“I Dream a World”: Inclusivity in Choral Music Education

Consider Recruitment

A first-year high school chorus teacher, Ms. Stone was nervous about the rating of her beginning women’s chorus at the annual performance assessment overseen by the state music association. Her choir of fifty freshman singers had learned all of their notes, focused on vowel unification, and aligned their diction to sing each phrase with articulation and expression. Halfway through the first song, Lacey, a student with intellectual disabilities who was mainstreamed into Ms. Stone’s choir, became overwhelmed with excitement and started singing loudly off pitch, which she had not done previously in class. As Ms. Stone tore into the manila envelope that contained her choir’s scores from the performance, she scanned the page and noticed that the ensemble received a lower score in the tone and pitch categories. A judge’s handwritten note praised the choir’s overall performance but asked if “chorus was the right place for the student singing loudly and off pitch in the front row.” Ms. Stone returned to the classroom frustrated, wondering how she would explain the scores to the class.

In 2013–14, the number of students in the United States receiving special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—the U.S. law that ensures educational access for students with disabilities—accounted for 13 percent of total public school enrollment. ² Little formal research exists about the inclusion of individuals with special educational needs in the ensembles through which most of the secondary school music curriculum is delivered. Edward Hoffman’s 2011 dissertation examining some 600 K–12 self-reporting instrumental music educators “revealed that students with special needs accounted for 6.8% of all students participating in bands, orchestras, and other instrumental musical ensembles.” ³ Although this study does not include choral ensembles and relies on instructor self-reported enrollments rather than school-generated enrollment statistics, the implication still remains that the current traditional structure of secondary music programs allows room for growth of students with special educational needs (SENs) in music ensembles. As demonstrated by the scenario between Ms. Stone and Lacey, the inclusion of students with SENs in choral ensembles can seem challenging in a profession that evaluates perfection and uniformity publicly through annual high-stakes assessments and concerts. What could Ms. Stone have done differently to assist the student? How might this experience affect Ms. Stone’s future willingness to recruit students with disabilities into her choral program?

Barriers to Access

As music educators, we have a professional responsibility to address the concerns and conflicts of teaching students with disabilities. The Housewright Declaration from Vision 2020, a set of recommendations for the future of music education, suggests that “all persons, regardless of age, cultural heritage, ability, venue, or financial circumstance deserve to participate fully in the best music experiences possible.” Furthermore, “music educators must identify the barriers that impede the full actualization” of this goal and “work to overcome them.” ⁴

Alternatives to Past Practice

To increase the number of students with SENs in choral programs, educators must imagine new solutions that combine with and challenge the traditional hierarchy of auditioned choirs. Traditional ensembles must be expanded to provide inclusive learning and performance opportunities, with appropriate outlets for remediation as needed.

New solutions can emerge in a variety of ways, providing alternatives to past practice. An example of such a solution can be illustrated through a creative adjustment to Ms. Stone’s schedule. While scheduling models differ widely and often reflect school-, district-, and state-based trends, Ms. Stone, in this example, is assigned to a daily study hall period in addition to her chorus classes. To provide a better educational environment for her students, Ms. Stone could ask for permission from her school’s administration to offer a special music class once a week during the assigned study hall period. The class would involve students in the self-contained special education program at the school—students who may or may not also be enrolled in chorus. Since this class meets during a schoolwide study hall period, student “music mentors” from her chorus and advanced placement theory classes could assist with instruction and also sing alongside their peers. Ms. Stone can then team with teachers who work regularly with students in the self-contained classroom—teachers who are most familiar with the students and their particular strengths and challenges. Together, they can collaborate to determine which classroom strategies would best transfer to the music environment, such as the use of a secret signal to help encourage appropriate behavior. In music class, this secret signal could be used to signal singers when they are too loud or off pitch. In some cases, an individual student may not have the means to immediately fix the problem, but the student, and possibly surrounding peers, may still benefit from increased awareness. In addition, the special music class can hold collaborative performances with their peer music mentors, combining with traditional ensembles on selected choral department concerts. Students and parents would then be exposed to musical opportunities available to diverse learners within the choral department. They would also know they have the additional supports necessary to ensure a successful experience in the traditional choral program if they choose to participate.

