http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/272/#s1
Case Study
Royal Blind School (Canaan Lane Campus)
For ease of explanation and also, to express the element of subjectivity and personal involvement in the adopted perspective, the following case study and discussion have been written from a first-person perspective. with the names of all participants being changed for their protection.
The Skoog Sessions at Canaan lane:
These sessions involve a class of five students, one of which is absent during this time for health reasons. The four pupils taking part in the sessions have multiple disabilities and are 13 to 14 years old. Our Skoog sessions take place once a week, with a total of four meetings (26/1/2011-10/2/2011), in the classroom, with all children present.
Before our initial meeting, the children have no previous contact with the Skoog or myself. Thus, my first aim is to approach the children and allow them to familiarize themselves with the Skoog and my presence in their classroom environment.
On our first session, I plan to engage the children in immediate and enjoyable soundmaking, so I choose to use jungle animal sounds, with a calming and ambient flowing water backing track enveloping each child’s effort in a common-to-all soundscape. From the beginning the pupils show curiosity and excitement, which intensifies with my constant use of the vibroacoustic speaker along with a mainstream speaker, leading to higher levels of motivation and concentration. Of course, specific sounds are chosen throughout the process, depending on each child’s preferences, abilities and needs.
The jungle animal sounds immediately generate a response in the pupils (Graham, Mark and John, as Liam is absent) who very quickly become eager to play. While all the pupils sit in their support chairs, I bring the Skoog to them; I begin with Graham, who is having trouble adjusting to the school schedule again after the holidays. For that reason he is sleepy and moans and coughs repeatedly. His carers lie him down in the quiet area of the classroom, on his pillows, and that is where I approach him. He is a bit calmer when lying down, and when I place the vibroacoustic speaker on his calf, he focuses. I then position the Skoog between his feet and press them to make the sound of a lion roaring. After showing him a couple of times he is able to make the sound on his own and, even though he is still unsettled, he continues to play on his own for several minutes, until he becomes very tired.
Mark seems positive and curious and, after I demonstrate how to play with hand over hand support, he is able to play on his own by pulling the Skoog towards himself, even though he has an extremely light touch, while he shows preference to the sound of the angry monkey. Again, the use of the vibroacoustic speaker seems to immediately wake him up and offer the sensorial intensity needed to get through to him. He continues to play for a few minutes using his hands and seems very content, smiling widely to all the class.
John is also very excited from the beginning, focusing his gaze intently on the Skoog. He is quite drawn to it but is generally hesitant to use his hands. As I am told he prefers to use his head when using the switches in class, I place the Skoog beside his head and demonstrate how to produce sound. He then quickly understands and starts playing completely on his own. Next, I try to persuade him to play with his hands, but he is still very hesitant, even though he never lets the Skoog out of his sight, a sign of focus and interest.
During this session it becomes clear how accessible and immediate nature and animal sounds become with the use of the Skoog, and how they can be used as an easy and thoroughly enjoyable way to introduce the Skoog. All the pupils in this class show their preference towards loud, strong sounds, such as the roar of a lion or the growl of a jaguar. However, I believe this is dependent on the age and general environment of each child. On the whole, they all try very hard and are willing to participate in soundmaking. This exceeds my expectations of my first visit and makes me sure about the great results to be achieved in the visits to come.
On my next visit I decide to move on to something new, as my sessions at Canaan Lane are of a limited number and I aim to try as many things as possible with the children. I use the musical instruments of the Skoog software without a backing track initially, to give the children a clear sense of the sound they produce and reinforce their developing understanding of cause and effect, and then I add a rhythmic percussive backing track, to provide a musical context in which to improvise and explore sound. I let the children choose which instrument they prefer, through a simple process of choice, as I change instruments while they play to see which one they like. However, I observe that they prefer loud, clear and penetrating melodic sounds, such as the flute, as their ability to hit the Skoog percussively is limited.
During this session all four boys are present. This time I start with John, getting him to play the Skoog by pressing it with his head, like last time. He very quickly adjusts to the different sound, seems to enjoy the sound of the flute, and is very focused and content. He is more focused than last time and his gaze stays on the Skoog during the whole of his turn. Once more, I try to persuade him to use his hands, but he is wearing supporting padded sleeves and it isn’t easy for him to make precise movement or put strength in his hands. However, he seems as enthusiastic as last time, and enjoys it greatly.
