Instructional Practices to Support Individualization
Chi-Ing Lim: Good afternoon everybody, and welcome to the webinar on Instructional Practices to Support Individualization, presented by the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning, otherwise known as DTL. I'm Chi-Ing Lim, and I will be presenting, along with my colleague at FPG Child Development Institute, Tracey West. We are both members of the DTL's Inclusion Team. Pam Winton is, unfortunately, not able to join us today. And Pam has helped us co-develop this webinar, as well as Jenny, who I believe is also online. And with us in the room today are Taylor Simpson, [Inaudible] Renita Street, and we are all here to learn alongside with you, as well as to support you.
So before we begin, I would like to go over some information, regarding the webinar. During the webinar, we will have all lines muted as we are ensuring audio quality but we do want to hear from you. So we have several opportunities to respond via online polls, as well as interact using the chat box, that is on the right side of your screen, and some of you, who were here much earlier, had already begun to type in responses in the chat box, so thank you. And if you have any problems with the technology or logistical questions, please use the chat box. We will respond to you there.
We also welcome questions or comments that you might have about the content during the webinar. And there's a Q&A box, that is on the lower right of the screen. Please put your questions there and we will have a break part way through, when we'll respond to the questions and then we'll do that again at the end. And if there are any questions that we aren't able to address during this webinar, we will post them in the MyPeers Disabilities Network and address them there, and we'll share more about MyPeers at the end of the webinar. Just so you know, the PDF of this presentation, and handouts, can be found in the supporting documents box, in the bottom right of your screen.
So just wanted to also let you know that we have 12 videos in this session. So here is a tip about hearing the audio of those videos: If you're listening via the phone, you'll not be able to hear the audio of those videos over the phone. If you like to listen to the audio, you can turn on the audio of your computer for those moments, but do remember to mute your phone lines when you do that. And if for any reason you get disconnected, from the webinar, use the same link that you used previously to rejoin the webinar. And we also want to let you know that the session will be recorded.
Please complete the evaluation at the end of the webinar. You can receive a certificate of completion upon completing the evaluation. So if you're viewing the webinar with a group of colleagues on one computer and only one of you is registered for the webinar, please forward the evaluation link to your colleagues so that they can also complete that evaluation and receive their certificate of completion. So here are the session objectives for today.
At the end of this session, we anticipate that you'll understand the importance of using evidence-based instruction and practices and strategies that support inclusion, and you will be able to identify specific instructional practices with the strongest evidence for maximizing the learning and development of children with disabilities or suspected delays. And you will know where to find professional development resources on this topic. So this the third in a series of webinars sponsored by DTL on evidence-based, child-focused practices that support inclusion. We're going to be pulling up a poll where you can see the names of the two previous webinars. So if you could click on the URL on this slide to enter your response.
OK. We're going to go ahead and pull over the results. So the first focus on practices related to making accommodations and modifications to the environment, and the second focus on practices related to adult-child, as well as peer interactions. If you attended one or both of these webinars, please click on the image or images.
Tracey West: Wow, Chi-Ing exciting. It looks like a lot of people have attended at least one of the webinars. Welcome back all of you.
Chi-Ing: Yeah, it looks like many of you have attended the one on environment and that was the one that we ...
Tracey: That was our practices-focused webinar.
Chi-Ing: Yup, and just so you know, both these webinars have been archived and they're both available on the ECLKC website. So thanks for your responses. Let's move ahead. We are also interested to know about your role. So you see the poll on the screen. So look at the response options and select the option that best describes your primary role.
Tracey: Boy, we have a nice diverse group with us on the line. Look at this. We'll have some interesting input when you all share your responses later on in the webinar.
Chi-Ing: Yeah, so I just want to take a few minutes to provide some background on why this information on the practices is important for staff and personnel on all levels, whether or not you are a teacher or a disability services coordinator or mental health consultant. It is important for everyone to know what these practices are, so that you all can all have the same vision for supporting children with disabilities or suspected delays and their families. Thank you everyone for responding to the poll.
So we know that, it is important for all of you to know which practices are the high-impact practices based on research for promoting the child and family outcomes that are important to achieve. This slide visually demonstrates the essential ingredients for ensuring that the effective practices can promote the desired outcomes for children with disabilities and their families. So let's map backwards with the end in sight.
