Interventions to support student collaboration

 Interventions:

 

Name of intervention	PEERS Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills.
Type of intervention	Social Communication
Description (what it involves, what happens)	14 week Evidence based social skills, caregiver supported intervention for adolescents or young adults or a 16 week evidence based social skills intervention for adolescents, school based.  PEERS approach targets social skills and looks at core social challenges for individuals on the spectrum with a focus on adolescents and adults. PEERS breaks down social skills into rules and steps of social behaviour. It uses specific lessons, demonstrations,  role play, as well as homework/assignments to practice in other settings to generalise the new skills. Adult leaders follow a guide/manual for week and day activities ands steps.
History	The first evidence based intervention for teaching and developing social skills. Developed by Dr Elizabeth Laugeson and colleagues at UCLA.  Dr Elizabeth Laugeson as cited in (University of California, 2015)  "It's as if we've forgotten that these children grow up to be adults with their own unique challenges that very often affect their ability to be gainfully employed or establish meaningful friendships and romantic relationships.” PEERS recognises the need to ongoing support into adulthood to ensure a positive quality of life for the autisic individual and their families.
Aims/theories	To teach autistic individuals social skills through didactic lessons, role play demonstrations, group socialisation activities and home learning for generalised skills.
Claims	To be the first and only evidence based practice for social communication skills.
Summary of the evidence and Ranking	Studies looking at social skills for adolescents with autism are limited and there is a limited number of evidence based interventions to compare PEERS.  Research around progress has shown there is an increase in social skill awareness from improvement in TASK results however often within autisc individuals there still is a lack of generalising into other social settings. This highlights the importance of maintaining these skills and continuing to work on these after the programme has finished.  PEERS has a strong theoretical perspective and provides screening, goals, lessons, step by step information, case studies as well as parallel programmes for parents to ensure that social skills opportunities happen within family context.  According to the NZ Guidelines Group (2016) approaches should emphasize pivotal skills such as spontaneity, initial, motivation and self management. This is ranked C, This aligns with the aims and steps of PEERS.
References and/or readings	Research Autism (nd). Interventions: Treatments and Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved from: http://www.researchautism.net/autism-interventions/types University of California - Los Angeles. (2015, July 31). Young adults with autism show improved social function following skills program: Gains from 'PEERS' training persist 16 weeks later. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 25, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150731103705.htm PEERS for Adolescents (2020), UCLA PEERS Clinic., Retrieved from ; https://www.semel.ucla.edu/peers/teens Laugeson, E. A. (2013). The PEERS curriculum for school based professionals : social skills training for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Routledge. New Zealand Guidelines Group. (2016). New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guideline. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Health

 

 

