Alice Ann Darrow Teaching Students With Hearing Losses Analysis

In the article, “Teaching Students with Hearing Losses,” by Alice-Ann Darrow, she informs us on how to teach students with hearing losses. Darrow talks about how music educators often find it difficult to teach music for those students with hearing losses. Developing a musical instruction can be challenging; there are many students who have hearing losses. Most of these students do participate in music classes. Music is for everyone and has been advocated by the deaf community; it helps with self-expression and cultural awareness, etc. Many deaf and hard-of-hearing students are able to appreciate music through different learning methods. Listening and hearing are different processes. Those students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing can still

The level interest in music among students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing varies as it does too for this with typical hearing. The author is speaking to everyone not just those who have hearing losses. The author is writing to those teachers who have students that have hearing losses. Darrow mentions in the article the importance of teaching students with hearing losses; and how it is possible to do, even though it can be difficult. “Every individual, regardless of their hearing status, deserves the right to participate and be a part of musical arts as well as experiencing a part of our cultural world “(27). Some people do not consider music as a deaf culture thing, they see it more as a “hearing value.” I do not agree with that, although deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals cannot hear, music can still be appreciated by them; it can still be incorporated into their lives because it is a beautiful form of the arts. Many people of the deaf community do find music to be an important part of their lives; that’s really neat. Students with hearing losses are at a disadvantage if music is taught

They learn better by actually participating in musical activities. They are able to learn music through: performing, reading, and writing—this is essential part of learning music for those with hearing losses. Some objectives students with hearing losses can follow the instruction of typical hearing students which are as follows: listening to music, singing, playing instruments, moving to music, creating music, and reading music. There are some specific approaches in teaching students with hearing losses, the Orff and Kodály approaches. Deaf students and hard-of-hearing students focus more on visual and movement components. Darrow states, “A primary adaptive strategy for students with hearing losses is the use of visual and tactile aids, (28).” It is easier for them to grasp the concept if it is visual and tactile. Some examples of this method include, allowing the student to feel the stereo speakers or instruments, also by having the students outline the movement of a melody with their hands. There are other strategies that focus on music training for those students with hearing losses: Computerized music training, vibrotactile stimuli, and frequency adjustment of the musical stimuli. These are great ways in helping integrate music