Transitions Within the School Day Webinar

Presented 18 June 2020

Transitions Within the School Day Webinar

Introduction

• Presented by Speech & Language Development

Australia (SALDA) – School Support Services

(SSS) team

• SSS team based out of Brisbane and Townsville

• The School Support Service is a

multidisciplinary service funded by the

Department of Education to provide additional

support within schools throughout QLD, to

enhance learning outcomes of students

Key Learning Objectives

• The webinar will cover:

o A range of transitions that occur within

the school day

o The developmental skills required to

transition successfully

o Strategies to support students to

transition successfully within the school

day

What are transitions

• Transition is a process of change that occurs

throughout our lives. Transitions often involve

changes in roles, rules and expectations (Colvin

et aI., 1997)

• Students often have less experience with

transitions and will often need support to cope

and adjust (Colvin et aI., 199

• If transitions are inclusively designed, then they

do not leave students success to chance.

• If transitions are contextualised and supports

are in place, then students will navigate the

change more successfully

• Teachers can also change their approach or

provide their students with extra chances to

ensure transitions are successful for all students


Transitions that occur throughout school

• Students go through a variety of transitions

throughout their school life

o Transition to school (Prep)

o Transition from home to school

o Transitions within the school day

o Transition from school to home

o Transition to a new year level or class

o Transition to a new setting

o Transition post school

Why are transitions important?

• Transitions can be challenging for all students,

including students with Language Disorder

(Hemmeter, Ostrosky, & Corso, 2011)

• All students need support and assistance to

transition (Weldy, 1990)

• Difficulties with transitions can result in:

o Challenging or difficult behaviour

o Anxiety and uncertainty

o Impacted productivity and instructional

teaching time

o Disorganisation

(Banerjee & Horn, 2012)

• When transitions are planned for, they can result in:

o Development and consolidation of skills o Relationship building o Language development o Independence o A reduction in challenging and difficult

behaviour (Ryan, Bailey & Grace, 2019)

Types of transitions throughout the school day

• Students can transition 15+ times in a school

morning

• The types of transitions within the school day

include:

o Transition to class

o Transition from activity to activity

o Transition from one location to another

o Transition to and from break times

o Transition at the end of the school day


Transition from home to school

• There are a variety of transitions that occur before students enter the school grounds and this transition presents its own complexities

• Family contexts can influence students’ preparation and transition to school. Schools can often have limited influence over this transition

• Students that have difficulties transitioning from home to school benefit from individualised support

Transitions to class

• This transition includes moving from outside the classroom to inside the classroom

• This includes placing backpacks on the port rack, organising any belongings and lining up. Once inside, putting away homework, lunchboxes, water bottles and then settling into the first activity

• It it is important to consider that the transition

to class can change. For example, a sports day,

assembly or starting in the homeroom instead

of English etc. (Arlin, 1979)

Transition from activity to activity

• This can include moving from one subject area

to another (e.g. English to Science) within the

same classroom

• It can also include moving from one

instructional format to another. For example,

whole-class instruction/discussion, peer or

small group work or individual work

(Hume, Sreckovic, Snyder & Carnahan, 2014)

Transitions from one location to another

• Can include moving from inside to outside the

classroom during a subject (e.g. moving to the

undercover area for a Maths experiment)

• It can also include moving to another area in the

school for assembly or specialist lesson

• This transition often involves changes in

expectations and noise level and requires

flexible thinking (Rosenkoetter, S. E., & Fowler,

S. A. (1986)


Transition to and from break times

• This includes transitioning to first break and

then back to class and transitioning to second

break and back to class

• It often involves moving from a highly

structured classroom to the semi-structured

playground. It can involve moving from a

preferred activity (lunch) to a non-preferred

activity (class)

• Student’s level of alertness can be significantly

influential during this transition

Transitioning at the end of the school day

• This transition can often have a rushed or

hurried feeling

• It’s important to build in time to discuss and

review the timetable for the following day and

provide any pre-warning of upcoming change.