Name of intervention	Attention Autism
Type of intervention	Focus on Joint Attention
Description (what it involves, what happens)	Attention autism focusses on joint attention and communication skills through fun learning activities. The programme moves through a series of 4 stages of quality engaging activities. Start at stage 1 and move up when the child's attention is ready to be extended.  Focuses on spontaneous engagement.  Provides a framework where we can nurture social skills, communication and thinking skills.  Start with being visual and memorable.  Stage 1: Bucket time - visually engaging games and toys to gain shared attention of the bgrup. Adult leader comments on objects with simple and repetitive language.  Stage 2: Attention builder activities to keep joint attention focus for longer period of time through a ‘visually stimulating activity’.  Stage 3 : Turn taking and Re-engaging Attention - Teacher models a simple activity and invites some children to have a turn - teaches turn taking, self regulation if for waiting and learning through modelling.  Stage 4: Shifting-Re-engaging attention - Adult leader demonstrates a simple creative task and gives the child a tool kit to replicate or attempt. Take the task to a shared table and complete the task independently or as an extension to complete in a peer or as a small group with shared materials. Share finished products with the full class for fun and celebration.
History	Combined concepts around developmental psychology with good autism strategies is where the Attention Autism programme came from. By creator Gina Davies a speech and language therapist.
Aims/theories	Aims to develop natural and spontaneous communication and gaining attention through visually based and motivating activities.  Primary objective “sessions are fun and offer an irresistible invitation to learn”! (Centre for autism n.d) Aims: To engage attention To improve joint attention To develop shared enjoyment in group activities To increase attention in adult-led activities To encourage spontaneous interaction in a natural group setting To increase non-verbal and verbal communication through commenting To build a wealth and depth of vocabulary To have fun! (Centre for autism n.d) Joint attention is a known deficit in children/individuals with autism. There is a broad range of categories that come under attention and these features are reflected in the Attention Autism Program.  Orienting attention is when you move your physical body towards a person or tangible object. This is reflected in stage 1 when the attention is on the bucket and what is coming out of the bucket. It grabs attention and is motivating.  Sustaining attention is the ability to maintain  attention to a stimulus. This refers to stage 2 and 3 of Attention Autism where the activities are longer and turn taking can be involved.  Shifting attention: Requires the individual to change from one stimulus to another. This is evident in Attention Autism in stage 4 when the child observes and then collects materials and completes an activity changing their attention and focus.  Social versus non social stimuli are both aspects of Attention Autism as the activities invite the learners into the social world through repetitive language and visual appeal through objects and following the steps of an adult leader as you progress through the stages.  All of these elements make up Joint Attention. “Joint attention refers to shared attention between two individual and an object or another individual. Joint attention involves all three of the previously mentioned components of attention and is always social in nature.” (Patten, 2011)
Summary of the evidence and Ranking	Overall there is still a lot of evidence that needs to be bought together. Most practice evidence does not involve a control group and needs smaller group sizes for the evaluation to be considered for EB. In all of the online reviews of people using the programme it is hugely positive and shared attention and joint attention along with communication are all areas where there is evident progress.  The programme also aligns with rankings from the NZ Guidelines Group (2016) recognising that spontaneous communication, socialization and play goals should be a priority -ranked A, the childs or young person's particular interests should be incorporated wherever possible rank C and that interventions should take place in natural settings, using natural routines and natural consequence rank A.
References and/or readings	Research Autism (nd). Interventions: Treatments and Therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved from: http://www.researchautism.net/autism-interventions/types Center for Autism (n.d) Attention Autism. Retrieved; https://best-practice.middletownautism.com/approaches-of-intervention/attention-autism/ Patten, E., Watson, L., (2011) Interventions Targeting Attention in Young Children with Autism. American Journal of Speech and Language Pathology, VOL 20 pg 60-69 Marsh, F., (2019) Attention Autism for CHildren and young people on the autisic spectrum: A critique of the current evidence base. Doctoral Programme in Educational Psychology. University of Southampton New Zealand Guidelines Group. (2016). New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guideline. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Health

 

 

 

Name of intervention	SCERTS
Type of intervention	SCERTS can be classified as a combined intervention as it blends elements of behavioral and developmental models
Description (what it involves, what happens)	SCERTS is child centred and builds on developmental rather than behavioural theories.  “The SCERTS® Model is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to enhancing the communication and socioemotional abilities of young children with autism spectrum disorder. SCERTS® refers to Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support, which are priority goals in supporting the development of children with ASD and their families” (Prizant & Fields-Meyer, 2015)
Aims/theories	Develop spontaneous functional communication, adapt to an environment and partake in relationships with adults and peers.
Summary of the evidence and Ranking	SCERTS is evidence based and supports family-professional partnership in working towards improving quality of life for the individual and their families (Molteni. P et al. 2013). The targeted areas in the model are around joint attention, initiating communication, symbol use, imitation, emotional regulation and partner support (Rubin. E. 2017).
References and/or readings	Molteni. P, Guldberg. K and Logan.N (2013) Autism and multidisciplinary teamwork through the SCERTS Model. British Journal of Special Education. NASEN DOI: 10.1111/1467-8578.12030 Prizant, B. M., & Fields-Meyer, T. (2015). Uniquely human: A different way of seeing autism. Prizant, B. M., Wetherby, A.M., Rubin, E., Laurent, A.C., & Rydell, P. (2006). The SCERTS Model: A Comprehensive Educational Approach for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.

