What is the Expanded Core Curriculum and How Do I Explain it to Others?
The Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC)
is toolkit that extends the academic curriculum for every person who is blind or visually impaired. Often, we find that
teachers or administrators outside of our field have no idea what it is or what
it does! It is important to help educate teachers, administrators and the
students on all the benefits of the ECC. Another important piece of the
Expanded Core Curriculum is the freedom it grants our students! By mastering
these skills, students who are blind or visually impaired will have the ability
to compete in academics and everyday life without feeling held back or disadvantaged.
To being, let's look at the areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum. You will notice that ECC areas are not the same as academic areas. These skills are learned through direct and repeated instruction to assist in development of skills not acquired through incidental learning. Below you will find the Expanded Core Curriculum areas with a brief description of the skills embedded in it. This will hopefully assist in explaining the ECC and its different components to teachers, administrators or parents who may not fully appreciate its importance.
Compensatory Skills involve the development of concept awareness, spatial awareness, organization skills, study skills, speaking and listening skills and developing the most effective way of using vision. These skills are very involved in the everyday of life in all people, but for those who are blind or visually impaired, they can lead to living a more independent life. Concept awareness can be difficult for people who are blind or visually impaired because often concepts are acquired part to whole. Prior knowledge of a concept is important for someone who is blind because they may not have the incidental picture or process already in their mind. Organization skills are vital to knowing where items are located within your home, office, etc. Knowing how to be organized leads to more efficient time management. Study, speaking and listening skills tie into the social aspect of the ECC but more than that, they help the person to develop positive interaction skills which can lead to more independent living. Compensatory skills are really the catch all the ECC as these skills intertwine with so many other areas of life for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Orientation and Mobility is not only a part of the ECC but probably listed as a direct service on the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). A certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist provides direct instruction in different environments to assist in the development of these skills. Ultimately, the goal is for a person who is blind or visually impaired to travel independently and safely, in all environments. It also involves learning about body image, directionality, and so much more!
Social Skills are mainly learned through visual observation or incidentally. Socially appropriate behaviors must be sequentially and explicitly taught to persons who are blind or visually impaired. These include social interaction, dates, meals, and behavior for different environments such as how-to behavior in a museum vs. a loud playground. Social skills provide the opportunity for anyone to have a positive and appropriate interaction with someone who is blind or visually impaired.
Independent Living Skills, sometimes referred to as daily living skills, are tasks and functions that one would need to perform to live independently. These include person hygiene, food preparation and planning, money management, paying bills, time awareness and organization. As you can tell, many of the components of the ECC overlap, and this area is no different. The majority of skills are learned incidentally, which means specific and repetitive instruction is needed to obtain mastery. For young children, a home advisor or early intervention provider may help to develop these skills in the home. School aged children may obtain them through school-based or home-based lessons from a TVI. Often, an O&M instructor can provide instruction in the community to help develop these skills. For adults who are new to a vision loss, there are center based programs or interventionists who may come to the home to help develop systems to develop Independent Living Skills.
Recreation and Leisure may sound like Physical Education type activities, but for students or adults who are visually impaired, these activities can feel like freedom! These skills can include working out, games, hobbies, or routines that help to maintain a level of fun in life! Many times, we will see people who are blind or visually impaired on a tandem bike, running with a guide or working out in a gym. These activities help people who are blind or visually impaired maintain a healthy mind/body balance.
Career Education is within the core academic during school but not many employers know the skills and talents that a person who is blind or visually impaired can bring to their company! This section of the ECC involves instruction in specific career paths that are tailored for the blind or visually impaired. It also helps to develop an awareness of the strengths and skills a person possesses to guide them in a career direction. In this area, it is important to gain knowledge of interests as well as strengths so that an individual may develop a resume to provide to future employers.
Technology is a huge part of the field of Visual Disabilities! It can be thought of as the great equalizer between people who are blind or visually impaired and people who are sighted. Technology serves everyone differently. For a totally blind person, technology might function as a note taker, a word processor, or a scanner to identify products or colors. For a person who is not totally blind, it can provide magnification, access to signs or information at a distance, or extra light when appropriate. Technology creates the opportunity to access to almost everything in a way that is comparable to people who are sighted, thus narrowing the gap of productivity and achievement.
Visually Efficiency Skills are extremely important to those people who are blind or visually impaired. As a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, I like to say that there are no 'identical' blind people. Every diagnosis, while they may have the same name, may present itself in a very different manner for different people. Vision may function differently. Visually Efficiency skills are needed for a person who is blind or visually impaired to know their visual diagnosis, how their vision functions or fluctuates, and how to use residual vision to the best of their ability. This requires systematic instruction, eye examinations, Functional Vision Assessments (for school aged children) and so much more. Living the life of a person who is blind or visually impaired can be greatly enhanced by having proficient visual efficiency skills.