Supporting Music Learning

Reconsidering the Curriculum

The current structure of traditional choral programs includes a curriculum whose assessments often include group singing at fall, holiday, and spring concerts and performance evaluations. Additionally, educators in these programs must prepare individual singers for various honor choirs and all-state chorus performances. Many choral educators use these group and individual events to guide and even dictate repertoire selection. A musical selection that may be appropriate for an all-state chorus performance may not be appropriate for every choir or every individual singer within a given choir. To reflect more inclusive educational practices and align with the profession’s new process-oriented guiding standards, the structure of choral programs must expand on traditional curricular and presentation models. New models should provide appropriate curricular and repertoire choices for all learners while appropriately reflecting state and national music standards. The 2014 Music Standards for ensemble programs include the categories of creating, performing, responding, and connecting. ⁷ Within these Standards, the word singing is absent as a requirement for meeting national music standards; instead, the verbs study, demonstrate, apply, perform, and recognize are used as a means to showcase learning. This affords the chorus teacher myriad possibilities when including students who may be unable to match pitch in a traditional choral setting but can still show mastery of a subject through use of instruments, iPad applications, colored manipulatives, and body movement.

Learning Barriers

Barriers to learning exist in many forms. Socioeconomic conditions, complex family and social conditions, and challenges with motivation can and do impact learning for all students in schools. For individuals with disabilities, additional barriers may exist. In Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs: A Label-Free Approach, Hammel and Hourigan suggest that educators think in terms of disability categories when evaluating barriers and planning for instruction. ⁸ Learning environments and musical activities should be evaluated for potential obstacles associated with challenges in the areas of (1) cognition, (2) communication, (3) behavioral and emotional challenges, (4) sensory challenges, and (5) physical and medical conditions. These five disability categories do not manifest themselves in isolation; rather, they function in interwoven and complex ways to present a number of potential barriers to learning. Evaluating lesson materials in light of these potential challenges enables the educator to plan both broadly and specifically to meet the needs of students in choral classrooms.

Choosing Appropriate Materials

Choral music educators spend a great deal of time selecting appropriate repertoire for their various ensembles. The function and purpose of each ensemble often drive the type and complexity of music required for optimal learning. Choosing music that provides opportunities for multilevel entry points can be very beneficial for all singers. While there are a number of factors related to choosing appropriate music for any ensemble, choral music educators should consider the following when choosing repertoire for classrooms where learner variability is present:

Universal Design for Learning

The 2014 Core Arts Standards ¹⁰ are stated broadly to allow for varied approaches on the part of teachers and varied responses on the part of learners. Because of these varied approaches and responses, the Standards align well with the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL establishes a framework for learning where all students are able to learn and succeed, grow, and thrive. UDL is referenced numerous times in the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act both in reference to instruction and assessment. ¹¹ The UDL framework assumes learner variability in every classroom, building on the strengths and weaknesses of each student. All students progress with the same standards and objectives rather than participating in alternative curricula. High achievement standards are expected for all students. UDL is inclusive by design. The framework is fundamentally different than attempting to adapt or modify instruction or accommodate a specific student or identified learning need. Many UDL strategies, when implemented for an entire group, result in music materials, objectives, and activities that are more accessible for all learners. UDL is an educational approach with three primary principles: (1) multiple means of representation, to give diverse learners options for acquiring information and knowledge; (2) multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners options for demonstrating what they know; and (3) multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners’ interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation. ¹²

In choral music settings, multiple means of representation may involve adjusting print materials to minimize clutter on a score, consistently highlighting individual parts, projecting musical materials for teacher- or student-guided music reading, using hand signs or body movement to differentiate pitch and embody rhythm, and varying visual representations of materials through use of videos, images, graphics, and so on. Figure 1 shows an example of an alternate visual representation of the melody of the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E. Y. Harburg. Note that the melody itself constructs a visual image of the rainbow. Each color represents a segment of the melody of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The melody can be taught using solfège hand signs while referencing the visual image on the slides. The benefits of using solfège with hand signs include flexibility of key choice, reinforcement of tonal center through consistent intervallic relationships between syllables, and incorporation of the kinesthetic element of moving to reflect the rise and fall of the melody. Melodic segments are presented one color at a time, using animation options available with the presentation software. To better prepare students for learning, the use of preteaching—providing access to musical materials before they are addressed in class—can be accomplished by uploading relevant materials to a shared web page that contains recordings, videos, or multimedia slides that show a particular line (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) being highlighted as the part is played or sung.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Figure 1

