Test teaching life skills.pdf

The Brookes Transition to Adulthood Series

EVIDENCE-BASED Instructional Strategies FOR Transition

by David W. Test, Ph.D.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Contents

  1. Transition-Focused Education
  2. Transition Assessment for Instruction
  3. Teaching Strategies
  4. Data Collection Strategies
  5. Student-Focused Planning
  6. Student Development: Employment Skills
  7. Bound for Success: Teaching Life Skills
  8. Strategies for Teaching Academic Skills
  9. References

1 Transition-Focused Education

Taxonomy for Transition Programming

Transition-Focused Education and Standards-Based Education

Overview of This Book

For Further Information

2 Transition Assessment for Instruction

Transition Assessments: The Key to a Transition-Rich Individualized Education Program

Definition and Types of Transition Assessment

Using Transition Assessment to Write Postsecondary Goals

Using Transition Assessment to Write Present Levels of Performance

Using Transition Assessment to Write Annual Individualized Education Program Goals

Using Transition Assessment to Determine Transition Services

Using Transition Assessment to Guide Instruction

Transition Assessment and Indicator 13

Summary

For Further Information

3 Teaching Strategies

Instructional Content: Finding Balance

Community-Based and Community-Referenced Instruction

Simulated Instruction

The Recommendation: Pair Simulated Instruction with Community-Based Instruction

Selecting Evidence-Based Instructional Practices for Simulated Instruction and Community-Based Instruction

Task Analysis with Whole Task Chaining

Self-Management via Audio Prompting

Training for Generalization

Summary

For Further Information

4 Data Collection Strategies

Dimensions of Behavior

Data Collection Strategies

Data Collection Issues

Summary

For Further Information

5 Student-Focused Planning

Rationale for Involving Students in Transition Planning

Steps for Involving Students in the Transition Planning Process

Summary

For Further Information

6 Student Development: Employment Skills

Least-to-Most Prompting

Community-Based Instruction

Self-Management

Computer-Assisted Instruction

Mnemonics

Response Prompting

Summary

For Further Information

7 Bound for Success: Teaching Life Skills

What Are Life Skills?

Life skills are essential to life for all people, including individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Why Is Life Skills Instruction Different?

Life skills can be grouped into broad clusters:

  1. Self-care and domestic living
  2. Recreation and leisure
  3. Communication and social skills
  4. Vocational skills
  5. Other skills vital for community participation, such as postsecondary education

Importance of Life Skills Instruction

Students with disabilities who exit high school with proficient life skills have better postschool outcomes. Explicit life skills instruction is characterized by breaking down complex tasks into smaller instructional units, step-by-step modeling, guided practice, immediate corrective feedback, and providing multiple opportunities to practice specific skills.

Evidence-Based Practices in Life Skills Instruction

The National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC) has identified 48 evidence-based practices that have been used to teach students with disabilities across a range of life skills and instructional approaches.

Instructional strategy Skill
Using backward chaining to teach Functional life skills
Using computer-assisted instruction to teach Food preparation and cooking skills
Using community-based instruction to teach Communication skills
Using constant time delay to teach Applied math skills

Using the One-More-Than Strategy to Teach Purchasing Skills

Objective: To teach purchasing skills by using the “one-more-than” technique with 1-, 5-, and 10-dollar bills. Setting: Instruction is conducted in the school library and generalization is measured in the community at stores.
Materials: Each student is given five 1-dollar bills, one 5-dollar bill, and one 10-dollar bill during all instructional sessions. Content Taught:

  1. The purchaser listens for the price of an item.
  2. The purchaser counts one dollar for the cents pile and puts it aside.
  3. The purchaser then pays for the item using all of the bills in the pile.

Using Constant Time Delay to Teach Banking Skills

Objective: To teach students to make a cash withdrawal at an ATM or write checks for cash. Setting: Bank
Materials:

  1. ATM card
  2. Check writing materials: checks and withdrawal slips

Instructional Procedures

Assess the students' performances by collecting data on the steps completed correctly, using prompt hierarchies to assist with their responses.

8 Strategies for Teaching Academic Skills

Self-Management

Technology-Based Instruction

Academic Peer Assistance

Visual Displays

Mnemonics

How Can Teachers Use These Interventions within One Lesson?

References

Excerpted from Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies for Transition by David W. Test, Ph.D. Brookes Publishing