|
Back to the Huckabay Main Page
Huckabay
Fellowship Announcement
Huckabay
Fellowship Application
Huckabay FAQ Page
Guidelines for Huckabay Mentors
Fellows and Mentors
Examples of Successful Proposals
Preparing Future Faculty |
|
|
Huckabay
Teaching Fellowship Proposal
2002-2003
Fellow:
Amy L. Donaldson
Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences
Mentors:
Lesley B.
Olswang, Ph.D.
Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences
Ilene Schwartz, Ph.D.
Department of Special Education
Project Motivation and Goals
Early intervention (EI) for young children with disabilities is
currently a field of rapid growth and change (Hodapp, 2001). This change can
be witnessed not only in the developmental gains of the child and family, but
is also reflected in the practices of the professionals with whom they work.
Indeed, EI practices must be theory driven and empirically supported, yet
maintain malleability, molding to the needs of the child and family. This
‘tall order’ requires the teamwork of skilled professionals who are able to
integrate their respective expertise into a collaborative, family-centered
approach to child/family/community intervention.
As such, when working with a young child with disabilities, one cannot simply
target specific, individual areas of weakness, but must focus on a more global
picture of the child’s abilities, family, and community (Hauser-Cram et al,
2001). Practicing professionals prefer such team-based approaches to
intervention (Buysse et al, 1994), which are utilized daily in public and
private EI agencies. Yet, for the most part, University of Washington
graduate programs related to EI service provision (e.g. physical therapy,
occupational therapy, psychology, education, social work, and speech-language
pathology) fail to provide coursework that captures this inter-disciplinary
perspective.
Students need a supportive arena in which they may develop and hone these
skills of teamwork, collaboration and problem solving; a class where they
critically analyze how their role, and the role of others on the team, will
impact the child and family’s growth and understanding of the disability.
Some departments offer a small number of practicum experiences, however, no
course exists to bridge the gap between theory and real-world application. In
fact, while researching the campus need for such a course, we discovered that
the University has acknowledged this gap. The Center on Human Development and
Disability (CHDD) Early Intervention Task Force, an inter-disciplinary task
force representing a number of campus departments, has identified the
necessity for inter-disciplinary education of EI professionals (CHDD EI Task
Force, 2002).
Based on these concerns, the primary objective this Huckabay Teaching
Fellowship proposal is to develop an inter-disciplinary, graduate-level class
focusing on the current research and practice of early intervention service
provision. The course will enable students to: 1) critically review the
current research base of their own discipline; 2) understand and examine the
literature of other EI fields; and 3) acknowledge each disciplines’ unique
qualities and approach to EI – only then will students have deeper
appreciation of how all team members contribute to the process as a whole.
The course will specifically emphasize a team-based approach to EI for young
children demonstrating developmental disabilities related to social
communication deficits. As social communication is at the core of early
development, it cuts across disciplines. Social communication abilities
interact with cognitive, social-emotional, language, and motor skills
development. Indeed, success in social communication greatly influences a
child’s adaptive functioning (Landa, 2000) and overall quality of life (Koegel
et al, 2001). Thus, the inter-disciplinary nature of social communication
skill development provides an ideal exemplar through which one can investigate
team-based EI service provision.
Course Format
The proposed 3-credit course will be
offered through the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences in
Summer 2003. This allows graduate students from
other departments to take this course in fulfillment of an out-of-department
course requirement. While at the same time, the summer offering will welcome
community clinicians, educators and therapists, who will take advantage of
this opportunity to increase their EI knowledge base and share their
experiences with team-based intervention.
This graduate-level seminar course
will meet two times per week for 1.5 hours. Students can expect to
participate in a course that incorporates multiple teaching methods to promote
student interest, build team connections and facilitate integration of skill
development. These include group discussion/debate of current EI literature,
role-playing of EI team meetings, interactive guest presentations, and
completion of two projects.
Class discussions and debates will be
guided by a combination of readings ranging from theoretical foundations of EI
context, child abilities, family environment and team-based intervention, to
recent research in practice methodology. The issues may be controversial
(e.g. natural environments, sensory integration), generating deeper insight
into other professional viewpoints within the group and offering members the
opportunity critically analyze current EI practices across disciplines.