So we know there needs to be guidance that points to the kinds of outcomes desired for all children, and in this case, we have the ELOF, the Head Start ELOF, as well as the PSCE family outcomes framework. And in the next box you see enabling contexts, and this means there must be resources, as well as policies that support the implementation of effective practices. For example, laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, otherwise known as IDEA, and policies such as the Head Start Program Performance Standards.
And in the middle box you see illustrated that there are factors that either facilitate or hinder practices being implemented. So for example, is professional development available to staff so that they have the skills to implement the practices? And the final box shows the effective practices. And we have practice guidelines from professional organizations such as the Division for Early Childhood, otherwise known as the DEC that have identified a set of research-based effective practices to support individualization. And those of you who have joined us for the earlier two webinars, we have, I think, introduced these practices during those webinars. So for those of you who might be new to what the DEC recommended practices are, I'm just going to give a quick overview of what these practices are.
So these are practices that were identified through a rigorous process funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, and carried out by a commission appointed by the DEC. And the goal of these recommended practices is to inform and improve the quality of services provided to young children with disabilities or suspected delays, and their families.
And there are 66 specific practices organized, in eight topic areas. And you can see the topic areas on the screen here, and they are available for free on the DEC website, and we have also put a PDF copy of the practices in the Supporting Documents part. What we have is that, this webinar is part of the series that focuses on three of the child focus practices. And the focus today is on the practices related to instruction. And this slide, which many of you recognize as the "House," illustrates how the DEC recommended practices are an important part of the effective practices for all children.
And at the base of the foundation of the house, we see what we already know, that all children need nurturing relationships, effective interactions, and engaging environments to support their learning. And this is true for children with disabilities and suspected delays as well. But for children with disabilities or suspected delays, the roof of the house, which are the highly individualized teaching and learning, is an essential element to ensure that teaching and learning provides the necessary support to ensure a high quality, inclusive early childhood learning experiences.
And this applies to children in all program options, including center-based family child care, as well as home-based care. So that provides a bit of background information about practices that are focused – that are the focus for today's webinars. If you have any questions, please enter them into the Q&A box and we'll try to answer them as they come in. OK. Keep those questions coming in as we move on to Tracey, who is going to dig much deeper into the topic area of instruction and see how we can use free, easily available resources to demonstrate the practices that disabilities coordinators, coaches, home visitors, and others can use to support education staff and family members, and learning about strategies for using this practices in the home and in the classroom. Tracey?
Tracey: Thank you Chi-Ing. As Chi-Ing mentioned, we'll focus on the topic area of instruction today using a really similar format to that used during the Environments and Interactions webinar. And I want to welcome all of you here, newcomers, and the ones that have been on the other webinars. And just to say, after seeing that most of you are in the same straits we are extremely hot. I'm really kind of envious of the person from Maine, who talked about being in a cool, sunny day. But for the rest of us joining this webinar, in the air-conditioning, is probably good use of our time today.
So we're going to share some video demonstrations of how these practices may look in the classroom or in the home, as well as how to plan for embedding instructions throughout the daily routine. Then, later in the webinar, we'll share more information about the resources our examples are drawn from, and provide the links to the resources so you can explore them further and use them in your work. We know there are people with a lot of different roles today, and this way you can find the parts that really will inform what you do. We only get to show you really the tip of the iceberg, during the webinars.
So the goal you'll see on the screen — the definition of instruction. The goal of instructional practices is to help children acquire skills and behaviors so they can become more independent and successful. And the keywords in this definition are "specialized," "intentional," and "systematic." Those are key components for supporting the learning and development of children with disabilities or suspected delays, and really all children need that intentionality. So there are — there are 13 practices under the area of instruction, but we're only going to look closely at five of the practices in today's webinar.
These are practices that focus on engaging the family, building on the child's interests and strengths, gathering and using data to inform planning, and then individualizing support throughout the day's activities and routines to meet children's needs. And these are practices that are really observable and you see in the classroom, or you see in the home. They can be used by family members or education staff. If you look at the last practice, we also included the one on coaching and consultation. It's a really important way to support education staff, people on the frontline in being able to put these practices into play.
And I think some of you on the call, perhaps disabilities coordinators, specialists actually do some of this coaching. So before we get into these demonstration of practices, let's think about some of the key teaching strategies that education staff, families, and other professionals use in their classroom or home. So think about the classrooms that you're familiar with or your own class if you're a teacher or direct service provider. Which of these strategies do you see used most often, or use yourself? So we want you to rank order the strategies, from, "most often seen or used," to, "least often."
