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Integrated Preschool: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward

NJEA ConventionNovember 2015

Presented by Karen Umstead BCBA & Jillian Bencivengo

Beautiful Minds of Princetonwww.beautifulmindsofprinceton.com

beautifulminds@comcast.net

Beautiful Minds of Princeton“Teach, Reach, & Expand Potential”

For more information:Call: 1-800-675-2709

Email: beautifulminds@comcast.net

or Visit us: www.beautifulmindsofprinceton.com

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This workshop is sponsored by the New Jersey Council for Exceptional Children (NJCEC)

Please take the handouts from the NJCEC that can be found on your chairs or up at the front of the room.

Please use our sign-up sheet to request more information and/or take a flyer regarding how we can help you

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This workshop is sponsored by the New Jersey Council for Exceptional Children (NJCEC)

SAVE THE DATE!!NJCEC Annual ConferenceMonday, March 14th, 2016

Ramapo CollegeMahwah, NJ

This is a "PARCC-free" / No Assessment Date!!www.njcec.org

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Check us out in the exhibit hall where we have a booth.•Have an opportunity to talk more in-depth with our various presenters during our “Meet the Expert” times.•Get more handouts and info related to serving exceptional children•Find out more details about our conference coming up.

www.njcec.org

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Introductions• Who am I• Who are you

• Job position (Teacher, Related Service, Para, etc)• Age range of students• Functioning levels (where on the spectrum)• Placement (Self-contained, Resource, In class)Additional materials are at the end of your handout.

You can also email me for more details on some of the strategies talked about

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• Housekeeping• Brief KWL• Think of your student/case

A few more things

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• How does one plan for an integrated preschool program that includes students with significant developmental disabilities? What will the environment and instruction look like?

• How can typically developing peers participate in interventions for other students?

• How can collaboration amongst colleagues and parents be fostered?

Essential Questions

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Serves children ages three and four with and without disabilitiesDoes not normally exceed 50/50 ratioOur program•Expanded to include full day •Portions within same room but different program

Defining integrated preschool

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• Does your program have a philosophy/mission? • Do administrators and staff have an inclusive

attitude and spirit?• Do you have a consistent and ongoing system for

family involvement? • Is team planning incorporated into the research-

based curriculum? • Do you collaborate and communicate with

agencies and other community partners?

Quality Indicators in PreK

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• Does the Individualized Education Program (IEP) drive instruction?

• Are you integrating service delivery into the daily schedule?

• Is there a consistent and ongoing system for staff development?

• Do the teachers have tools and strategies for addressing issues of disability and inclusion?

• Is there a comprehensive system for evaluating the effectiveness of the program?

Quality Indicators in PreK Cont.

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• Initially district sent students out of district to public schools

• Combination of events came together• Increased number of students from EI• Superintendent interested in inclusion• Space available

• Planning included touring other preschools and talking about different curriculum options

Planning

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Recommended by the State of NJ:•The Creative Curriculum•Curiosity Corner•Highscope Preschool Curriculum•Tools of the Mind

Curriculums

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• Spent time planning schedules and completing trainings and setting up the environment

Time for extended day

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• Where we started is NOT where we ended• Dealing with staff AND student schedules

• Used Excel• Broke the day down into small discrete units (5-15 minutes)• Like sports (Zone defense or Man to Man)

• Using related services to our benefit• Need to be evolving based upon student and program

needs • New students coming in • Need for naptime added

Scheduling

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Time Activity Jillian PreK Assistant Rotating Staff

9:00 AM Arrival ALL n/a

9:05 AM Arrival ALL n/a n/a

9:10 AM Arrival 3-year-olds Tom, Jerry n/a

9:15 AM Morning Circle 3-year-olds Tom, Jerry n/a

9:20 AM Morning Circle 3-year-olds Tom, Jerry n/a

12:30 PM Direct Instruction (DTT/NET) 4-year-olds n/a Tom, Jerry

12:35 PM Direct Instruction (DTT/NET) 4-year-olds n/a Tom, Jerry

12:40 PM Direct Instruction (DTT/NET) 4-year-olds Tom Jerry

12:45 PM Circle time 4-year-olds Tom Jerry

12:50 PM Circle time 4-year-olds Tom Jerry

12:55 PM Circle time 4-year-olds Tom Jerry

Schedule Examples (Morn/Afternoon)

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• After looking at the staff and student schedules, selecting when it best to work on various skills• 1:1 instruction time• Small group• Peer mediated instruction

Intentional Integration

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• Dividers• Sanitized the environment • Quiet area• Picture schedules• Clearly labeled centers

Environment

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Calm Corner

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Dividers

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Organization

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Going on a Picnic

• I am going on a picnic. I would love for you to come but you have to bring something.

