These are activity boards I made for the new woodworking table in Abe’s pre-school classroom. We chose the short, stout screwdriver to be easier to grasp for small hands. This idea was borrowed from a Montessori catalog.
Drawing with Sharpies on wood is fun.
The hex driver.
This is an older graphic I found recently, from a training guide I developed for Oregon’s Individual Support Plan. The system was rather complex and one of the most difficult aspects was the Risk Tracking Record, a lengthy document that was used to identify health and safety concerns for people with developmental disabilities. The icon for Behavior Risks is adapted from a typical Beetle Bailey fight.
Educate, illustrate, illuminate. Hydrologic system.
Disruption is the one constant for young people with developmental disabilities in the service supports system. Many kids move from placement to placement, pushed along by rules regarding age and suitability of setting. All young people must move from their existing program, generally a group or foster home, when they turn eighteen. Even under the best of circumstances, this transition is difficult. There’s great uncertainty; it is often very hard to find any openings, never mind a place the kid really wants to move to. The process is cumbersome as well, involving a host of people sometimes dispersed across the vast expanse of Oregon. There are often people involved with overlapping roles, but with very different expectations. This graphic was created to help clarify the process and who is responsible for the various steps.
The “Transitioning Youth” graphic demonstrates a complex, yearlong, 18 step process on a single page. Icons and text reinforce each other and tell a story. This learning graphic is laid out to invite note-taking, engaging users on many levels all at once. The color key at the bottom clarifies role accountability within the process and is clear even when printed or copied in black and white.
Click the image below to link to a larger, more legible version. Many thanks to Amber Desjarlais for her help.
I drew up this graphic about Making A Paper Mache Head for the first ‘Talking Pictures’ class I did at the Direct Supports Conference. It was a full day session, giving me more room to show and play with samples.
Click the image for a larger, more legible version.
This graphic served multiple purposes in my session. I wanted a sample that was more playful than my workaday world of ISP process maps. Since the conference targets direct support workers from group homes and employment program across Oregon, I wanted a demonstration piece that could be taken and used with people with developmental disabilities. It was very important to me that people see how these tools can cross boundaries. It was also intended to show people the myriad of ways a single graphic can be used:
There are a ton of interactive strategies that could be useful for engaging someone in this activity. Some people might enjoy coloring the graphic or just naming items on the materials list. Cutting the graphic into smaller pieces could be a good sequencing exercise for someone familiar with the steps. And making paper mache together tends to be pretty interactive as well.
I was invited this past Wednesday to give a workshop on using graphics and visual organization as teaching tools at the Oregon Intervention System’s (OIS) Fall Forum. OIS is a comprehensive statewide system of positive behavior supports and non-aversive physical interventions for people with challenging behaviors. OIS is organized and taught by my coworkers at OTAC. Part of the system includes over 300 paraprofessional OIS trainers across the state. My workshop gave them additonal ways to look at sharing content in their OIS training sessions. It was three hours long and great fun. I based the outline on a previous, day-long workshop I had done at the Direct Support Conference this summer.
As if often the case, the greatest challenge to using big paper is the walls. The Hilton had stylishly carpeted the walls of the conference room. Good for sound-proofing, bad for tape. Paper peeled off the walls and quietly drifted to the floor until we apprehended some tacks.
After a graphically recorded round of intros, I launched into a small section of OIS content about reinforcement and punishment in very operant behavioral terms. This gave the participants a chance to see the direct relevance and application of graphics on their work. I want very much for this training to give people tools they can walk away and use the very next day.
As quickly as I can, I like to get people up and drawing. Everyone grabbed a marker or two and I led them through a set of drawing practice exercises. Colorful chaos reigned.
Sometimes I hang the paper too high.
For the remainder of the session, small groups convened and developed one content piece in a visual format. I am always astounded at how quickly people embrace these concepts and how cool their ideas are. Each group chose a section of the curriculum that they found challenging to present either because it was very dry or confusing to learners. I wandered around the room, enjoying the spark of creativity and offering occassional ideas.
At the close of the session, each group presented their visual content to the larger group. In most cases this was just to explain it, though one group did role model how they would use their visuals.
POSITIONING
One group developed this brilliant storyboard to explain the various ways body postioning can be used to support people with behavior challenges. In some cases body placement, even without any contact, can be considered a restraint, making a clear understanding of how to do this- and not do this- essential for trainees. Drawing this on bigger paper would allow more space between the panels making it clearer to trainees. Dig the stoplights.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The second group looked at ways to help trainees understand their responsibilities and how to present themselves professionally. They illustrated the various attributes of a good staff person with playful images. They also devised a fun graphic activity to identify an unprepared worker. The troubled employee, here seen wearing her “The Boss” tee-shirt has on open-toed shoes, tuggable dangling earrings and a host of other risk factors that would impact her ability to safely carry out her job duties. Trainess would have to identify the risks and explain why they presented a danger.