The ECC grants so much freedom to our population that is important for all educators to realize the need for instruction! We can help our students achieve independence through the ECC!
~Alex
Resources:
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
American Foundation for the Blind
To being, let's look at the areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum. You will notice that ECC areas are not the same as academic areas. These skills are learned through direct and repeated instruction to assist in development of skills not acquired through incidental learning. Below you will find the Expanded Core Curriculum areas with a brief description of the skills embedded in it. This will hopefully assist in explaining the ECC and its different components to teachers, administrators or parents who may not fully appreciate its importance.
Compensatory Skills involve the development of concept awareness, spatial awareness, organization skills, study skills, speaking and listening skills and developing the most effective way of using vision. These skills are very involved in the everyday of life in all people, but for those who are blind or visually impaired, they can lead to living a more independent life. Concept awareness can be difficult for people who are blind or visually impaired because often concepts are acquired part to whole. Prior knowledge of a concept is important for someone who is blind because they may not have the incidental picture or process already in their mind. Organization skills are vital to knowing where items are located within your home, office, etc. Knowing how to be organized leads to more efficient time management. Study, speaking and listening skills tie into the social aspect of the ECC but more than that, they help the person to develop positive interaction skills which can lead to more independent living. Compensatory skills are really the catch all the ECC as these skills intertwine with so many other areas of life for people who are blind or visually impaired.
Orientation and Mobility is not only a part of the ECC but probably listed as a direct service on the Individualized Education Plan (IEP). A certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist provides direct instruction in different environments to assist in the development of these skills. Ultimately, the goal is for a person who is blind or visually impaired to travel independently and safely, in all environments. It also involves learning about body image, directionality, and so much more!
Social Skills are mainly learned through visual observation or incidentally. Socially appropriate behaviors must be sequentially and explicitly taught to persons who are blind or visually impaired. These include social interaction, dates, meals, and behavior for different environments such as how-to behavior in a museum vs. a loud playground. Social skills provide the opportunity for anyone to have a positive and appropriate interaction with someone who is blind or visually impaired.
Independent Living Skills, sometimes referred to as daily living skills, are tasks and functions that one would need to perform to live independently. These include person hygiene, food preparation and planning, money management, paying bills, time awareness and organization. As you can tell, many of the components of the ECC overlap, and this area is no different. The majority of skills are learned incidentally, which means specific and repetitive instruction is needed to obtain mastery. For young children, a home advisor or early intervention provider may help to develop these skills in the home. School aged children may obtain them through school-based or home-based lessons from a TVI. Often, an O&M instructor can provide instruction in the community to help develop these skills. For adults who are new to a vision loss, there are center based programs or interventionists who may come to the home to help develop systems to develop Independent Living Skills.
Recreation and Leisure may sound like Physical Education type activities, but for students or adults who are visually impaired, these activities can feel like freedom! These skills can include working out, games, hobbies, or routines that help to maintain a level of fun in life! Many times, we will see people who are blind or visually impaired on a tandem bike, running with a guide or working out in a gym. These activities help people who are blind or visually impaired maintain a healthy mind/body balance.
Career Education is within the core academic during school but not many employers know the skills and talents that a person who is blind or visually impaired can bring to their company! This section of the ECC involves instruction in specific career paths that are tailored for the blind or visually impaired. It also helps to develop an awareness of the strengths and skills a person possesses to guide them in a career direction. In this area, it is important to gain knowledge of interests as well as strengths so that an individual may develop a resume to provide to future employers.
Technology is a huge part of the field of Visual Disabilities! It can be thought of as the great equalizer between people who are blind or visually impaired and people who are sighted. Technology serves everyone differently. For a totally blind person, technology might function as a note taker, a word processor, or a scanner to identify products or colors. For a person who is not totally blind, it can provide magnification, access to signs or information at a distance, or extra light when appropriate. Technology creates the opportunity to access to almost everything in a way that is comparable to people who are sighted, thus narrowing the gap of productivity and achievement.
Visually Efficiency Skills are extremely important to those people who are blind or visually impaired. As a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, I like to say that there are no 'identical' blind people. Every diagnosis, while they may have the same name, may present itself in a very different manner for different people. Vision may function differently. Visually Efficiency skills are needed for a person who is blind or visually impaired to know their visual diagnosis, how their vision functions or fluctuates, and how to use residual vision to the best of their ability. This requires systematic instruction, eye examinations, Functional Vision Assessments (for school aged children) and so much more. Living the life of a person who is blind or visually impaired can be greatly enhanced by having proficient visual efficiency skills.
The ECC grants so much freedom to our population that is important for all educators to realize the need for instruction! We can help our students achieve independence through the ECC!
~Alex
Resources:
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
American Foundation for the Blind
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