Curriculum
Documents
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here to jump to bottom of the page
This aims to be a growing and changing area, but has proved rather
more difficult to set up than I had anticipated (much the same as the
whole site in fact). There are two documents here at present : our
basic ICT policy and our 'Dark Room' guidelines. All parts of our ICT
policy document.
It is very rare indeed for any policy to be completely without
ancestors and rightly so, many , many of us spend large chunks of our
working life on an endless stream of such documents. If you feel that
parts of these are your un acknowledged work, then I can just say
thank you. I hope that like me you feel they should be shared. If you
have nifty policies that you would like to share please send them to
the school.
IT & ICT
Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) are the
computing and communications facilities and features that support
education. The focus is on the subject being taught or studied rather
than on developing pupils' skills and knowledge of the technologies
themselves. ICT may include a whole range of devices that can be used
to store information and through which information can be made
available to students easily, for example computers, telephone, 'Big
Mac', light switch, tape recorders, video players, the dark room
equipment, research using the Internet, calculators, fax machines,
telephones and cash machines.
Information Technology (IT) comprises the knowledge, skills and
understanding to employ ICT appropriately in learning, everyday life
and potentially in employment. IT is to ICT as literacy is to books
or screen displays. The focus of IT is on pupils' capability with
ICT. This is why IT is the overall title used for the National
Curriculum subject. Not all IT learning will involve the use of
computers.
ICT / IT - Statutory Requirements
The National Curriculum
IT is an important part of the National Curriculum, on its own
and permeating all other subjects. It is mentioned in the
introduction to all subjects except P.E. as a means of accessing some
of the Curriculum content and also identified as one of the cross
curricular skills running throughout the whole of the curriculum, as
such we need to consider the role of ICT in the whole
curriculum.
The S.E.N. Code of Practice
(Which came into effect on 1 September 1994 ), provides guidance
to LEAs & schools on their responsibility towards pupils with
special needs and highlights the potential importance of IT in
meeting their needs.
The school is expected to...
Include IT in action taken to meet special needs.
Explore the possible benefits of I.T..
Consult outside agencies where pupils have a physical disability,
visual impairment or speech and language disorder.
Secure access to IT where practicable.
Provide training for the pupil, staff and parents so IT can be
used across the curriculum and, where appropriate, at home.
Aims
The IT curriculum at William C. Harvey is broadly based within
the areas detailed in all four key stages of the National Curriculum.
The curriculum is intended to have relevance to everyday life and to
fulfill two important functions; to equip our pupils for life in a
growing technological age and to support learning across the
curriculum.
Information technology is particularly appropriate to the
development of fundamental skills such as visual tracking, object
recognition, sensory motor co ordination and attention. IT can
stimulate interest, enhance problem solving abilities and consolidate
skills in an enjoyable and rewarding way. Students can work at their
own pace persevering until successful. At a higher level can be used
to support the acquisition of numeracy and language and communication
skills.
Approaches to Teaching
IT will generally not appears as a discrete subject on students
timetables so teachers need to be aware of cross - curricular links,
however this approach means that students will cover aspects of all
of the IT National Curriculum areas - Experience; Communicating and
handling information; Controlling and modeling, within one year.
Factors to Consider - Pupils
How could IT help to address any of the pupil's
difficulties?
For example using communication aids ; computer access devices
-(switches, adapted mice, keyguards etc.); specialised software.
If an individual has a visual disability then consider the
position of the pupil, the position of the screen and the clarity of
the display, adjust the colours.
How will the pupil be given access to IT tools ? - switches,
accessibility, software etc.
Could the parents need training?
Would access to the Internet assist the student ?
Factors to Consider - Resources
What is already available in the school?
Hardware
Software
Peripherals, e.g. printers, Concept Keyboards, touch screens
What additional resources are required ?
Staff training and subsequent confidence
Equal Opportunities
We value the difference and diversity of our school population
and always strive to ensure that this enriches the cultural content
of our syllabus. All pupils are to be given access to the information
communication technologies provided by the school and our community.
The onus is upon the teacher to facilitate access to such
technology.
Each teacher will ensure that the learning context that they
provide offers a broad and stimulating environment which reflects the
ethnic and cultural diversity of the school population and society at
large. In IT this will entail endeavouring to use resources produces
in a variety of ways, from a wide range of cultures.
The resources available through the Internet will be an ever
growing support for teaching. While the potential perils of Internet
access can be easily exaggerated (particularly in our school)
teachers do need to guard if allowing students to 'browse' . See also
the separate pages on this topic.