Check out the Keith Haring figure and the Buddha representing self-control.
TEN SAFETY POINTS
To successfully become certified in OIS, trainees must demonstrate competency with a host of physical strategies for safely managing dangerous behaviors. There are ten key safety points they must remember as they demonstrate the practices. The third group devised a series of posters that could be used to explain the safety principles and then hang on the wall as a helpful reminder as people practiced the physical procedures in training. ‘No joints’ really means to avoid wrists, elbows, knees and other bendy parts when making physical contact with someone. It’s equally true though, that one should not do OIS stoned.
BEHAVIOR PLAN
The final group role modeled their graphic, an interactive way to teach about the structure and use of a behavior plan. This was the only part of the day where the carpeted walls were a problem. The Vanna White style lifting of papers caused all kinds of tack malfunctions. The presentation still came out cool though.
This graphic used space very effectively. The boxes correspond proportionately to the sections of the plan; section A is the proactive part of supports and should be the largest part of the plan. In section D, the reintegration plan for after an incident, the staff is supposed to give the person a lot space while they relax. In the proactive section, please note that the individual in question very much likes orange Gummi Worms.
I am very pleased with the workshop and the quality of work people were able to produce in such short order. Every time I do this session I get more and more convinced that graphics and visual strategies are simply the best, most effective, clearest ways to share information. I can’t imagine teaching without a marker or five in my hands. I hope some of the people I do this workshop with get that same feeling.
My sincere appreciation to everyone who attended, especially Pat, Shannon and Carol who specifically requested this workshop be part of the Forum. My thanks also to Dave, Christy, Erin, Jenny, Kris, Betsy, Warren and Gary of the OIS team, for inviting me to the Forum and for taking part in the session. And for the baby clothes!
As part of OTAC’s involvement with the Good to Great Project, I have been helping an organization create management training tools. One of their star managers, Amber, is leaving later this month. This day planner graphic represents one way of summarizing the main functions of Amber’s work, running the Specialized Foster Care program. This is not a literal schedule, but a representation of her major functions, including some of the stuff that just pops up.
The graphic is intended as an interactive tool. The tasks of the day should spark conversations. Ideally, Amber will be able to talk through it with her replacement. If that doesn’t happen, the graphic will become an important link in the information chain, providing a tool for much-needed continuity. Amber can explain it through with her manager, who can use it as a training tool. There’s tons of space around the margins for adding notes and there’s also a blank planner page, for all the stuff that didn’t make it onto this busy day.
Next step: a month planner that captures some of ther recurring functions and reporting duties the program coordintor is responsible for.
Click the graphic below to see an expanded, legible version.
During last week’s ELP Gathering I presented a small section of Helen Sanderson’s work on Positive and Productive Meetings. My section was based on a graphic I had done for her paper, depicting the PPM process.
This presented challenges. I had to find a way to express a very visual and active process to a hundred people. I use graphics as my primary teaching tool now, but generally with groups no larger than 35. This was a big jump in scale and I worried about visibility and resolution- how much information would be available to everyone. Another challenge was how to keep the attention of this many people after lunch in a room scattered with laptops and blessed with free wireless. This was day four of the conference, the last afternoon for many people. Attention spans would be short and eyelids would be heavy with sleep.
A slide projector would cover more wall space than a paper graphic, but would lack the energy. Despite the size, PowerPoint slides have limited information resolution. I opted for bigger paper hung higher. I teetered precariously on two chairs to draw the graphic. I think it’s harder to ignore the trainer when he’s in mortal peril as he draws pictures and gesticulates meaningfully.
I drew in the background green arrow with pastels in advance and almost knocked myself out with the fixative fumes. In pencil I laid out the general size and location of the ten steps. Standing on the chairs was a bit precarious at first, but once I got comfortable I forgot where I was. I appreciated being higher and able to see the faces of the people in the back. As I drew I referred frequently to the original graphic to make sure I got sequence and visual symbols right. The audience had copies of the graphic as well and I engaged them by asking what the characters were talking about or other details. When doing a graphic like this, with a narrative flow, depicting a human process, I try to add small details. I believe a good graphic will invite the eye in and encourage it to stay with the story. If someone asks, “Why are they talking about books and soccer at the meeting?” the graphic has done it’s job of inviting inquiry.
What worked:
Shared the process in some detail by building the graphic in real time with participants
Received good attention and eye contact
People talked with me and asked questions
Didn’t fall to my doom
Would change:
I wish I spent more time on the drawing. In reality, the quality of the drawing matters little; it’s the way visuals engage learners that really make them work. Still, I always want the drawings to be the best they can. I rushed unnecessarily.
I should have practiced large. There simply wasn’t time, but that usually helps a great deal. Drawing feels very different when using big gestures and the whole body. I probably should have practiced standing on chairs too.
