Lesson for a Student with Autism - Coursework Example

Case Study of A Differentiated Lesson for a with Autism A. What are the most common issues regarding this case study Stephen is a seven- year old boy diagnosed with mild Autism. The key characteristics of ASD, as summarized by Chowdhurry (2009) are (1) Qualitative impairment in social interaction; (2) Qualitative impairment in communication; (3) Restrictive, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities. These were all observed in Stephen that is why he was brought in for diagnosis. Although he is high functioning, he has difficulties in communication, socialization and comprehension. He has been evaluated to stay with the Foundation class where his classmates are much younger than he is (4-6 year olds). Communication Social Interactions Restricted Interests and Repetitive Behaviours Sensory Processing Information Processing and Learning Styles Characteristics Slightly verbal Uses gestures to supplement verbal language Uses certain words to indicate need (e.g. “Juice” when he wants to drink) Can follow one-step directions (e.g. get the __ ; go to the ___) Prefers solitary play Engages in one-on-one interactions with preferred adults Can stay with a group of children but does not interact Not very responsive to peers when he is asked questions Does not like changes in routines Becomes disruptive when he cannot sit in his usual place Can stay for a long time with activities he enjoys such as beading, puzzles and moulding with play dough Likes activities involving the use of his hands Enjoys playing with manipulative toys Does not like loud sounds Can be finicky with tastes of food Concrete learner Tactile learner Prefers objects to pictures Enjoys looking at books but does not stay long with it. Implications Needs to develop communication skills so that he can interact with others more Needs to learn to express himself verbally in sentences with developmentally-appropriate language. Needs to learn to follow 2-3 step directions Although children with Autism are characterized to have socialization difficulties, this child needs to be more comfortable in the company of other children and not just his preferred adults. He needs to learn to respond to other people’s questions. He needs to be more exposed to group activities so he learns to work with another child or a small group of children. His need for stability of routines need to be respected so he can stay in his place instead of transferring him for another activity. He needs to learn the sequence of routines so he can expect what happens from one activity to the next. He needs to be exposed to more experiences and activities so his learning expands and his interests vary. He should be provided with more “hands-on” activities so he is engaged in his learning. A variety of fine motor activities should be introduced to him. The teacher should be alert in removing him from noise such as a classmate suddenly crying or throwing a tantrum. He should be taught to be desensitized to sounds so he becomes accustomed to louder sounds. He needs to be exposed to a variety of tastes so he acquires a wider spectrum of tastes. As much as possible, objects and learning materials should be used in teaching him. He should be exposed to a variety of textures and this can be used to expand his vocabulary (ex. smooth, soft, slimy, etc.) His learning should be complemented with visual aids. He needs to learn to appreciate storybooks through lap reading and eventually, reading the book on his own. Strategies With the use of picture exchangecommunication systym (PECS) (Quill, 1995) cards, he should be taught to label the pictures and use it to communicate his needs to others. His classmates should also learn to use the PECS cards. He should be taught to approach another child to say hello or good morning. This can be done initially with an adult helping him out until he can do it on his own. Other children should also be instructed to approach him and initiate a conversation. Written communication can also be encouraged, and he can be taught to draw or write something for another child and vice versa. He should be encouraged to join group activities like in games, a group art work or a group cooking project. He should go with the class during field trips. He should be encouraged to join other children when playing in the playground. The teacher can use a pictorial schedule to let him know what routine comes next (ex. Picture of group time followed by picture of snack time so he knows eating snacks will follow group time). The teacher or the teacher’s aide will warn him that time for a routine is almost over and the next one is coming up. He should learn transition activities or cues such singing a “clean up” song means work time is over and the upcoming activity is rest time. He can be given more art or fine motor activities with the theme of the lesson (ex. Instead of learning letters visually, he can be given a template of a letter that he can paint or fill with colored paper. He can be given listening lotto activities where he picks out pictures of the recorded sounds he hears from his headset. Prepare more experiential activities for him such as sorting out objects through textures or playing games that require him to find objects with certain characteristics. He should be exposed to more music and movement activities. Taking into consideration of Stephen’s characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, interests, preferences and learning style the curriculum can be differentiated for him so his learning is maximized. These may include accommodations on the part of the teacher. An