Module: Communication Across the Day for Complex Learners using AAC - Micro Lesson: Descriptive and Referential Teaching

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Micro Lesson: Descriptive and Referential Teaching

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[00:00:00.000]So the last thing, beyond modeling, you know, that's how we're doing some direct teaching.
[00:00:13.620]And this next section is getting into, like, how do we connect this to the curriculum?
[00:00:19.800]Or how do we tie it in?
[00:00:21.400]And it's based on this idea that inclusion does not mean that that learner is physically
[00:00:27.580]present in a room.
[00:00:29.000]It means they're able to participate.
[00:00:30.680]It means they're able to compete with their peers for the knowledge and the attention
[00:00:35.080]and the skills.
[00:00:35.740]So it doesn't just mean that they're sitting in the back and doing their own thing.
[00:00:39.340]It means they are engaged in learning right along with their peers.
[00:00:42.660]So this is straight from NDE's Journey to Inclusion document.
[00:00:49.260]I won't read that, but it's full of statistics about why inclusion in the general education
[00:00:53.980]classroom and with general education peers is so important.
[00:00:58.000]Students do way better on measures of language and math.
[00:01:03.740]They're five times more likely to graduate on time, two times as likely as their non-included
[00:01:10.220]peers to go to post-secondary education.
[00:01:12.240]So just some facts and statistics about why it's so important that even though their learning
[00:01:17.440]looks different, sounds different, has different benchmarks, that they need to have access
[00:01:23.300]to all of those things that their peers have.
[00:01:27.000]So in chat real quick, how familiar are you with descriptive teaching versus referential
[00:01:34.440]teaching?
[00:01:34.900]One being, I have no idea what you're talking about.
[00:01:37.140]And five being, oh, I got it from here.
[00:01:40.000]I'm going to log off like I'm good.
[00:01:41.520]One, two, three.
[00:01:48.160]Okay.
[00:01:50.360]I love it.
[00:01:51.820]We will end with a bang then.
[00:01:54.180]Yeah.
[00:01:54.540]Blow your minds.
[00:01:55.620]Blow your minds.
[00:01:57.080]It's going to make a lot of sense, I feel like, once we get to talking about it.
[00:02:00.440]So, referential teaching, which is what we traditionally do in the classroom, in school,
[00:02:06.560]is where our teachers ask questions that elicit specific nouns.
[00:02:10.920]They elicit specific fringe vocabulary.
[00:02:13.340]This is vocabulary tests, vocabulary worksheets.
[00:02:16.820]It's whatever.
[00:02:18.240]So, this is referential teaching.
[00:02:19.900]We are working on teaching kids a bunch of nouns and concepts.
[00:02:25.300]This is usually like a format that we use when we're giving tests,
[00:02:30.300]when we're checking for understanding, when we're giving assignments.
[00:02:33.360]But the question is, why do teachers ask speaking students open-ended questions,
[00:02:39.840]but ask non-speaking students referential questions?
[00:02:42.960]So, a lot of times, you know, the teacher might ask, you know,
[00:02:47.580]Megan, tell me what you know.
[00:02:48.880]One of the examples in here is about Native American housing.
[00:02:52.400]Tell me what you know about how the,
[00:02:55.280]Native American sheltered and hunted and things like that.
[00:02:58.180]But what they ask our non-speaking students might be something that is,
[00:03:03.440]what is the name for a Native American house?
[00:03:08.340]Where they're asking for just a specific noun and not just,
[00:03:12.280]what did you learn about this?
[00:03:13.460]What's the concept?
[00:03:14.420]And through no purposeful, you know, thing or fault of their own,
[00:03:21.780]there's a perception that these one-word responses are more
[00:03:25.240]effective.
[00:03:25.260]So if that learner just needs to push one button on their device,
[00:03:29.360]you know, that's easier for them.
[00:03:30.700]It gives them a chance to participate.
[00:03:32.420]That required vocabulary can be easily programmed into the device.
[00:03:37.540]And I say easily because that's the perception,
[00:03:40.620]not because it's easy for us as the people programming the device,
[00:03:43.400]because we know programming in a gazillion vocabulary words is not easy.
[00:03:47.760]Or there's a perception that that student doesn't have the abilities to
[00:03:51.940]formulate a more complex response.
