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In a Michigan Class, Music Is Major Learning: Problems &
Solutions
Like most educators, Bill Farmer teaches a diverse student population, with varying learning styles and intelligence levels. For years, he had pondered ways to more effectively teach reading, research, and technology to all his students, even those who were easily distracted. Farmer found a solution by marrying his two passions--teaching and music--in the fall of 1998. That's when Farmer, a media specialist at Bach Elementary School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, attended an educational summit in Kentucky. Sponsored by the International Bluegrass Music Association and the National Music Foundation, the program gave public school teachers intensive training on using traditional music to teach core curriculum. At the session, Farmer learned how music could be an effective tool in teaching kids--across learning styles and concentration levels--everything from vocabulary and math to social studies and geography. Through music, Farmer learned, students could "experience lessons in a way they hadn't experienced them before." Back home, Farmer began infusing his lessons with music--and almost immediately noticed music's calming influence on his most distractable kids. "The rhythm and pattern of music heightens students' attention and causes even the least attentive child to become engaged in the lesson," he says. With the music, doing research has actually become fun for students. "They enjoy coming to the library," says Farmer. "Some kids say it's one of their favorite parts of the day. They want to use the tools in the library, and that's my main objective--to get kids familiar with technology and media, to get them involved in research projects." Before each lesson, Farmer looks for songs to accompany the study topic. He projects the lyrics on a screen and sings the song to kids while strumming his guitar. Kids get to dissect the song and interpret its references, providing insights into the topic that can digress into geography, history, vocabulary, and other subjects. For example, when his fourth and fifth graders were learning about Abraham Lincoln, they read an account of his life. Then Farmer played the song, "Lincoln's Last Train Ride," a contemporary folk song that describes the days after Lincoln's assassination. The song describes the different towns the funeral train passed through and the people who came out to bid Lincoln a final goodbye. Kids, says Farmer, can "trace where the train went across the Allegheny Mountains to Springfield, Illinois." They also learn about Lincoln and how people felt about him. "The song even made a few students cry," says Farmer, who invited them to discuss their feelings. "This kind of experience--particularly when it evokes a strong emotion--is what they'll remember, and they're more likely to remember the lessons involved because of it," he says. Farmer stresses that educators can teach any subject using American traditional music, which he defines as music that has been passed down through two or more generations and usually tells a story, with historical references to events, people, and places. Teaching with traditional music is also easy to do, says Farmer. Teachers can strum a song on a guitar, even if they're not accomplished musicians. Or they can play a tape or CD of a song to complement a subject. The traditional songs, says Farmer, can even teach math. "John Henry," for example, talks about moving tons of coal, a point that could lead into a lesson on weights. Likewise, for "Lincoln's Last Train Ride," students can measure the miles the train traveled on a map.
"I feel as if I'm contributing to kids--providing them variety and intellectual stimulation and calming them as well," adds Farmer. "Perhaps because music is a universal language, it can transcend differences in people, their learning styles, and forms of intelligence." For more, contact Farmer at wfarmer@edcen.ehhs.cmich.edu. To learn about the next International Bluegrass Music Association education summit, E-mail Nancy Cardwell at nancyc@ibma.org or call 888/GET-IBMA or 270/684-9025. For online lesson plans using music to teach core curriculum, visit www.nmc.org/frameset_amei.html. Dilemma The amount of paperwork that goes along with each student enrolled in a special education program is incredible, and each year more forms and documentation are required. One student can have more than 10 hours worth of paperwork in a given school year. The only way to keep up is to be organized and not leave the paperwork to the last minute. I make a plan at the beginning of the year of what is to be accomplished during each month and mark it on a calendar. Instead of waiting for an IEP to come due, for example, it's a good idea to rewrite it in advance. Scheduling a few IEPs each month is better than having 20 due the last month of school. Often there's not enough time to finish the paperwork during planning periods, and I have to take work home. I have also resorted to completing work during lunchtime. Michael Berg I used every spare minute at the end of the day to complete the "easy" parts of the IEP. When I had to complete the present level of performance and the upcoming year's goals, I would use the time that my principal allotted us for paperwork. If I hadn't had that time for testing and paperwork, I would have gone crazy! But the paperwork did make me crazy enough--so this year I am teaching regular first grade. It is a shame that good special ed teachers leave the field because of paperwork. Lori Moore There are three ways to finish all the paperwork for special education students. Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork! At our school, we are lucky to have a team of professionals and paraprofessionals who believe in sharing the responsibility for working with students and handling the paperwork equitably. Each certified teammate carries a caseload, proportionately assigned, based on student needs. The school nurse, for example, pitches in when physical needs are of concern. Paraprofessionals mail notices to parents to maintain compliance with the law, keep and report data for progress reports, and copy drafts and revised copies of reports. This approach allows us to focus on teaching and meeting student needs. Lansing Ermentraut, Barb Kelley Isn't it amazing that educators are asked to do more each year, yet nothing is ever taken away and planning time remains the same? Time constraints lead me to be creative when filling out paperwork for special education students. Because of confidentiality issues, I find it best to fill out my tracking sheets in our faculty workroom while I am running off copies or waiting for an available phone line. Since either activity could take as long as 30 minutes, I usually finish the sheets in one visit and place them in colleagues' boxes as soon as I'm done. Alice Willingham In my school district, new teachers are given a Special Education binder for organizing their paperwork. This makes it easy to slip in a copy of any modified work given to students. I just run an extra copy and make notes about the modifications on the top. This is an efficient system that gives me more time to spend with all my special students. Susan Cannariato Learning: Problems &
