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I took over my autism class last year. I’m not sure what kind of distance learning was provided for the class during the pandemic. While the rest of the school used Seesaw, I think that pupils in the autism classes, many of whom have very high support needs, wouldn’t have realistically been able to engage with online content. I wonder if there are any guidelines for distance learning for pupils with this kind of profile? I know that one of the pupils in my class did not have any access to technology at home, as he had destroyed several devices in the past and his psychologist recommended that he be kept from using computers and tablets.
Since then, this pupil has been given a new tablet and he has been using a computer in school with some success. He is highly intelligent and extremely engaged when it comes to using computers. He is quite gifted at making and editing videos. This is his special interest, really, but unfortunately, he finds it very difficult to cope with any sort of frustration. Since computers can be very frustrating, this does cause issues at times. Nonetheless, I feel that the blended learning style would really suit him, particularly the flipped approach, where he would watch a video in advance of doing a hands-on activity in person. I could see myself using Edpuzzle, Flipgrid and Wakelet to engage him on a subject, especially as he is crazy for youtube.
Although I have a multigrade class with a wide range of abilities, I aslo think that it could be very helpful to use Edpuzzle to make a video lesson with inbuilt differentiation to introduce a topic at home. It could make group sessions in school much more productive, and alleviate anxiety for some of the pupils by giving them a preview of the content which they could engage with at home with their parents. Indeed, this flipped method could be used in collaboration with the mainstream teachers, which could make integration much more seamless, as my pupils could arrive in their mainstream class feeling confident that they know what to expect from a lesson. This would be in line with the statements of very effective practice as outlined in the SSE framework, and such a strategy could greatly enhance inclusion.
As an autism class teacher, I feel that the School Self Evaluation process helps to keep me focussed on having high expectations for my pupils with regards to numeracy and literacy. It would be easy to underestimate many of the children who pass through my class, as some of them have exceptionally high needs. I have taught pupils who are completely non-verbal and some of whom struggle to communicate at all. Some of the statements of very effective practice in the SSE framework seem outlandish when it comes to these pupils, but if I actually reflect on them, I almost always can find a way that they do in fact apply to all pupils. Something that I have learned is that one should *never* underestimate any pupil, and there is often a lot more going on under the surface than you might initially believe.
I usually teach numeracy and literacy one-on-one, due to the unique needs and different abilities of my pupils.
Some of my strategies and approaches for literacy are Brendan Culligan’s corewords approach to spelling, Building Bridges of Understanding for comprehension, The Writer’s Workshop and Shared Writing for writing (particularly good for following the children’s own interests, something very important for autistic children) and Colourful Semantics for oral language (for non-verbal children). I highly recommend the website/online game Teach Your Monster to Read. It’s brilliantly designed, very appealing to children, and completely free.
When it comes to numeracy, I am a proponent of the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach. In this approach, pupils are introduced to new mathematical concepts through the use of physical objects (concrete resources such as dienes blocks, counters, cubes, everyday items etc.). When they have become comfortable solving problems with concrete aids, they then move on to solving problems with pictures – usually pictorial representations of the objects they were using. Finally, they move on to abstract problems, where they only have the numbers or symbols to work with. i have found this approach to be very effective, as it really helps pupils to understand the relationship between numbers and the real world. For many pupils, many mathematical concepts can be completely meaningless without an object or picture to go along with it.
As a result of this course, I am certainly going to attempt to integrate Microsoft Office’s dictate and immersive reader functions into my teaching. I already make a lot of use of computers and tablets in the classroom, and I feel that these tools have the potential to increase the independence of many pupils. I will install some of the recommended apps on our iPads, and see how my pupils respond to them. I have already purchased Starfall for my 3-year-old at home, and he loves it! I will ask my principal about getting a subscription for the school.
Part 1
In the lesson that I have designed, I have installed Lens and Office 365 on the tablets in my classroom. The class will be going on a ‘noun hunt’. A 9-year-old pupil in the class, who is dyslexic, will complete the activity using Lens on his tablet to photograph the signage in the classroom. He will be asked to do this for 3 different signs or posters of his choice. Then, he will use Immersive Reader to help him to read the signs and identify the nouns in each of them (using Immersive Reader‘s in-built ‘Parts of Speech’ function). He will use the dictate function on Word to categorise the nouns as person, place or thing. As an add-on to the lesson, the pupils will be asked which sign they think is the most important one in the room, and why. They will discuss their answers and write a short paragraph afterwards. Again, the dyslexic pupil can use dictate to write his answer to the question, after he has discussed it with his group.