accommodation is a modification to the delivery of instruction or a method of student performance that does not significantly change the content or the conceptual difficulty of the curriculum (Bradley, King-Sears, & Tessier-Switlick, 1997, p. 239). Stephen’s profile shows that he may be inclined to doing art activities since he likes working with his hands and can be engaged in an activity that interests him for a longer period of time. The curriculum should be based on the child’s interests and abilities, and the arts can serve as the gateway that allows educators to enter and know about their world from their own perspective. As McArdle says (2008), “the arts can enable children to make their thinking visible, and provide teachers and researchers with rich data and information about young children” (p. 372). Since Stephen has limited communication skills, art activities can be effective in stimulating his learning. Wright (1997) asserts that because the arts involve non-verbal, symbolic ways of knowing, thinking and communicating, it becomes a powerful means of promoting learning for young children especially since their language skills have not yet been mastered (Wright, 2012). B. How can I now put into practice what I have learned? Theme: Animals Foundation Stage Multiple Intelligences Bloom’s Taxonomy: Six Thinking Levels Knowing Understanding Applying Analysing Creating Evaluating Verbal I enjoy reading, writing & speaking Find animals in the choices that begin with the letters given. (Ex. A is for alligator; B is for bear; etc.) Identify the animals and sort them according to their habitat and kind (farm, zoo, jungle, etc.) Mathematical I enjoy working with numbers & science List animals with no feet, with 2 feet, with 4 feet and with more than 4 feet. Act out the story of Noah’s Ark and in pairs, choose the animal you and your partner will be and act and sound like that animal. Visual I enjoy painting drawing & visualising Draw or paint a picture of what can happen to pets if their owners do not take care of them. Kinaesthetic I enjoy doing hands-on activities Art Activity: Match the 5 animal coverings to the 5 animals. Why do you think they have different kinds of coverings? (ex. Gluescales (sequins) to fish, feathers to bird, fur (cotton balls) to rabbit, shell (eggshells) to turtles and hair (yarn) to horse. Visit a pet store and buy a class pet to care for. Vote on a name for the pet. Majority choice wins. Buy whatever the pet will need to live. Take turns caring for the pet using a schedule chart. Musical I enjoy making & listening to music After singing Old MacDonald’s Farm, form two groups and assign the children to be different farm animals (cow, dog, duck, cat, etc.) Blindfold them and when the bell is rung, tell them to walk around with making their animal sounds and find their partner animal making the same animal sound they are making. Interpersonal I enjoy working with others After a field trip to the zoo, make a chart to compare and contrast an elephant and a cow with your group. Intrapersonal I enjoy working by myself Pick from a box 4 descriptions of an animal (ex. Furry, long, with 4 feet, etc.) Create an animal with those descriptions and name it. C. How will I differentiate a lesson for my WHOLE CLASS with adaptations and assessments for my case study student? Noble (2004) explained how integrating the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy With Multiple Intelligences can create a platform for a curriculum that provides balance to student’s learning experiences. It also becomes an effective planning tool for curriculum differentiation for students with disabilities who are included in the class. Vygotsky hypothesized that “a child whose development is impeded by a defect is not simply a child less developed than his peers but is a child who has developed differently” (Vygotsky, 1993, p. 45). In the case of Stephen, a child with Autism, his learning process is different from his peers but it does not mean that he is unable to do anything due to his condition. The teacher just needs to modify the curriculum in order for Stephen to also be able to learn the concepts and skills taught in class. This is also known as curriculum differentiation which is defined as: “the process of modifying or adapting the curriculum according to the different ability levels of the students in one class” (UNESCO, 2004). This is highly advocated by the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2006) which aims to ensure that children with disability such as Stephen, are able to participate in school on the same basis as his peers, since he also has the same rights as other students (Disabiity Discrimination Act 1992). Sellgen (2011) claims that “early intervention will improve the lives of vulnerable children and help break the cycle of "dysfunction and under-achievement" (para.1). Hence, the following differentiated lesson to help Stephen learn alongside his classmates may be considered as early intervention support strategies to prevent him from further developing further disabilities and help him develop better social, emotional and communicative skills. To show differentiation of a lesson for Stephen, the following activity designed for the whole class was chosen: Art Activity: Match the 5 animal coverings to the 5 animals. Why do you think they have different kinds of coverings? (ex. Glue scales (sequins) to fish, feathers to bird, fur (cotton balls) to rabbit, shell (eggshells) to turtles and hair (yarn) to horse. This activity was selected in consideration of Stephen’s observed characteristics. He likes activities involving the use of his hands and