Inquiring into Current Teaching.

Adele (Sommerville work colleague)  and I took a video of us
teaching students using play-based learning.

In my previous post, I mentioned that my students love marble runs.
As a result, I created an activity involving marbles and tubes for them
to use in class.

My students have been doing so well working in a 1:1 situation, keeping them focused and occupied for up to 2-5 minutes.  Knowing that my students love and engage with the marble run interactively, I thought of moving them to work in a group situation as they have been doing this activity in 3 -4 sessions.

The goal of my lesson was to see if my students could engage in

a group situation. The plan was for me to teach and lead the session
as well as guiding staff and students to engage in this familiar activity.

So I asked one of my support staff to video the session.

We started rounding up the students to sit at the table and it took
longer than I expected. I thought the students would sit at the table
straight away. Unfortunately, it didn't happen the way I thought
because of the time lost getting them to sit as a group. I decided to
work in a 1:1situation instead of a group session. 

It was interesting to observe Dayten and Jay because they are both
performing at the stage of Own Agenda skills according to
“the Hanen Program”. Dayten liked marble runs but he refused to
come and join in the group session. Jay sat at the table but was very
unsettled. So when it’s time to work with Dayten I asked the staff to
take a video of me working 1:1 with him.

When Adele and myself analysed the video. Adele made some
comments and asked some questions to analyse why? I didn’t achieve
the goal that I set for my students. “Goal was-For my students to sit
and engage in this marble activity in a group situation”

Questions Adele asked?

Why did Dayten refuse to sit at the table together with the rest of the class?

What does he really like in marble runs? 

Was it the sound of the dropping marbles or is it fiddling with the marbles? or

Is it the new game?

We watched the video together and Adele made a point that maybe
I moved them too quickly to a group situation.

From our discussion, Adele suggested trying to get the students to
work in pairs under staff support and moving them up slowly step by step. 

Analysing the video and discussion we made, alerts my attention that
my students can engage in the activity only in a 1:1 situation. They are
not yet able to engage in the activity if it's done in a different setting
or context.

What to change?

So we plan to make four steps procedures when working on a new
activity, slow down and ensure the students have learnt the skills in a
different setting or context before moving to the next step.

What did I learn from analysing the video?

-I learnt that sometimes I get too excited when I see my students
engaging and assuming they have learnt the skills.
- I moved them up too quickly to a higher level but these students
needed to transfer the skills and use it in different contexts. 
-Give them opportunities to use the skills they have learnt in a playful
group situation.

My hypothesis is:
1-IF I ...use what motivates my students to learn THEN...my students
will engage longer.
2-IF I….give lots of opportunities for my students to practise the skills in
a play-based learning approach THEN my students will be
more happier to take part in a group situation.
3-IF I …..slow down and work on smaller and achievable steps
THEN...my students are likely to achieve the bigger goal.

Next step?

When playing a new activity I have to set 4 step goals.

step1- work in a 1:1 situation (staff and student) 

Step 2-work in a 1:1 situation (student and student) but staff still support.

Step 3- work in a 1:1 situation (student and student) but staff still
support in a group situation.

Step 4- Hoping for all students to sit and engage in the activity in a
group situation up to 1-2 minutes.

Assessment On Students with Communication and Engagement Difficulties

The speech Language therapist that supports the students in my class works
collaboratively with me once a week to develop my students' communication
and engagement skills through play-based learning
using “More than words- The Hanen Programs”.

“More than words- The Hanen Programs” Empowers parents and educators to help children reach the following three goals:
1. Improved social communication and back-and-forth interaction
2. Improved play skills
3. Improved imitation skills

Here are some of the valuable things you’ll learn when you attend the More Than Words Program:

-What motivates the child to communicate

-How to use your knowledge about the child to set appropriate and realistic goals

-How to make interactions longer with a child

-Tips for using pictures and print to help the child’s understand

-Strategies for how to talk so that your child understands you

-Strategies for developing your child’s play skills

-Ways to help your child make friends

Reference: More Than Words-Retrieved from http://www.hanen.org/Programs/For-Parents/More-Than-Words.aspx
So the speech therapist and myself assessed the students to know their communication and play interaction level.
According to “The Hanen Program” The level of the reasons for the child to communicates are  categorized into 4 stages

1-Own agenda (Show what he wants or doesn’t want)
2-Requester (Intentionally ask for things he wants or doesn’t want)
3-Early Communicator (Connect with others by sharing Interests
4-Partner (Have a short conversation about many things)

After assessing the students we were able to group my target students to their  level of social communication and play interaction suggested by “The Hanen Program” 

One student is at “OWN AGENDA and REQUESTER”

Two  students are at “REQUESTER”and EARLY COMMUNICATOR”

One student is at “EARLY COMMUNICATOR and PARTNER”

It will be very interesting to see what change we can make in their ability
to communicate, engage, and interact with others.

Working in our veggie garden was fun and engaging!!

Our Topic this term is about Healthy bodies and Well Being.
My colleagues and I that teach collaboratively between the 2 classes took
our students outside to work in the garden. We have to pull the weeds and get
the veggie garden prepared to plant some winter vegetables to support healthy
eating in our Health Unit. This is the first time we do this with the group of students
we have. It is a new experience for our students, I have noticed that the students
were very happy to be part of this outdoor activity. They watched their peers
and joined them without prompts from the staff. It was a great activity and
gave the students something different to do. It was good seeing them engaging
in this outdoor activity. Jay is one of the students that will only participate if
he is interested. It was great seeing him engaging in this outdoor activity.
Next time we plan for our veggie garden is to plant the seeds. 

Activity created based on student's interest.

After my students had fun with the marble run so I tried to search up marble activities to support my Maths lessons.

I found some ideas from Pinterest then I made a few for my students.
We started with a 1:1session (student: staff). The students sat well and
attended this activity.

Our learning goal was to: Recognise numbers and make a set of marbles.

Four students out of 6 responded when prompted by staff.
These four students sat and engaged in this activity for up to ( 3-5 minutes)
in a 1:1 teaching situation. Two students needed more prompts to be
able to respond. (Jay and Dayten) Jay did not want to engage in this
activity. He preferred to watch from a distance but he was interested
in the activity. Dayten took longer to respond to the instructions.
I managed to get him to the table following numerous prompts.
Dayten sat and completed the activity for up to 2 minutes without trying
to escape. He also asked to do more instead of asking to finish.
This was the highlight of the day. I also noticed that all my students were
happy to engage and completed the learning target set for them
before they lost their interests. 

Free play observation.

It was very interesting to watch and observe one student.

This student usually doesn't show much interest in his peers or any
play activity. He likes to spend time alone and often gets upset if
someone interrupts him. Through free play observation, I have noticed
that he was motivated to play with marble run and trains. He attempted
to play for a minute or 2 then walked away from the marble run and
later came back to play.

Questions I asked myself was-

If I use marbles and tubes in my teaching, Will Dayten and Jay focus
and attend to a learning activity longer?

Rebuilding students and staff relationships after the lock-down.

Here are some activities that my students enjoyed playing for the first 2 weeks of returning from lockdown. Marble run was one of the favourite activities that my students were motivated to play in our classroom. Rebuilding staff and students relationships after lockdown was a good opportunity to watch and observe my students through this free play.  This free play session gave a better understanding of the types of activities in the classroom that my students are motivated with. Some of their favourite activities mentioned by their parents are not available in my classroom so I just used what I had in the classroom.