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https://classroom.google.com/c/NzA0MDgyNzU0MDYy?cjc=5hrlfrm
I have an autistic student in my classroom who is hyperlexic. His reading is far superior to anybody else of his age group in both English and Irish. He seemed to absorb phonics and almost seemed to understand them intuitively. If fact coming from a mainly English Speaking background he read his way into Gaeilge and has a fantastic grasp of the language for a child in Rang 1 in the Gaeltacht. In addition, his pronunciation is fantastic and we feel he has absorbed the local canúint. His mother has good Irish and is using it more often with him as she recognises his ability with the language. His comprehension is very good. However, he needs clear and precise instructions on how to complete tasks so that he can demonstrate his understanding. I have put the scéal Ar strae Beagán’ on a slide. I have often used powerpoint and I felt that I was able to use google slides quite well. However, I did not manage to upload audio even though I recorded and saved audio files to my google drive. I did consult some videos but was not able to complete the task in time for today. I will have to do further research on this. I would also like for my student to be able to add recordings to the Google Slides presentation.
I think how the Workplace tools (Groups, Classroom, etc.) and Meet can enhance teaching and learning inside and outside the classroom especially in a Gaeltacht setting. We do not have all the information we would like in Irish available to us. Being able to collaborate with each other within and beyond the school is vital. Being able to collaborate with Irish Speakers from other regions, or to engage with an expert who has Irish is a vital tool. We will be able to record and add to the knowledge that is available through Irish.
The Pandemic showed us the way forward in 2020 – 2021. The more imagitive and proactive we were in engaging with our pupils the more they engaged. We have continued this in our school for the benefit of many subjects. I frequently record and share tunes and songs with the children in our school. I started this practice on Seesaw and we are now doing it through email with a view to sharing these files through google classroom.
In the paper ‘Formative Assessment and Self – Regulated learning’ it is asserted that
“the most productive way forward for the relationship between formative assessment and self-regulated learning is to build on the strengths of each—the practical grounded nature of formative assessment and the theoretical perspectives afforded by self-regulated learning—for generating productive conversations between practitioners and researchers.”
With this in mind, I have tried to design a body of work (that needs much development) that will allow an autistic student to regulate his learning about a topic he knows well and therefore demonstrate some of his knowledge using a variety of interactive assessment techniques. This is a very challenging but worthwhile task.
Class Code
https://classroom.google.com/c/NzA0MDgyNzU0MDYy?cjc=5hrlfrm
Link to Assignment
https://classroom.google.com/c/NzA0MDgyNzU0MDYy/a/NzA0NDI5MTU1OTYz/details
I have put together a sample of classwork that I would use as a precursor to the classwork I designed for the last module. This would specifically target a student in my Autism Room. This boy has a learning disability in addition to being autistic. Although he has an inherent understanding of phonics and thus can read extremely well in both Irish and English, he finds it difficult to demonstrate comprehension of either language. In addition, he has great language ability and uses words at times in both languages that demonstrates that he has a large vocabulary, he finds it difficult to answer questions relating to everyday things and cannot often demonstrate that he understands things. We know that he has a great knowledge of place names (logainmneacha). Therefore, by providing information about place names in a simple format (docs, youtube videos) and then providing him with an opportunity to answer simple questions (docs, Forms) he can demonstrate that he understands this subject. In addition, we may be able to use a form to access how he feels about the topic “Logainmneacha” The docs and forms given on the lesson plan are in a very raw state and require much work before they can be used to an effective and valuable level, however, I hope they demonstrate the possibilities going forward with this topic.
Workplace Skill: Being Knowledgeable about the world.
Knowledge construction: Schools should create learning opportunities where students: Interpret, Analyse, Synthesise and Evaluate their knowledge.
This lesson will be applied to new learning – logainmneacha or ‘place names’ and will involve the discipline of Gaeilge, Tír Eolas srl.
