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Unit topic: Preschool and School Age Development

Week/date/hours: Week 5, October 7, 2013 1pm-4pm
Learning outcome:
Upon successful completion of this learning unit, the student will have demonstrated the ability
to
1) Describe pediatric specific physical and mental development
Connection Activity:
Description
Pose the question why do therapists do
what they do in pediatrics?
Discussion of various intervention methods
(through pictures) and video on
neuroplasticity
Visuals of brain development with/without
environmental stimulation (visual
demonstration of brain atrophy)
Explain the role of experiences in brain
development; main areas for children are:
sensory processing and integration, gross
motor development, fine motor development
and their ADLs/IADLs related to school/play

Time required
20 min

Steps or sections of the learning unit:

Step / section
Content Activity
1)

Sensory
integration

Demonstration (simulate
sensory integration
impairment by wearing
headphones, glasses that
simulate impaired
processing and vestibular
dysfunction)
Powerpoint learning with
visuals: brain development
Video & case examples:
children with sensory
integration impairment

Time &
Resources
20

Resources
Power point: pictures of children
receiving various pediatric OT/PT
intervention
Videos: neuroplasticity
Pictures: CT scans of 3 year
children with normal development
vs. those with experiential neglect
Discussion

Practice Activity

Clicker: review

content
Test questions:
students identify a
test question from
this step
Discussion: students
discuss their past
experiences with
sensory integration
impairment while
applying their new
learning of this
impairment

Time &
Resources
10

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2)

Gross motor
development

Pair & Share: show a

series of pictures and ask
why therapists use the
equipment we do in the
area of gross motor
development (i.e. power
wheelchair for a 3 yr old)?
Powerpoint: review how
balance develops and the
implications of impaired
balance/coordination in
development (ataxia)

20

Video Case study/

pair-share in small
groups: case study of
young child with CP
(ataxia subtype). We
analyze concepts
such as dynamic
balance and stability
limits through her
movements and then
discuss various
intervention options

10

Clicker game
Name that grasp
through visuals
Kinesthetic
assessment; is
that grasp
efficient? Students
are expected to
trial the grasp and
determine if the
grasp would be
problematic and
require
intervention.
Clicker: review of
content
Test questions:
develop test
questions based
on unit
Discussion: name
pediatric
diagnoses and
how the content
presented today
relates to that
diagnosis (this is a
transition question
for the content that
will be presented
next week)

10

BREAK 10 min
3)

Fine motor
development

4)

School
readiness and
Play

Kinesthetic trials with

different grasp patterns
and fine motor
impairments (spasticity)
Powerpoint: pictures of
finger placement for
various grasps and their
uses/consequences

20

Video & discussion: what

is a childs main function in
life, how does an
impairment in sensory,
gross or fine motor areas
impair participation and
restrict activities.
Powerpoint

20

Summary Activity:
Description
Video tying together all components

Time required
5 min

10

Resources
Video: consolidate the material in all
intervention areas by observing a
therapy session and discussing the
four intervention components
observed

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Ticket out the door

10 min

Reflection minute paper

Rationale
Context of Unit
This lesson plan is part of a much larger unit which investigates pediatric development and
common pediatric diseases, disabilities and impairments. This lesson consolidates much of what
we do in pediatrics and organizes therapists ultimate therapeutic goals, into four main
intervention areas.
Specific conditions are not as relevant as the implications they have for sensory development,
gross motor development, fine motor development and a childs occupations of play and school.
This lecture is structured in a way that is intended to add meaning and to organize the information
from the text into meaningful intervention areas that more resemble the practice context.
The first thing students need to understand is how experiences can modify brain development. By
combining a video on the neuronal plasticity of the brain, brain images post neglect and images of
what therapists do, students have an opportunity to explore and synthesize why therapists utilize
some of the strategies that we do. We discuss the reasons we use pediatric walkers, braces,
power wheelchairs for very young children and why we are very concerned with maximizing a
childs ability to explore and interact with their environment, in spite of apparent impairments and
restrictions.
This lecture was preceded by a review of infant development and will be followed by a lecture on
pediatric specific conditions (i.e. autism, cerebral palsy, Down s syndrome) which will provide a
contextual link to the content presented in this unit on the intervention areas or domains.

Use of Universal Design for Learning Principles

Principle 1: Provide Multiple Means of Representation
This lesson plan provides the following means of representation:
-

Videos
Text
Visuals
Case studies
Stories
Discussions
Clickers

Need to knows (following each

subsection)
Connection to practice stories
Connect past theories/concepts to
new lecture
Provides context and foundational
knowledge for next lecture

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This assortment provides multiple entrance points to approach content by presenting content
and concepts in different formats (Knaak, 2011, p.97). Examples are provided through clinical
stories of children I have treated with various impairments, video case studies and through
referencing their past experiences and understanding of these areas. Following each learning
step, a need to know slide is included which highlights critical knowledge and learning from that
step.
The variety in the means of representation is also intended to target the diversity that is specific to
this cohort. During the first few weeks of class, I took the time to complete a needs assessment
of the class to determine how each individual learns. This program has an eclectic group of
learners and I am trying to provide a learning experience rich to each one. Many individuals did
express a desire for traditional style lecture, while others prefer more active learning methods.

