AAC: Saving Time in the Classroom: Part 1

Professor Bruce R Baker teaching how to save time in the classroom and get better language and communication results, by teaching students who use AAC the Right Words!. He is speaking about core vocabulary (a stable core vocabulary of high frequency re-usable words) and functional language at Communication Matters Symposium, Leicester University, September 2008.

We'll post the seminar in 10 minute sessions, and we have more film of Bruce from Ace Centre Oxford a few days later. This is the stuff we wish all teachers and therapists working with communication impaired students would learn! www.minspeak.com

From the transcript:
Stress is caused by the desire to meet the ever changing context specific vocabulary demands of learning environments, whether that is in typical schooling or special education. Therapy staff, teachers and aides spend lots of time designing and redesigning pages for aids. It's hard work and it doesn't get the results hoped for. It leads to system misuse and abandonment. Therapy staff meet adults who have pages and pages of out-dated vocabulary they are never going to use again and maybe just used to label something once.

We propose that you end this labour intensive search for new vocabulary. And use high frequency words -- words that occur 0.5 times per 1,000 in speech -- about 400 words in English. These words make up around 80% of what people actually say. We are going to replace zoo animals and Vikings with plain English, and still teach and meet national standards.

Central ideas -- use core vocabulary instead of context-specific vocabulary to promote AAC user participation in all learning situations by shifting the focus from referential to descriptive questions and answers for inclusion.

A referential question is 'What is this?' (Pen) A descriptive question is 'What do you do with this?' (You write). You can learn to use core words for commenting, directing and describing, even in activity-based learning.

Referential questions usually require short answers with context-specific words, e.g. 'Who wrote David Copperfield?' (Charles Dickens).

Descriptive questions often mention the targeted word, name or context and then ask for information. 'Where did Charles Dickens get his ideas for David Copperfield?' ('He got them growing up'. 'Grow up.')

If the teacher asks any open-ended question about Charles Dickens or David Copperfield, you will have taught your student some very simple words he or she can use to describe. 'What was special about his life?' ('No money').

Category:

Education

Tags:

• AAC
• core vocabulary
• high frequency words
• language
• literacy
• speech therapy
• communication
• Communication Matters
• Bruce Baker
• Minspeak
• PRC
• Liberator