Chi-Ing: So you can click on the URL on this slide to respond, and we see that some people have already done that.
Tracey: Ahh, wonderful, wonderful. I hope all of you can see the moving bar. I love getting to see what is coming in. And you can see how the bar is decreasing kind of with that progression of intentional and systematic practices, and we've done this in live presentations before and with different groups, and this tends to be the pattern that we see each time. Those scaffolding, embedded interventions are used less frequently and modeling, prompting, reinforcing are used more often.
And that scaffolding, the embedded interventions do take that more intensive planning, more systematic and intentional implementation. But they are really critically important practices to use to support learning and development of children with disabilities. So thank you all for typing in. It's always interesting to see how this progression comes out. So now we are going to share some examples of planning tools, some different background, and ways to organize instruction across the routine, and some video clips. I have to say my favorite part, where you can see demonstrations of these practices, both in the classroom, and we have a couple in the home as well.
But before we get started, we wanted to share this chart with you that highlights the importance of embedded interventions, something we talk about a lot. Provides a breakdown of the amount of support two children receive over the course of the week, comparing pull-out therapy and support provided throughout the home and classroom routine. You can see that Michael, on the left, receives one hour of pull-out therapy, two, 30 minutes sessions, often what we see, while Miguel receives five times that amount, through very simple activities embedded throughout his day.
The matrix here focuses a lot on activities done at the home, just a little bit in the classroom. Just imagine if the teacher was doing the same in a few more parts of the day. This really adds up the comparison of one hour, and five hours over the week. We sometimes hear how practitioners and parents say they need to really fight for that extra 30 minute slot of one-on-one services.
So sometimes we wonder, maybe we need to change that mindset. And if that specialist will work with the family and teachers on embedding us supporting them in knowing how. And this doesn't mean throughout the entire day, you can see just very doable built into the day. The child receives many more opportunities to practice and master those goals, reach those desired outcomes. An additional benefit, really I think, is that the child might generalize those skills more easily than when they learn them during those regular everyday activities.
Chi-Ing: Thanks Tracey. And it's a little bit like when my son — with my son and his piano lessons, and he goes once a week, just for half an hour, but even when he gets in just five minutes a day on the other six days, he makes so much more progress than the weeks, where we don't make a point for him to get to the piano. And even though it sounds really short, that five minutes a day, it actually equates to an extra half an hour of practice a week.
Tracey: I know. Great example Chi-Ing. We don't realize what these little activities, what these strategies we build into the day, how much impact they can really have. So then, we want to see here how can we really begin to embed those instructions into everyday routines? So a first step is to start with a child's objectives, and think about where they fit. And a really good Head Start resource for this is the ELOF. You can use that to map out the child's objectives.
So you see here an example of a planning matrix, a very, very simple one, that's being used for two children. In the first column, you see the activities and routines. You can also do this through a home routine. And you then add as many columns, as needed, for the children who need those individualized supports and instruction. And then you add their objectives into the routine. So this is really step one.
What then you would do once you've identified where you want to embed them is to then put in the supports and strategies materials that you'd use. And that's where these demonstrations of practice will come in, that we're going to show you now. But for some tips, if you're a teacher, or if you're supporting teachers, it's important to remember – start small. You don't have to fill in objectives for every routine or activity for each child. You really have to have this manageable. You can see this teacher identified parts of the day where she can really naturally embed this support for the children. But make it work for you.
Think about your routine, your materials, and activities, it has to be a good fit to really be able to implement this. So now, a quick reminder, let's look again at the strategies teachers use to support children's learning. We're going to start with some very quick demonstrations of some of the strategies at the top of the list. Modeling, prompting, and reinforcing. So in this very, very short video, you'll see an example of a home visitor using modeling and prompting to support a child's learning.
While you watch, notice that at the very same time, she's also modeling for a family member and giving him an example of how he can help the child practice through the rest of the week.
[Video begins]
Teacher: Say Play-Doh in. Girl: Play-Doh in.
[Video ends]
Tracey: This is a tiny snippet of a larger video. But if you show this, along with some others to demonstrate to teachers how they can build instruction, into the day, into the routine, they can look at this and they think, "Oh my golly, I do that," so that's embedding instruction. So you could see this video and the next one, again very short, are from the in-service suite on the teaching loop. And they're both just a short snippet to give you an idea of what you find in the video.
