Teaching Transition Skills: Integrated Thematic Units

1
Teaching Transition SkillsIntegrated Thematic
Units

• Pamela Luft
• Mary Bonello, Kelly Huff, Nichole Zirzow
• and other transition grant students
• Kent State University

2
OSERS-funded project

• Goals
• D/HH teachers and KSU grant students work
  collaboratively to improve transition outcomes.
• Teachers and grant students develop integrated
  transition-based thematic teaching units.
• Units use the 3-stages of Understanding By Design
  (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998).
• At least one unit is developed and implemented
  each year by each teacher/grant student team.

3
Design Process Preparation

• Identify a transition need area and related class
  content for a unit.
• Use Transition Competency Battery results
• Use observations of key student needs
• Identify curricular priorities
• Apply filters for selecting key understandings

4
Design Process Stages

• Stage One Identify overarching understandings
  and key curriculum standards.
• Stage Two Identify ways for collecting evidence.
• Use the six facets to ensure comprehensive
  teaching for understanding
• Stage Three Identify lessons and activities
• that provide skills used to demonstrate evidence
  (Stage 2)
• that overarching understandings are achieved
  (Stage 1).

5
Spring 2002 Units

• Communication Unit MS students with multiple
  disabilities.
• Community Participation Unit MS students.
• Authority and Responsibility Unit MS students.
• Restaurant Unit HS students.
• Budgeting Unit HS students.

6
Fall 2002

• Self-determination Unit HS students with guest
  presentation and performance by CJ Jones.
• Career Choices HS students.
• Budgeting for a New Car HS students.
• Lifelong Literacy Unit MS students.
• Food and Nutrition Unit MS students.
• IEP Self-determination Unit MS students.
• Career Exploration MS students.