Real-Life Learning Making the Most of Everyday and Special Activities 1.

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Real-Life LearningMaking the Most of Everyday and Special Activities

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Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Understand the value of real-life learning opportunities

• Be familiar with strategies to help build on the educational value of everyday and special activities

• Learn ways to capitalize on real-life learning activities across home and school environments

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What is Real-Life Learning?

• Learning in the moment, doing actual activities- not "seat work"

• Functional, real-life learning goes beyond schedules and activities of daily living

• Dr. Barbara McLetchie says, "To live, to love, to work, and to play"

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Why Engage in Real-Life Learning?

• Children who are deafblind are more motivated to communicate in naturally occurring situations

• Children who are deafblind do not generalize knowledge and skills well- learning by doing actual activities suits their learning style

• Contrived lessons are difficult to make meaningful and engaging for this population

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What is meaningful?

Think in terms of these questions:

• Will the skills involved in this activity help the learner in the future?

• Will the learner enjoy her/himself because of this activity?

• If the learner does not acquire this skill, will someone else have to do it for her/him (i.e. will this increase independence)?

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Making the Most of Real-Life Learning

• All kinds of vocabulary and skills can be practiced during activities

• IEP goals and objectives can be met by capitalizing on everyday and special activities

• Using schedules, experience boxes, experience books, recipes, and/or journals will allow you to build on activities

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Schedules

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Object Schedule

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Going to School

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Basic Picture Schedule

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A More Complex Schedule....

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Polling Question 1

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Experience Boxes

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Going to the Beach

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Experience Books

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Taking a Bath

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Changing a Pad...pc

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Polling Question 2

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Recipes

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Making Pudding

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Making a Salad

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Making Pizza

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Journals

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Writing about Emotions

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Great, but I don’t have time…

• Collecting materials should always happen WITH the learner who is deafblind- that way her/his interests are captured

• Boxes, books, journals, etc. should be created WITH the learner- this becomes a learning experience in and of itself

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Great, but I don’t have time…

• Allow the development of materials to be a planned activity, rich with learning opportunities

• Keep what you have created and use it over time to continue to build on the memories

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Capitalizing on Experiences- Communication at Home and at School

• As human beings, we like to share about our experiences

• Sending boxes, books, and journals used at home in to school allows your child to share her/his weekend/vacation with staff and classmates

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Capitalizing on Experiences- Communication at Home and at School

• Sending boxes, books, and journals used at school home with your student allows her/him to share stories with family members, caregivers, and neighbors

• This is not the same, and therefore does not replace, adult to adult communication books!

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Polling Question 3

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Building Relationships and Fostering Skills

• The person who is deafblind is empowered to share her/his stories with others

• Sharing stories about experiences is a means of bonding

• Sharing emotions increases the power of a story, intensifies the bonding experience

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Building Relationships and Fostering Skills

• Using real-life activities helps to motivate learners who are deafblind to learn important skills

• Taking the time to create schedules, experience books, experience boxes, recipes, and journals broadens the opportunities for bonding and building communication and language skills

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Remember…

• Don't rush – seize the learning within the moment

• Make sure to have what Dr. Jan van Dijk refers to as, "moments of joy!“ – have fun and enjoy!

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Thank You!

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References

• Kennedy, B.M.S., Cote, M., Foster, D., Lester, J., McGowan, P., Miranda, L., Sanders, D. (2013). Progressing from Non-Symbolic to Symbolic Communication and Complex Language. In Open Hands Open Access Intervener Learning Modules. National Center on Deaf-Blindness.

• McLetchie, B., Zatta, M. To Live, To Love, To Work, and To Play [webcast] Retrieved from www.perkinselearning.org.

• Miles, B., & Riggio, R. (Eds.). (1999). Remarkable Conversations. Watertown, MA: Perkins School for the Blind.

• Real Life Learning, Part 2.” September, 2011. presented with Dr. Barbara McLetchie. Intervener Training Series, DeafBlind Central Training, Mount Pleasant, Michigan