Inclusive Placement Opportunities for Preschoolers: A Systems Approach to Preschool Inclusive Practices

A project of the Virginia Department of Education and the Training and Technical Assistance Centers of Virginia

Using a routine-based instructional process in early childhood programs

Activity: What does routine-based instruction mean to you? In groups of 3 or 4, complete the mind map with ideas about routine-based instruction

Mind map Routine-based instruction

Gallery walk Gallery walk New idea Routine-based instruction Routine-based instruction

Routine-based instruction Selecting objectives to teach and the routines in which to teach them Teaching and recording progress on children’s objectives Evaluating student progress

Advantages of routine-based instruction Represents typical instructional format Includes environmental cues to elicit desired behaviors Provides opportunities for appropriate peer interactions Enhances student motivation Maximizes the efficiency of instructions Allows for multiple opportunities to practice objectives

Advantages of routine-based instruction (cont’d) Promotes likelihood that skills will be remembered Increases likelihood that learning will be active Provides a reality check as to whether an objective is really important to teach

Review routine-based interview Look at information received from families Determine and write functional goals

How to translate IFSP/IEP goals into functional goals Functional goals o Reflect concerns of the family o Are “jargon free” o Address skills and behaviors immediately useful in children’s everyday routines o Are integrated into daily routines o Are evaluated with a logical criterion

Functionality test When reading a goal, the answer to “Why is the child working on this goal?” should be immediately apparent within the goal itself

How to write functional goals Five guiding principles o Make outcome statements meaningful o Objectives and strategies should make use of existing attributes o Evaluate outcomes meaningfully o Encourage all to have an investment in outcomes o Functionality guides writing

Let’s practice In pairs, review the assessment information Write functional goals and objectives for the child Refer to the guiding principles Use Goal Functionality Scale II

Guiding principles in action Meaningful o Kim will hang up her jacket on the hook with her name Make use of existing attributes o Kim likes to see her name in writing Evaluate outcomes meaningfully o Kim will hang up her jacket once a day Everyone is invested o Kim’s family will use a hook at home for jackets Functionality o Kim is currently dropping her jacket on the floor in a hurry, becoming upset when asked to return from free play to pick it up

Steps in routine-based instruction Step: Select routines as instructional contexts for objectives o Review routine-based interview information, portfolio and other assessment information o Select functional objectives o Decide when and what routines to teach objectives within

Selecting routines in which to teach Look at your daily schedule Review the goals Use a matrix to “plug” goals into specific routines

Selecting routines Ask: o Does the objective naturally fit into the performance of the routine? o Will performing the skill lead to more independence within the routine? o Is the routine where the skill will be taught fairly easy for most to perform independently?

Selecting routines in which to teach Remember that children with disabilities learn quicker and remember longer if objectives are taught in multiple, natural routines

Activity Use blank Master Plan form to develop routines Determine which routines will be used to teach functional goals and record on form

Steps in routine-based instruction Step: Select teaching strategies to use when teaching objectives within routines

Teaching strategies fall into three broad categories Classroom environment, schedule and activity modifications Selection and use of materials Selection and use of intervention or teaching strategies

Classroom environment modifications Environmental arrangement o Do the children have access to materials? o Is there ample space to move freely about the room? o Are transitions planned using a structured approach? o Are there a variety of activities during the day that use a combination of both structured and nonstructured activities?

Classroom schedule Child- versus adult-directed activities: Is there a balance between adult- and child-directed activities? Use child-directed when: o Learning cause and effect is important o Encouraging exploration o Sustaining play

Classroom schedule Use adult-directed when: o Focusing on specific child behaviors and skills o Child needs structure to engage at higher levels o Introducing certain topics of importance

Classroom activities modifications Simplify a task by breaking it into smaller parts o Break the tasks into more manageable parts o Change or reduce the number of required steps o Break down a complicated task into its parts

Steps in routine-based instruction Step: Selection and use of classroom materials Modify the materials so that children can participate as independently as possible o Put materials at the optimal level o Stabilize materials using tape, Velcro, etc. o Modify the response required o Make the materials larger or brighter

Activity: Let’s practice What modifications would you make to the environment, materials, schedule or activities?