Learning activities, experiences and resources will be monitored
for any bias relating to gender, race, ethnic origin, disability or
age.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Within the IT Curriculum monitoring and evaluation by teachers
together with the class staff should take place regularly to ensure
that individual learning needs are met and achievements recorded.
Planning must take into account the need for activities to be
differentiated and that they allow for progression. Schemes of work
should be completed for this area. The fact that IT will not
generally appear as a major subject on individuals timetables means
that it is essential that reactions and experiences be recorded, as a
minimum this should be done at the end of each half term.
Assessment and Recording
Assessment of the achievements of pupils should take account of
their full range of experiences with information communication
technology. The primary means of recording is the "Information
Communication Technologies Record" of which there is an example
attached. Individual teachers may wish to devise other means of
ensuring that progress towards targets as detailed in schemes of work
or elsewhere are recorded.
Acknowledgments : Sally Paveley, Herts. Advisory Unit
Dark Room Policy Guidelines
Who Should Use the Dark Room ?
Priority for use of the Dark Room should be for pupils:
who have sensory losses
who are at an early developmental level
who do not yet have concepts of cause and effect
who need to develop basic communication systems
who have difficulty sustaining attention
who are not motivated by equipment/activities available in the
classroom
Timetabling should be arranged giving priorities according to the
list above, taking special account of those pupils who fall into more
than one category. The maximum length of any session should be 30
minutes. Most pupils will have timetabled sessions that will be
shorter.
Using the Dark Room
Pupils use the Dark Room for part of their learning. Before they
use it, the teacher should plan the aims and content of the session
and organise the effects accordingly. These aims will be part of an
individuals overall Individual Education Programme, and need to show
how the aims of the session can be generalised, and how progression
can be seen, and when and how they will be measured. It will be
fun!
Pupils using the Dark Room will need information themselves about
where they are going, and what they will do there. For many pupils
the regular routine (same time each week) traveling and recognising
the room will be sufficient. Many others will need additional cues,
such as the object of reference. Others will be prepared for their
session beforehand in the classroom using photographs, pictures, or
words.
Pupils with visual impairments will need time to adjust to light
levels both at the beginning and the end of the session. Some pupils
will also need warning of the coming end of the session. For both
groups, dimming and gradually raising the lights at either end of the
session will be helpful.
The Dark Room is designed to help teachers achieve curriculum
aims for pupils who are difficult to teach because of multiple
disabilities, poor motivation or sensory losses. It is not intended
for relaxation. There will generally be only one or two pieces of
equipment in use at one time. Pupils will respond best to well
structured programmes which allow them to focus on one task at a
time.
The Dark Room may provide a point of access to teaching
activities which can then be consolidated outside of it to enable
them to take part in regular classroom activities. It may, for
example, provide an opportunity to build specific skills, such as the
various visual skills, in a distraction free environment; support the
development of communication, physical, or cognitive skills and can
provide an opportunity for a teacher or an assistant to work one to
one with a pupil.
The room should always be left clean and tidy. Any problems with
equipment or breakages should be reported to David.
Curriculum Access
The Dark Room in itself is not a curriculum. However for some
pupils this will be one of the more important experiences in their
education. For other pupils it will be less important, with other
parts of the teacher's resources playing a larger part. These pupils
may use the Dark Room only occasionally. It is intended to help
achieve goals and targets in other areas of the curriculum, rather
than being a curriculum area in itself. One should remember that
those pupils who are still at very early stages of development may
both make very slow progress in relation to the programmes they are
working on and, more importantly, take a long time to show their
reactions and their learning in a teaching session. A pupil with a
visual impairment using the infinity tunnel may take several minutes
to begin to pay attention to the visual stimulus, and longer to
develop her best visual attention. It is very important to allow
pupils at these early stages plenty of time to respond.
Curriculum Links
Targets or aims for Dark Room work will overlap across several
curriculum areas, the following are but suggestions.
Sensory Development
The Dark Room is likely to be useful in developing pupils'
sensory skills because it provides equipment which is unusually
stimulating to vision and hearing ; a quiet dark distraction free
environment; and an opportunity to work one to one with a
teacher.
The teaching programmes developed in this area could focus on
developing skills in awareness, attention, visual development,
recognition and integration of sensory information. Some children
however are very sensitive to light, it is important not to over
stimulate them.
