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Focus Day #1
The Place of Braille
Target Audience:
Parents, teachers and students in developed world who are interested in "Braille as a tool for literacy".
Learning Outcomes:
a) How to devise teaching
materials for young blind children. For example, reading materials and
tactiles.
b) Access to information
through braille. For example, CD Rom's, Internet and Electronic Libraries.
c) Computerized Braille
Production
Methodology:
a) Introductory talk on Braille
as a tool for literacy.
b) Three parallel workshops
on the above.
c) Final session for discussion
with participants from developing world.
Focus Day #2
Early Intervention Services
Target Audience:
a. Parents of young children with visual impairments
b. Professionals and paraprofessionals working with young children with visual impairments
c. Others interested in early intervention services
Learning Outcomes:
Participants will:
1. Learn about early intervention
services in other countries.
2. Understand social and
cultural factors which influence early development.
3. Understand social and
cultural factors which influence family responses to disability.
4. Explore different conceptualizations
of the early development of children with visual impairments.
Methodology:
Lecture, demonstration, small
group discussion
Focus Day #3
Integration and Full Inclusion
1. - Target Audiences
* Teachers/principals of
special schools and regular schools
* Professionals involved
in integration and full inclusion programs
* Professionals who want
to implement integration and full inclusion programs
* Parents/families
2. - Learning Outcomes
The participants, after the session, should be aware of:
* Different strategies used
to support integration and full inclusion of visual impairment students
in regular classes
* Role of "resource centers",
"regular schools", "students with visual impairments" and "families" in
the integration and full inclusion program
* Ways of changing special
schools into resource centers
* A practical understanding
can facilitate learning and inclusion
3. - Methodology
The day will be divided into
five sessions:
1. Plenary session with
two short presentations
2. Traditional group work.
The group will be integrated by people with the same language who will
be asked to elaborate a product.
3. Group work in which the
group will be integrated by people with different languages who will be
asked to elaborate a product.
4. Poster tour where the
participants will go around observing the different products elaborated
by the groups.
5. Plenary session to clarify
the "learning strategies" used during the sessions.
Focus Day #4
Low Vision Children and Youths
Target Audience:
Individuals who would be part of the team addressing low vision in children and youth. This would include, but would not be limited to teachers of children with impaired vision, parents, medical and optometric professionals, and rehabilitation professionals who work with children. Both experienced professionals and parents and those new to the field of low vision would benefit from participation.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Acquire, review, or update basic information and skills related to the functional effects of low vision in children, assessment of low vision, and intervention strategies to assist children, their families, and the community in addressing low vision issues.
2. Be able to define the key principles and programmatic elements within each of the above mentioned areas.
3. Begin to apply principles and programmatic elements to their own personal or professional interests and community settings.
Methodology:
This Workshop will address
low vision effects, assessment and intervention. The presentation format
for each of the topics will be similar. First, didactic information will
be presented by an experienced professional (15 min). This will be followed
by a discussion and demonstration of at least one application related to
the topic. Participants will also be given worksheets that will facilitate
identifying elements of the topic that can be addressed in their own community.
Finally, provisions will be made for the sharing of ideas, issues, and
questions developed by the participants.
Focus Day #5
Multiple Disabilities
Target Audience: Parents, teachers, primary health workers, community-based rehabilitation workers, and others providing direct services to children and youths with multiple impairments
Learning Outcomes:
1. Participants will identify
the purpose and benefits of functional curricula for educating children
and youths with multiple impairments.
2. Participants will make use of the basic strategies of environmental, task and discrepancy analyses.
3. Participants will identify ways to adapt existing functional curricula materials to make them useful for the environments in which they work.
Methodology: Participants
will be in groups of no larger than 20 persons. We will offer the program
in a workshop format based on principles of adult learning, including:
casework; small group activities; small and large group discussions and
feedback; and modeling and simulation.
Focus Day #6
Organization and Management of Services
1. Target Audience
* Managers and administrators
of services for visually impaired people
* Professionals who intend
to have an involvement in management of services
* Professionals involved
in the development of policy affecting the delivery of services
2. Learning Outcomes
By the end of the day, participants will have:
* considered how the following concepts apply to the field of visual impairment services:
a) Client-centered working: shaping services to meet real needs, ensuring services are adaptable to individual needs, and ensuring that each client feels their needs are met.
b) Strategic Planning: looking at how changes in the outside world affect your services, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your services, identifying strategic choices, and developing a clear strategy.
c) Evaluation of quality: measuring the success of your services, finding out the views of your clients, and using the results to influence how your service develops.
* Examine examples from several countries of how professionals have approached these areas.
* Draw some practical conclusions on how to apply these concepts to their own situation.
3. Methodology
The programme will combine
plenary presentations with discussion groups. The morning will start with
an introduction to the day and its themes. Then there will be sessions
on each of the three themes. In each case, it will commence with a plenary
presentation, lasting 15-20 minutes, outlining some of the issues, and
drawing upon experiences from more than one country. This will be followed
by two short presentations of about 10 minutes, giving case studies from
different countries. Then there will be discussion groups, maximum 15 people,
considering the issues which have arisen. At the end of each discussion
group, participants will be encouraged to note practical lessons for their
own country drawn from the session. The day will end with a final plenary
summary of 20-30 minutes.
Focus Day #7
Parent/Family Involvement Focus Day
Target Audience
All invited; parents, parent leaders, medical and educational professionals, and service providers.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will recognize family and parent associations as a governing body. Partnership with parents means that parents are represented at the table of problem solving, decision making, policy setting, and developing programs and services. Parents are a natural resource for advocacy, outreach, support and information.
Methodology
There will be presentations
given from parent leaders and professionals who have had experience working
together as partners. The day will also be very interactive with participants
through role play and by breaking up into small discussion groups. The
whole group will reconvene to develop suggestions for ICEVI to promote
partnerships between parents and professionals as benefactors to work towards
ensuring the education for blind and visually impaired people world wide.
Focus Day #8
Teacher Preparation
Target Audience
The Focus Day is intended for those involved in the training and preparation of teachers of the visually impaired. The theme of the day will be centered around the competencies that teachers need in order to meet the needs of children and young people. Regional groups will be asked to identify those competencies considered appropriate for teachers in their regions and to consider the means by which instruction in these competencies is delivered and outcomes are measured. The latter part of the day, opportunities will be given for comparison between regions in plenary sessions.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the day each group will have:
1. Reached a consensus about the core competencies appropriate for their own region.
2. Developed an understanding of the factors which affect the abilities of teacher trainers to develop these competencies in teachers.
3. Developed insights into the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of methods used around the world to deliver instruction to teachers.
4. Learned about the key issues in assessing the competencies of teachers.
5. An answer to the question: 'Are there core skills which all teachers of children and young people who have visual impairments need to acquire?'
Methodology
The timing and organization of the session will need to be modified in the light of the make-up of the audience but it will also consist of:
1. Plenary sessions in which speakers will address the issue of defining, delivering and assessing teacher competencies in their own countries
2. Discussions in regional groups about the issues which surround these themes
3. Feedback from regional groups in plenary sessions
4. A summary of the key points arising from the day