Structured approaches to the inclusion of pupils with autistic spectrum disorder in group work
Richard Rose and Marie Howley, Centre for Special Needs Education and Research (CeSNER), University College Northampton, UK.
Paper presented at the European Conference on Education Research, University of Hamburg, Germany, September 18th 2003.
Abstract
The effective management of group work has been identified as an essential component of teaching in all phases of education. The ability to work collaboratively on problem solving tasks, to share information and to play a role as a member of a team is critical in preparing pupils for greater independence. Within the UK 'working with others' has been identified as a key skill which must be addressed by all teachers. However for many pupils described as having special educational needs, the ability to work in a group presents particular challenges. In particular those with social and communication disorders present challenges to teachers when planning to include them in group activities. The specific learning needs and styles of pupils with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) impact significantly upon their ability to learn within a social, group context. Difficulties with social communication, social interaction and impaired imagination characterise children who have a diagnosis of autism or Asperger's syndrome. Perceived difficulties may influence teacher expectations for these pupils when planning to include them in group work. As a result of their individual needs many pupils with an autistic spectrum disorder may find themselves socially excluded from parts of the teaching and learning process. This paper describes how a structured approach to group work, using 'jigsawing' as an aid to planning, was developed to enable a pupil with ASD to participate alongside his peers in a mainstream class. The 'jigsaw' approach was combined with ‘structured teaching’ strategies in order to address individual needs within a group work situation. Observations of pupils and teaching staff in a mainstream classroom were followed by an interview with a key teaching assistant in order to gauge perceptions of the approach. The findings from this study are being used to further develop structured approaches to enable pupils with ASD to participate in group work. The potential strengths of this combined approach will be presented through a single case study which will be used to analyse those factors which will inform future research in order to determine its efficacy in promoting inclusive practices. Features of the approach will be identified as potentially leading to the production of guidelines for teachers planning to address individual learning needs within mainstream classroom groups.
The challenge of group work for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders
The ability to function as part of a group is an essential skill for all learners as it assists in the development of collaboration and co-operation which is necessary within many areas of human activity. Effective teaching is dependent upon teachers being able to call upon a range of teaching styles (Galton 1989, Joyce, Calhoun and Hopkins 1997) and to encourage pupils to learn through a variety of situations. Whole class, teaching, paired work, individual instruction and group work have become standard practices in many schools and each requires careful planning and management if they are to be effective. Teachers have often reported that the management of group work presents a complex set of challenges (McCall 1983, Slavin 1987, Putnam, 1998) many of these related to pupil personalities, relationships, motivation and skills associated with sociability. For pupils with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) functioning as part of a group can be particularly daunting. Obstacles to participating with peers in group work arise from the difficulties associated with the ‘triad of impairments’ (Wing and Gould, 1979), in particular problems with social communication and interaction. In addition, inflexibility, unusual sensory experiences and poor organisational and sequencing skills can hinder their progress when trying to work with others, in what are often, for them, considerably stressful learning contexts. For teachers who are charged with the responsibility of teaching such pupils, the ability to support them in developing the necessary social skills and understanding presents as a major challenge. This may lead to reduced expectations for pupils with ASDs to participate in group activities and learning.
The research reported here is founded upon an intention of assisting teachers in finding approaches to enable pupils with ASD to participate in group work activities. The two researchers have both previously undertaken independent studies into the development of group work approaches and in examining structured teaching for use with pupils with ASD (Sebba, Byers and Rose, 1993, Mesibov and Howley 2003). Following discussion of this previous work, the researchers identified a possible opportunity to combine established approaches to address the specific needs of teachers of pupils with ASD. The work reported here constitutes a pilot study conducted in a single junior school (pupil ages 7 – 11 years) which was completed in order to establish the viability of further pursuing the combination of jigsawing and structured teaching within a more substantive piece of research.
Jigsawing
Jigsawing provides a structure for the management of group work and was developed from the research of Aronson and his colleagues (Aronson et al 1978). It is described as a process by which each pupil in a group is given his or her own responsibilities within a group work situation which must be completed for the whole group to succeed in completing a task. In this approach the task or jigsaw piece given to the individual pupil is critical to the completion of the overall task. Johnson, Johnson and Johnson-Holubec (1990) describe this as ‘positive interdependence’ they suggest that
“When positive interdependence is clearly understood, it highlights:
- Each group member’s efforts are required and indispensable for group success (i.e. There can be no ‘free-riders’)
- Each group member has a unique contribution to make to the joint effort because of his or her resources and/or role and task responsibilities.”
