Workshops/Seminars for Teaching to Cross With No Stop Sign or Traffic Signal
Workshop flier Schedule of upcoming seminar/workshops with registration information List of topics covered in the seminar/workshop Instructions if you have already registered for a workshop Comments from Workshop attendees Self-Study Guide: Preparing Visually Impaired Students to Assess and Cross Streets with No Stop Sign or Traffic Signal
Being able to teach visually impaired students to assess and cross streets with no traffic control requires a paradigm shift for many
O&M specialists. An hour or two of feet-in-the-street exercises is not enough -- the only way I have been able to help O&M specialists achieve the necessary paradigm shift and be prepared to teach students to analyze and cross streets with no traffic control is with a one-day seminar/workshop that includes the information from the Self-Study Guide.
The first such workshop was held in Kansas City when intrepid O&M specialists got together to arrange such a seminar on Saturday, February 20, 2010 --
the Alphapointe Association for the Blind graciously allowed us to use their facilities.
At the end of the seminar, the participants took the quiz from the Self-Study Guide to earn their Certificate of Completion -- click here to watch their struggles and triumphs!
Early Adopters:
The Kansas City O&Mers have been joined by an increasing number of workshop participants who have committed themselves to
"incorporate (and/or develop!) teaching tools and strategies to prepare students to recognize situations of uncertainty for gap judgment, and analyze and cross streets with no traffic control."
These O&Mers are the Early Adopters of innovation in our profession.
They have already introduced ideas and advanced the teaching tools more in the last 6 months than I was able to do in the last 10 years!
Following are just a few examples of the influence of these Early Adopters since February, 2010:
extensive checklists have been developed to facilitate our instruction of these skills and concepts;
people are learning to use their hearing to judge how far away are the approaching vehicles;
strategies of scanning for cars are being refined; and
teaching tools are being adapted to introduce these concepts to young children and people with brain injury.
My mind is blown when I think about where this can go as more O&Mers participate in the workshops, join the Early Adopters, and get working on it!
Outline of topics:
Workshops typically last for 6 hours PLUS time for lunch and breaks, and include the following, depending on time and circumstances:
What's going on here?
Situations of uncertainty -- what are they? How can you recognize them?
Research -- what did we learn from sitting in lawnchairs and listening for traffic?
What does "quiet" mean?
How does this change what we teach our students, and are you committed?
Teaching students to:
recognize Situations of Uncertainty
Analyze risks and make decisions; Alternatives
determine crossable gaps (when that is possible)
Practice makes perfect!
Outside, experience teaching tools at streets
Application
Brainstorm goals for instruction
Scenarios and examples
Seminar Schedule
There are no further workshops scheduled -- if you would like to arrange a workshop in your area, you can contact me at dona@sauerburger.org.
Former workshops are listed below.
Sites of former workshops:
Kansas City: February 20, 2010
Denver, Colorado (Colorado Department of Education): April 30 - May 1, 2010
Hines, Illinois (IAOMS / Illinois AER Chapter): June 5, 2010
Laguna Woods, California: August 16, 2010
Manhattan, New York: September 25, 2010
Kalamazoo, Michigan: October 14-15, 2010
Louisville, Kentucky: October 17, 2010
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: October 23, 2010
Columbia, Missouri (MO AER Chapter meeting): November 5, 2010
Phoenix, Arizona: November 11 and 14, 2010
Salt Lake City, Utah (Utah AER Chapter meeting): November 19, 2010
Yorktown Heights, New York (Guiding Eyes for the Blind with Guide Dog Foundation and The Seeing Eye): December 15, 2010
Corpus Christi, Texas (SWOMA conference): January 13, 2011
Tampa, Florida: February 12, 2011
Birmingham, Alabama (University of Alabama O&M program): February 19, 2011
Phoenix, Arizona: February 27, 2011
Greenville, South Carolina: March 5, 2011
San Francisco, California: March 20, 2011
Halifax, Nova Scotia (CNIB; APSEA; Dept of Ed in New Brunswick): March 29, 2011
Boston, Massachusetts (Assn of MA Educators of Students with VI): April 1, 2011
Portland, Maine (Maine Division for the Blind & Visually Impaired): April 5, 2011
Portland, Oregon (Oregon AER): April 11, 2011
Eugene, Oregon (Oregon AER): April 13, 2011
Ashland, Oregon (Oregon AER): April 16, 2011
Anchorage, Alaska (Alaska AER): April 20, 2011
Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University O&M program): May 14, 2011
London, Ontario (Canadian National Institute for the Blind): June 14, 2011
Washington, DC (Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind): July 21, 2011
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: September 17, 2011
San Rafael, California (Guide Dogs for the Blind): September 27, 2011
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec (Centre de Readaptation InterVal): September 30, 2011
Kansas City, Missouri (Alphapointe Association for the Blind): October, 15, 2011
Seattle, Washington (State of Washington Dept. of Services for the Blind): November 7-8, 2011
Instructions to workshop registrants
Hi there! If you have registered for a street-crossing conference -- welcome, I'm excited that you're coming!
When you come ... what to bring?
Be prepared to go outside for part of the workshop.
If possible, bring a stopwatch (your cell phone may have one that you can use).
If you can't get one, don't worry, I will bring a few to spare.
It is not necessary to use a blindfold or a cane to participate fully in all the activities, but you can bring them if you prefer.
Preparation?
We will be covering a LOT of material during the workshop!
Many people who have attended said it is too much to process in one sitting, and they strongly recommend reading the new Self-Study Guide before coming to the workshop.
Keep in mind, however, that I will be covering everything at the workshop, and one or two attendees were disappointed to have to sit through it all again, so use your judgment as to what would be best for you.
If you want to review the material ahead of time but your time is limited, you could read the following in descending order, as your time permits:
Starting in February, the workshops offer an opportunity for you to join me for extra training to prepare you to guide others doing the outside activities, like the ones shown above.
It is my hope that ultimately, all O&Mers can learn to prepare their students for these crossings by studying the material on line and then getting the experience outside in their own community with leaders like you.
There are several ways to become prepared to lead your colleagues in the outside activities:
Meet with me for an hour or so after the workshop. We will debrief the workshop experience and go over a checklist so you can do it with your fellow O&Mers at home.
Come before the workshop for about 2-3 hours to experience the activities yourself and go over a checklist of items to cover.
Then, during the workshop, those of you who are comfortable doing it would lead (or help lead) a group in the outside activities.
If you are willing to join the cadre of trained "leaders" who can guide others in these activities, please contact me.
ACVREP Credit
Each workshop has been fully approved for ACVREP credit, which is included in the registration fee.
Upon completion of the workshop, you will receive two certificates -- one to submit to ACVREP for credit when you renew, and one to keep as verification that you completed a workshop to prepare yourself to teach students about crossings with no traffic control.
I'm looking forward to seeing you at the workshop -- bring your thinking cap and an open mind!