Graphic Presentation of the Song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by David Woods, a Teacher in the Lincoln Public Schools in Nebraska

In traditional choral music settings, singing is the primary mode of engagement. Both Universal Design for Learning and the 2014 Music Standards open the door for exploring multiple means of action and expression, allowing options for students to demonstrate what they know. Students may engage in cooperative and individual learning by singing, playing, improvising, and composing. They may also use movement to demonstrate understanding of musical elements such as form, dynamic contrast, and rhythm. For students who use alternative methods of communication, applications like Thumbjam provide opportunities to engage in improvisation. The app can be programmed to play a set of pitches, and students can participate by improvising either with their singing voices or the app. Because choral music consists of musical materials paired with text, sign language may also be more thoroughly integrated into choral performance. Signing also provides opportunities for singers to take the role of teacher. Many apps include visual dictionaries, enabling teachers and/or students to learn signs independently and teach them to the rest of the class. Giving students ownership of this process yields multiple benefits for students and teachers alike. Students can gain leadership experience, and teachers can save the time required to become proficient with the sign language.

Finally, the third UDL principle encourages multiple means of engagement to tap into learners’ interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation. Both the Core Arts Standards and UDL promote that students should play a role in choosing musical materials. Student choice leads to increased ownership and investment in the learning process. Allowing students to lead warm-ups and other activities, participate in self- and group assessment, and work in small groups encourages autonomy and adds to student investment. ¹³

Fostering Partnerships

Inclusive choral settings provide unique opportunities for peer interaction that may foster empathy and understanding. In a recent dissertation, Lynda Laird examined the effect of an inclusive choral music experience on participants’ empathy and attitudes toward individuals with disabilities. Interviews with participants revealed heightened engagement between participants, improved perceptions of participants’ musical abilities, and interest in continuing to participate in inclusive music activities. ¹⁴ Collaborative artistic endeavor in inclusive choral settings may lead to increased empathy and understanding, particularly when music teachers design learning opportunities with this end in mind.

An inclusive and intergenerational community ensemble recently programmed a piece titled “I Dream a World,” by André Thomas. ¹⁵ The Langston Hughes text reflects a dream of a better world, “A world I dream where black or white, whatever race you be, will share the bounties of the earth, and every man is free.” While Hughes refers to race as the difference that divides, the singers in this example engaged in guided discussions using a variety of conversation prompts where they were asked to not only consider race but also other factors that divide us. This opportunity opened a door to meaningful conversations surrounding topics such as socioeconomic status and ability/disability. After exploring factors that divide us, participants generated ideas about their dreams for a better world. In preparation for the final performance, participants took pictures of themselves holding up a whiteboard that contained a phrase, summarizing these conversations. Many of these whiteboard statements referred to a better world where all are treated equally regardless of ability or disability. The pictures were shared via projected slide show while the choir sang. Statements shared in this way generated interest, engagement, and awareness on the part of singers and audience members alike.

Here are some examples of student phrases based on the poem “I Dream a World”:

Varied Performance Opportunities

In a typical choral concert, an audience member comes to expect similar scenes: risers on a stage, solid black performance attire, a conductor’s podium, singers walking onto the stage in straight lines, music performed with precision and accuracy, and audience members sitting quietly in auditorium seats. Audience members only see and hear the finished product, which is often criticized based on the level of perfection achieved in the single performance observed by the audience member. Although traditional performance encourages uniformity to focus solely on the art being produced, these expectations can also serve as a barrier to engagement for some singers and audience members. Audience members should be encouraged to take into account some level of variability based on individual differences. If listeners make subtle adjustments to their expectations, such performances could instead serve as an outlet in which students with SENs can participate alongside their peers.

Music educators appear to be progressing in their ability to view their students who have SENs as accomplished performers while still acknowledging students’ remaining musical challenges. According to a survey of more than 600 K–12 instrumental teachers, “special education students were most accomplished in the areas of public performance, exhibiting acceptable behavior, and movement, while the ability to sight-read, perform and/or read rhythms, and memorization were more problematic.” ¹⁶

Barriers for inclusion in the traditional choral concert include requirements of mobility, increased attention span, and ability to match pitch while following the conductor. In addition, many performers experience anxiety during choral concerts. ¹⁷ Educators should attempt to involve both students and audience members in the learning process by engaging in thoughtful concert planning that reflects the differentiated approach already manifested in their inclusive classrooms.