(Ayers & Hedeen, 1996)

Pre-requisite skills required for successful

transitions

• Language

o Receptive language skills are necessary

to follow instructions

o Transitions often involve multi-step

instructions. For example, “Okay, class –

everyone in two lines, then we are going

to walk back to class quietly, put away

our things, sit at our desks and get our

Science books out and turn to the

Science experiment page” (Hume,

Sreckovic, Snyder & Carnahan, 2014)

o Expressive language is also important as

students may need to communicate

their needs, emotions and ask for help

during transitions

• Self-regulation:

o Transitions require students to employ a

range of self-regulation skills including

the ability to cope with change, stop and

finish activity, particularly when

students may not be ready. They may


also be moving from preferred to non-

preferred activities (Hume, Sreckovic,

Snyder & Carnahan, 2014)

o Transitions can also be times of

increased sensory information, as they

often increased movement and (Hume,


o Student’s levels of alertness, or arousal,

often fluctuates throughout transitions

• Cognitive flexibility

o Transitions require students to have

cognitive flexibility, the ability to switch

their thoughts and actions based on the

demands of the situations (Hume,


o Expectations change throughout

transitions, particularly if students are

changing environments or teachers.

Each teacher and school context can

have their own expectations, and these

differ from each other

• Organisational skills

o Transitions often require students to

obtain the right belongings, sequence

information and recognise relationships

between steps (e.g. understanding that

students packing away their belongings

is a cue that an activity is finished)

(Hume, Sreckovic, Snyder & Carnahan,

2014)

• Concept of time

o During transitions, the ability to

understand and tell time is often

assumed. For example, many transitions

start with “two minutes left” or “lunch

finishes at 1:30pm”.

Visual schedules

• Visual schedules can support students to follow

multi-step instructions that occur within

transitions

• They can reduce confusion, anxiety and

unpredictability

(Dooley, Wilczenski & Torem, 2001).


Choosing visuals

• When creating visual schedules, it is important

to consider the visuals chosen

• Do the visuals make sense to the students?

• When you see this lunchbox, do you think it is

lunchtime? Do you think it means getting our

lunchbox or putting our lunchbox away? If we

do not have a lunchbox pictured like this one,

does that mean it relate to us?

Visual hierarchy

• When creating a visual schedule, it is important

to consider the type of visuals used • You may use a real object, for students that

needs you to show them the item (their actual

lunchbox) to understand the instruction

• An actual photograph may be best for students

who get stuck if a picture used (generic

lunchbox), is not the same as their item.

• For some students using a line-drawing may

support their understanding

• While other students may benefit from a line-

drawing with addition of written words

• For older students or students that may be self-

conscious of symbols, written words of the

steps may be beneficial (if the student is able to

read).


Supporting students to follow a visual schedule

• Students that have significant difficulty

following instructions or asking for help, may

benefit from a visual schedule with ‘to do’ and

‘done’ columns

• This allows the student to physically track their

steps and can be helpful for school staff to

visually check what step/s the student may

need help with


Making transitions engaging and curriculum

focused

• Some students can be reluctant to transition,

particularly if the activity is non-preferred

• To support students to transition to less

preferred activities, consider ways to make the

transition motivating and educational. This can

include

o Creating I-spy activities or scavenger

hunts

o Starting the lesson with a quiz game

o Creating a game-based activity to

review content

o Introducing the lesson with a song or

video


Using movement breaks during transitions

• Research suggest movement breaks can

support executive functioning, on-task

behaviour and academic scores (Egger, Benzing,

Conzelmann & Schmidt 2019; Mavilidi et al,

2019)

• It can be difficult to find the ‘right’ movement

break, ensuring it does not lead students to

become too excited or heightened or too

relaxed and disengaged

• Consider using movement breaks that start with

increased movement and noise and then slowly

reduce to stillness and quiet

Visuals to support organisation

• As well as a visual schedule, visual cues can

support students to organise their belongings

during transitions

• Consider creating whole school visual cues

• Classroom visual cues that outline the materials

required for each lesson may also be helpful


Social narratives

• Social narratives can be used to support

students to understand the routine and

expectations during a transition

• When creating a social narrative, it is important

to focus on the who, what, where and how

questions

(Briody & McGarry, 2005)

Visual hierarchy and social narratives

• When constructing a social narrative, consider

referring to the visual hierarchy (discussed

above) when choosing the images

Visuals timers

• Visual timers can be used to support the

understanding of time without requiring

students to be able to tell the time

• They can be used to pre-warn students of how

much time remains and/or to motivate students

to perform transitions in a timely manner

(Dettmer, Simpson, Myles, & Ganz, 2000).

