Design to Learn

The Design to Learn model is an educational approach for children with severe and multiple disabilities including deafblindness. The Design to Learn model involves instruction in communication development and concept development that is integrated into typical classroom activities. Hallmarks of the approach include:

• assessment data are provided by parents as well as by educational professionals
• the focus is on instructional contexts and materials that are intrinsically motivating to the student, decreasing the likelihood that extrinsic reinforcement is needed
• social and physical environments are engineered to provide natural opportunities to learn new skills and to practice existing ones
• both the student’s performance and the learning environment are monitored to evaluate instructional progress
• instructional strategies target the student’s understanding of communication and concept development skills as well as the physical demonstration of those skills
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Design to Learn package includes the following materials:

• Communication Matrix
• Communication Matrix…Especially for Parents
• First Things First
• Tangible Symbol Systems Book
• Tangible Symbol Systems DVD
  

Materials Related to Concept Development

• School Inventory of Problem Solving Skills
• Home Inventory of Problem Solving Skills
• Hands-On Problem Solving for Children with Multiple Disabilities:
  Guide to Assessment and Teaching Strategies
• Hands-On Learning at Home
• Hands-On Learning at School
• A Teacher's Guide to Hands-On Learning

Materials Related to the Learning Environment

• Design to Learn Book
• Design to Learn DVD

Integrative Materials Specifically for the Design to Learn Package

• On The Same Page
• Design to Learn Model and Instructional Materials

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