Each one of these provides a number of examples of teachers supporting children. So this next clip we're going to watch, provides an example of a teacher supporting a child's participation in the block area. She uses some hand-over-hand support, prompting, positive reinforcement. And again I'm telling you this because these snippets are so short. So watch this.
[Video begins]
Narrator: See how teacher Shelby gives hand-over-hand assistance to help Hayden pick up a big block.
Shelby: Let's try two hands. Can we try two hands?
Hayden: It didn't even go.
Shelby: Oh there we go. Now, what are we going to do with that big one?
[Video ends]
Tracey: So there you see, this teacher pulling in support for him in the regular routine. This could even be a therapy goal. But she's helping him in the block area. You see his smile, probably an area he is very happy to be in. And again, this video is really help make it seem manageable. If you look at that and think well, this is the kind of thing I do, so then I can build on that, I can do more of it throughout the routine.
So these were very, very short snippets of some of those simpler strategies that education staff, teachers, and families can use: the modeling, prompting, reinforcing. So now we want to share some longer videos. These will give you a chance to really provide a little input and share your perspectives. And these are some of the strategies: scaffolding, embedded interventions that we're not — that we don't see quite as often. So we wanted to focus a bit more on these. So while you watch the next few videos, think about how you might use them with your staff in your role in whatever your type of work is.
And also think about how these practices can support children's outcomes identified on the ELOF. In this video, we'll see a teacher supporting a child's engagement in dramatic play. She's helping the child complete a sequence of steps that are involved in this pretend play. So as you watch the video, we want you to type in the chat box the practices and supports that you see the teacher using.
[Video begins]
Teacher: First we are going to get the dirty clothes, then we're going to put them in the washing machine, then we're going to shake the clothes to get them clean, and then, hang them up! Hang them on the line to get them dry. So first, get the clothes. And then what?
Chloe: Put them in the machine.
Teacher: That's right. Put them in here. Put them in the washing machine. And then what?
Chloe: Shake.
Teacher: That's right! Way to go, Chloe! And then what's left? ... Sorry.
Chloe: [Inaudible]
Teacher: That's right! [Inaudible] You did it! You did it all! You got the dirty clothes, you put them in the washing machine. You ...
Chloe: Shake.
Teacher: And ...
Chloe: [Inaudible]
Teacher: That's right. Way to go!
[Video ends]
Tracey: So I saw people saying using a "first [Inaudible] board." Exactly. You saw the sequencing, the hand-over-hand support, prompting, and modeling The parallel talk. I hadn't thought about that. She was talking her through it. The positive reinforcement. So you see how this activity really provided support, the teacher really provided support in many ways. She starts out with those pictures, but she supports the child in really completing that activity.
And we can imagine that this is one of those children who maybe has some difficulty staying with an activity, even getting engaged in dramatic play. And then another thought, that use of visuals is really important, not only for children with disabilities, but particularly for children with disabilities who are dual language learners. They may have that, that additional support to look at. So that was fantastic. You guys were right on target.
The next ... We have another video to show you, and in the previous one, you saw a teacher supporting a child in solitary play. In this video, you'll see an example of the teacher supporting a child who has significant physical and communication challenges in a group activity. Embedded interventions instruction can really take many forms and look very different in different activities. So the video shows a classroom of preschoolers playing the game, "red light, green light."
So when you're watching the first part of the video, look at the child up in the left-hand corner sitting on his teacher's lap. He's the child with disabilities, and he is using a communication device. Then partway through the video, the scene will shift and you'll see him in the bottom left-hand corner on the floor. And again, we'd really like you, as you watch the video, share in the chat box those practices the teachers are using to support this child.
[Video begins]
Teacher No. 1: Green light go! Red light stop!
Teacher No. 2: Yeah, ready, can you push it?
Teacher No. 1: Green light go!
[Sounds of delighted children]
[Children squeal as game ends]
[Clapping]
Teacher No. 2: I need one special friend to help me push the switch. Would you like to push it? OK. Ready?
Teacher No. 1: Green light go! Red light stop!
[Children talking]
Green light go!
Teacher No. 2: Green light go! Go! Go! Go!
Teacher No. 1: Red light stop!
[Children talking at end of game]
[Video ends]
Tracey: So I saw, a lot, you're right, hand-over-hand, side-by-side play modeling, and you saw the teachers modeling but also his peers were live models. Really a great social emotional, peer activity. I particularly like that the children take turns using his communication device; it really normalizes – takes any stigma out of that.
