Introduction to A Shared Vision’s Learning Experiences©

“We cannot teach concepts through discrete lessons, but we can offer children experiences to help them develop concepts.” – Barbara Miles, M.Ed.

“One way we help our children who are [blind] begin to create their social stories is through the sharing of the world. We must follow the child into a shared experience. What does the child find interesting? What draws their attention? How do we encounter the world together?” – Chris Montgomery, TSBVI, Texas Deafblind Project

2020 was an unusual year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We all hunkered down in our homes to protect our health and the health of the families we support. A Shared Vision’s teachers continued to provide vision services via telehealth. In the annual Caregiver Satisfaction survey conducted in May 2020, we learned that our families wanted more activities that they could do with their children while staying safe at home. We listened. And the idea of “Learning Experiences” was born.

Since then, 20 Learning Experiences have been created with the help from A Shared Vision’s teachers. Many more experiences are still on the drawing board, and your ideas and collaboration are encouraged.

The experiences adhere to the principles of early intervention. They are activities an Early Intervention Teacher of the Visually Impaired (EI-TVI) models with a caregiver and child in the family’s home or via telehealth, with the intent that the family will continue the experience on their own because that’s when real learning occurs.

Everyday Routines

The experiences are tied to everyday routines like play time, bathing, and feeding because routines help all children feel assured that the world is an orderly place. Routines are especially important for children who are blind or visually impaired because they probably won’t have the benefit of incidental learning, the ability to see what other people are doing around them. Establishing a routine helps them develop a sense of cause and effect and what comes next throughout the course of a day. It also promotes their independence.

The learning experiences can and should be adapted to any child’s developmental age and the family’s goals. The experiences don’t have to be completed in their entirety either. Most can be broken down into smaller activities based on the needs of the child or the abilities of the caregiver.

Many of the experiences use materials that are easily found in the home or in a backyard, or the teacher can choose to provide the materials for the family. Most importantly, the experiences are meant to be fun!

Expanded Core Curriculum

The experiences introduce families to the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC). Children who are blind or visually impaired need to study the same basic academic subjects that sighted children do, from how to tell time to how to write a persuasive essay. But to master these subjects (often known as the “core curriculum”) and complete their schoolwork – as well as to eventually live and work independently – children who are visually impaired need to learn an additional set of skills known as the “expanded core curriculum.”

The learning experiences address the nine core areas of the ECC, including compensatory skills, independent living, orientation and mobility, recreation and leisure, self-determination, sensory efficiency, social skills, assistive technology, and career education. It’s helpful to introduce caregivers to these concepts now because the ECC will be the foundation of their child’s school-based programming.

The learning experiences are an extension of J.C Greeley and Melinda McCall’s book Teaching Life Differently: The Expanded Core Curriculum for Babies and Young Children with Visual Impairment. This book was written for parents, educators, and providers to help them understand the ECC and how they can incorporate these teaching strategies into their interactions with children who are blind or visually impaired. To “see life differently!” A Shared Vision’s learning experiences take this concept one step further by showing concrete examples of how ECC concepts can be incorporated into everyday routines in a fun, meaningful way. They are also a tribute to J.C. Greeley herself, who is one of A Shared Vision’s trusted advisors and a mentor for many of our teachers.

Two Versions of Each Experience

Two versions of each experience are provided – one for the EI-TVI and the other for the caregiver. The EI-TVI version includes a brief introduction, the objectives of the activity, the Expanded Core Curriculum areas addressed, the everyday routines supported during the activity, and suggestions for next steps to use the activity with the caregiver and the child.

The Caregiver version has a brief introduction, an approximate duration of the activity, a list of materials required for the activity, and the activity steps. Many of the Caregiver versions also include helpful tips. All of them have a list of “extension activities” – other experiences that might reinforce the learning that occurs during the activity, like reading books, making an experience book, singing songs, or playing a game.

Basic strategies, especially hand-under-hand, verbal descriptions, reading the child’s cues, wait time, and sensory learning, are imbedded into every caregiver version so the family can practice these strategies during the activity both with the EI-TVI and on their own. All the experiences give caregivers multiple opportunities for communication and engagement with their child.

Recommended Steps to Engage with Families

Choose an experience based on the developmental needs of the child and the interests of your family. You might discuss the activity with the caregiver first to determine if it interests them. Then, forward the Caregiver version to your family before your visit so they can familiarize themselves with the activity and assemble any materials ahead of time. Familiarize yourself with the activity, too.

During your visit with the caregiver – either in person or via telehealth – introduce the activity, discuss the objectives, and provide an overview of the steps. Every person’s brain approaches a new task differently, and some caregivers will appreciate hearing the objectives and agenda first.

As mentioned before, it’s not necessary to complete the whole activity during your visit, especially if the child or the caregiver loses interest or becomes tired. Be prepared to break down the experience into a smaller subset of activities. There is no “right way” to complete the activity because every child and every family is different.

The experiences can also be completed with extended family members, like grandparents or older siblings.
Some of the learning experiences can even be used sequentially. A family could read “Five Little Pumpkins” and then make pumpkin pie play dough afterwards. The experience about scanning the home for objects complements “How to Travel Without Leaving the Home.”

After completing the experience, consider some of the extension activities that might be appropriate and relevant for the family.

If you have any questions or comments about the learning experiences, please contact Janet Anderson at [email protected] or Steve Lindauer at [email protected]. We are always looking for ways we can improve the experiences.