Some pupils will also need practice in particular skills, for
example for the visual skills of inspection and tracking. Others may
need practice in relating sensory events to their hands, for example,
moving the fibre optics, touching the illuminated carpet. They may
well not be using switches.
Communication (English)
The Dark Room can be important in developing communication skills
(which of course underlie other types of learning). It may also
provide sufficient enjoyment to motivate communication. Some other
skills which may be addressed in this area include :
Choices: for example choosing whether to have particular
equipment on or off; using two switches to choose which equipment to
have on; collaborative planning of a session beforehand to choose
which equipment to use on a particular occasion; using photographs or
objects or pictures to make choices between equipment.
Developing memory for example: promoting a pupil's awareness that
an event has happened, but now is over; communication about events
before they happen e.g. using photographs; reviewing activities with
a pupil using symbols - pupil choosing equipment which was used;
sequencing activities via pictures and following the pupil's
sequence
Requests for example: an adult interpreting a pupil's
vocalisation or gesture or other signal as a request for more; a
pupil using photographs or symbols to request a particular
effect.
Working with another person : paying attention to what the
another person is doing; taking turns; initiating an interaction and
attracting attention by using a switch, or some other action.
Physical skills (P.E.)
For some pupils the focus will be on developing physical skills.
This may include switching skills, for example, developing enough
motor control to use a switch, using different types of switch, using
two switches with different parts of the body. We have a wide variety
of switches ( pictured in the appendix to this document).
The use of switches will enable pupils with physical difficulties
and with slow development to realise that they can affect their own
environment. Using switches for control in a distraction free
environment can assist their understanding of cause and effect.
Switch work begun in the Dark Room may then be generalised to the
classroom and computer work or indeed vice versa.
For other pupils it will be developing skills, such as
positioning herself to pay attention to what she is doing (turning
her head towards a light) and maintaining this position, perhaps
looking at what her hands are doing. In general though children
should sit so as to be comfortable, not needing to work to maintain
their posture. Other pupils may use the stimulus of different pieces
of equipment to motivate them to move across the room unaided.
(However, remember that moving across a dark space can be
frightening).
Links with the National Curriculum
The programmes which are worked out for pupils will be part of
their whole education plan, and thus be addressing various areas of
the curriculum. The Dark Room is likely to generate activities which
focus on issues related to areas underlying those of National
Curriculum Technology and Information Technology, together with
English, Mathematics and Science. This is not an exclusive list - and
for some pupils there will also be links with Art, Music , Humanities
and as mentioned above P.E.
Technology / Information Technology
Use simple mechanisms to make things happen
Cause and effect (contingency awareness)
Respond to ICT equipment
Explore ways in which ideas can be expressed using ICT
Control equipment
Communication (English)
Describing events, observations and experiences
Expressing opinions
Taking turns with others
Listen with increasing attention - focus attention on events
Use symbols to carry meaning
Mathematics
Recognise patterns in activities e.g. linking action with
event
Recognise sequences in everyday life
Exploring shape and space
Matching
1:1 correspondence
Comparisons - which is bigger, brighter, noisier
Science
Electricity - use equipment which needs to be turned on and
off
Light and sound - recognising and producing sound and light
effects
Using senses to explore events and material
Recognising change in the environment - (on off)
Using problem solving approaches to making equipment work
Recording their experiences
Music / Art
Develop understudying of colour, pattern, shape
Experiment with making visual patterns
Combine colours to make a new colour
Listen to a wide range of music
Respond to sound with personal expression
Experiment with making sounds
Working Out Educational Aims
Questions which would help in formulating aims include : What
skills does the pupil need to learn ? Why use the Dark Room to teach
this skill? How are the skills going to be generalised ? When the
pupil has gained the skills which were taught, how will these skills
be relevant to the environment in which she spends most of her time ?
Skills which can only be used in the Dark Room may not be of long
term use. If she is learning to focus on a bright light, then
creating a brightly lit area of the classroom with bright, moving
mobiles may be a next step.
The skills achieved may be measured by quantifiable targets, such
as the number of times the switch is pressed, or the length of time
the pupil remained interested. It is important to keep simple written
records of the session, perhaps using the "Dark Room Recording Sheet"
or the "ICT Record". Video records may be useful to record changes in
pupils who make very slow progress. Of course for some pupils,
progress will generalise only very gradually to other environments.
For example they may need to develop focusing and fixing and then
tracking in the Dark Room before they are able to use any of these
skills in another setting.
Acknowledgment : John F. Kennedy School