Principle 2: Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression

In providing multiple means of action and expression, I intentionally integrate the following into
this lecture:
-

Write test questions

Pair and share
Case studies
Clickers

Reflection, minute papers

Oral/discussion at class level
Kinesthetic trials

Through this variety of means of action and expression, the aim is to encourage students to
develop and demonstrate their mastery of the knowledge/content in a way that they feel most
comfortable. Some individuals may prefer clickers, while others may prefer discussions. Both
will help to prepare the students for their summative evaluations which will have a combination of
multiples choice (clicker) and short answer (pair and share, case studies, reflection, discussion)
questions. This course provides foundational knowledge for the field and it is important that
students can reliably demonstrate knowledge and understanding of this content.
Principle 3: Provide multiple Means of Engagement
One critical strategy for this learning unit is to provide students with a very clear link between
what we are learning and what they will use in practice (Knaak, 2011). I try to utilize practice
examples to demonstrate my successes (and possibly failures) as they relate to my own mastery
of the material. I emphasize why this knowledge is important, how they will use it and how I have
used it in the past. In this lecture I try to impress how my knowledge of the material has
contributed to my success not only in the field, but in helping children and families achieve their
goals.
I utilize video and picture presentations (where appropriate) to further add context to the material,
to assist with memory and to scaffold the content. For example, we will look at pictures of various
hands with spasticity and talk about what types of activities would be difficult for that person.
Then we discuss some of the intervention strategies and how various strategies can improve a
clients function and participation in life activities and roles.
In this lecture, kinesthetic learning is integrated to assist in understanding the difference between
an efficient and an inefficient grasp pattern, which is a concept that can be better felt than
discussed. This is critical, because you cannot memorize grasp patterns and which are efficient
or inefficient; you have to be skilled in being able to analyze the individuals grasp pattern and the
muscle groups engaged. The best way to learn this is to try it; you can then appreciate what an

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inefficient grasp pattern feels like and why it is problematic and requires intervention. These
kinesthetic trials are paired with visuals, verbal and written descriptions to assist individuals who
may have difficulty with the kinesthetic method of learning.
Students are also provided with an opportunity to experience what it is like to have sensory
integration impairment. Sensory integration is an abstract concept that one cannot really
appreciate without exposure. Therefore an experiential is provided where students have the
opportunity to feel what it is like to have this impairment and how it restricts them from
completing a work task (writing a sentence of something they have learned so far in the lecture).
A video is then presented where a child with severe autism who did not speak or interact for over
ten years begins to communicate by typing. With the first opportunity in her life to communicate,
she describes quite clearly what sensory integration impairment feels like for her and the reasons
she engages in behaviours such as head banging and making loud, repetitive vocalizations.
This experiential and video are intended to demystify these behaviours and sensory integration
impairment. The overall aim is to provide an empathetic understanding of the implications of
sensory integration impairment to guide understanding and interventions in this area.
Reflection:
To assist with lesson planning and improvements for next year, weekly reflection notes are added
in this section following each lecture. For next year I intend to modify the course outline because
the objectives are broad and too ambiguous to capture the learning requirements in the pediatric
units.

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References:
.
Bloome, D. (2013, October 3). Lesson Plan and UDL Example [Online Examples]. Centre for
Academic and
Faculty Enrichment: Durham College. Retrieved from:
http://enrichment.durhamcollege.ca/index.php/curriculum-development/universaldesign-forlearning/lesson-plans-and-udl
Christie, J. & Harwood, V. (2013, September 27). Teaching Methodologies Lecture Series. Durham College.
Keays, K. (2013, October 3). Lesson Plan and UDL Example [Online Examples]. Centre for
Academic and
Faculty Enrichment: Durham College. Retrieved from:
http://enrichment.durhamcollege.ca/index.php/curriculum-development/universaldesign-forlearning/lesson-plans-and-udl
Knaack, L. (2011). A Practical Handbook for Educators: Designing Learning Opportunities. Whitby, Ontario:
De Sitter Publications.
Longo, M. (2013, October 3). Lesson Plan and UDL Example [Online Examples]. Centre for
Academic and
Faculty Enrichment: Durham College. Retrieved from:
http://enrichment.durhamcollege.ca/index.php/curriculum-development/universaldesign-forlearning/lesson-plans-and-udl