(Johnson et al 1990 P 11.)
In their research Johnson et al found jigsawing to be an effective means of promoting co-operative learning in heterogeneous class groups. They suggested that in groups of mixed ability the least able pupils were enabled to participate more fully and that opportunities for collaboration and interaction were increased.
Discussing the potential of jigsawing as a means of increasing the participation of pupils with learning difficulties in group activity, Sebba et al (1993) identified those obstacles to group participation which are encountered by many such pupils. An inability to form working relationships with peers, egocentrism, difficulties with seeing the needs of others and immature approaches to sharing materials have all been cited as problems encountered in pupils by teachers who work with pupils with special educational needs. Sebba and her colleagues provide a model for jigsawing which they suggest may provide the kind of structure which enables pupils with special needs to play a more satisfactory role within group work (see figures 1 and 2).
Rose (1991) introduced group work to a school for pupils with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties. He conducted research into the use of this approach in a series of practical art lessons in a class of eight pupils who had a range of special educational needs. His observations of the behaviours of pupils in jigsawed lessons revealed a considerable increase in pupil collaboration and interaction in these lessons when compared to other similar but non-jigsawed situations. Pupils within the group observed as part of Rose’s research exhibited diverse abilities and needs including challenging behaviours, physical and sensory disabilities. Rose suggests that an advantage of this technique may be the structure which it provides to teachers, enabling them to plan for the individual needs of pupils whilst also establishing group expectations. He further proposes that enabling a pupil to concentrate upon one specific part of an overall group task reduces distraction and removes the superfluous information which may overload a pupil who finds difficulties with retaining the detail required for addressing a whole activity.
Whilst jigsawing has been used by teachers in many classrooms, reports of its efficacy have, to date been limited. The authors of this paper propose that there is a need for work of a more empirical nature in this area in order to establish more clearly the factors which may determine the successful participation of pupils with a range of special needs in group activity. Such research will require that researchers work closely with teachers in order to plan interventions which must then be carefully assessed in order to ascertain effectiveness. It is anticipated that the establishment of research partnerships with teachers which also have a commitment to seeking the opinions of pupils about a variety of working situations will be a critical part of any research in this area (Rose 2003). The pilot research reported in this paper has identified communication between researchers and teachers in the planning of jigsaw activities to promote group participation as a critical factor and as the project develops further, guidelines for managing this situation will be further developed.
Anecdotally many teachers report that jigsawing has a role to play in encouraging the participation of pupils with special educational needs. The researchers have identified pupils with ASD as a group who generally have difficulties with group functions for whom jigsawing, when combined with structured teaching approaches may provide some support in gaining the necessary skills for co-operative learning. It is proposed here that: jigsawing provides a planning strategy for teachers that enable the pupil’s individual needs, strengths and interests to be taken into account when allocating him/her a role within a group activity; creating ‘positive interdependence’ may result in peers supporting each other in working towards the group’s goal; combining jigsawing with structured teaching approaches may strengthen both approaches and provide genuine opportunities for pupils with ASD to participate in group work.
Structured Teaching
‘Structured Teaching’ is a major component of the TEACCH approach that has 'evolved as a way of matching educational practices to the different ways that people with ASD understand, think, and learn' (Mesibov and Howley 2003). Structured teaching aims to develop independence, manage behaviour that may impede learning and facilitate teaching and learning by taking into account preferred learning styles of pupils with ASD. The approach makes use of visual information to develop an individualised structure that enhances meaning for pupils. The principles underpinning the approach, assessment and individualisation, enable the teacher to implement structured strategies in innovative and flexible ways in order to meet individual needs. Structured teaching can be used to increase participation in individual, paired and group activities and can facilitate curriculum access (Mesibov and Howley op cit). The approach comprises four elements that need to be addressed when considering individual need for structure: physical structure, schedules, work systems and visual information (Schopler, Mesibov and Hearsey 1995).
