1. Reaching Every Student: Strategies for Teaching the Arts Effectively to Students with Special Needs
Rhoda Bernard, Ed.D.
Managing Director
Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs

2. Agenda
Introduction
Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs
Teaching the Arts to Students with Special Needs –Principles
Teaching the Arts to Students with Special Needs –Strategies
Making the Arts Education/Special Education Connection
Q&A, Scenarios, and Discussion

3. Introduction: Rhoda Bernard
Singer/pianist/educator/advocate/program founder/leader/researcher/scholar.
Proposition 2 1⁄2 survivor – breeding ground for my passion
Harvard University/New England Conservatory/Harvard Graduate School of Education
Conservatory Lab Charter School
Began at Boston Conservatory in 2004 as Chair of the Music Education Department
Started Boston Conservatory Programs for Students on the Autism Spectrum in 2008.
Managing Director of the Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs beginning in September 2017.

4. Introduction: Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs
Launched September 1, 2017
Stems from more than 10 years of work at Boston Conservatory
Three pillars
Arts Education Programs
Graduate and Undergraduate Courses and Programs
Professional Development
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5. Teaching the Arts to Students with Special Needs – Principles
Individuals with disabilities may have a strong affinity for the arts. Some individuals with disabilities have prodigious artistic abilities.
Studying the arts can directly address some of the cognitive, behavioral, and social challenges of individuals with disabilities.
Cognitive (theory of mind, central coherence, executive function, joint attention)
Behavioral (anxiety, meltdowns, odd/repetitive, ABC)
Social (receptive/expressive language, processing time, eye contact, relationships, age appropriate interests)

6. Teaching the Arts to Students with Special Needs –Strategies
Structure and schedule
Preparation for unknown or changes to routine/schedule
Simple and clear instructions; individual instructions help
Partner written instructions with other modalities
Digital video/audio recordings for students to take home for practice and prep
Modify projects, assignments, exams to include less material but the same expectations
Have a student perform only what s/he can contribute to a meaningful performance
Requires “good teaching on steroids.” Examples: breaking down tasks into much smaller chunks, providing support and then fading it very gradually.

7. Making the Arts Education/Special Education Connection
Universal Design for Learning
Differentiated Instruction
Task Analysis
Discrete Trial Teaching
Prompts and Fading
Accommodations/Adaptations/Modifications
Winding it Back

8. Universal Design for Learning
*No two brains learn the same way; learner variability is the rule.*
Teaching and Planning Curriculum with the Approach and Goal of Employing:
Multiple modes of Representation (how teachers present and provide information to students)
Multiple modes of Action and Expression (how students interact with the information and show what they know)
Multiple Modes of Engagement (how teachers recruit interest and sustain effort – individual choice, collaboration, goals)
Builds in flexibility from the very beginning of the planning process.
Metaphor: Buffet
Examples from your teaching

9. Differentiated Instruction
Goal is to make learning accessible to all students.
Grounded in knowledge that all students learn differently. Learner variability.
Teacher finds ways to alter content, processes, products, or the learning environment to engage and challenge all students.
Requires teachers to be very flexible and creative, juggling differences within a class setting.
Takes place at the point of instruction between teacher and student.
Metaphor: Individualized Dishes
Examples from your teaching

10. Task Analysis
Task Analysis – Breaking down a task into very, very small chunks, and then breaking it down even further
Biggest mistake: chunks are too big
Biggest mistake: chunks are combined too soon
Examples from your teaching

11. Discrete Trial Teaching
Discrete Trial Teaching – Working each small piece over and over, practicing until it is mastered
Biggest mistake: not practicing long enough
Biggest mistake: mastery is not consistent
Examples from your teaching

12. Prompts and Fading
Prompts and Fading – Starting with supports, and VERY GRADUALLY eliminating portions of the supports until the student can do the task unsupported.
Biggest mistake: taking too many supports away
Biggest mistake: taking supports away too quickly
Examples from your teaching

13. Accommodations/Adaptations/Modifications
Accommodations – Changes made to the environment to help children access the curriculum and activities. Objective stays the same, environment changes.
Adaptations: Changing size, color, pacing, or modality in order for the child to meet the class objective. Objective stays the same, delivery changes.
Modifications: Changing the objective for a child in order for her to achieve at the highest possible level. Objective changes.
Examples from your teaching

14. Winding it Back Meeting students where they are
Winding the sequence back to meet them
Gradually winding the sequence forward to stay at the student’s “sweet spot”
Knowing the student and how she learns so that you can stay with her in the sequence and time winding accordingly
Examples from your teaching

15. Questions and Answers

16. Resources
Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs – graduate programs and professional development
ABLE Assembly: Arts Better the Lives of Everyone – April 6-8, $100; see for information and to register
Arts Education programs (Saturdays) for students of all ages (3 to adult) with special needs.
Consultations and professional development with Rhoda Bernard and her staff.

17. Contact Information
Rhoda Bernard, Ed.D.
Managing Director, Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs
22 The Fenway, room 301, Boston, MA 02215