Newsletter Archive
Newsletter Issue 4: 4/21/08
SpecialQuest Birth–Five Newsletter
The best ideas come from you! Many members of the SpecialQuest community have shared interesting and innovative ways they have used the SpecialQuest approach and materials in college courses and other trainings. This month you can:
- read how Virginia Barron has incorporated the SpecialQuest materials and approach into her community college course
- participate in an online survey about how you use the SpecialQuest materials and/or approach in your courses or trainings
- share or download resources, such as course syllabi, from the Resource Bank
- discuss use and adaptations of the SpecialQuest approach and materials in college courses in the online discussion forum "SpecialQuest Goes to College"
Some instructors have expressed an interest in taking "tours" of online courses that include SpecialQuest resources. Several people are interested in aligning the SpecialQuest materials with national professional development standards. If you are interested in either of these opportunities, please contact me (707.548.4910 or susan.stewart@specialquest.org).
Spotlight: Virginia Barron – SpecialQuest Approach Used in College Courses
Faced with a wonderful opportunity to develop a community college course on inclusion and only a couple of days to prepare a presentation of the proposed course content, Virginia Barron turned to the SpecialQuest materials. She based her presentation on the foundational aspects of the SpecialQuest vision: inclusion, families as partners and leaders, and collaboration and teaming.
The proposal was accepted and Virginia developed the course, Children with Special Needs, by pulling on ideas from her experience as a SpecialQuest Learning Coach. She incorporated the SpecialQuest approach into the design of the course and aligned the SpecialQuest materials with the course text and objectives.
How did she do it?
Course design/methods:
- On the first day of class, students jointly develop a “Climate of Care” – a list of behaviors for how the members of the class work together – to engender a sense of mutual respect, personal responsibility, and collaborative participation [see Facilitator’s Guide, pp. 22-23, “Ground Rules: Creating a Safe Learning Environment”]*
- Students work in teams that represent multiple voices: families, administrators, early intervention, and staff from child care/Head Start/state preschool [see Facilitator’s Guide, p. 12, “Participants”]
- Each class ends with feedback that identifies, from the student perspective, what helped them learn that day and suggestions that would help them learn better in the future [See Facilitator’s Guide, pp. 29-30, “Continuous Improvement Feedback”]
Course content:
- The first day students view the Christopher’s Story video to see “what inclusion could look like” [Volume 1, Session 6]
- A variety of videos and guided viewing questions are incorporated into the curriculum throughout the semester
- Teams work together to identify resources in their community [Volume 3, Session 3] and develop an action plan to provide inclusive services for a young child who has a disability [See Facilitator’s Guide, p. 28, “Action Plans”]
“The students are amazed when they see Christopher’s Story”…and they appreciate the Climate of Care that allows them to participate fully and safely in the course.
Virginia Barron, a former SpecialQuest Learning Coach, teaches Child Development courses at San Bernadino Valley College. The Child Care Planning Council of San Bernadino County, California, had requested the college to develop a certificate program for students working with young children who have special needs.
The syllabus for the Children with Special Needs course is available in the SpecialQuest Resource Bank. We appreciate that Virginia has shared how she has adapted the SpecialQuest approach and materials for community college coursework. We invite other SpecialQuest Community members to pass along their own adaptations in a variety of settings.
*Text in brackets reference the information from the SpecialQuest Multimedia Training Library.
Soaring with SpecialQuest Ambassadors Share their Successes!
The SpecialQuest Birth-Five Ambassador Retreat was held in Dallas, Texas from April 8th through the 10th. Ambassadors from across the nation participated in the retreat, sharing their SpecialQuest successes, exploring how to expand the SpecialQuest approach, and developing action plans to support the SpecialQuest community. The Ambassadors will soon begin their work by contacting each of the SpecialQuest graduate programs to share resources and learn how the teams are continuing to create inclusive communities for young children with disabilities and their families. You can identify your SpecialQuest Ambassador in the Group Directories on the SpecialQuest website. If you have any questions about the SpecialQuest Birth-Five Ambassador program, please contact Cathy Liles by phone at 501.305.3508 or by e-mail at cathy.liles@specialquest.org or Aracelly Valverde by phone at 619.472.1672 or by e-mail at aracelly.valverde@specialquest.org.