Physical structure
Many pupils with ASD find the classroom a chaotic and stressful environment. They may be confused by the purposes of space and may be distracted by sensory and physical features of the learning environment. Physical structure assesses individual needs within this area and provides meaning in what is potentially confusing and distracting. When group work is required, it may be important to consider any physical structure that may be necessary in order to include a pupil with ASD. This may mean paying close attention to seating position, demarcating the pupil’s work space within a shared area or reducing any potential distractions within the group’s working area.
Schedules
Schedules (or timetables) provide information in a meaningful way about what will happen, when and where (Schopler et al 1995). Frequently, although not always, this information is presented in a visual format depending upon individual needs. The provision of a schedule can enable pupils to understand the sequence of activities and may lead to greater co-operation. For example, a pupil who is anxious about when a particular activity will occur may not participate in any activity due to his/her anxiety and uncertainties. The provision of a schedule means that the pupil has information about when activities will occur and this frequently reduces anxiety, resulting in increased participation.
Work systems
Pupils with ASD often face particular challenges when trying to organise materials within a lesson. They may frequently become anxious about the organisational aspects of a task and may spend more time trying to be organised than actually completing the task itself. Work systems provide an organisational strategy, individualised according to need, that provides information to the pupil about ‘what work’ (s)he will be doing, ‘how much’ work has to be done and what to do when the work is finished. The work system should also provide a way for the pupil to monitor for him/herself how (s)he is progressing with a task. This is information that all learners need access to, but it is usually presented to pupils verbally. The visual work system provides this information in a more meaningful way for the pupil with ASD. For example, a numbered tick list may help a pupil to keep track of a sequence of tasks within one activity (Mesibov and Howley 2003).
Visual information
In addition to addressing the physical structure needed within the classroom, providing meaningful schedules and developing organisational work systems, structured teaching also provides additional visual information to add meaning to instructions for completing specific tasks. This may mean considering visual clarity, visual organisation and visual instructions when differentiating tasks for pupils with ASD (Mesibov and Howley 2003). For example, visually highlighting essential instructions may be helpful for a pupil who is distracted by irrelevant information on a worksheet. Visual instructions may reinforce verbal directions or may remind a pupil of the social rules required during an activity.
Structured teaching strategies have been utilised in inclusive classrooms in order to enable pupils with ASD to participate. What is proposed here is that the use of structured teaching strategies may also be combined with jigsawing to strengthen inclusive practice for pupils with ASD. Jigsawing is a useful planning strategy, taking into account individual needs within a group and fostering interdependence, whilst structured teaching may be used to increase meaning and reduce the anxieties pupils with ASD experience when learning within a social context. Thus a pupil can be allocated an appropriate task within the group and be provided with visual information to enable him/her to take part.
The study
The researchers hypothesise that the combination of jigsawing and structured teaching may prove to be an effective means of planning for and encouraging the participation of pupils with ASD in group activity. This hypothesis is based upon an understanding of the principles underpinning the two approaches and the successes achieved by teachers who have made effective use of them in their classrooms. However, prior to the work undertaken by the authors (Howley and Rose 2003) there are no recorded instances of teachers having combined jigsawing and structured teaching. In order to engage with research in this area it was deemed necessary to conduct an initial small scale pilot study which would enable the researchers to develop a set of principles upon which to base a more substantial piece of research in the future.
In order to conduct this pilot study, the researchers identified a school for junior aged pupils where teachers had expressed an interest in considering how best to address the social needs of their pupils with ASD. The study school is located in a small town in the English East Midlands and has a good reputation for its work with pupils who have a wide range of special educational needs. An experienced class teacher within the school who has a boy with ASD in her class volunteered to participate in the research. The pupil was observed during a two hour history lesson requiring group work in order to observe his usual behaviour when working in a group. A planning meeting between the teacher, a teaching assistant (TA), the school management and the researchers took place to ensure that the principles of jigsawing and structured teaching were understood and to identify a suitable time during which a jointly planned lesson would be taught. The outcome of this meeting was that a lesson which the teacher was planning to deliver a few weeks later which involved a simulation activity was planned using a jigsaw framework. Within this meeting the teacher and TA were assisted in identifying how visual structure could be incorporated into the lesson in order to provide support and access for a pupil with ASD.
The lesson plan