Lm2 pp1 fall 2012

Stacey Callaway, M.ED, ABD | 2012

Creating Contexts for Instruction

SPE 465Stacey Callaway, M.Ed., ABD


• There are several important elements that must be considered when setting up the contexts for instruction and learning for students with ASD.– Arranging the physical environment– Establishing the temporal structure– Using visual and concrete systems– Providing systematic instruction– Accommodating sensory needs– Facilitating engagement– Establishing stimulus control– Priming


Arranging the Physical Environment

• As a teacher, the physical arrangement of the classroom is always important!

• The way you set up your room can make or break your first day of school!

• Students with ASD respond favorably to physical structure in the classroom.– For example, if you leave a large open space in the

middle of the room, that opens up the opportunity for students to get out of their seats and RUN around in that open space!


Arranging the Physical Environment, cont.

• You can use the furniture to provide boundaries and lead students from one location to another in the room.

• You can use tape on the floor to delineate boundaries in the room.

• Or put tape on the floor so students know where to line up.



• When setting up independent work stations/desks, it’s important to keep the desks in close enough proximity that the students can be monitored simultaneously by a member of your teaching team, yet not so close that the students are TOO close. It’s a fine line and it will be different each year as you get new students in your class.



Example of an independentwork station. The student takes the pink triangle from thedesk and matches it with the pinktriangle in the cubby, then takesthe folder out of the cubby andcompletes the folder game.



• I recommend my teachers have the following spaces in their classrooms:– Direct instruction (teacher table)– Independent Work (student desks to complete

independent work tasks)– Break (area with sensory activities and/or favorite

toys)– Snack table (for snack and for large group activities

such as arts/crafts)– Large group area (for circle time/Morning Meeting)


Environmentally Cued Expectations

• We heard from Dr. Temple Grandin, in her interview, that she is a visual learner.

• This is typical of most children with ASD. • Often visual supports are put into place

throughout the students day and throughout the environment.

• Visuals can be used to help the student navigate around the classroom through a visual schedule.

• Or visuals can be used to prompt activities such as hand washing, or going to the bathroom.


Examples of Visual Supports

• The example on the right is an example of visual schedules in a classroom. We will talk later in the semester about the specifics of schedules.

• Students match their picture and take the picture or object at the top of the schedule with them to help them transition to the next activity.



• This is another example of a schedule for a student who is able to manage this schedule himself. When it is time for him to transition, the teacher gives him a visa-vis marker for him to check off the activities he has done so that he will know what he needs to do next.



• This is an example of an activity schedule. This helps the student know what sequences to follow when washing his hands.


Establishing Temporal Structure

• Temporal Structure refers to how time is used.• You will find that this is one of the most

important pieces of being a teacher, especially with students with ASD.

• Children with ASD don’t do well with downtime or unstructured time so this time needs to be accounted for in your planning.


Establishing Temporal Structure, cont.

• Additionally, students with ASD don’t do well with surprises!

• Fire drills, substitutes and other unexpected activities can often throw students off.

• The best fix for this is to provide them with the information ahead of time if possible.

• We often used a special symbol to indicate a “special activity.”


Activity Length

• As a teacher, you have to learn how long your students can tolerate an activity.

• Typically, younger students need shorter activities.

• If you have preschool or elementary students, you probably don’t want to have a 30 minute circle time! You’ll lose them after about 15 minutes!


Activity Length, cont.

• You will have some students who will need to complete an activity and move to the reinforcer immediately after. This student would be on a work/break/work/break schedule.

• Often teachers will use an excel spreadsheet to create a schedule that delineates where staff members and students are in 15 minute increments.


Variation of Activities

• In planning for your students, it’s important to remember that no one wants to work for free!

• Your students need reinforcers just like you do!

• Would you be willing to work 5 days a week without receiving a paycheck?

• When you’re planning, make sure that you have a reinforcer for your students!


Variation of Activities

• This concept is called the “Premack Principle” or “Grandma’s law.”

• This is the concept that if you eat your peas, you’ll get dessert.

• I often used a “First/Then” board so that my students could easily see what was expected.


Variation of Activities, cont.

• This first/then board can be used throughout the day and in any environment. The concept is clear. First work, then play!


Variation of Activities, cont.

• Behavioral momentum is when you have your student complete quick and easy tasks before they do a more difficult task.

• This takes advantage of student success

Behavioral Momentum Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtIBbdgDSi8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtIBbdgDSi8


Delineation of Activities

• Because the goal of using schedules in the classroom is to promote independence, the schedule must be presented at a level that the student will understand.

• Some students may not understand the pictures that are typically used in schedules, so they may need an object or photograph to represent the activities on their schedule.


This student is ableto use line drawingsfor his schedule.

This studentuses actualPhotographsfor his schedule.

These students both useactual objects for their schedules because they needthe object to be the representation of the activity.


Delineation of Activities, cont.