One potential issue that I could see arising with pupils using the dictate function to complete written assignments, is the disruption it could cause if someone is speaking aloud in the class while individual work is going on. I wonder if anyone has any suggestions about that?
Part 2
For me, the idea of a teacher being a lifelong learner should mean more than keeping up to date with the latest classroom technology. I believe that the most important aspect of being a lifelong learner is being open to collaborate with your colleagues and peers throughout your career. This would include team-teaching, collaborative planning, and perhaps most importantly, group CPD.
One of the principals of Cosán is that it is a flexible framework. This means that it should be differentiated to suit the unique context of each teacher’s work. I think that in order to get proper buy-in from teachers, CPD should be tailored to suit each given school and also the individual career-paths within schools. I suspect that much of the CPD that is undertaken by teachers today is done to ‘tick the box’, as many professionals feel that what is offered does not have great relevance to their own practice. As a teacher in a special class, I can attest that this context is often given just a cursory mention in training and development. This is out of necessity; teaching is such a broad church that it is impossible to cover everything. But that is why I think that a variety of professional networks and tailored CPD should be established for the many different contexts and cultures that exist in the contemporary Irish education sector.
Those courses that I have done which were specifically geared towards my own teaching setting have been invaluable, most of all due to the opportunity to exchange ideas with others who are working in the same area. This is just my own experience, but I do feel that each teacher has their own strengths and weaknesses, areas of interest, personal goals, etc., and that more could be done to ensure that CPD reflects the unique needs of the professionals who take part, and that it is more embedded in their everyday practice. Cosán seems to have this as its aim.
Immersive reader combined with lens could be a game-changer for some pupils. I have one pupil in particular at the moment who is autistic and has ADHD (and possibly dyslexia).
Usually, when giving him work, I only give him very pared-down worksheets, often designed by me. Anything with a lot of text or visual information makes him feel overwhelmed, and he will balk immediately.
If I could get a good work-flow going where I can teach him to photograph his text books on a tablet and then use immersive reader to simplify, add a yellow background etc. it could be a massive boost for him. I think that he would really enjoy the process, and it could be very empowering.
My only issue is that my school doesn’t use Microsoft. I tried to do the small task assigned in this module, where we were asked to use Lens to photograph a page of the Inclusive Education Framework and have Immersive Reader read it back to us. Once I tried to activate Immersive Reader, it asked me to sign in to my Office account, and wouldn’t accept my personal account (work and school accounts only). Is there any workaround for this?
I teach in a special class, in which many of the pupils have difficulty communicating. I am therefore very interested in the potential of assistive technology to help my pupils to access the curriculum. I am particularly interested AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication).
Something that I have been aware of, and which was reinforced by this module, is that the choice of what tools to implement is of utmost importance. The answer will vary hugely depending on the pupil and their environment. I am very wary of making an uninformed choice and putting the pupil off the use of AAC completely (if, for example, the chosen tool causes sensory issues, frustration etc.).
In addition, because budgets and grants are always limited, it would be awful to blow the grant on a tool that turns out to be unsuitable. I believe that the SETT framework will be invaluable in helping everyone involved to make the right choices.
In my opinion, these considerations would fall under Domain 4 of the DLF; Teachers’ Collaborative Practice. In addition to the teacher, the stakeholders would include the parents, SNAs, the professional support team (Psychologist, SLT, OT), SENCO, and Principal. The associated standard is “Teachers value and engage in professional development and professional collaboration”. Highly effective practice would mean engaging with all stakeholders in order to select appropriate digital technologies and align them with effective teaching practices.
Another very important consideration, one which was mentioned in the module, was whether the AT will be used outside the school environment. In the case of AAC, the aim would be to find a communication tool that can be used in any situation, and therefore consistency in approach between home and school would be absolutely vital.
