Using a strengths based approach how will using student preferred music affect engagement for students with low functioning autism?

Seminar Title

Using a strengths based approach how will using student preferred music affect engagement for students with low functioning autism?

Strengths Based, Student Engagement

Middle School

Middle School

Special Education

All Disciplines

What is on your playlist? Music you like? Music you love? What if someone else chose all of your music for you? As a special education music specialist, I select the music for my lessons. But are my students actively engaged? Come find out what happened on my discovery to find my students strengths and interests by allowing them to choose music we used for our lessons. You are guaranteed to have some fun too!

As a special education music specialist in a school setting, it is my desire to give my students engaging educational experiences that enrich their lives -- promoting their well-being now and into their future. I resonate with what Lopez and Louis (2009) state in their article, "Principles of Strengths-Based Education." "Educate means to draw out or bring forth." It is my desire to be an educator who draws out my students. I want to discover their strengths and interests so together we can create lessons that are meaningful and engaging. For my Action Research I compared teacher selected music with student selected music for student engagement. I choose this as a method to draw out my students strengths and interests through their music choices. My data consisted of a duration recording, an observation checklist and paraprofessional questionnaire for three students with low functioning autism in a middle school special education center-based classroom setting. Upon completion of my Action Research I concluded that giving my students music choice gave them the opportunity to show their strengths and interests to other students and staff. It broadened the music repertoire used for lessons to include student preferred music. All students had an increase in engagement in at least one area of data collection. This demonstrates that students have an important role in contributing music selections to improve their engagement. As their educator I am inspired to continue collaborating with my students. Lopez, S.J., & Louis, M.C. (2009). The Principles of Strengths-Based Education. Journal of College and Character, 10(4). doi:10.2202/1940-1639.1041