Classroom link
https://classroom.google.com/c/NzA0MDgyNzU0MDYy?cjc=5hrlfrm
Link to Assignment
https://classroom.google.com/c/NzA0MDgyNzU0MDYy/a/NzA0NDM2NTk4MTk0/details
I have put together the first lesson on a series of lessons about logainmneacha. I have a child in my Autism Room who spends many hours travelling with his dad in the car going through villages and townlands exploring new names in both English and Irish. He also spends much time on google maps in both maps and street view looking at places. He has an incredible ability to read both Gaeilge and Bearla to a very high standard. However, he finds it difficult to explain his interest at any level and cannot share this enthusiasm with anyone in a meaningful way. Furthermore he finds it difficult to engage meaningfully with the other children in his classgroup. They are very inclusive of him but often their engagement is assisting him or showing him. This activity will enable him to share his interest and will structure a way for him to communicate his knowledge. It is only a starter activity and has many options for further development including a project with the local language planning committee, or perhaps with Galway County Council. (Many of the road signs are incorrect). There are a number of locals who have an expert knowledge of logainmneacha and there are poets and artists in the region who frequently engage with the pupils in a meaningful way. The group of children in question (including the target pupil in my class) are very musical and perhaps a song may be a great way to showcase local place names. However that will be down to their focus and direction.
Class invitation link
https://classroom.google.com/c/NzA0MDgyNzU0MDYy?cjc=5hrlfrm
Link to Choice Board
https://classroom.google.com/c/NzA0MDgyNzU0MDYy/a/NzA0MTA3NTgxNzIy/details
This is a tool that will be absolutely necessary in an autism room. Every child has particular special interests and we frequently use these special interests on which to build their classes. E.g. for a child that has a special interest in dinosaurs they can count dinosaurs, sort dinosaurs, and classify dinosaurs in early numeracy classes.
Choice Boards (Do Rogha) are an important tool in choosing motivational activities. They can be used to order the activities according to how a child would like to do the activities or they can be used to provide an optional extra ‘fun’ activity when they complete some other tasks that the teacher sets.
I have a child that loves interactive games for which we use Séidéan Sí or Topmarks. He also likes to play with magna tiles and sometimes (less often) he likes to play with duplo. By giving him this choice board he can see what he will be working towards when he finishes his numeracy and literacy task.
He can also use the choice board when he returns to class from a period in the mainstream class.
We may find while using this choice board that it is not as effective as a physical choice board, or we may find that it is more effective. It will be really important to guage the children’s views on this – using a quiz as well as getting feedback from the classroom teacher and SNA. This is a ready made target (using quizzes to the benefit of autistic learners) for the SSE process.
As a teacher in a Gaeltacht based Autism Classroom, I can use digital technologies to great effect.
In our classroom we have access to Ipad, Chromebook and Clevertouch interactive whiteboard. There are three students and two adults in our classroom so there is frequent use of digital technology to enhance learning.
We can use internet access on all interfaces for research, although much of this involves the use of English language sites. This means that research based activities for older children involve much translation unless this is for an explicit English language project. However, there are useful online dictionary resources and our older student really enjoys the translation aspect.
For our younger students there are numerous sites for language, phonics and maths learning through Irish or at least these sites can be muted to allow a teacher or Teaching Assistant to assist in the learning by verbalising the tasks through Irish. Samples of activities include: Stories and associated activities, interactive games, book creator tasks, simple typing task, responding to pictures and videos. There is a wealth of activities for the younger learner. With the newly dedicated Cula 4 channel for children, there is a dearth of videos for learning.
With such wealth of opportunity, it is a challenge to make sure that our teaching is targeted and useful in supporting the primary school curriculum and not just a way of keeping children occupied. This is where the School Self Evaluation comes into play. We need to ensure that the Digital Learning is appropriate to the education of the individual learners.
In the new school year, I intend to use Google Classroom to set individualised tasks for each or the three children. They will be able to use codes to access the tasks. All of them are very comfortable with the available devices. These tasks may include a set of instructions/pictures for tasks in the classroom or they may include a link to an online task. I will be able to share their progress and contact their parents regarding tasks and their work.
With regard to the SSE element of digital learning in my classroom, this will feed into the overall SSE of digital learning in the whole school. Each child will be asked about their experiences of Digital Learning. In an Autism room, this will require carefully constructed questions most likely in the format of choice boards in order to elicit how they feel about elements of digital learning in comparison to other aspects of their learning. We will observe the children as they learn and take not of what activities they engage most readily with and what activities they need more support in. We will negotiate with parents regarding their use of digital technologies at home. Using that information, we will tailor the individualised learning plans to suit the needs of each child. Samples of questions, copies of correspondence and minutes of meetings will be kept to assist in our SSE.