Generalising strategies across transitions

• The strategies discussed can be applied to all

transitions that occur within the school day


Professional Learning

• Available on SALDA website: salda.org.au

o Online Learning Modules

o Recorded webinars

o Upcoming webinars

o Range of handouts and resources

Final Notes

• Please complete the feedback survey

• Consider accessing the SALDA SSS Professional

Network on Facebook for more support

• Contact details listed on slide

References

Arlin, M. (1979). Teacher Transitions Can Disrupt Time Flow in Classrooms. American Educational Research

Journal, 16(1), 42-56.

Banerjee, R., & Horn, E. (2012). Supporting Classroom Transitions Between Daily Routines. Young

Exceptional Children, 16(2), 3–14. doi: 10.1177/1096250612446853

Briody, J., & McGarry, K. (2005). Using Social Stories to Ease Children’s Transitions. Young Children on the

Web Young Children on the Web.

Colvin, G., Sugai, G., Good, R. H., & Lee, Y. (1997) . Using active supervision and precorrection to improve

transition behaviors in an elementary school. School Psychology Quarterly, 12, 344-363. Doi:

10.1037/h0088967

Dettmer, S., Simpson, R., Myles, B., & Ganz, J. (2000). The use of Visual Supports to Facilitate Transitions of

Students with Autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 15, 163-169

Dooley, P., Wilczenski, F. L., & Torem, C. (2001). Using an Activity Schedule to Smooth School Transitions.

Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 3(1), 57–61. doi: 10.1177/109830070100300108

Egger, F., Benzing, V., Conzelmann, A., & Schmidt, M. (2019). Boost your brain, while having a break! The

effects of long-term cognitively engaging physical activity breaks on children’s executive functions and

academic achievement. Plos One, 14(3). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212482


Hemmeter, M. L., Ostrosky, M. M., & Corso, R. M. (2011). Preventing and Addressing Challenging Behavior.

Young Exceptional Children, 15(2), 32–46. doi: 10.1177/1096250611427350

Hume, K., Sreckovic, M., Snyder, K., & Carnahan, C. R. (2014). Smooth Transitions: Helping Students With

Autism Spectrum Disorder Navigate the School Day. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 47(1), 35–45. doi:

10.1177/0040059914542794

Mavilidi, M. F., Drew, R., Morgan, P. J., Lubans, D. R., Schmidt, M., & Riley, N. (2019). Effects of different

types of classroom physical activity breaks on children’s on‐task behaviour, academic achievement and

cognition. Acta Paediatrica, 109(1), 158–165. doi: 10.1111/apa.14892

Mesibov, G. B., Browder, D. M., & Kirkland, C. (2002). Using Individualized Schedules as a Component of

Positive Behavioral Support for Students with Developmental Disabilities. Journal of Positive Behavior

Interventions, 4(2), 73–79. doi: 10.1177/109830070200400202

Rosenkoetter, S. E., & Fowler, S. A. (1986). Teaching mainstreamed children to manage daily transitions. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 19(1), 20-23.doi: 10.1111/004005998601900104

Ryan, È., Bailey, A. L., & Grace, Y. H. (2019). Rethinking the role of transitions between activities in early

childhood settings: An examination of their linguistic characteristics in two preschool classrooms. Journal of

Early Childhood Literacy, 146879841987059. doi: 10.1177/1468798419870596

Sanders, M. G. (2001). The Role of "Community" in Comprehensive School, Family, and Community

Partnership Programs. The Elementary School Journal, 102(1), 19–34. doi: 10.1086/499691

Weldy, G. R. (1990). Stronger School Transitions Improve Student Achievement. NASSP Bulletin, 74(523),

60–73. doi: 10.1177/019263659007452312

Documents

Transitions Within the School Day Webinar