 

 

Name of intervention	LEGO therapy
Type of intervention	Social development
Description (what it involves, what happens)	LEGO therapy is a social development program for autistic children and other children with social communication difficulties. It uses children’s love of LEGO play, as well as their strengths and interests, to develop communication and social skills. LEGO therapy is used to teach children skills like turn-taking, sharing, listening, conversation, teamwork, shared attention and problem-solving.
History	LEGO®-Based Therapy was developed in the mid-1990s by US pediatric neuropsychologist Daniel LeGoff. He use to work 1:1 but after a spontaneous interaction between clients in his waiting room focused on a shared interest in a LEGO kit he decided to start doing his sessions in small groups and thus LEGO therapy was started.
Aims/theories	The main aim is to encourage children to collaborate with each other.
References and/or readings	Raising Children (2021) LEGO therapy. Retrieved from: https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/therapies-guide/lego-therapy  Bricks for Autism (n.d) Retrieved from: https://bricks-for-autism.co.uk/about-lego-therapy/

 

Pre Assessment - Collaboration in 2021

This year my focus is on student collaboration within the classroom. How can the students collaborate during learning and how can we collaborate with the learners. I wanted to get an idea of key areas of strengths and key areas of challenge for my learners. I completed a Behaviour Assessment System for Children (BASC). This is a teacher rating scale to monitor changes and progress in children’s behaviour or emotional status (“BASC”, 2015). 

Within my class these were areas I recognised as areas of challenge:

1. Attention

2. Distraction

3. Listening skills to others

4. Speaking out of turn

5. Trouble with stop and thinking before acting

6. Has better relationships with adults rather than peers.

7. Nervous/ loses confidence easily  

Areas of strength picked up in the BASC

1. Everyone is well intentioned

2. Does not want to upset others

3. Listens to adults

4. Follows direction when spoken to directly by an adult

I found this particular assessment was a great starting point and allowed me to get general information however I did find that it did not go into enough details particularly with how learners interact with each other to achieve something. Going forward I am going to look at how a range of interventions and activities can be used to support student collaboration and also use these assessment tools which will hopefully add more information and create a more detailed goal for the individuals. Going forward the interventions and activities we will implement and monitor will be:

• SCERTS

• ENGAGE

• LEGO therapy

• PEERS programme

• Attention Autism - stage 3 and 4

These interventions will be implemented within class time, with some being for all learners and some for targeted individuals. 

Reference:

BASC-3: Solve behavior issues today. For better lives tomorrow. (2015). Pearson Education 510F241 10/15

Welcome to 2021!

 Welcome to 2021!

Tash and myself are lucky to be COL teachers for another year! We get to learn, create and share with an amazing group of adults, both in the Manaiakalani cluster and within our Sommerville school. Last year Tash and myself were based in a double satellite at Stonefields school. This aided our initial year into research about collaboration. However this year, Tash is at Glendowie College satellite, (a new satellite opened this year) and I am now based at Glendowie Primary school satellite. Our overarching theme is still collaboration, BUT we are now going to take a different approach on it. Sharon: is going to be focusing on how adults collaborate and how this may look and influence student learning Tash: is focusing on student collaboration and how to ensure this can occur within a variety of activities and environments. We are still “collaborating” as we are both working toward the same end goal of how collaboration may look in our school! Watch this space!

Bursts and bubbles 2020 in reflection.

 We are heading into a new era with a new build and new staffing structure. The school identified focus areas that they were keen on developing further.

We wanted to understand how collaboration can support and better our classroom practice. However early on with this inquiry we realised that we needed to deepen our knowledge of what collaboration is and how it looks in different settings. . 

To build a rich picture of our staff's  understanding we completed a survey with our colleagues and noticed that they too had varying ideas of collaboration. This became our starting point. 

The main patterns we  identified were barriers such as time, relationships our schools site locations and the unknown of working with another. .

When researching collaboration we were lead to other key vocabulary such as Collegiality, cooperation and co teaching styles. These were explained to us as a scale of intensity of how people communicate and work together. 

Collegiality:  respect to colleagues and interests in each others well being. 