Solutions
It's 80 minutes into James Koutsos' 90-minute sixth grade math class, and students are still engaged in the lesson. They stretch and wave their hands skyward, hoping to be picked to help solve a math problem. Their discussions are animated, even though this is the last period of the day at Col. E. Brooke Lee Middle School in Montgomery County, Maryland. But this is no traditional math class. It's Connected Math, an experimental student-centered curriculum that replaces rote memorization with "real world" problem solving. Montgomery County is testing the program at five schools in an effort to boost math scores among middle and high school students who lag behind their peers. In Montgomery County, 75 percent of seventh graders overall passed the math part of the 1999 Maryland functional test, while Black and Hispanic student scores lagged 30 percent or more points behind their Asian and white counterparts. Connected Math is an attempt by the county to try to narrow the gap in math achievement, says Koutsos. "We're also trying to help build problem solvers," he notes, "because that's what the business community is looking for." Connected Math is designed to give sixth grade students extensive time to become accomplished in algebra, the gateway to higher-level math. "Algebra opens up all kinds of avenues for kids in math and the sciences," says Lee principal Stephen Bedford. "The more math they take, the better their opportunities." It's too early to judge the full impact of Connected Math, but Koutsos says his kids are a lot more enthusiastic about math now and more eager to participate in class activities. "There are less behavioral problems, too," he says. The first component in every Connected Math lesson is the "hook," a game or story to interest students. Students then become "explorers," practicing the math concept in a variety of situations--often in a game-like atmosphere. Next students "summarize" their thought processes, explaining, in a journal, how they got their answer. "This puts traditional concepts in the context of problems kids need to solve," explains Koutsos. "Instead of just listing common multiples of a number and finding the least common multiple, they do this in the context of a real-life situation."
Another Connected Math feature, the factor game, involves a contest where the winning strategies involve discerning between numbers with many factors and numbers with few. Students learn about prime and composite numbers by connecting to situations where factors, multiples, and prime numbers are important. Connected Math is plenty controversial for those who believe math shouldn't be sugarcoated with games. But Koutsos's sixth grade students enjoy the program. "It's fun. We get to figure out problems on our own," as student Donella Reid puts it. "Last year, the teacher would just give us the answers. But here we do mind traps, factor games, algebra on park trips, write in our journals. I'm doing better in math than ever." Fellow student Solomon Johnson agrees: "It's easier to learn math this way. One lesson helps with the next and we have a lot of resources here." Sums up Koutsos: "It's another arrow in our quiver. It's another resource to help kids understand math. And it's more fun to teach." Recommended Reading For more information contact James Koutsos at 301/649-8100. Dilemma Students want "the right answer"? No problem. Give it to them and have them explain the process by which it was derived. After all, that's what's important. Knowing where you're going is the first ste in getting there. S. Anthony Yeash Two or three times a week -- when the appropriate topics arise -- my first graders and I do brainstorming activities. When we study insects, for example, we come up with as many ways we could think of that the world would look different if we were as small as insects. When we study clothing worn in different weather, I show a picture of a pocket, and we brainstorm all the things that might fit into the pocket. Or we might write down the many things we could do instead of watching TV. This type of activity starts loosening students from the "one right answer" mindset. Carmen Bayley As reading teacher, I find that it's not so much the right answer I'm looking for as much as the application of specific skills and strategies. I reward the steps along the way more heavily than the correct answer. This approach forces "right answer kids" to develop the necessary critical thinking skills. If students are looking for the right answer, it's up to the teacher to decide what the right answer is in specific circumstances. Dana Reisboard As a math teacher with 34 years in the trenches, I'll tell you the only way to lead students to "the right answer" is to require proof of their thinking. I always say, "Show me the steps and the thinking. Tell me what you did, or no credit." Every problem-solving activity gets treated with the rigor of a rubric called "C.A.N.U." C=comendable, well done, exemplary. A=acceptable, can you fine tune it? N=needs more work, and U=unacceptable, do it again. I also love to give problems with more than one correct response. With practice, kids get it. Give them the tools and they can build and buil. Gary D. Wiedeman I often start off by giving students the answer and then asking what the question is. For instance, I might say, "The answer is eight, what is the question?" Responses reange from examples of mathematical equations to questions like What time is it? What type of figure does and ice skater make? Once students see that they can "think outside the box," it becomes easier for them. But critical thinking must be taught and developed. Unfortunately, this does not come naturally for all students. Alva Sapp |
Bill Farmer, an elementary media
specialist, uses America's traditional folk songs, like "Lincoln's
Last Train Ride," to calm -- and reach -- students who
tend to be easily distracted.
Another song, "Shenandoah," speaks
to human relations. The song tells the story of a fur trapper
who falls in love with a Native American woman. It offers
"a lesson in the importance of following your heart,"
says Farmer.
Sixth grade teacher James
Koutsos is using everything from games to journal-writing
to encourage his students to become explorers in mathematical
problem solving.
Problems to teach percentages, for example,
might involve the challenge of what to tip a waiter for a
meal or computing the sales tax on a CD.
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