Graham is unsettled. He is in his support chair and is not comfortable, is generally tired, not in a good mood and coughs a lot. I try to get him to use his feet again, but, being in his chair, he doesn’t have much freedom to move them and I can’t manage to get the Skoog in the right position. Sadly, the foot rests are not movable so there is nothing I can do to improve the situation. I also try his hands but he is extremely hesitant to use them. I try different sounds to motivate him, such as the drum kit, but unfortunately this isn’t a good day for him. Later on, I try once more, as his carers have positioned him on the floor, lying on his side, and he appears to be more comfortable in this position. I try to get him to use his feet, but he cannot produce sound as his position doesn’t allow him to use the strength of his feet. One of his hands is free and at his side, and with hand over hand support I try to get him to use it on the Skoog. He seems a bit more motivated but it takes much energy and strength and he very quickly becomes unsettled again.
Mark is very tired during this session. He sleeps through most of it, and although I place the Skoog in his lap to try and wake him up and talk to him, he doesn’t respond much and his carers decide that we should let him sleep.
Liam is present this time. He is also tired, and because of his being unwell last week, it takes him some time to get involved. I try getting him to play with his head like John and he responds well to that. As with all the others, his focus becomes clearer with the use of the vibroacoustic speaker and after he gets used to the sound and presence of the Skoog, he seems happy, smiles contently and loudly vocalizes. After playing with his head I also try persuading him to use his hands. As I am told by his carers, he is hesitant to use his hands at first. Indeed, every time I place his hands on the Skoog he pulls them away, so I don’t succeed in getting him to play using his hands. Nevertheless, he seems to enjoy playing and listening to the sounds, throughout the time his gaze is focused on the Skoog and he is concentrating well.
My third session at Canaan Lane is held later in the day, as the staff and I think it might be a more convenient time for the children to be more alert and active. During this meeting I decide to introduce the children to playing along with a contemporary song they possibly know and like, so I use the song “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga as a backing track, while I load the series of notes required to play the tune on the Skoog software. As I set up I let the song play as the children come into the classroom so they can get accustomed to the busier sound of the track.
Today I start with John. He isn’t hesitant but does not seem as excited as I’d hoped for. However he doesn’t need much prompting as it seems he remembers how to play and very quickly begins playing with his head, shyly at the start and then more enthusiastically. I position the Skoog beside his head so that he can press the first note of the song’s main tune, and let him practice that. Once I see he is confident with that, I play the continuation of the tune after he plays the first note, becoming part, in a sense, of a duet performance. As he plays he looks at the Skoog intently and his playing is very clearly deliberate and focused. He pushes the Skoog with all his strength, trying to produce loud and long sounding notes.
Next, I move on to Liam. Even though the sound of the song seems to make him more alert and curious, he is very hesitant to play and has many mild seizures so I choose to give him some time to recover while I continue with the rest of the class.
Graham, once more, isn’t feeling very well, so he joins the class later on than the rest. He is seated in his support chair and I try to persuade him to play along with “Bad Romance”. He seems to respond to the use of the vibroacoustic speaker, but does not feel like playing today, whether I place the Skoog on his tray or between his feet, is quite distracted and cries. In an effort to distract him from his discomfort and engage him in some other way, I also try using the drag and drop sampler of the Skoog software with the sounds featured on the well known song “eye of the tiger”. I presume it is as exciting and he may know the song, as well as the overall sound being very stimulating and characteristic. Even though the change of sound appears to result in him concentrating on the Skoog, it only lasts for very little, and his carers ask me to give him some time to rest.
Mark does not respond that well to “Bad Romance” either. I position the Skoog on his tray as before, but he is not so eager to play. I am immediately told by his carers that he prefers classical music and children’s songs, but I try to motivate him, offering hand over hand support and encouraging him. Nevertheless, he becomes sleepy and does not make much effort to play.
Using this song as a backing track for the children to improvise upon, doesn’t have the effect that I hope for. Whether the children do not like or recognize the song, prefer a more abstract, calming and reassuring piece of music, or feel uneasy about improvising in this context and are intimidated by it, I do not know. However, I feel like it is worth a try and I believe that given the time the children will become more confident in playing along a song such as the one I used, with a strong character and tune.
After this attempt the staff asks me to resume using animal sounds for the rest of the session. I then use ocean animal sounds and an ambient backing track of ocean waves.
As before, all the pupils respond better to the animal sounds and calming abstract backing track. Mark is much more involved and motivated than at the beginning of the session. I help him by placing the Skoog near his hands and positioning them on it, while he tries to produce sound and explore it. Even though he is less energetic than other times and doesn’t manage to produce as much sound, he is very focused and puts much effort into it. I also try to help him by tilting the Skoog to make it even more sensitive to touch, but this isn’t as easy with his tray taking up most of the space in front of him, and when I intervene to try to help him he becomes hesitant.
