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2
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
• Understand the value of real-life learning opportunities
• Be familiar with strategies to help build on the educational value of everyday and special activities
• Learn ways to capitalize on real-life learning activities across home and school environments
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What is Real-Life Learning?
• Learning in the moment, doing actual activities- not "seat work"
• Functional, real-life learning goes beyond schedules and activities of daily living
• Dr. Barbara McLetchie says, "To live, to love, to work, and to play"
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Why Engage in Real-Life Learning?
• Children who are deafblind are more motivated to communicate in naturally occurring situations
• Children who are deafblind do not generalize knowledge and skills well- learning by doing actual activities suits their learning style
• Contrived lessons are difficult to make meaningful and engaging for this population
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What is meaningful?
Think in terms of these questions:
• Will the skills involved in this activity help the learner in the future?
• Will the learner enjoy her/himself because of this activity?
• If the learner does not acquire this skill, will someone else have to do it for her/him (i.e. will this increase independence)?
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Making the Most of Real-Life Learning
• All kinds of vocabulary and skills can be practiced during activities
• IEP goals and objectives can be met by capitalizing on everyday and special activities
• Using schedules, experience boxes, experience books, recipes, and/or journals will allow you to build on activities
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Great, but I don’t have time…
• Collecting materials should always happen WITH the learner who is deafblind- that way her/his interests are captured
• Boxes, books, journals, etc. should be created WITH the learner- this becomes a learning experience in and of itself
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Great, but I don’t have time…
• Allow the development of materials to be a planned activity, rich with learning opportunities
• Keep what you have created and use it over time to continue to build on the memories
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Capitalizing on Experiences- Communication at Home and at School
• As human beings, we like to share about our experiences
• Sending boxes, books, and journals used at home in to school allows your child to share her/his weekend/vacation with staff and classmates
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Capitalizing on Experiences- Communication at Home and at School
• Sending boxes, books, and journals used at school home with your student allows her/him to share stories with family members, caregivers, and neighbors
• This is not the same, and therefore does not replace, adult to adult communication books!
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Building Relationships and Fostering Skills
• The person who is deafblind is empowered to share her/his stories with others
• Sharing stories about experiences is a means of bonding
• Sharing emotions increases the power of a story, intensifies the bonding experience
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Building Relationships and Fostering Skills
• Using real-life activities helps to motivate learners who are deafblind to learn important skills
• Taking the time to create schedules, experience books, experience boxes, recipes, and journals broadens the opportunities for bonding and building communication and language skills
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Remember…
• Don't rush – seize the learning within the moment
• Make sure to have what Dr. Jan van Dijk refers to as, "moments of joy!“ – have fun and enjoy!
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References
• Kennedy, B.M.S., Cote, M., Foster, D., Lester, J., McGowan, P., Miranda, L., Sanders, D. (2013). Progressing from Non-Symbolic to Symbolic Communication and Complex Language. In Open Hands Open Access Intervener Learning Modules. National Center on Deaf-Blindness.
• McLetchie, B., Zatta, M. To Live, To Love, To Work, and To Play [webcast] Retrieved from www.perkinselearning.org.
• Miles, B., & Riggio, R. (Eds.). (1999). Remarkable Conversations. Watertown, MA: Perkins School for the Blind.
• Real Life Learning, Part 2.” September, 2011. presented with Dr. Barbara McLetchie. Intervener Training Series, DeafBlind Central Training, Mount Pleasant, Michigan