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Part 1
The SETT model is one that I feel works very well in conjunction with a child’s Student Support File. The SSP helps build a picture of the child’s strengths, challenges, targets and goals, as well as the previous strategies used and current strategies and supports in place. The SSP includes the Continuum of Support which helps identify the level of need for each child. The SETT model is a great way of using this information to focus clearly on what we are trying to achieve and what tools would be most effective for this. It is important to have a clear picture of the student and the environment(s) in which they will need support. This will involve linking in with parents and care providers to clearly establish targets. By have clearly expressed targets, it can be easier to pick relevant tools. Which tools are used may change as need changes or if, on assessment, the chosen tools are not as effective as hoped. As technology develops, particularly AI, it will be important to continually update our knowledge as to what tools are available and are suitable for our pupils.
Part 2
The SETT plan below is a plan for a child in Senior Infants who is voluntarily non0verbal in school but is fully verbal outside of school settings. In the SSP, there is support from the MDT and the reasons for them being nonverbal in school will need to be addressed. However, in the day to day of the classroom it is important to make sure they are included and encouraged to communicate in ways that they feel comfortable.
The tasks reflect her age. Developing friendships and communicating though play is important, as is their understanding of language and phonics. The low AT options will help me assess how she is getting on in the classroom. I can assess their ability to identify words, find sounds, recall and sequence events. I can also monitor their play and interactions in drama. Using high AT supports, I can assess their reading in an environment that they are comfortable in. The proloquo app will also be very useful for a child of this age. Writing as a means of communication may be too challenging so using the pictures in the app will help them communicate.
https://1drv.ms/w/c/0f3ebe52042843fd/Eaj0MXrQ9K5HiWWtkfa8c9YB7n0Hhyes1hl35dRWPiLzYA?e=2c7dS4
SETT.docx
Part 1
I feel that the SETT model works very well in conjunction with the Student Support Plan. The SSP details the strengths, challenges and targets of a specific child. It contains supports in place for the child at the moment and allows space to review these. It also contains the Continuum of Support which helps us choose what level of support is needed. The SETT model allows us to take this information and use it to help us choose the most effective tools to achieve the targets in the SSP. By focusing on the child and using the SSP, it helps us incorporate UDL in our teaching. This child specific approach will hopefully lead to the best interventions possible. When assessing, it is important to be clear in what is being assessed and how it is being assessed. This means the “task” section must be suitable for the child and preferably links in with SMART goals from the SSP. In this way, the SETT and SSP work together very well to help teachers create plans specifically tailored to pupils needs and find the tools most suitable to implement interventions. As AT continues to develop, particularly with the emergence of AI, it is important that teachers continue to educate themselves on the most useful tools.
Part 2
This plan is for a child in Senior Infants who is voluntarily nonverbal in school but is fully verbal away from school settings. The challenges that led to this will also need to be addressed, including interventions from the MDT, but it is important that the child has a chance to communicate in a way that they are comfortable with while in school. The tasks in the plan reflect the need of a senior infant child. Peer interactions and play are important, as is phonics and reading. The tools chosen will allow the child to engage and the teacher to assess progress. The low tech tools allow for engagement nonverbally and the high tech options allow the childs voice to be heard in a different way. It is important to make sure the child is comfortable with videos of their reading at home being played for the class.
https://1drv.ms/w/c/0f3ebe52042843fd/Eaj0MXrQ9K5HiWWtkfa8c9YB7n0Hhyes1hl35dRWPiLzYA?e=2c7dS4
Hi Pat,
thanks for the feedback. I agree, AT can be a useful part of plan around a student with need but this is only the case if the right tool is chosen and other things are in place as well.
Part One
I have designed a task for a child in Senior Infants who has ADHD and is EAL. Reading text is a big challenge as he struggles with focus. This leads to disappointment and frustration when he is unable to complete the task. I have used Office Lens to photograph the pages of his reader and would have this prepared before the day starts. This is accessed through the device Gallery when needed. In Office Lens, I have set Immersive Reader to focus on one line at a time. This will help him focus on what is currently being read. Additionally the picture dictionary and the translation features will help him understand the text and give him greater autonomy over his own learning. Based on the SAMR model, I feel that this would be a modification to the task, as it allows learning to occur that previously was not possible.
Part Two
I believe that teachers are lifelong learners. Like many careers, professional development is important to maintain over the course of the career. Every year, teachers are engaging with new children, new classes, new parents and new situations. It is not possible to have all the answers but by engaging proactively in professional development, I feel I at least have more tools to help me deal with different situations. I like that Cosán gives autonomy to teachers in choosing areas to upskill. For all the talk of UDL and every child having different strengths, the same is true of teachers. On top of this, education is always evolving. School now is very different to when I was a pupil. This leads to the idea that if you are not moving forwards, you are moving backwards. Therefore, I feel that Cosán is important for teachers and is a valuable framework.
I am a big fan of immersive reader. It is software that I have not used before so it has taken a good bit of time to familiarise myself with it and get comfortable using it.
I am working in an infant school, so I think that there will be particular benefits in my classroom. I think using immersive reader in Office Lens will be incredibly helpful as a tool to help children with their reading. The teacher can take pictures of the pages and the children can read along with the audio, or follow along with their finger. I particularly like the picture library as there is a lot of new vocab for children at this age. I also like the translation feature which will be very useful in my school setting.
Some considerations include making sure I, or other teachers using it, are confident and comfortable using the technology as the children are too young to use it independently. Also, our school has microsoft accounts for the teachers computers but I am not sure if it is available on our class iPads.
Assistive technology is an area I am unfamiliar with. I feel there is huge potential to use technology as a tool to facilitate learning and inclusion in the classroom and school. I introduced Kahoot in my classroom this year as part of our Friday quiz and could not believe how it motivated the children and how engaged they were. Looking back now, I see this tied in with several standards in all four domains in the DLF relating to teaching and learning. Reflecting on my own practice over the past couple of years, I have also (like all teachers) included low and mid tech assistive technologies as well. Moving forwards, I would like to continue to develop the following standards:
– Pupils engage purposefully in meaningful learning activities.
– The teacher selects and uses planning, preparation and assessment practices that progress pupils’ learning.
I think it is important to focus on AT as a tool that helps a pupil achieve their full potential. In this respect, it is important that the tool selected is the most appropriate for the child. This is where the SETT framework is very helpful. I feel that the student support file, conversations with previous teacher(s) and the childs parents/guardians willl help build a picture of the child and their specific need. When taken in tandem with the learning environment and the tasks that need to be competed, the teacher can use the most appropriate AT. I found the table used in the case study was a good way to analyse exactly what is needed and I think I will use it in my own practice.