So a really nice example of supporting the child in an activity, a social one. When you think this activity could also support Jack's ELOF goals in gross motor and in social emotional domain. All right. We're going to skip to a video where there is a teacher supporting a child who's waiting for his turn for an activity, and those of you in classrooms know how difficult this can be for all children, particularly for children with challenges in that area.
So while you watch, make note of all the different strategies this teacher's using with a child, as well as with his typically developing peer in this really intentional planned activity. So again, share in the chat box, the practices that you see the teachers using, so we have this one more chance to do that.
[Video begins]
Teacher: Is there a little bit of red?
Dustin: Yep
Teacher: There's a little bit. Yup, she's got a few more seconds, right, Kerianne? Just a little more. And so Dustin, you're going to have a turn with it and then we'll have clean-up time for small group.
Dustin: Maybe it is.
Teacher: Yeah. So you can watch it and you can, you can let her know when you think it's time.
Dustin: You can have it.
Teacher: So do you want to maybe ask Kerianne to check out the timer?
Dustin: Oh look!
Teacher: Kerianne what's happening with the timer?
Dustin: It's gone.
Teacher: Oh, so look at your friend. Kerianne, he's offering you the necklace that you can wear it now. So Kerianne and Dustin, I'm going to remind you that we have about five more minutes for clean up, and then we're going to go to do some small group,
OK? About five more – five more minutes. So do you need the timer for five more minutes? Which one's five? Show me five. Yep. So what's going to happen when the timer's gone? When the red is all gone?
Kerianne: [Inaudible]
Teacher: What's going to happen ... It's clean up, you're right.
[Video ends]
Tracey: All right, you guys are right on target. And you know how hard that waiting can be for children. The visual aid, the prompting, the peer support, and that talk, and you can really tell this is not the first time this teacher has used this strategy. It's obvious that consistent support has been provided to get the child to this point where he even knows what to do, can set the timer, and is becoming really independent with it.
So really beautiful example of how to use this type of instruction to support a child's independence. Now, we're going to switch gears a little bit on this video. Some of you may have seen it before; it's on the ECLKC website. And we're going to see an example of a teacher embedding a first then visual cue to support another child who experiences challenges during transition. So this video provides an excellent breakdown of the strategies the teacher is using. So look at the level of support provided.
Now you see in this video the same activity twice. So this time, while you're watching, we want you to share ideas for how you would use this video in your work. If you're a disabilities coordinator, if you're a teacher, a specialist, an administrator, how would you use this video? All right, let's go.
[Video begins]
Teacher: All right, it's time to go outside to the playground. Everybody put your carpet squares in and line up. Here comes Fiona. All right! Here comes Malcolm ... Here comes Jack. Good job Samantha. Here comes everybody. And then what's next? Line up. You got it!
[Video ends]
Tracey: All right. I see some great ideas. And I ... You all had ... We're still typing in really good ones from the last example. I hope you're reading each other's comments because some wonderful ideas about those practices used. Here we can see that people would use this perhaps in a professional development event to use on the first day of school that gives some ideas ... Different teachers to help with parents.
I hadn't thought of that, but just showing them some different strategies they could use. We know that having this visual can really be helpful and these are some great ideas of how to do that. That's right. To ... How to use it as a home visitor. Brandi, thank you. And I like the way the video pulls up the strategies the teacher's using, it shows that intentionality [Inaudible]. That video just flew by. There are a number of these in the in-service suites that really are helpful in this way.
So the next video, you all have seen before, I was going to play it again just to really highlight some of the instructional strategies. It's a great video for those of you who haven't seen it, but just in the sake of time, I think I'm going to move in to the next video, which actually shows the very same child but at home with his mother supporting his goals during a play date. So we'll skip along to the next one, and I want you to watch as Luke's mom embeds instruction. You can see she's using strategies we saw demonstrated in previous videos, labeling or naming, using positive reinforcement, physical assistance, turn-taking, and it's good to see a parent doing this.
[Video ends]
Parent: Kirsten is going to put a mouth on first, and then you can put an ear on, Luke.
Kirsten: On there?
Parent: Nope right here at the bottom. The bottom one. OK. It'll be your turn right now Luke. OK. There you go. You can put the ear on. Where's the ear go? One up right, goes there at the top. Good. Uh oh. Look what Kirsten did! She gave him two mouths! He has two mouths! That's silly. [All laughing] Oh, Luke took the extra mouth off. Eyes ...! Luke, I think Kirsten wants to put some eyes on. We need some eyes. Luke's putting the nose on first. OK. Now it's Kirsten's turn to put the eyes on. Let's give it to her.