[00:03:53.940]So that's kind of how we get,
[00:03:55.240]um,
[00:03:56.240]to where we're at right now or what's happening.
[00:03:58.660]And it takes a lot of work,
[00:04:01.060]especially on our end as the person who's working with that student who's
[00:04:05.020]programming the device.
[00:04:06.480]Um,
[00:04:07.000]we have to go through this whole process.
[00:04:08.860]So we have to identify what vocabulary they do.
[00:04:11.260]They need for this quarter's social studies lesson.
[00:04:14.440]What do they need for math this week?
[00:04:16.360]We need to figure out what pictures can represent those words.
[00:04:19.420]We need to program it.
[00:04:20.620]We need to pre-teach it.
[00:04:21.980]Um,
[00:04:22.900]and then we're probably not ever going to be able to get it done.
[00:04:25.180]Um,
[00:04:25.200]and then we're probably not ever going to use it again after we're
[00:04:27.060]finished with that unit.
[00:04:28.100]Like there's a lot of specific vocabulary work,
[00:04:31.060]um,
[00:04:31.960]to just pass that test,
[00:04:33.380]to do that thing and then move on to the next thing.
[00:04:36.240]So.
[00:04:37.880]Can I just add something to that?
[00:04:40.560]A lot of times we say,
[00:04:41.960]all the students just making minimal progress,
[00:04:44.140]but when it comes to fringe vocabulary,
[00:04:47.160]if we haven't taken the time to pre program in that,
[00:04:52.140]then they don't have the opportunity to participate.
[00:04:55.140]And it, so, so that lack of progress and I get it.
[00:05:00.020]We are busy, busy people,
[00:05:02.160]but so often that's what goes to the back burner.
[00:05:05.360]There may only be one single person that knows how to program in the
[00:05:08.960]fringe or the device.
[00:05:10.580]And so that student loses out on the opportunity to participate
[00:05:16.960]within that classroom setting.
[00:05:19.120]What the result of, of teaching in this method,
[00:05:25.080]is that our students have constantly revolving vocabulary.
[00:05:28.120]So we talked earlier a little bit about motor planning when Megan was
[00:05:31.760]showing you the four core words that I stays in the same spot,
[00:05:34.800]not stays in the same spot. So we have this constantly revolving.
[00:05:38.820]I learned where the word photosynthesis was for that six weeks.
[00:05:44.220]And then I, I don't need that again. That doesn't matter again.
[00:05:47.140]Will they ever use that again? Probably not.
[00:05:49.900]That's not a word I use in my monthly vocabulary even.
[00:05:55.020]Then it takes us hours. It's hours of staff time.
[00:05:58.080]It's hours of student time for something that generally is not that useful and
[00:06:03.300]functional. And when we teach that way,
[00:06:06.240]our focus is on just developing like all of this vocabulary, bam, bam,
[00:06:10.340]bam, bam, bam, rather than developing language.
[00:06:12.900]And our goal for our learners is always to develop those language skills,
[00:06:17.140]flexible and new ways. So what we,
[00:06:21.280]I don't know why those are flying into the screen like that.
[00:06:24.960]So we want to go from referential teaching to descriptive teaching.
[00:06:29.620]And so that goes from taking us to lesson specific,
[00:06:34.220]temporary, short phrases, short responses, it's right or it's not right,
[00:06:38.280]into let's use our high frequency vocabulary in new and flexible ways.
[00:06:43.680]We can give developmentally appropriate responses.
[00:06:46.640]So those 17 year old peers probably are not answering in one, well,
[00:06:50.880]they might be giving one word responses because they're 17,
[00:06:53.740]but you know what I mean? Like,
[00:06:54.900]that would not be the expectation for that.
[00:06:57.240]And more than one correct response.
[00:06:59.600]This lets us know what did our students learn? Where are the barriers?
[00:07:04.100]Did they learn the content or did they not?
[00:07:06.220]Not can they find the picture of that plant leaf and push it?
[00:07:10.660]We know, did they learn some content or did they not?
[00:07:13.660]So this is core vocabulary, high frequency words.
[00:07:19.760]We don't need to program all of that vocabulary.