he is a very concrete learner. He was also observed to be a tactile learner so the feel of various textures is expected to stimulate him to work on the task. Art activities provide this kind of stimulation. However, he may get too overwhelmed with 5 sets of pairs to match not to mention that the covering materials need to be glued to fill out the animal cut-out. So to make it more manageable for Stephen, he can be given just 2 pairs to match. Goals Strategies Assessment At the end of the lesson, Stephen will have matched TWO different “animal coverings” to their respective animals by gluing the correct material with the right texture to the animal. (The modification for Stephen is the number of animals to match, as his is only two so he can easily sort the covering materials to the animals (ex. Feathers to a bird, scales (sequins) to fish). Apart from the thinking level of “Understanding” in Bloom’s Taxonomy that animals have different coverings, the skill intended for Stephen to develop in this activity is sorting and and fine motor coordination. In consideration of his preference for tactile activities, another modification is the size of the animal cut-outs. Stephen’s bird and fish cut-out are larger than the others so he can spend more time to fill them up with the covering material. Since Stephen likes looking at picture books, the teacher can give him one on animals. A “touchy-feely” book on animals where he can touch and feel the coverings of the animals in the book can give him an idea of the various textures of animal coverings. Stephen can be taught simple vocabulary words such as animal words and their coverings (ex. Fur, feathers, scales, etc.). These can be printed on cards along with its corresponding animal picture. Also for the benefit of the class, such words can be placed on the “Word Wall” with a sample of the “covering” on each word so that everyone can feel the textures with their fingers and associate it with the word and the animal. To familiarize Stephen with glue, he can be asked to touch it with his forefinger for him to know how it feels. Teacher can say “sticky glue” to label the texture of the glue. If Stephen does not seem to be comfortable with the sticky feel on his finger, he can be given a popsicle stick to scoop the glue from the cup or a small tube of glue with a sponge tip as the dispenser. Teacher can work with Stephen one-on-one to help him sort the feathers from the scales. The feathers can be placed on a picture of a bird and the scales, on a picture of a fish. When he is already familiar with the concept of sorting and matching, he can be given the blank animal cut-outs so he can work on his own. Stephen will be assessed of his understanding of animal coverings by correctly matching the 2 covering materials to the right animals. The finished product should have properly glued the feather materials to the bird cut-out and the scale (sequins) materials to the fish cut-out. If he is successful in this task, the next goal for him is to match 3 or more animals to their coverings. D. Classroom Observations and Reflection Education nowadays promotes diversity. It now welcomes students from various backgrounds and ability levels and allow them to learn together in one class. A child with a disability like Stephen who has Autism may have a reduced ability to carry out certain tasks the way most people can. However, despite his disability, he and other atypical learners may still join and learn with their typically-developing peers within the same conducive learning environment. The teacher’s role is to break down barriers to create a least restrictive environment for these children with disabilities to benefit from. A supportive environment that does not discriminate nor reject any child who is different from the rest is valued. The child’s disability itself is not the only culprit for rendering him less able to perform tasks, but more than that, it is the negative, unkind reactions of people that debilitate him and leave his self-confidence crushed, leaving him feeling alienated. Thus, to assure that the child with disability feels safe, secure, guided and protected, a loving, nurturing environment should be established and maintained by the teacher. There are several accommodation strategies to differentiate the lessons for students with specia educational needs. On is how teachers present information. This may include a combination of instructional materials, educational media, technology, or hands-on activities. Role-play, demonstration, use of visual aides, and other methods incorporating the multiple intelligences of diverse learners are also effective (Edgemon, Jablonski, & Lloyd, 2006). Other accommodation elements use various time schedules, settings, responses, and aides (Harris, 2005). Stephen’s class had most of these accommodation element and all of them support the learning and development of the children. Teachers should be aware and be respectful of their students various learning styles and preferences. Abdallah (2008) points out that individuals have different natural preferences in absorbing, processing and remembering new information as well as a preferred sensory modality to use. Others prefer a mixture of two or more or all sensory channels. Those who exhibit greater learning style flexibility often achieve more, since they are able to process information regardless of the way it was presented (Abdallah, 2008). If teachers are aware of each of their student’s learning style, it makes it easier for them to think of effective and appropriate instructional strategies that will be more impactful for students (Saravia-Shore, 2008). The