Kirsten: We are not done yet.
Parent: Nope. What else do we need? What else do we need? Do we need the other ear? Luke, do you want to put the other ear on?
Kirsten: That's here.
Parent: Yep, that's right. Do you see where Kirsten pointed? Good. What else do we need? A mouth ...
[Video ends]
Tracey: All right. Thank you. That was good to see a parent. And do any of you support parents? And if so, would love to hear what you do to get ... To support them in learning how to work with their children and further support their goals at home. So we're going to switch gears a little bit here. You've heard me talking about embedded learning across the routine a lot today, and I just wanted to return to this chart for just a minute and emphasize how important this is.
To remember that specialists work in the classroom who model, and if they can model share strategies with teachers and family members that provide so many more opportunities for the child to practice in a meaningful context. So you may want to share this chart with specialists to help them see the importance of embedding instruction and intervention. And now, in this video, we see an example of a therapist who does this.
She's embedded the child's goals within the classroom and watch how she engages his classmates in joining the activity, and while you can't really see it, the teacher is there on the sideline so that she can get ideas about how to do this in similar activities during the classroom routine. So while you watch this, think of it in a different way. Watch the strap practices she's using, but also type into the chat box ways that you encourage specialists and therapists to support children within the classroom.
[Video begins]
Narrator: This segment chose physical therapy with a child with a fairly severe neurological impairment. I found in this 2-year-old classroom that using the free play time is a great opportunity to work on some of the floor skills that we're working on. The child spends a good part of his day in adapted equipment, whether it's an adaptive positioning chair, a stander, but it's important that he has some time to get out on the floor and where he can move around the most easily.
So you can see how these young, rather rambunctious classmates can easily be encouraged to participate and how much they're enjoying participating in Jake's therapy time. Jake, at the same time, feels very much at home with his classmates there, he can hear their voices and hear his teachers' voices. With his rolling, currently without some facilitation, he's just rolling pretty haphazardly, but where one of his goals is to try and get him to roll towards either a familiar voice or a familiar toy making a recognizable sound.
[Video ends]
Tracey: All right. So you get an idea about how this works. We didn't want to watch the whole one, but there's some really lovely things that take place in there, that if you want to use this with therapists or with teachers. And I saw a number of you saying that ... So even some basic things like you invite therapists into the classroom, you ask the parents and family members to share strategies.
Some really good examples of this. I had worked with a director who said that she basically, when therapists were coming in, said that that was the policy in her centers and that was what she expected from them. So we're going to jump ahead just a bit because there are a couple parts I really want to show you, all of these you can access, these other videos and these other sources, in the webinar in the PowerPoint, but I want to jump ahead, and Chi-Ing is going to share a new resource with you that we wanted to make sure you had a chance to hear about.
Chi-Ing: Yeah. Thanks, Tracey. So this is a new resource called Recommended Practices Modules, and what we have in each of these modules is a simulation exercise, and it can be found under the section "do," in each of the modules, and what these simulations do is to take the learning a step further than the video demonstrations.
So these are resources where you can practice implementing these recommended practices and get immediate feedback. So the simulation typically begins with a scenario, and then you can consider what kinds of practices or strategies you might use. And some of the simulations a little bit like those, "Choose Your Own Adventure" books where your choice of what to do next, will take you down a different path while others like this one, that we are just looking at today, which is from module six on instruction is more like a self-guided exercise to plan for instruction.
So you see on the screen that each of these simulation exercises begin with some information about the child or sometimes the family or the situation like a professional for example. So that you can then decide how are you going to plan for, make a decision, or plan for the strategies to support in this example, Robert's development and learning in the classroom. So do go check out the recommended practices modules. We are just going to skip ahead to round up with Tracey.
Tracey: All right, and Melissa, I agree they are really, really cool. Jean, thank you for sharing. So I do want to show this video that really pulls everything we've been talking about together. You'll see this teacher's talking about how she gathers information about the child's preference and interests, to planning strategies for embedding support to reach the child's goals, and then how she puts it into play in the classroom.
So this video really takes it from start to finish in terms of planning for instruction, and implementing embedded instruction in the classroom. And it's a really good one to use if you're doing a [Inaudible] or just wanting to see how it all comes together.
