Self-Determination&

Expanded Core Curriculum

Dr. Karen E. Blankenship

Karen.blankenship@vanderbilt.edu

Vanderbilt University

self-determination: noun(sèlf´dî-tûr´me-nâ´shen)

1. Determination of one's own fate or course of action without compulsion;2. Freedom of the people of a given area to determine their own political status; independence.self-determined, adj.-- self-determining, adj.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition (1992). Houghton Mifflin

Company.

Self-Determination

A combination of skills, knowledge, and beliefs that enable a person to engage in goal-directed, self-regulated, autonomous behavior. An understanding of one’s strengths and limitations together with a belief in oneself as capable and effective are essential to self-determination. When acting on the basis of these skills and attitudes, individuals have greater ability to take control of their lives and assume the role of successful adults in society.

Field, Martin, Ward & Wehmeyer (1998)

Model of Self-Determination

Environment

Know Yourself Value Yourself

PLAN

ACT

EXPERIENCE OUTCOMES & LEARN

Research

Agran, Hong, & Blankenship (2007) Lewis & McKenzie (2010) Wehmeyer et al. (2010) International intervention studies

Research

Krebs (2002) developed questions for portfolios

– What caused my eye condition? – Will my children have a visual impairment? – How many people have my eye condition? – Is there a way to prevent it? – Do kids and adults get this? – How much research has been done on my eye condition? – How can I meet someone with the same visual impairment?

Assessment Tool

Copy of SevenComponentsofSelf-D.xlsx

National Standards

NationalStandards.pdf

Essential Characteristics of People who are Self-Determined

Make choices and decisions as needed Exhibit some personal or internal control over

actions Feel capable and act that way Understand the effects of own action

Characteristics of Self-Determined Environment

Availability of self-determined role models Curriculum variables Opportunities for choice Patterns of response to student behaviors Availability of student supports Scaffolded instruction was provided in

foundational skills

Seven Constructs of Self-Determination (Lane, Carter, & Sisco, 2012)

Self-Awareness

Self-AdvocacyChoice MakingSelf-

Management

Self-KnowledgeDecision

MakingGoal Setting

Teachable Skills

Choice Making Decision Making Problem-Solving Goal Setting &

Attainment Self-Observation,

Evaluation, & Reinforcement

Self-Instruction, Self-Understanding, Self-Advocacy, & Leadership

Positive Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy

Self-Awareness

Wehmeyer, Agran & Hughes (1998)

Instructional Activities

Rachel's resources\Bank of Activities.pdf

Possible Instructional Areas

Have students lead IEP team meeting after instruction Instruction in active listening and other assertiveness

skill areas such as body language, eye contact, and tone of voice

Have students set goals, action steps, and evaluate progress in all academic and ECC content areas.

Have students develop electronic portfolio on eye condition and present to class in power point with aligned activities.

Resources

http://www.uncc.edu/sdsp/sd_curricula.asp (List of assessments & curricula)

RECC found at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired website: www.tsbvi.edu

EVALs/Empowered found at TSBVI curriculum department

http://www2.ku.edu/~kucdd/self_determination/ http://www.ngsd.org/

Quote

If students floated in life jackets for 12 years, would they be expected to swim if the jackets were suddenly jerked away? Probably not. The situation is similar for students receiving vision services. All too often these students are not taught how to self-manage their own lives before they are thrust into the cold water of post-high school reality

Martin, 1993