Cooperation - This is when a person supports someone else in their work or goal.

Collaboration-   When we work together to achieve a common goal

We had a peer observations over the year that showed our strengths lie in effective use of space, worked well with TAs who had a strong understanding of the lesson and confidence to lead small groups. This was a key area of learning for us as we could then recognise the difference in terminology. As teacher’s we collaborate together for planning and activities and creating the children's learning goals. However with our teacher aids we cooperate as they support the children to achieve the goals and learning outcomes we have set. These are both crucial for positive learner outcomes. Our teacher aides are a significant resource in a our school and we need to ensure that their time and knowledge is used well.

Originally the co teaching models by Friend, Reisling and Cook (1993) were based off mainstream teacher + special ed teacher. We have analysed this model and noted that we have different student/staff ratio so we are able to be more creative and divide our learning into slightly different groups. We found a common style used was station teaching but when looking deeper, what does this mean to different people, who is static and who is moving? When observing Stonefields school we could see this in action with the use of an independent station encouraging peer collaboration. This made us reflect how can collaboration impact our learners and how can we encourage collaboration among learners?

The changes we made related specifically to time given to discussing with TAs the outcomes for the week and explaining individual's needs as well as beginning to incorporate activities that introduce the concept of collaboration between learners. To develop the skills on how to follow instructions and listen to our peers we have started using LEGO therapy as it fosters collaboration giving specific roles while  working together to complete the same LEGO kit. For our older learners we have started using google slides so the children can learn to collaborate through technology. They loves seeing each other icons on the screen. Through ENGAGE they are learning to tolerate others in their space, increase resilience and encourage positive waiting and turn taking. These are vital skills for our tamariki to develop, to benefit from collaborative teaching but also to increase their engagement in collaborative activities. 

Where to next: Linking with the schools new strategic goals,  we feel the need to create a common language amongst our school relating to collaboration and share ways of co teaching successfully. We want to open their eyes to the possibilities  that working collaboratively creates. Keeping in mind that a prime reason for creating a culture of collaborative practice is, to impact positively on student outcomes (DuFour and Mattos (2013).

Challenges in collaboration

 Expand on my knowledge of multidisciplinary team approaches by identifying key challenges in collaboration using a range of perspectives from my community of learning (COL).

Recently Sharon and I discussed the challenges of collaboration. Last year one of us was on leave for a term after an accident and this year the other had extended leave for family reasons. This made us think about how a team approach is affected when part of the team is not there, with limited time to prepare for their absence. This made us realise the need to reflect on other challenges within the day, week or programme that are a reflection of a group of people working together in collaboration of multidisciplinary approaches. 

I created a Jam board with my COL group to share 5 key ingredients to successful collaboration and then also for everyone to name a key challenge. In our school setting we also work as a multidisciplinary team with Occupational therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Physiotherapists. I also made a Jamboard with the specialists we work with and completed the same exercise. There was a common theme among the message of challenges. 

For collaboration in the classroom to be successful there needs to be synergy, trust, communication and shared accountability. There is also a reliance on each other for support in planning, teaching, managing the classroom and family contact. When one part of the team is absent it can dramatically affect the flow and stress of the other. Even if there is someone covering that is familiar and knows the running of the class the remaining teacher still feels more responsible for the extended group and is required in more places at once that they would be otherwise.Successful collaboration should see increased independence in student learning and the staff members should be extensions of each other giving children the opportunity to learn in different settings maximising the space and adult ratio. When a staff member is away for extended periods of time the expectations of this may need to be altered to suit the new teacher and to suit how they work with the planning and the learners. There is extra time required for the teacher remaining to contact and be available for whānau communication of all learners. As like any new partnership in cooperative teaching there can also be differences in expectations when new members arrive and this can lead to a change in programme design. 