Case-based learning will be employed
through simulation of EI team meetings (e.g. Individualized Family Service
Plan [IFSP] meetings). Some students will be assigned roles as team members,
while others will act as observers, analyzing the process and each member’s
function. All students will have the opportunity to play the role of a family
member, professional, and team leader, encouraging empathy, advocacy and group
management. The course will also include a panel presentation by
professionals from varied EI disciplines within the community, as well as
parents of children with disabilities. Students will have an opportunity to
question panelists regarding their experiences related to team-based service
provision.
Finally, the class will incorporate
use of a web-based digital video library, in which students may view video
clips of children demonstrating social communication deficits.
By viewing these clips, students who have limited clinical
exposure to a specific population (e.g. Autism, ADHD), will have a better
understanding of the behavioral characteristics exhibited by these children.
Online and in-class discussion of video clips will provide a forum for
exchange of ideas across disciplines related to perception of the disability,
treatment implications and overall service planning.
Student performance will be assessed
based on preparation and participation during class debate/discussion and case
presentations, as well as completion of two projects. The first individual
project will utilize ethnographic research techniques; the students will
observe and critically analyze an environment employing a team-based approach
to EI. The second, a group project, will reflect a culmination of the
course’s objectives. Students’ will demonstrate their understanding of the
collaborative, team-approach to EI service provision by generating functional,
inter-disciplinary recommendations for a particular child. Presentations of
team conclusions and review of the process will be given in class.
Project Implementation
During Spring
2003, Amy Donaldson will use Huckabay Fellowship funding to prepare course
readings and cases. She will contact faculty and community members for
participation in the panel discussion and enhance the digital video library to
include pertinent clips related to EI and social communication. Also during
spring quarter, Amy will develop a course website, with the assistance of CIDR
staff and completion of Catalyst workshops. All preparation and course
development will be completed under the supervision of Amy’s mentors, Drs.
Olswang and Schwartz.
Amy will be the primary instructor for
the course in Summer 2003. She will meet weekly
with Dr. Olswang, who will also provide support within the classroom as
indicated. CIDR resources will again be utilized during instruction of this
course.
Assessment
Both the success of the
course and the Fellow’s teaching experience will be analyzed. The course will
be assessed via student learning, based on performance on graded projects and
class participation. We anticipate that course success will be reflected in
the students increasing ability to critically analyze recent research, problem
solve during mock team meetings and present cases to the class. Additionally,
students will complete a course evaluation at mid-quarter and at the end of
the semester. Mid-quarter evaluations will be carefully reviewed and
modifications to content and presentation may be indicated based on student
feedback.
We will also evaluate
Amy’s instructional performance and teaching experience. CIDR’s in-class
videotaping will be used on two occasions throughout the course, after which,
Amy and Dr. Olswang will review the tape identifying strengths and weaknesses
of Amy’s teaching and setting future instructional goals. Amy will also
maintain a class journal, in which course development and instructional issues
will be noted for discussion with Dr. Olswang during a weekly meeting.
Finally, Amy will also use this journal to share her experiences at the CHDD
EI Task Force meetings; encouraging feedback from the inter-disciplinary
members represented there.
References:
Buysse, V., Schulte, A.C., Pierce, P.P. & Terry, D.
(1994). Models and styles of consultation: Preferences of professionals
in early intervention. Journal of Early Intervention, 18 (3), 302-310.
Center on Human Development and Disability Early
Intervention Task Force. (2002). Meeting
Minutes, January 28, 2002.
Hauser-Cram, P., Warfiled, M.E., Shonkoff, J.P. & Krauss, M.W. (2001).
Implications for research, policy and practice.
Monographs of the Society of Research in Child Development, 66 (3),
94-101.
Hodapp, R.M. (2001).
Advancing finding, theories and methods concerning
children with disabilities. Monographs of the Society for Research
in Child Development, 66 (3), 115-126.
Koegel, L.K., Koegel, R.L., Frea, W.D.
& Fredeen, R.M. (2001).
Identifying early intervention targets for children with
autism in inclusive school settings. Behavior Modification, 25 (5),
745-761.
Landa,
R. (2000). Social language use in asperger syndrome and
high-functioning autism. In A. Klin, F. Volkmar &
S. Sparrow (Eds.), Asperger Syndrome. New York: The
Guilford Press.
Wesley, P.W. & Buysse, V. (2001). Communities of
practice: Expanding professional roles to promote reflection and shared
inquiry. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 21 (2), 114-123.
| Return to the Top |
|