• I am going to bring…..• What are you going to bring?

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• Teaches self-regulation (very important for future learning)

• Literacy/Writing, Math/Science, and Fine/Gross Motor skills embedded in all activities

• Teaches Communication Skills through Everyday Language, Share the News, Play Planning, and Scaffolded Play (Speech Teacher will be pushing in during various activities)

Tools of Mind

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• All done through the natural curiosities and interests of the individual child while playing and interacting with peers and teachers

• Assessment is done through Teacher Observations, Anecdotal Notes, Data Collection, and Student Portfolios

Tools of Mind

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• Clear directions and expectations • Labeled areas• Consistency (same way, same order)• Discrete trial instruction embedded into

work• Clip of CJ and Nick at graphics practice• Dinosaur sharing example

Explicit Instruction

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• Providing visual cues • Structured language• Staff understand expectations and modifications

they are to use• Flexible small grouping• Opportunities for active responding (verbal and

nonverbal (e.g. morning meeting)• Incorporate choice-making when possible

Differentiation

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I need some helpI need volunteers for our next activity.

If you are not a volunteer, you need to take out something to write on (scrap paper) and something to write with

Every group should have one of my special volunteers

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Communication Activity

You must communicate with your group.

You cannot speak or write (including numbers and letters with fingers).

You’ll have 3 minutes. I’ll give you a warning when there is only 1 minutes left.

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Three Term Contingency

• Antecedent: what happens before the behavior • Ex: teacher calls on student, demand (come here) is made, peer pushes

• Behavior: ALWAYS describe in specifics (like you’re telling a blind person), only in observable terms• NO: mean look YES: stared directly in other students eyes for 10

seconds with facial muscles tensed

• Consequence: what happens after a behavior • Ex: Student sent to office, Para says do your work, student laughs

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Function of Behavior

• Look at the function (why the behavior is occurring)

• Four main functions• Attention• Escape/Avoidance• Sensory• Tangible (wants to get an item)

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Function: To GainAttention Adult or peerTangibleGetting object, activity, eventSensory StimulationVisual, Auditory, Smell, Kinesthetic,

Proprioceptive, Touch, TasteAll are maintained by positive reinforcement

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Function: To EscapeAttention Adult or peerEscape from Task, setting, object, activity, eventSensory StimulationInternal stimulation which is painful or

discomfortingAll are maintained by negative reinforcement

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Competing Behaviors

• Build plan around hypothesis statement• Identify desired and alternative behaviors• Work to make behavior

• Irrelevant (antecedent) • Inefficient (teaching new skills)• Ineffective (consequence)

• A way to brainstorm strategies to address the problem behavior at different stages

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Build a Competing Behavior Pathway

Setting Event TriggeringAntecedent

Desired Behavior

Problem Behavior Maintaining

Consequence

ReplacementBehavior

MaintainingConsequence

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Shaping

Encourage approximations that are better than the one before it.

Student wants a ball:Uhhh Bbbbb Baaaa Bawwl Ball

You want the student to sit quietly during reading:Student sits 30 sec w/o talking, then 60 sec, then 2 min, 3

min, until all of reading time

Reinforcement-DefinitionAnything that increases the future probability of the behavior

occurring is considered reinforcement

Are the following things reinforcing?

M&M’s Popcorn Sesame Street

Snickers Flowers Math

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Game: “Shape that Behavior”

Veronica Volunteer loves it when people clap for her. We can shape her behavior by clapping as she gets closer to doing the desired behavior.

I need a volunteer to leave the room.

• Core team• Speech• Prek teacher • Behavior Analyst• Social worker

• Other important team members• Paraprofessionals• Parents • OT/PT

Collaboration

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• Rotating training for staff initially• Half day

• Summer training • Making time in schedule where prek

teacher had 1:1 time with extended day students during special area

Collaboration & Training

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• Video (show PECs video)• Push-in instruction/therapies• Written protocols• Treatment integrity/performance feedback

forms

How we made it work

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