Working collaboratively with other teachers requires time to be reflective as a team. Benade, G.,(2017) states that collaboration “requires participants to meet regularly and to take the time to develop professional collective responsibility”. Time came up as a challenge across both Jam boards and through literature. A research article studying SCERTS as a multidisciplinary framework reported 50% of the people in the study found that collaboration takes time and demands a lot of energy (Paola Molteni, Karen Guldberg and Nick Logan, 2013). Time is needed to reflect on the issues involved in the teaching and learning and also time to discuss how the collaboration design is being implemented and how it worked in each session. Our specialist Jam board suggested that time is a challenge in both arranging times to meet with teachers and students and also time within the week for the programme they supply to be implemented. For implementation to be successful they reported that trust and rapport needs to be established and developed and this also is affected with lack of time. When there is trust and support, collaboration is more successful as the team begins to understand how each other works and can begin to compromise and acknowledge each other's ideas and valuing everyone's opinion. 

It is important to discuss the challenges of collaboration as it becomes more common practice among Modern Learning Environments. “Being aware of the possible difficulties of implementing multidisciplinary teamwork can strengthen not only the team of professionals,  but the management department, as it can support the planning of meetings and quality evaluations following the real educational needs of the child and of the team.” (Paola Molteni, Karen Guldberg and Nick Logan, 2013). Multidisciplinary interventions and support in my school setting in particular is vital for it allows for a wider focus with different expertise available. Working together we can address a range of teaching techniques, targeting different skills across different contexts. This is fundamental to creating an effective educational approach”(Paola Molteni, Karen Guldberg and Nick Logan, 2013).

Reference List:

Achinstein, B (2002). Conflict Amid Community: The Micropolitics of Teacher Collaboration. Teacher College Record Volume 104 Number 3.

Benade, G (2017) What is professional collaboration and how can its practice be enriched and led to support student learning within and across schools? Sabbatical Report. Sancta Maria Catholic Primary School, Flat Bush, Auckland.

Bradbeer. C, Martin S, (2016), Creating Collaborative Effectiveness One Schools Approach. Teachers as Communities of Learning Professionals, Set 2. 

Education Council New Zealand–Matatū Aotearoa. (2017). Our code our standards: Code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession: Ngā tikanga matatika ngā paerewa: Ngā tikanga matatika mō te haepapa ngaiotanga me ngā paerewa mō te umanga whakaakoranga

Molteni. P, Guldberg. K and Logan.N (2013) Autism and multidisciplinary teamwork through

the SCERTS Model. British Journal of Special Education. NASEN DOI: 10.1111/1467-8578.12030

Collaborative observation at Stonefields school

What did we see?

Today, we were lucky enough to observe a variety of teams collaborating in Stonefields school. Hub 9 who have Year 7/8 learners, Hub 7 who have Year 3/4 learners and Hub Koru who are Year 0/1 learners.

It was a great experience for us, we saw a variety of collaboration being used within all the hubs.

After our PD with Chris Bradbeer, we were able to identify what forms of co teaching the teams use in the hub. This is just a snapshot of how the teams teach collaboratively during a specific learning time.

Hub 9: We saw alternative teaching  happening with a bigger group learning in a workshop and the other teachers roaming  and touching base with independent learners. The teachers then swapped places and one took a workshop whilst the other checked in with the high achieving group.

Hub 7: Alternative teaching was being used,  where a workshop was taking place with a smaller group of children. Another workshop was taking place for those learners who needed a little extra support. Some children were working collaboratively in small groups. They had a checklist created by the teachers to aid their learning. They are at the beginning stages of learning how to collaborate.  These groups were being supported by a roaming teacher.

                Student group work, collaboratively working with a checklist to guide their learning

Hub Koru: Initially the whole hub came together. This was to divide the children up and make sure they went to the correct teacher for their next learning as they are Year 0 and 1.
We then observed parallel teaching but differentiated to suit each groups needs. The groups were ability organised.
One children had about 10mins independent learning with a teacher as this best suits their needs. The rest of the group were working on independent activities.

This was a great opportunity for us to check our learning of the terminology Chris has taught us about co teaching. We could see how the type of collaboration was adapted across the year levels of the school. We could see commonality with how we structure our lessons mainly with Hub Koru, we can now see how using things such as checklists and workshops can be successful in our learning space to strengthen both ours and our students collaborative practice.