Service-Learning Reflective Blog

Introduction

For my service-learning project, I partnered with the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging here at the University of Kentucky. The Sanders-Brown Center provides services to aging individuals and their families for a variety of concerns, including through their robust clinical neuroscience center. The Sanders-Brown Center engages in a variety of research regarding dementia care and advises older members of the Lexington and larger Kentucky communities on how to maintain brain health as they age. 

When I had the opportunity to interview one of the neuroscientists from the Sanders-Brown Center, Dr. Gregory Jicha, I was able to gain an understanding of how my skills and abilities could be used to further the goals of the work of the folks at the SBCOA. In particular, I learned that a variety of community members who have various skill sets and interests are being asked to volunteer their time to provide content for the Brain Health Academy video series. The idea behind this video series was to provide stimulating content for adults with dementia and their care partners that would be used to decrease isolation, maintain brain health, and help caregivers by providing content that they could share with their loved ones. Additionally, this program is being provided to the community at no cost, and can help to expand the reach of the Sanders-Brown Center’s services to individuals who are outside of the Lexington area.

At the beginning of this project, I had a variety of feelings surrounding service-learning. I had some anxiety and apprehension about creating music activities for older adults that would be filmed rather than delivered live. It also seemed daunting to coordinate scheduling for filming, provide space, and meet the expectations of the creative team. Nevertheless, I was excited to have the opportunity to serve a population that matters a great deal to me, which I constantly tried to convey to the team of folks I was working with.

Outcomes about myself

I certainly surprised myself during this process! I accomplished a great deal, including designing and filming three unique music activities that met the stated needs of the Sanders-Brown Center and the Brain Health Academy video project based on the feedback that I received. While I was pretty nervous at the beginning of the project, as it continued on I was able to become more comfortable with the camera setup and being filmed which made me more effective in the delivery of my music activities. I was happy with my ability to respond to feedback on the spot, and to share when I did not know the answer to something or the best way to adapt.

One thing that I could have done better would have been to plan a little more closely to develop scripts for myself. I was worried that if I tried to create and learn scripts that my speech would sound too rehearsed, but I think since I did not create scripts that I may have been less effective with my delivery of information. Another component of this project where I believe that I could have been more effective was in my variety of music activities, as I think I could have potentially included different kinds of smaller activities within the larger activities. Despite these shortcomings, I still felt that I was effective in my work with my partner organization, and I gleaned the same from the feedback that they gave me.

Outcomes regarding the community partner

Probably the biggest assumption that I had about the creative team I would be working with was that they would not fully understand the benefits of music and music therapy for dementia care, and boy was I wrong! At least two of the people I was working with were musicians themselves, so they had a great understanding of what I was doing and why I was doing it. As a result of this, they were able to give me helpful, music-centered feedback on my project. They were quick to provide helpful, constructive commentary in the moment as we filmed, which was part of the great benefit of my activities being filmed to be edited as part of a larger video. 

Outcomes regarding my knowledge and skills

As I planned and implemented my activities, I certainly noticed gaps in my knowledge and abilities. In particular, during my second activity which was a “music lesson” type of activity designed for non-musicians I had difficulties getting to the most basic level of the elements of music in order to explain them in a clear way. This was called to my attention by the filming crew, and I was so thankful for the insights that they provided to me in order to help me get better. Their compassionate and gentle critiques definitely made me reflect on how I can make all of my facilitation more accessible to non-musicians (after all, that is who music therapists are typically working with!) and this will be something that I want to continue investigating after this semester concludes.

Something else that was a clear gap in my knowledge and skills which improved as I progressed in this project was my ability to be an engaging and effective facilitator in a filmed medium. I was constantly  concerned about if I looked awkward or strange on camera rather than solely focusing on the activity I was leading. Additionally, I want to keep learning about how to better create activities that are suitable to be delivered not in real time.

Outcomes about my values

This course and opportunity for service-learning strongly impacted my attitudes and values as a music therapist. Of course, prior to this class I considered myself to hold values for diversity, equity, and inclusion as core aspects of my work, but after this class and focusing specifically on how to implement the principles of Universal Design for Learning and Social Emotional Learning I found out just how important these frameworks are for living out these values in a concrete way. Learning how to conceptualize and implement UDL and SEL has made me a more conscious practitioner of music therapy.

I began to look at Universal Design for Learning in a new way as a result of this project. Previously, I had associated UDL mostly with working with children, or closely related to teaching. From this class and this project, my outlook has shifted and I now realize that UDL principles and practices are a core part of being inclusive to people with disabilities regardless of their age or the setting. This will be a central component of my music therapy practice moving forward.

One of my other core values that I had going into this project was to be an ally of and advocate for people with dementia. After beginning this project, I understood more clearly the profound impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on older adults and how the pandemic further isolated already vulnerable older adults. Fighting ageism and increasing accessibility for people with dementia is something that I want to continue to learn about and advocate for.

Outcomes about actions

Sometimes when I share with others that I am passionate about serving older adults, I am met with a barrage of questions. Often these are thinly veiled criticisms and ageist comments that suggest that older people are tough to work with and have nothing to contribute to society. While I did not have the opportunity to work directly with older adults in this project, I am excited to use my experience with this project to explain to people the importance of providing low-cost services to people with dementia and their care partners. I hope that through my experiences more people will be inspired to find out how they can serve the elders in their own communities regardless of cognitive ability. 

Outcomes and conclusion

As I reflect on my service-learning experience, the biggest thing that I keep coming back to is gratitude. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be educated in the principles of UDL and SEL so that I can take them into my future music therapy practice. I am thankful for the folks at the Sanders-Brown Center who are taking concrete action towards improving the lives of people with dementia and their families. I am thankful to have had the chance to practice my skills and receive feedback when my assumptions and biases got in the way of my effectiveness. Overall, I hope that future students who get to participate in this important project will be able to get as much out of it as I did!