This is an activity schedule.This student needed helpknowing what he needed to do when he put up his backpack.



http://youtu.be/U0nNeDtxD5c

Object Schedules






• You also need to consider if your student needs to have a schedule for the whole day or just half of the day. Some students may only need the first/then schedule as they can not follow a schedule beyond one activity and it’s reinforcer.


Teaching Starting and Stopping

• Imagine if you didn’t have a concept of when an activity started or when it stopped!

• I imagine that would be pretty frustrating, especially if I was doing a non-preferred activity and I knew that when I was finished I was going to get my favorite thing!

• Teachers use all kinds of timers to help students understand when activities are finished.


The Time Timer is one example that many teachers use with students with ASD!

http://youtu.be/5-9ugu9pBak

http://youtu.be/5-9ugu9pBak


Transitions

• We know that students with ASD have difficulty with transitions.

• We also know that in a classroom, general ed or special ed, the day is FILLED with transitions!

• Often students with ASD have the daily schedule memorized, which leads teacher to believe that students don’t NEED a visual schedule after the first month or so of school!


Transitions, cont.

• I would argue that students with ASD continue to need visual schedules as it’s often not the transition, rather the lack of prior notice of the transition that students have difficulty with.

• Teachers use lots of different strategies to help students recognize that a transition is coming.


Transitions, cont.

• As a teacher you can raise a flag to give them a 5 minute warning.

• You can hold up two fingers to give them a 2 minute warning.

• You can play music that you know is a certain length of time that can be played and when the music is finished they know the transition is coming.

• There are MANY different ways to prepare students for transitions.


Systematic Instruction

• We know that children with ASD don’t typically learn in the natural environment.

• Direct instruction is an important part of the learning process for students with ASD.

• Specific skills that should be taught to students with ASD through direct (systematic) instruction include: social skills, communication, appropriate toy play, attending to learning, verbal and motor imitation and receptive and expressive language.


Systematic Instruction, cont.

• The textbook discusses the importance of teaching functional skills to students with ASD and that there isn’t a need for teaching academic skills, such as the period table.

• However, I will tell you that since this textbook was written, there has been a push for students who receive special education services to have access to the “general education curriculum.”



• http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/guidance/sbIEP.html

• http://www5.esc13.net/agc/Tools/standardsbaseddevqa.pdf

The following links are two pertinent documents that are related to writing standards based IEPs. Please review them, as this WILL be something you,as a future educator, will need to know!!

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/guidance/sbIEP.html



http://www5.esc13.net/agc/Tools/standardsbaseddevqa.pdf

http://www5.esc13.net/agc/Tools/standardsbaseddevqa.pdf



• Another important aspect of systematic instruction is data collection that will provide you the following information:– Identify valid educational goals– Identify and use different instructional strategies

to teach– Evaluate the effectiveness of the instruction– Modify the information based on data


Sensory Accommodations

• Students with ASD have underlying sensory differences that often affect their ability to learn and process information.

• Sensory issues vary among individuals with ASD and often vary among one individual from morning to afternoon!

• We will talk about Sensory Issues further in Chapter 5


Sensory Accommodations, cont.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzf80k5b_EM

Dr. Temple Grandin and Sensory Issues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzf80k5b_EM


Engaging Activities

• Engagement is defined as active attending to and interacting with social and nonsocial environments.

• Engagement has been identified as one of the best predictors of positive student outcomes.

• Incorporating students items of interests is a great way to encourage student engagement.


Engaging Activities, cont.

• For example, if you have a student who is interested in Thomas the Train, you would want to make a color matching game with Thomas the Train characters.

• Additionally, students with ASD may also be more engaged when information is taught through music.


Opportunities to Make Choices

• Children with ASD aren’t much different from all of us in that they like to have some control over their environment.

• Giving kids choices often gives them the control that they need.

• You can give them choices of items or activities that will be used as motivators.

• You can also give them choices in the order of activities that they will participate in.


Opportunities to Make Choices, cont.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwwTc3DfKFs

Choice Boards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwwTc3DfKFs


Priming

• Priming is a strategy for enhancing task performance by allowing the individual to practice the activity and become familiar with the materials ahead of time.

• Priming increases the predictability of the task by allowing students to rehearse the task.

• Priming can be an effective strategy, as the student with ASD knows what to expect before going into the activity.


Conclusion

• We have covered a lot of information in this power point and much of it will be covered in depth later in the semester.

• “Effective teachers do their best to organize the school day with interesting tasks that last an appropriate amount of time and take into account activity and sensory differences” (Heflin & Alaimo, 2007, p. 135).


Conclusion, cont.

• Student tasks need to be represented in a concrete and predictable manner with an obvious start and finish of the activity.

• Students should have the opportunity to make choices within activities and within reinforcers/motivators.

• Students should be taught systematically.• Students should have the opportunity to explore

toys and activities through priming that will familiarize them with the activities before they begin.

Education

Lm2 pp1 fall 2012