Liam is very motivated by the animal sounds. He specifically enjoys the sounds of the dolphin and whale and, with the Skoog on his tray, he uses his hands and elbow to hit it. Hitting his tray also produces sound, as I have set the sensitivity settings on the Skoog software quite high, and he smiles and vocalizes as he plays. He is less hesitant in the beginning than last time and it takes him less time to get involved in soundmaking. After playing for some time he tries on his own to place both his hands flat on the top surface of the Skoog, which is a great development for him and makes the carers and myself very happy. Even though his movement isn’t always precise, it seems like he has greater realization of the fact that he is producing the sound. He does not pull his hands away like before and he chooses to touch the Skoog completely on his own without me prompting him. Some of his movement is instinctive and typical for him, as with his elbow, but there is also more coordinated movement, as with his fingers and hands. Even though there is still movement made, on some level, involuntarily, it is clear that there is also very conscious and precise movement in his playing, especially in his reaching with his fingers towards the Skoog and aiming for it.
John also responds well to the ocean animal sounds. As soon as he hears the sounds he becomes excited, and as always, he does not hesitate to participate. I start with his head at first and then try to get him to use his hands. This time he isn’t wearing his arm support bandages and his carer supports his elbow while helping him hit the Skoog with his hand. We encourage him and he is soon motivated and confident enough to hit the Skoog on his own. His carer lets go of his arm and John uses his hand with no support at all, lifting it high up, exploring and playing the Skoog, displaying at the same time great flexibility in his movement, both in his arms and fingers. He is totally focused on his playing, smiles widely and vocalizes loudly. He is totally engaged in the sound and seems to greatly enjoy his independence in this performance. This behavior and movement, the exploration of different ways of hitting the Skoog and the individual use of his fingers, is a great development for John. Even more unexpectedly, after asked by one of the carers to play the dolphin sound again, he hits the Skoog in a very deliberate way, showing a very mature understanding of the sense of cause and effect which exceeds my expectations. Furthermore, he laughs and smiles the whole time, he expresses himself through his hands and his vocal improvisation (he changes various expressive tones and timbres), and shows great independence, refusing any offer of assistance from me. After this performance, John becomes very tired and needs time to rest.
Graham unfortunately has become very sleepy. I try to get him to play with his feet while in his chair, but the position does not help. I also try various ocean animal sounds in order to get him more involved, but in the end we choose to let him sleep.
On my next visit I decide to use the sound of the human voice on the Skoog, trying to prepare them for using their own voices on the Skoog with their teacher in future activities. Also, I believe that the human voice is very immediate and I am curious to find out how they respond to it. I use the drag and drop playthrough feature of the software, with its default settings of human voice sound, as well as a simple rhythmic backing track to add a musical context and rhythm.
Today Graham is positioned on the floor on his back, which is a good position for him to play. With the Skoog between his feet, and with a little help in the beginning, he concentrates and presses his feet together, making and manipulating the voice sound. He seems to be enjoying it a lot and vocalizes. This continues until he gets tired and we have to stop.
With John, once more I start by getting him to use his head. With the Skoog beside his head, he easily plays on his own, with no need for help. During this I turn the Skoog around so he can play all the sides and generate all the sounds possible. I then try to persuade him to play using his hands. This time he is reluctant and, even though he seems to enjoy the backing track, he doesn’t want to play. He becomes sleepy and then sleeps through most of the remaining session.
Liam also enjoys the backing track and rhythm, but is sleepy and quite reluctant to play. I try helping him with hand over hand support but he clearly does not feel like playing. He does touch the Skoog and produce sound, but mostly with involuntary movement.
Mark is also very sleepy. Even though I place the vibroacoustic on his lap, he barely wakes up. With the Skoog on his tray, I try to help him play with his hands, but he only wakes up for seconds and then falls back asleep. The carers and I decide it is a better idea to let him rest.
Overall, the sound of the voice from the playthrough sampler proves to be less immediate than I expected. I believe that more preparation would lead to better appreciation of the voice element, but I think that using their own voices will lead to a better response from all.
Conclusion:
My sessions in the Canaan Lane campus aim on the one hand towards the familiriarization of the staff and pupils with the Skoog, and, on the other hand, towards the appreciation and exploration of the potential offered by the use of the Skoog in the classroom.
The response of both the children and staff, as stated previously, is very positive during these sessions and they are capable of interacting with the Skoog very successfully. Each child in its own way is developing their fine and gross motor skills, their curiosity and understanding of cause and effect and general social and cognitive skills.
On the other hand, having used the Skoog in various ways and creatively incorporated it in many activities, it proves to be a very adaptive and beneficial resource in the classroom, whether for the creation of soundscapes and within the context of stories, for the playing along with popular tunes, or just for fun.
