Grade 6 is also an interesting year, because it is around this age that students begin to shift their priorities from impressing parents and teachers, to impressing their friends and making romantic connections. Here communication is absolutely essential. I have been involved in many discussions with students who were never going to talk to their best friend again because of something s/he said or did. Students at this age are really trying to figure out how to communicate with each to really transmit the message they intended to send.
This past year in particular I spent a lot of time thinking about effective communication. I had two students in my room with vastly different challenges which affected their communication with others.
Tracy is a very bright, engaging, and funny 12 year old girl. She loves to write, is fascinated with space and simply can't wait for the chairlifts at Martock to open each season. Tracy is also completely blind. My usual means of communicating with my class involves the use of a projector and screen to share images, videos, and work. I found myself working hard everyday to support Tracy in gaining a full message because she simply was unable to see the content on the board. I learned some braille, I learned how to use the translation software so that everything I wrote is brailled for her. I questioned my communication with my class on the whole, and I feel I am a better teacher for it.
Tyler is a student with autism who communicates with low verbal skills. He has an Ipad, and uses proloquo2go as a means to practice communication as he will model language that he hears. Tyler spends about 1/4 of his day in the classroom. As the year went on, I tried to make a connection with Tyler, to engage him in greetings and salutations when he came and went. I hope that Tyler learns to communicate more spontaneously with his Ipad, and is able to share more of his thoughts with his peers and teachers in the future.
Proloquo2go is an app for the Ipad that Tyler used to help practice communication. This app assists in communication by having a user select from a series of icons which represent words. By selecting a number of icons, the user is able to quickly create a sentence to express a huge variety of sentiments. The app can be significantly individualised to meet the needs of any situation. I see a lot of potential for an individual with communication challenges in this app. In a very brief period of time, I was able to customise a grid so that I can go into my local establishment and express myself clearly. Though I have had students in my class who use Proloquo2go, I hadn't taken the time to fully familiarise myself with the app. I am glad I am getting to know the program better, and i feel confident that, in the future, I will be able to help set up some grids that make the app more effective as a communication tool in MY classroom.
Thank you for sharing so many of your personal experiences. I agree that building strong, close relationships with our students is essential. I am learning just how important this relationship is. I think that everything falls in place once the rapport has been established. I agree that the children are beginning to focus on the peer relationship in upper elementary. I love how you worded this post.
ReplyDeleteWhen you do not have a disability that effects your communication, you don’t reflect on how you communicate, nor do you reflect on the importance of communication in your everyday life. It just is! Mrs. Welsford brought this to the forefront today and made us really think about it. I mentioned in my Blog yesterday that I had not had the privilege of teaching any non-verbal students. How fortunate you were to have worked with and learned from Tyler and Tracy! Situations that force us to look at ourselves and our practices as teachers always enhance our lives. I agree with you completely when you say that, "The communication I have everyday with my students is the foundation of the relationship I form with them." I have always maintained that in teaching, the most significant part is the relationship that we have with our students and you are correct, that all come down to how we communicate with them. As educators, we want our schools to be welcoming places for ALL students! The software Proloquo2Go is a great tool for fostering that relationship with our non-verbal students.
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