What visual instructions or reminder cues should be present in each space to support sequenced and organized performance? Where should these be placed?
Visual instructions can embed markers of quality within specific instructions. As well, a reminder card available while a student is performing a specific task can focus attention on the important detail. For instance, while a student is working in an office on multiple data entry tasks, is there a sticky note on his computer that says, “Check each entry for spelling errors before saving!”
Visual instructions and reminders will likely be one of the most important strategies in teaching the student to double-check their work and make sure they submit it.
Some students may just need a simple visual reminder on their desk reading “Turn completed work in to Larry.” Others may benefit from visual reminders written into their to-do list. For example, their to-do list may be as follows with the visual reminder as to where to submit their work at the end:
Photocopy handouts- Make 50 copies
Staple pages 1 and 2 together to make packets
Put packets into folders
Give completed packets to Dawn
*Note that the clarity of the list above gives the markers of quality within the instructions. How you adjust the instructions to assure attention to the correct details in the task can make a huge difference in performance.
A visual reminder can also be used to teach the student to gauge the quality of their work. For example, the student who tends to under-water plants at a nursery might use the following visual reminder: “Soil should be entirely wet. Check all plant trays for dry spots. Give the plant more water if you see a dry spot.”
Visual reminders can also be used to teach the student to double-check their work. A student working at a library may use the following visual reminder. “Enter each barcode into the database. After entering each code, double-check to make sure you entered it correctly before entering the next code.” This visual reminder, of course, does not stand alone without instruction. The instructor should first model how the student enters the code, then double-checks for accuracy, and then moves on to the next code. Then the instructor should observe the student while entering barcodes to make sure the student gets into this routine of double- checking their work as they go.
In some cases, visual instructions will make more sense than using just a simple visual reminder. Visual instructions for checking a written assignment may include the following:
1) Write your essay
2) Run spell check.
3) Read the essay silently and look for missing commas.
4) Read the essay aloud. Make sure all sentences make sense. If not, re-write awkward sentences.
5) Give essay to Ms. Golden.
*Note that the ‘hand off’ is built into the set of visual instructions, as are the quality markers.
A visual checklist or instructions can also aid in gauging whether a task is completed to satisfactory levels. For example, the following checklist may be posted in a restaurant for the student working as a busboy:
1) After you wiped the tables, is there any food or spills left on tables?
2) Are the napkins re-stocked?
3) Are the condiments (ketchup, mustard, hot sauce) containers full?
4) Did you wipe off the sides of condiment containers after you filled them?
5) Is there any food under the table that needs to be swept and mopped?
6) Do the seats need to be wiped down?
Anything less than above would be considered unsatisfactory.
*At the end of a set of instructions, is there a specific instruction that notes who to tell when you are finished? Always consider whether picture cues (icons, photos) would better support the student in comprehending expectations of quality that are defined in visual instructions.
Consider using 2-D images of a completed product, or the actual 3-D product itself, to define for the student what his product should look like when it is complete. This may be a very concrete illustration (e.g., an image of or an actual table that is set correctly at a restaurant, a ketchup container that is filled to the right level, a cardboard box built correctly, etc.). As the student completes the tasks, he can refer to the example to ensure that his looks like the sample.
Less concrete examples may also be appropriate for some who can compare an example that is not perfectly identical to their own work, in order to identify markers of quality. Within academic contexts, consider how educators use example math problems to depict the right process, or examples of completed essays that met all of the criteria defined in the rubric.
How can I organize the materials (or help the student organize) to support independent performance? Where do materials go when they are finished?
Having a clear place for finished materials and the finished product is imperative. The finished place may be a shelf next to their work area or on a basket or tray on their desk- whatever makes the most sense in the space available. Labeling the finished area will provide additional visual clarity and serve as a reminder to use this area. The student’s supervisor can then collect the finished work from this finished place when convenient. As noted, the ‘finished area’ may be stationed in easy access to the supervisor or to the person who needs the work next.
Or, the student may be instructed to give the finished product directly to their supervisor. However, the student must first have explicit instruction to do this, and likely a visual reminder at the end of their to-do list or posted on their work space. It may also be necessary to teach the student an alternate place to put their finished work if their supervisor is not available.
And yet another option is having a natural finished place for the product, such as papers being filed away in a filing cabinet correctly.
Materials used to complete a task should also have a clear place to go when the student is done. After all, cleaning up after oneself is very important and helpful at work.
Depending on the task and the level of the student, the approach will vary. A large bin or basket to put finished materials next to the student’s work space may be useful.
Labeling on shelves may help other students put materials back in the correct place. Some students may benefit from a written reminder, such as “Put cleaning supplies back in storage closet when you’re done.”
In my design of each visual support, have I considered whether the student may need visual clarity cues to highlight (label) or emphasize key features or concepts?
In order to align this intervention topic area with the unique needs of the student, do you need to create visual instructions and reminder cues in the View2do program?