The article I chose to write about this week was Play and Learn: A motor-based preschool curriculum. You can view and read the article below.
Rationale:
As you all already know I am a school psychologist intern, so I chose this article because it discusses a preschool curriculum that can be adapted to meet the AT needs of exceptional students. In addition, I thought it would be a good article to start with because it focuses on the youngest students I could serve within the school system. Finally, the curriculum discussed is of particular interest to me because the authors indicate that the curriculum can be used for typical children, as well as, exceptional children, and to me, any curriculum that promotes an inclusive environment is most effective in general education classrooms.
Discussion:
While, I have not had an opportunity to assess or work with preschool children who need AT, I have found that any educational curriculum that incorporates routine, music, repetition, variation, play and facilitates social interaction is effective in teaching skills while keeping students entertained. The article indicates, that the curriculum is a 12-month curriculum that is organized in monthly themes and is connected to children's books (to promote early literacy skills) that represent both diverse cultures, but also diverse physical and cognitive abilities. What makes this most appropriate to the school environment is that while the curriculum focuses on increasing motor and literacy skills through play, the creators paid special attention to the idea that skills learned through playing with their product could translate to helping preschool students (and their assitants) to meet "a wide range of IEP goals and objectives." The play and learn curriculum also translates pictures and symbols into a communication rebus that can then be used for low-tech devices such as a Big Mac Switch.
Wrap Up:
I found this article was very helpful in providing details about a motor-based preschool curriculum. Read it for yourself and tell me what you think.... I look forward to hearing from you!
Selena
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Computer Technology in Special Education and Rehabilitation
This article originally appeared in the October/November, 1999 issue of Closing The Gap.
Play and learn: A motor-based preschool curriculum
By Laura Krueger and Mary J. Sullivan Coleman
We are at an exciting and important
time in the formulation of
intervention strategies for young
children with special needs. Current
research emphasizes a holistic
model in which the child, environment,
and functional tasks are not
isolated from each other. Responding
to this research we have developed
a model in which the functional
tasks and the child’s natural
environments are used to incorporate
motor tasks, communication
opportunities and a wide array of
readiness skills. Intervention is
carried out in a functional context
rather than through a series of
isolated exercises. By combining
current research about motor control,
learning and development,
psychology, education strategies,
communication services, and best
practices for young children, we
have found integrated preschool
programs provide a more effective
service delivery model.
Our new preschool curriculum
is entitled Play and Learn: A Motor
Based Preschool Curriculum for
Children of ALL Abilities. The book
refl ects this holistic approach. The
specific interest areas have been
structured to provide a framework
for meeting a wide range of IEP
goals and objectives, and consequently
the curriculum is appropriate
for all children, regardless of the
severity of their needs. It utilizes
a transdisci-plinary model of
service delivery as the most effective
way to teach young children
and empowers family and all
staff to be integral members of
the team. The content of the
curriculum includes a variety
of activities that are meaningful
and relevant to young children,
and each activity is presented
with and without a simple technology
option so every activity
can be accessible to all children.
Thus, children in regular preschool
program will benefit
form the activities as well as
children with delayed cognitive
development or physical challenges.
The twelve-month curriculum
is organized by monthly
themes, each of which relate to
excellent children’s literature books.
The books were carefully chosen to
show both cultural diversity as well
as diversity of ability. Books chosen
also have meaningful vocabulary,
simple story text with lots of repetition
and clear, concise, uncluttered
illustration. All of these factors
allow children to be more active
and involved participants in early
literacy activities.
In addition, the curriculum
describes how to incorporate communication
symbols into daily
activities and routines. There is
a communication symbol paired
with each activity and on each
assistive technology switch used
with a child. Pictures often help
with language comprehension as
well as give important structure
and meaning to the child’s environment.
Picture schedules can often
help children transition successfully
from one interest area to another
within the room.
The curriculum emphasizes
four key effective elements in a
learning environment. These elements
include self-organization
through the use of routine and
music, repetition with variation
in natural settings, motivation
Jonathan is using his head to activate a
switch hooked up to music.
Computer Technology in Special Education and Rehabilitation
through play, and facilitation of social
interactions.
Routines and music play a signifi cant
role in creating a predictable environment
that can be very supportive to a child’s
learning. The curriculum offers a wide
array of music options and cooperative
sensorimotor routines that give structure
to the room environment and the schedule.
Structured routines and learning experiences
help children bring organization out
of some of their disorganized behavior.
When adults provide the structure within
the external environment, along with different
types of music, it facilitates increased
calmness and internal organization. Structure
can also help children move from
avoidance of certain activities to exploration
of activities. More structure within the
environment provides less need for specifi c
verbal instruction, thus enabling children
to be more self-directed.
Repetition of tasks with variation over
the school year is important for children to
develop skill transference. By embedding
important learning opportunities into
regular routines, e.g. getting undressed
at school or riding a trike, children learn
important functional skills as well as develop
self-esteem around their competencies.
Repetition is important for skill development;
variation keeps the tasks interesting
and motivation.
Play is child’s work and so children stay
motivated when they play. The curriculum
is full of fun and motivating activities, all
revolving around play. Research clearly
shows that play through gross and fine
motor movement activities promotes all
areas of learning. Because this curriculum
was written by pediatric physical and occupational
therapists, motor is a key element
in the curriculum. Over and over activities
refl ect that all developmental area can be
enhanced when children are using multiple
sensory systems for learning.
Any activity can be an opportunity for
expanding social interaction, if the activities
are chosen and set up with this important
element in mind. Many of the newer commercially
available preschool games are
introduced in the curriculum, as these are
a fun means of promoting natural social
interactions. Each activity and game is
illustrated with photos of real children
in an integrated preschool setting. The
photos speak for themselves about the social
interactions the children are enjoying. The
photographs also clearly illustrate the wide
range of abilities of the children playing
together and the accessibility of games
to all of them with some simple assistive
technology adaptations.
As mentioned earlier, for each activity in
the curriculum, “Try Another Way” shows
how to adapt the activity using simple assistive
technology to encourage participation
of a child with disabilities. It has been the
experience of the authors that assistive
technology is highly motivating and useful
for a wide range of children, from children
who are nonverbal, to children with severe
cognitive and physical challenges, to children
with autism. Assistive technology
can increase a child’s ability to learn and
playfully interact with others. Technology is
fun and motivating. It can open doors and
provide new possibilities for a child with
special needs to play side by side with their
peers. For a child who has an assistant in the
classroom, the curriculum also describes
ways of helping assistants become facilitators
and coaches for more peer to peer
interaction rather than the more typical
assistant/child interaction.
This preschool curriculum is a synthesis
of what has been learned on an intuitive
level from years of experience with young
children in the schools, and on an intellectual
level from the current research on
motor learning in the young child. The
result is a curriculum which has provided
many hours of playful learning for both
children and staff in Normandy Park Education
Center in White Bear Lake, Minnesota,
where it has been in use for the past three
school years.
The authors, Laura Krueger and Mary J.
Sullivan Coleman, can be contacted at
the Normandy Park Education Center,
2482 East Co. Rd. F, White Bear Lake,
MN 55110; and via e-mail Laura Krueger
Coleman mcoleman@visi.com.
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