Reflecting on Challenges

When I look back on the last few weeks I think the biggest challenge of this project was managing behaviors. I initially designed this project with a specific type of student in mind. These were students who:

Ø  struggled with reading

Ø  did not make adequate progress with other interventions

Ø  enjoyed music and singing

Ø  had a difficult time sitting still

Given all of these factors, I thought using music would:

Ø  be motivating

Ø  provide students with an outlet to move around

Ø  increase reading fluency

Ø  expose students to new vocabulary

Although these things did happen, what I did not expect was that the program could also be over stimulating which required a lot of redirection on my part. The most difficult part was getting the whole group to focus on learning at the same time. Eventually, I changed directions and became more individualized and occasionally split the group into two. This seemed to help them maintain focus and reduced some of the personality conflicts that were happening in the classroom.

The other part of my research was using music to help calm students and reduce aggressive behavior. During independent work, I would put on classical music and I noticed there was usually a reduction in the frenetic level of the room. One of my biggest challenges with implementing this strategy, however, was that I only had one CD player and it was frequently used as part of the listening center. It was also located clear across the room (plugged into my one and only outlet) which made it difficult for me to turn the music on without leaving the small group. My original hope was to have an Ipad or some other form of technology that I could have at the small group table where I could play music to help keep students focused. Unfortunately, funding was not in my favor. Maybe next time!