to an end. Is the act of focusing and practicing, | | | | opportunity to further enhance the student's life. The |
| constructively for increasing amounts of time the true | | | | other factor would be society's perception. Fairly or |
| benefit? What about the possible social skills | | | | unfairly, people often make judgments on an individual |
| development resulting from learning and performing | | | | based on their abilities/interests. An understanding of |
| music in the community? | | | | core educational curriculum is important but sometimes |
| I am inclined to state that these are all stages of a | | | | learning that a person enjoys baseball or hiking is much |
| student's individual development and therefore levels of | | | | more indicative of how you will get along. To a certain |
| success, but that is not true. At least, it is not accurate | | | | degree, I think most of our clients who decide to begin |
| to assign a relative quality of success to each level for | | | | piano instruction for their child understands this and |
| all students. While a student's performance can be | | | | view the process as beneficial in that way. I must |
| measured to reflect his or her progress it is more | | | | stress though that the goal of all of our teachers is to |
| difficult to quantify the benefits associated with the | | | | challenge the student appropriately and allow objective |
| process in general. What is the impact on his current | | | | data to indicate just what immediate and future |
| and future peer's perception of them after finding out | | | | success is for that student. Unfortunately, I have found |
| that they are learning the piano? Or, what is the affect | | | | that the more challenged a student is the more that his |
| on society's perception in general for that matter? | | | | challenges end-up defining what success is for him. All |
| How has practicing the piano benefited their fine-motor | | | | students should be given the opportunity to succeed, |
| and hand-eye-coordination skills in respect to other | | | | regardless of behavioral or comprehension challenges, |
| instruction programs? While these questions are more | | | | based on objective standards instead of this |
| challenging to answer, it is the teacher's responsibility to | | | | subjective assessment. |
| definitively decide just what each student's immediate | | | | Therefore, while it is important to initially challenge all |
| definition of success is. For some students this is | | | | students equally, it is just as important to individualize |
| defined as playing with multiple fingers or introducing | | | | each student's development going ahead. I feel that a |
| the skill of playing with the left hand or possibly fading | | | | good example of this is a recent student who was |
| a prompt. The relative difficulty associated with any of | | | | diagnosed with autism and visual impairment. Going into |
| these phases of instruction is as unique as each | | | | the lesson, the degree of both these challenges was |
| student is unique. | | | | unknown to myself or the teacher. After concluding |
| Therefore, all students' progress through individualized | | | | the initial baseline (which measures the student's ability |
| phases of instruction, but these phases may or may | | | | to read musical notes and identify the keys of the |
| not be leading to the same goal for each student. If | | | | piano {the result was 0% correct}) I decided to try |
| you imagine a teaching phase as a rung in a ladder, | | | | some discrimination trials. The student correctly |
| each step is leading toward a goal; yet the path that | | | | identified several letters over 3 or 4 trials when he |
| each student uses can be very unique. For instance, all | | | | was requested to "Point to G", "Point to F", etc. At that |
| of our students are initially taught to read musical | | | | point we can objectively determine that the current |
| notation. A certain percentage of our students have | | | | material is appropriate for him and proceed with |
| not yet met the given criterion which indicates that | | | | instruction. It does not mean that the material will not |
| they have an understanding of this skill. Instead of | | | | have to be individualized along the way, though. It |
| discontinuing that student's education at the piano, his | | | | would be seem to be very understandable for a |
| 'ladder' adjusts and a new set of material is provided | | | | teacher to determine that, based on this student's |
| which will allow him or her to appropriately interact with | | | | challenges, it would be best to incorporate brail, teach |
| the piano and play new and challenging pieces. The skill | | | | the piano 'by ear' or adjust the standard immediately. It |
| of reading musical notation is still reviewed and | | | | would seem to be understandable but it would not be |
| practiced. It is the teacher's goal to make this skill | | | | fair to the student. |
| clearer to him by adjusting the curriculum. In the | | | | |