[00:07:22.380]It allows our students to construct,
[00:07:24.840]their own knowledge, not just regurgitate that information.
[00:07:27.840]And it gives us that focus on actually learning language.
[00:07:31.600]So here's some examples of what that looks like.
[00:07:34.200]We want to start using open-ended prompts and questions.
[00:07:38.300]So tell me something you know about Native Americans
[00:07:41.500]and see what the student comes up with.
[00:07:43.960]What is a teepee?
[00:07:45.440]See what they come up with.
[00:07:47.840]What did Native Americans use a bow and arrow for?
[00:07:50.620]So we are not switching to what is the name of the
[00:07:54.780]Native American house and looking for them to say teepee.
[00:07:58.140]But if they gave us some answer that said home move,
[00:08:02.640]they have proven to us that they learned it's where they live
[00:08:06.120]and it's a mobile transportable home.
[00:08:08.740]And that is learning.
[00:08:10.400]That tells us that they learned that content.
[00:08:14.790]So we have just learned more about the word home.
[00:08:17.650]So that home is a word that we use all the time.
[00:08:20.550]We talk about our home, your home, homes that different populations live in, all of those things.
[00:08:26.530]So we just learned more about those specific concepts without having to program in a bunch of fringe random vocabulary.
[00:08:36.850]So our teachers can be more can use their time better by choosing key vocabulary and developing those definitions.
[00:08:44.010]So maybe for TP, our definition is where they live, home, home that moves.
[00:08:49.730]Maze, an answer might be about corn, food, grow, plant, hunt, get food, hurt animal, eat animal, tribe, group of people, friends, family.
[00:09:01.070]So if you asked a student, one of your students, what did you learn about Maze?
[00:09:06.830]Native Americans, and they gave you some of these core keywords, they're proving they're learning way, way more and further beyond than if we have asked them to regurgitate different vocabulary.
[00:09:18.810]Another example, this is a science example.
[00:09:25.830]So if we're talking about habitat, where a thing lives, an organism is a living thing.
[00:09:31.190]A water organism is a thing that lives in water.
[00:09:33.950]Species, group of same animals.
[00:09:36.690]Endangered species, not many, might die.
[00:09:39.410]So if we are teaching those key concepts, it's just backwards from what we do usually, right?
[00:09:44.930]Just flip-flop it backwards.
[00:09:46.290]And they could give you some of these key words.
[00:09:49.570]We know that they have learned this.
[00:09:52.350]And not only is it easier for us, but if you have some general education teachers
[00:09:58.370]who get frustrated by all of the different differentiation and accommodations they meet
[00:10:06.550]need to make for this student and that student and the other student, guess what?
[00:10:10.430]This way of teaching, it's all of your students.
[00:10:13.250]So it doesn't matter if they're using sign or if they're verbal and totally on track,
[00:10:17.330]if they're a high ability learner, you can ask them descriptive teaching questions
[00:10:23.370]and get all levels of responses without a lot of work into the prep and planning of that.
[00:10:29.210]So it's just a mind shift.
[00:10:31.050]It's essentially teaching backwards than what we're used to.
[00:10:36.410]If we had more time, we would go into group work to do these.
[00:10:40.410]But I wanted to show you a few examples and visual supports
[00:10:44.250]of how you might help this happen in the classroom or what it could look like when you're working
[00:10:49.770]with a student or maybe you're working with a general education teacher
[00:10:52.810]on how can Jessica show you what she knows.
[00:10:55.690]And so the first one is an idea web.
[00:10:58.410]So you put the idea in the center and you have the student tell me, you know,
[00:11:03.310]let's fill this in, what did you learn about the ocean?
[00:11:06.270]We've just done, you know, a whole unit on the ocean.
[00:11:08.290]And if they tell us water, live, big, blue, no drink, we know.
[00:11:15.650]Here's what they learned about the ocean.
[00:11:17.390]This is an example from the last time we did this training.
[00:11:24.370]So the concept was yesterday.
[00:11:26.870]And so if we said, okay, we're talking about temporal concepts,
[00:11:30.990]yesterday, today, tomorrow, whatever, what do we know about yesterday?
[00:11:34.610]And that student could...
[00:11:36.130]could communicate or you are teaching about yesterday
[00:11:39.210]by using the words before, gone, past, back, over, done.