Selection of teaching strategies Child-controlled Teacher-guided Teacher-directed

Selection of teaching strategies Child-controlled strategies

When should child-controlled strategies be used? When teaching specific skills or concepts When explicit instruction is needed to teach a learning objective

Deciding to use child-controlled strategies Guidelines in determining include: o Child’s objective is unique o Child must learn a skill or concept to access the ECE curriculum o Child must learn a survival skill o Child is making slow progress

Child-controlled strategies: modeling Teacher displays behavior she wants the children to use Teacher demonstrates or shows children what to do to begin a project

Child-controlled strategies: peer-mediated strategies Teach peer the skill Teach peer how to help child Use different peers Acknowledge peer’s contributions Teach peer to only help when needed

Child-focused strategies: reinforcement Positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior happening again o Pleasant consequence (verbal, material)

Child-focused strategies: differential reinforcement of other behavior Reinforce for something good

Selection of teaching strategies: teacher-guided Embedded Learning Opportunities (ELOs) o Short teaching episodes o Embedded in routines o Focus on child’s individual learning objectives o Instructional component planned ahead

Basic steps to embedded learning opportunities Clarify the learning objective Gather baseline information about current level of performance Use an activity matrix to select routines Design how you will teach and write it on a planning form Implement the instruction Periodically check for mastery

Teacher-guided strategies: incidental teaching Teacher arranges the environment to increase the likelihood of child’s initiation Teacher waits for child to initiate verbal or nonverbal interaction Teacher decides on response to elicit from child and uses cues If child responds, teacher follows the correct response with a continuation of the activity or with access to materials

Teacher-guided strategies: facilitate Teacher provides temporary assistance to help children get to next steps of a task

Teacher-guided strategies: support Teacher is involved more directly in supporting the child to accomplish the task Child and teacher together decide when support is no longer needed

Teacher-guided strategies: scaffold Teacher sets up challenges for a child and assists him or her to work at the upper limits of his or her skill development

Teacher-guided strategies: naturalistic strategy Mand model o Teacher observes the child and notes child’s interest o Teacher “mands” a verbal response related to child’s interest (e.g. “Tell me what you want”) o If child responds, teacher gives verbal praise o If child does not respond, teacher models response and asks child to imitate it o If child imitates the response, teacher describes communication form used by the child (e.g., “You pointed to the ball.”) and gives child praise or access to the material

Teacher-guided strategies: time delay Teacher notes child needs materials or assistance Teacher provides time for child to make request If child requests, teacher give praise, verbal expansion, and materials or assistance If child does not request, teacher gives prompt or model

Teacher-controlled strategies Prompting – typically include 3 parts o A prompt is used to get a child to perform a behavior o The child is praised when he performs the behavior o The number of prompts are systematically reduced as the child begins performing the behavior on his own

Teacher-controlled strategies: graduated guidance Physically moving the child’s body parts to complete a desired response with total physical guidance initially given, then gradually faded Often used in nonverbal systems, such as a sign or communication board

Teacher-controlled strategies: co-construct Teacher and child do a project or activity together Teacher and child are both learners and teachers

Teacher-controlled strategies: demonstrate Teacher shows the child exactly what to do for each step of the activity

Steps in routine-based instruction Step: Select ways to record progress on each objective o Decide who will teach and record progress on each objective

When deciding how to record progress on each objective decide whether to: Observe performance o Spontaneous or when asked Collect projects and evaluate o Compare to child's previous products or to a curriculum standard

Ways to observe performance Anecdotal notes Running records Teacher reflections Checklists or inventories Responses to questions or requests Rating scales Parent input Other child progress monitoring forms

Ways to collect products Writing samples Drawings and other art samples Audiotapes of children retelling, dictating or reading stories Videotapes of story reenactments and play Photographs of large projects Completed projects Logs of books read to or by children

Steps in routine-based instruction Step: Teach and record progress on children’s objectives o Remember to:  Date assessment results  File in portfolio by chronological order, curriculum area or category of development

When deciding who will teach and record progress on objectives: Consider that children with disabilities learn quicker and remember longer if objectives are taught by more than one person

Teach and record progress on children’s objectives Remember to date assessments File in portfolios in chronological order by curriculum area or category of development

Activity Identify ways to record progress on each objective o Reality check: Are ways to record progress easy and relevant?

Steps in routine-based instruction Step: Evaluate children’s progress on objectives and share results with families o Review progress, prepare to share results with families and select new objectives to teach  Compare result to previous work (e.g., individual expectations) and a curriculum standard  If learned, then select new objectives to teach

Progress reports During arrival o Conner has begun smiling at his friends and vocalizing in response to their greetings During circle o Conner is sitting upright in a corner chair without adult assistance to keep his head up for three minutes. He loves the chair because it allows him to sit on the floor next to his buddy, Juan. Conner is also using the jelly bean switch independently to turn our good morning circle song on and off.

What else can we clarify related to routine-based instructional process? What else can we clarify related to routine-based instructional process?