Current student progress monitoring in public school student and teacher assessment relies on a growth model wherein students are pretested prior to a unit and given a posttest on completion to gauge their incoming knowledge and subsequent growth. In addition to educational stakeholders analyzing classroom choice and its impact on student growth, choral audience members also look for opportunities to understand the process. According to the 2016 Intrinsic Impact Audience Project conducted by Chorus America that surveyed more than 3,400 audience members, the top question posed by audience members after a concert asked “why specific pieces were selected to be on the same program—what inspired the artistic director to choose a certain piece, or to interpret a piece the way s/he did.” ¹⁸

Structuring a performance as an informance or demonstration concert is beneficial for teaching audience members (and administrators) who may not have prior experience singing in a choir. In addition to sharing information about the selection and interpretation of the performed pieces, the director and choir can be involved in helping the audience see and hear the growth that comes from the learning process. ¹⁹ Demorest and Taylor highlight five content areas of a choral demonstration concert: in-process pieces, new music, warm-ups, sight-singing, and performance pieces. ²⁰ Though each one of these areas is an important element of the concert, additional considerations must be made regarding who and how the information is presented during the demonstration concert.

One way to engage the audience in the learning process is through peer teaching. This can be accomplished by having students explain a concept, then lead the choir through a demonstration of the concept, and finally involve the audience in an additional demonstration activity. For example, a student shares with the audience that their sixth-grade choir recently learned how to sing a major scale. The choir then demonstrates singing/signing a major scale using solfège, followed by a few measures of their upcoming selection sung on solfège as well to demonstrate the application of the concept. To involve the audience, eight students then line up across the stage holding large posters highlighting each scale degree on solfège. The audience then sings along with the choir as the students hold up their respective poster. After this demonstration, the audience is asked to listen for the pattern of the major scale while students sing their concert selection.

Peer teaching as described here serves many purposes: It brings the audience into the classroom and allows the students to share their knowledge as facilitators. A student is individually highlighted as a leader by speaking to the audience, leading the choir, or simply holding a poster. In addition, students that struggle with anxiety or shortened attention spans that may seem insurmountable in a traditional chorus concert could easily enter and exit at different times throughout the presentation in a nonobtrusive manner, participating in specific parts of the performance. This allows students to demonstrate learning while accommodating their individual needs.

Here are some other elements that can help in the creation of an inclusive choral concert:

Meeting Student Needs

It is essential that all music educators analyze their current program and its potential to recruit and meet the needs of students with special educational needs. A broader philosophical shift wherein the listeners (ourselves, student peers, audiences, and adjudicators) are encouraged to value equity depends on choral educators expanding the definition of success in the classroom and the stage. Instead of structuring choral programs around traditional choral concerts and adjudications, programmatic and curricular decisions should be made based on the educational needs of the students. Teachers can find support for a student-focused, process-oriented approach from the National Association for Music Education through the 2014 Music Standards. Using the 2014 Standards to drive classroom content will empower chorus directors with the flexibility needed to build inclusive classrooms. Additionally, the framework provided through Universal Design for Learning supports this model by taking into account the learner variability that is present in every classroom. In fact, many teachers already use principles of UDL in their teaching. UDL principles, guidelines, and strategies are based on research-based practices that benefit all learners, not only those with special educational needs. Inclusive choral programs can reflect emerging local, state, and national trends that emphasize growth rather than proficiency. Demonstration concerts provide an opportunity to focus on student growth—growth that does not always mean perfection.

Although performance assessments and competitions are valuable learning tools, choral teachers must advocate for students with disabilities in these settings, including working with other stakeholders (classroom teachers, support staff, parents, and administrators) to prepare everyone adequately for the experience but also by asking for accommodations as needed from organizers. The success of students with disabilities in the choral classroom hinges on the educator’s desire to know and support every individual learner. Of equal importance is the educator’s ability to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the whole student and create opportunities through which each individual can contribute as an important member of the school’s choral community.