Module 1: Instructional Planning and Strategies
Active Participation and Learning in Context
Learning by doing is much more effective than passive learning. To learn to put on a jacket, you need to learn all the steps it takes to accomplish the task, not just one small skill in isolation like perfecting the pincer grasp on the zipper. By practicing the whole task in context, the student will develop the grasp and the other necessary skills in the process.
The most effective learning happens in the natural environment, when natural cues are present (Mu & Royeen, 2004). Practicing authentic tasks helps students to learn more meaningfully and connect learning to real life.
Meaningful learning occurs:
- By performing the skill required. There are no prerequisites (like developing pincer grasp) that need to be learned first
- When the skill is taught in naturally occurring contexts
- When supports are provided that assist learning and are then faded as the skill is acquired
Using a Switch
An example might be teaching a student to use a switch to participate in a cooking class. The switch is used to turn a blender on to mix the ingredients. The skill being taught is the cause-and-effect relationship between the switch and the blender. The student learns that when they touch the switch, the blender turns on.
In the early stages of learning, you will give the student hand-under-hand support and repeated practice to hit the switch. Through learning in the context of a meaningful activity and with repeated practice, the student learns what the switch does and actively participates.
Generalizing the skill of using the switch will be taught by practicing using the switch to operate other devices such as a hair dryer or spinner. The more opportunities the student must use their skills in different ways, the more it will help them learn.
Imagine a student in an empty classroom doing a cooking activity with their EA. The student has physical assistance with the task of taking out a bowl, measuring spoons and a recipe, and going through the motions of making cookies. They add imaginary ingredients, scoop imaginary dough onto a pan, and put the pan onto a desk that represents the oven.
In the process, the student becomes disengaged from the activity. How different is this experience from the experience of a student who is with a small group in the kitchen, making real cookies?