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Core word of the week: A great way to plan core word instruction
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Using a set of robust core words is an effective strategy set to teach students who require Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to communicate. Students may access core words through communication devices ranging from low tech (e.g., laminated paper core boards) to mid tech (e.g., simple voice output devices like GoTalks) to high tech (e.g., speech output devices with dynamic displays and communication apps). Core words include words such as want, stop, go, that, turn, and more that can be combined in multiple ways to help users become more efficient communicators (Cargill & Halloran, 2013). In addition, core words can be used across many environments allowing students to use a small vocabulary set to communicate about a large array of topics (Snodgrass et al., 2013).
Once students are paired with a communication system, the teaching begins! Students learn to communicate best when there is a partnership between their teachers, therapist, and family to teach them how to use their communication system. Using a strategy such as "Core Word of the Week" can be a successful approach to support AAC users in learning effective communication. Introducing a core word each week involves purposefully planning lessons throughout the day to target identified words. Resources to assist in planning these lessons can be found at the following websites:
In addition, there are several sources for activity-focused modeling and practice of specific core words. One of these sources is called
Assistive Technology Recipes for Success
and was developed by the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU. You can find these activity sheets on the
PrAACtical AAC Blog
:
http://bit.ly/CHoRcorerecipes
. Another great resource is AssistiveWare's
We hope these resources are helpful to you as you begin planning to use core vocabulary with your students this school year!
References
Cargill, L., & Halloran, C. (2013). Core word of the week. The Center for AAC & Autism. Retrieved from
https://www.aacandautism.com/assets/uploads/Core_Word_of_the_Week.pdf.
Snodgrass, M. R., Stoner, J. B., & Angell, M. E. (2013). Teaching conceptually referenced core vocabulary for initial augmentative and alternative communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication. 29(4): 322-333. doi: 10.3109/07434618.2013.848932.
For more information, contact Shelley Jewell (jewellsr@vcu.edu), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.
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Using social-emotional learning in the early childhood classroom
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Have you ever sat back and asked yourself, "Why is Joey so well behaved for Ms. Jones class and such a terror in my class? Are there special techniques or strategies that Ms. Jones' is using that I am missing?" Carla Tantillo Philibert (2018) refers to this as "teacher magic:"
"...when a teacher intuitively adapts her instruction to meet the needs of a child, but the strategies were never explicitly taught and the student ends the year without an improved sense of self-awareness. Often these students leave school without the words to express what positively or negatively impacts their learning or an awareness of how they learn best" (p.3).
Philibert's book,
Every Day SEL in Early Childhood: Integrating Social-Emotional Learning and Mindfulness into Your Classroom, blends the practices of social-emotional development, yoga, and mindfulness. The author bridges these concepts via team-building activities into one overall approach called "Mindful Practices." Mindful Practices support the needs of the whole child: physical, emotional, and mental. When all three are stable and balanced, the child is able to succeed (Philibert, 2018).
This resource provides tools needed for the implementation of a social-emotional learning (SEL) and mindfulness approach that brings the teacher or provider and child into a compassionate and safe connection. The reader will learn the Mindful Practices Model approach utilizing SEL, mindfulness, and yoga/movement to teach the competencies of self-awareness, self-regulation, and social awareness in order to balance the needs of self-efficacy and social harmony.
How might you get started as a school division to implement social-emotional learning in your early childhood classroom or K-12 program? Philibert (2018) lays out five steps to help obtain your goal. An explanation for each step is provided:
- Stop looking for "programs" or quick fixes: Craft a data-driven SEL approach.
- Fix the problem of practice: Develop teacher competency.
- Teach with intention: Treat SEL like academic content and define your classroom management practices.
- School climate and culture: Create a call to action.
- Name the elephant in the room: Basic needs trump learning.
To check out this book and similar resources on social-emotional learning, please visit the
TTAC library.
Reference:
Philibert, C. T. (2018). Every day SEL in early childhood: Integrating social emotional learning and mindfulness into your classroom. London: Routledge.
For more information, contact Mary Szymanski (
mpswingle@vcu.edu), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.
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Leadership strategies for successful school wide inclusion
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Authors Dennis Munk and Thomas L. Dempsey (2014), in their book
Leadership Strategies for Successful School Wide Inclusion: The STAR Approach, encourage school leadership to set the tone for inclusive practices based on equality and democracy. The authors ask school administration to translate research-based practices, arrange collaboration, and reflect on practices. The process that Munk and Dempsey (2014) reference is described as the S.T.A.R. approach. The S.T.A.R. approach is designed to promote collaboration between school leadership and all members of the educational team:
- S refers to setting the tone. This section includes a
 review of school subgroup data, guided conversations regarding the perspective of the goals of response to intervention, and strategies to maximize the number of students achieving learning standards.
- T refers to translating research into practice. School leadership guide educational teams in the process of implementing and evaluating new practices, implementing research-validated instructional methods, and organizing professional learning by having teams study and share teaching strategies using Universal Design.
- A refers to arranging for collaboration. Education teams are separated into Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 teams that analyze ongoing assessment data. These teams develop a protocol that includes a problem solving process and rules to determine the differentiated instructional needs for all students which may result in a change to a different tier of intensity.
- R refers to reflecting on processes and outcomes. Educational teams design professional development activities using the established problem solving process strategies to support differentiated instruction. Fidelity checks are implemented at all instructional tiers and the educational team analyzes progress monitoring data from each tier to determine professional development needs (Munk & Dempsey, 2014).
As school leadership works with all members of the educational team, the team considers implementing of response to intervention, incorporating Universal Design, including parents, aligning Individualized Educational Programs (IEP) with the general curriculum, and preparing students with disabilities to direct their own IEP processes (Munk & Dempsey 2014). The authors' resource provides several points for school administration to consider when working with members of the educational team and several guidance documents to guide school leadership in educating their staff on creating Inclusive schools. This book is an easy read for anyone who checks it out of the
T/TAC library.
Reference:
Munk, D.D. & Dempsey, T. L. (2014). Leadership strategies for successful school wide inclusion: The STAR approach. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul Brookes Publishing Co.
For more information, contact Amber Butler (butleram2@vcu.edu), Program Specialist, T/TAC at VCU.
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