[00:11:44.390]Those are all things that are in our core that we're using all the time
[00:11:48.710]that still give us the concept and use of yesterday.
[00:11:54.070]Another example from our last training, this one is about evaporation.
[00:12:00.270]So if I, as the science teacher, am teaching about evaporation
[00:12:04.430]and we're talking about that,
[00:12:06.170]water, water gone, water to air, wet now dry, water disappear, hot sun,
[00:12:11.670]all of these simple words that tell us about the concept of evaporation.
[00:12:16.130]So idea webs are a great way to work on some of those skills
[00:12:22.330]and flip-flopping that teaching.
[00:12:24.270]We have some frayer models, which is where you put the idea in the middle,
[00:12:28.950]and then you go through a definition, characteristics,
[00:12:33.090]examples, and non-examples.
[00:12:35.850]This, again, turns a more difficult concept
[00:12:38.230]into something our students can easily talk about.
[00:12:41.330]I had to Google physical change versus chemical change to do this.
[00:12:48.430]But so if our students were able to say on their devices,
[00:12:52.690]the definition is change look,
[00:12:55.690]because it's a change in the way something looks as a physical change.
[00:12:59.350]A characteristic is that there's nothing new.
[00:13:02.350]So when a physical change occurs, nothing new is made
[00:13:05.710]It's all the same. It just changes in its look.
[00:13:08.510]And then we asked them for some examples and they gave us cloud, ice tray, water.
[00:13:13.150]So we're talking about that water cycle.
[00:13:15.850]It changes, but it doesn't have any like chemical change or whatever.
[00:13:19.870]But fire and baking does create a chemical change.
[00:13:23.870]So examples and non-examples.
[00:13:26.050]This next example is just using a Venn diagram.
[00:13:34.150]How often are we using Venn
[00:13:35.570]diagrams? So how can we compare and contrast different concepts with words
[00:13:41.090]or phrases that our students already know? So if we are talking about in
[00:13:45.530]social studies, the difference between living in the city and living in the
[00:13:50.470]country. The things that are the same, it's where people live, they have cars,
[00:13:55.250]they have homes, they're happy, they go to work. The city is not small, has
[00:14:00.230]more people, there are more stores. The country has animals, cows, plants, it's further out
[00:14:05.430]and they make food. So that tells you after this lesson that student is able
[00:14:11.010]to compare and contrast. They're not regurgitating information or vocabulary,
[00:14:14.670]they have learned concepts and they are presenting that, they're analyzing it and
[00:14:20.310]presenting it in some way to you. And so is it okay if a unit test looks like
[00:14:26.610]this for some of our students? Absolutely, absolutely. This shows us learning. We will skip
[00:14:35.290]unfortunately the let's practice part because we have six minutes. So what we
[00:14:42.230]were going to do was to choose a difficult concept to explain and then
[00:14:48.330]either in groups use the idea web or the Frayer model or the Venn diagram to
[00:14:55.230]show how a different communicator or complex learner might communicate that
[00:15:00.850]they've learned something about that. So pretend
[00:15:05.150]that we've done that. I'm gonna go ahead and put that though into chat. It is a
[00:15:10.390]really cool website that that shows those good core words to to work to
[00:15:18.950]training. Yeah and this is a great example if you are taking this
[00:15:24.470]information back to a team to show them like how you might do this. So that that
[00:15:30.650]link that Megan put in is is can you explain
[00:15:35.010]a hard idea using only the ten hundred most used words and so you could pick an
[00:15:40.710]idea for for your team or for your training and say okay go ahead and use
[00:15:46.810]use this website and explain that concept or idea to us using only words
[00:15:53.010]that are allowable in this website and so if you used one of the non allowable
[00:15:58.070]words that like makes it a different color and says oh that one's not allowed
[00:16:01.350]so it really would challenge teachers to think
[00:16:04.870]about how could we make this more more simplified to support all of our learners
[00:16:14.130]and so I think that's really important to think about and I think that's really a good way to do it. Thank you.
[00:16:19.370]you
[00:16:21.430]you
[00:16:23.490]Thank you.

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Module: Communication Across the Day for Complex Learners using AAC - Micro Lesson: Descriptive and Referential Teaching

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