The use of music in cross-age tutoring within special education settings

Author(s): Smith, David S., Feeman, Charles C.

Journal/Book: Journal of Music Therapy. 1988; 25: 135-144.

Abstract: 15 disruptive 4th- and 5th-graders with learning and/or behavior disorders, who attended special education classes, served as tutors for 15 kindergartners who were low in social and academic skills. Tutors utilized music as a teaching aid. Measures included pre- and posttesting with a kindergarten entry skills scale and daily self-reports in which both tutor and tutee rated each session. Compared with 15 matched controls, kindergartners participating in tutoring learned more skills (e.g., letters of the alphabet). Session 12 was videotaped and rated by 15 graduate and undergraduate music therapy/education students: Tutors were judged as gifted, on-task, positive, socially appropriate, above grade level, and behaviorally normal. Tutees were judged as slightly handicapped and below grade level, but mostly on-task, positive, socially appropriate, and behaviorally normal. ABSTRACT 2: Extremely disruptive special education students served as tutors for kindergarten students who were also identified as being low in social and academic skills. A Basic Skills Assessment Test was used to identify deficit skill areas for kindergarten subjects. Music was used by the music therapist initially as a teaching aid, and also a contingency for the older students' participation. Tutor planned intervention strategies were implemented during a ten-week period. Results of a Likert-type attitudinal assessment indicated that both tutor and tutee rated each of the sixteen sessions as being very positive. While both experimental and control kindergarten groups showed significant gains on the Basic Skills Assessment, a significant pre-posttest difference was also found between the gains made by each group, with the Experimental group evidencing a greater number of learned skills. Additionally, a videotape analysis was completed by trained professionals of each instructional dyad. Surprisingly, older students were judged as somewhat gifted, quite on task, positive, socially appropriate above grade level and behaviorally normal.

Note: music as teaching aid in cross age training in special education setting; disruptive 4th 5th graders with learning &/or behavior disorders & kindergartners low in social & academic skills

Keyword(s): Music ; peer tutoring; special education; classroom behavior; childhood ; student characteristics; behavior disorders; learning disorders; elementary school students; kindergarten students. music, contingent-music, special-education, kindergarten, academic-achievement.

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