class where Stephen was observed was run by a very effective and caring teacher who was knowledgeable in motivating her students to learn. She is very sensitive to cues that provide information about the children especially because her students were very young and may not yet be adept at their language skills to express what they may be feeling or thinking. For example, she can detect if a student is confused or not understanding the lesson. She will stop and address this concern with the child and provide a clear explanation that fits his or her understanding. The learning environment is also set up in such a way that each student can move about freely to engage in learning activities that suit their learning style. Baglieri & Knopf (2004) propose that teachers need to create lessons based on their students’ needs rather than what graded or standard measures dictate. Appropriate objectives in planning what students should learn must be selected, and teachers should be clear about goals and standards while consistently evaluating whether student goals have been achieved (McTighe & Brown, 2005). E. Reflections on Strategies in Practice Helping children extend a helping hand to their classmate with special needs strengthens their character. More active ways of encouraging such helping behavior are peer assistance, peer tutoring and cooperative learning activities. Vygotsky came up with the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). He defined the ZPD as the distance between a child’s independent problem-solving level and that obtained under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers (Wertsch, 1985). In peer tutoring, for example, the more capable peer sets up “scaffolds” or learning cues for the less able peer to support him until he can do it on his own (Bonk & Cunningham, 1998). Pairing more able students with less able ones works both ways. It presents an opportunity for the more able student to share his or her knowledge and skills to someone who needs it and allows the less able student to learn more on tasks that may prove to be difficult for him. Both students derive fulfillment and a greater self-esteem if the collaboration successfully meets their goals. On a group level, collaborative learning activities such as grouped projects may make the child with disabilities feel part of a working group and his contributions, no matter how little they may be, are pooled together with the rest of the other members’, so he feels that he has put in something that amounted to the group product. Such awareness proves successful in increasing a sense of achievement. References Abdallah, M.M.S. (2008). Multiple ways to be smart: Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences and its educational implications in English teaching and oral communication, PhD. Exeter, Devon, UK: School of Education & Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter. Baglieri, S., & Knopf, J. H. (2004). Normalizing difference in inclusive teaching. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37(6), 525-529. Bradley, D., King-Sears, M., & Tessier-Switlick, D. (1997). Teaching Students in inclusive settings. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Bonk, C.J. & Cunningham, D.J. (1998) “Searching for Learner-Centered, Constructivist, and Sociocultural Components of Collaborative Educational Learning Tools” in Electronic Collaborators. Retrieved from: www.publicationshare.com/docs/Bon02.pdf Chowdhury, U. (2009) Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Assessment and Intervention in Children and Adolescents, British Journal of Medical Practitioners, Volume 2, Number 4 Commonwealth of Australia (2006) Disability Discrimination Act 1992 Sec.22, Retrieved from: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/dda1992264/s22.html Commonwealth of Australia (2006) Disability Standards for Education 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2005L00767 Edgemon, E. A., Jablonski, B. R., & Lloyd, J. W. (2006). Large-scale assessment: A teacher’s guide to making decisions about accommodations. Teaching Exceptional Children, 38(1), 6-11 McArdle, F. (2008). The arts and staying cool. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 9(4), 365–374. McTighe, J., & Brown, J. L. (2005). Differentiated instruction and educational standards: Is détente possible? Theory Into Practice, 44(3), 234-244. Noble, T. (2004) Integrating the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy With Multiple Intelligences: A Planning Tool for Curriculum Differentiation, Teachers College Record,106 (1), 193–211. Quill, K. (ED) (1995). Teaching children with autism: Strategies to enhance communication and socialization. New York: Delmar Publishers. Saravia-Shore, M. (2008) Diverse teaching strategies for diverse learners, Educating Everybody’s Children: Diverse teaching strategies for diverse learners, (rev. and expanded, 2nd ed.), pp. 41-97 Sellgren, K. (2011) Graham Allen calls for early years. BBC News, January 19, 2011. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2004) Changing Teaching Practices: using curriculum differentiationto respond to students’ diversity. France: UNESCO Vygotsky, L. S. (1993). Fundamentals of defectology. New York: Plenum Press. Wertsch, J. V. (1985). Vygotsky and the social formation of the mind.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wright, S. (1997). Learning how to learn: The arts as a core in an emergent curriculum. Childhood Education, International Focus Issue, 73(6), 361–366. Wright, S. (2012). Children, meaning making and the arts. (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Australia. Read More