[Video begins]
Fanny Yang: The first thing I did in planning this instruction is to first assess what she knows and what she doesn't know, and from our classroom observations I've noticed that Layla knows, "on" and "in" and uses those frequently. And a lot of times uses those as substitutes for other prepositions. So we thought that, we'd move on to kind of the next level of prepositions that's a little bit more challenging. So, "under," and "between," "next to," things like that.
So that's how we selected which prepositions to work on. I chose to work with Layla and the block area because it's an area that she's shown a lot of interest in. During choice time she has self-elected to go to the block area for several days in a row and plays well there. She stays engaged for a long time and she plays with her peers. So it is obvious to me that, that is something that is highly motivating for her. So I thought that it would be good to use her natural interest in the block area and the materials there to work on some things that she might not be as fluent in.
Woman: Next to the cow right next to him. They’re buddies, there you go. High five Layla.
Fanny: I made sure there were materials in the block area that would facilitate the use of those prepositions, so we put in some animals, so she can manipulate them to go under the block ... Next stand next block, things like that. We also put in some hollow blocks, so that in case there, she doesn't choose to make any kind of enclosure, we can still have a very simple and natural way to work on "between."
[Video ends]
Tracey: So here you really see how all of this comes together. And from drawing on that child's interest to finding out how to support the goals, the outcomes that she has, to really making sure she had the exact materials. I mean, getting out that block just in case so they could do the "between" part. So this is kind of what a good example that could be shared with others or used when trying to see how all of this comes together.
So ... But we all know that making this work is not as simple as providing some demonstrations or developing an activity matrix. Staff and teachers can't be expected to jump to effective implementation with just one webinar, or one simulation practice, or one video. Requires a series of intentional, systematic professional development, activities like coaching or consultation.
So this is where coaching comes into play, and we know some of you are the people supporting teachers and staff. So this is a critically important role and we're hoping these resources support you in your role and support the people in the direct service, teachers, and education staff, and their role. Now we want you to be able to know where to find these resources so you can explore them more. Chi-Ing moving back to you.
Chi-Ing: Yep. Thanks, Tracey. So we hope all these demonstrations of practices today have whetted your appetite to learn more. And these examples just provide just a taste of what is available out there for free on different websites. And today's webinar include the resources that were found in-service suites. And these are the ones particularly focused on highly individualized teaching and learning.
And you'll find many of the video examples that we've used today, and they are within the PowerPoint slides or sometimes housed under the supplemental videos resource in these in-service suites. And then we know that there are many resources out there and so our goal is to help you find them. So we now have a landing page with a collection of resources and practices to support individualization on the ECLKC website, and these resources are organized around the eight topic areas of the DC recommended practices, so do check it out.
And some of the videos that we shared today are from the Connect Modules, which are a set of professional development resources that are focused on specific inclusive practices. And there are seven modules available and lots of activities, handouts, video demonstrations, and so on. So do go check it out. And the latest resources that isn't quite fresh off the press yet because it's still undergoing some finer enhancements are the recommended practices modules, where we talked a little bit about the simulation exercises, so do check it out, too, and we'll share the news when this is launched sometime within the next few months.
And last but not least, don't forget that there are lots of practice-based coaching resources on the ECLKC website, as well as look out for your regional training calendars to find out what opportunities there might be for you to get trained in practice-based coaching. And know that we'll continue to have these conversations, on the MyPeers website. Do join the disabilities community. If you haven't done so.
There's also a practice-based coaching community on MyPeers. So thank you everyone, for joining us today. You can click on the link on the URL on your screen to complete the evaluation for today. So please complete it, and you will get a certificate of completion when you complete this evaluation. So thank you for joining us today.
Tracey: Yes, thank you all, and as you noticed, I had to skip across a number of videos. I generally speak much faster and was trying to make myself slow down – I probably shouldn't have. So when you access the PowerPoint, check out those ... Look at where they come from. And thank you all for joining us and we welcome questions. We're happy to support you finding resources, and more. And thanks for spending part of the afternoon with us.
CloseHead Start and Early Head Start staff are in a position to have a huge impact on the lives of children with disabilities or suspected delays. Classroom and home-based supports are most effective when they are individualized to meet the needs of the children and families served. In this webinar, learn about evidence-based instructional practices that support the development and learning of children with disabilities or suspected delays using stories, video clip examples, and online resources. Hear how these practices align with the Head Start Program Performance Standards and the Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF). Discover free open-access resources that can be used to support implementation of the practices.