The first step is to understand what the Expanded Core is. Next, you can support the ECC by collaborating with your teacher of students with vision impairments (TSVI). The key points to remember about supporting the Expanded Core in your classroom or lesson is to know that students with vision impairments require explicit, hands-on instruction. Many of the routines that occur daily in your classroom support the Expanded Core. Have high expectations for students. Here's a short webinar that provides more information. 

A Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (also called a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, a vision specialist, VI teacher, vision itinerant teacher, etc.) is typically a licensed special education teacher who has received certification and specialized training, in meeting the educational needs of students who are blind or have visual impairments ages birth through 21 (states vary on the criteria for certification as a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments).  This is an instructional position, as opposed to a related service or vision therapy. (Willings, 2020). Quick resources for more information: The Central Role of the Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments; Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments

What is a certified orientation and mobility specialist (COMS)? 

The Orientation & Mobility Specialist is a certified instructor who has received specialized training in teaching people who are blind or visually impaired to travel safely, gracefully and efficiently throughout their environments including indoor and outdoor, familiar and unfamiliar. (Willings, 2020). For more information: The Role of the Orientation and Mobility Teacher in the Public Schools

Assessing the Expanded Core skills have been challenging for teachers for a long time. There are ECC assessments. The main assessments are found in the EVALS kit and includes the Independent Living Skills Assessment (ILSA). This can be purchased from the Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired (TSBVI). For all teachers, the book ECC Essentials has several assessment resources for typically developing students to students with additional disabilities. ECC Essentials can also be purchased from Amazon. A new assessment, the Expanded Core High School Readiness Checklist, was developed based on EVALS and other evidence-based assessment. You can get your free copy here. For students in grades 9-12, teachers can use the College Success@Perkins College Readiness Checklist. For students with multiple impairments, the Basic Infused Skills Assessment (included in the EVALS kit) is a guide. There are three essential assessments that all students with vision impairments need: the Functional Vision Assessment (FVA), Learning Media Assessment (LMA) and ECC Screening. Check out this webinar to learn more about these essential assessments. Michigan Low Incidence Outreach has a number of ECC assessments, checklists and resources. 

The 9 areas of the Expanded Core have been organized to meet the unique needs of students with vision impairments. ECC is not taught the same as academic subjects. Quality ECC instruction infuses parts & skills of each area that work to provide a deeper understanding for students. Read here to see all 9 areas. Teachers should identify ECC areas and skills when developing lesson plans. 

Click here to view the Measurable Goal Matrix developed by Karen Blankenship. 

The exciting thing about the Expanded Core is that there are opportunities all day, everyday for learning! From cooking recipes to developing a hobby, there's no limit to Expanded Core learning. There are a few important factors to remember when you are designing ECC activities or lessons: 

1) Consider the relevance to real world learning. Always make sure there are real world applications (avoid doing something just for the sake of doin it). 

2) Remain focused on what the learning objective is.  It's easy to lose focus on the critical parts when so much fun is happening! State the learning objectives at the start of each lesson or activity. 

3) Use our ECC assessments as a guide. They identify skills that you can infuse into instruction and later assess. 

4) Remain focused on students "doing the doing". It is easy to spend a lot of time of talking a student through an activity. Make sure they are active participants throughout learning. 

5) Activity ideas-here are a few places to get your ECC ideas going:  Paths to Literacy and Paths to Technology have a lot of resources for students of all abilities. The Independent Little Bee is has several activity ideas, suggestions and lessons. Follow us on social media for more ideas. Our team shares all of our activities and lessons!

There are a number of excellent resources for providing instruction:

• For students who are deaf-blind or have additional disabilities, using proper instructional techniques is key. One foundation strategy is to use hand-under-hand instruction. Here's a guide with video on how to proper hand-under-hand instruction. 

• Instructional Strategies for Students with Multiple Disabilities: A collection of resources to address language, literacy and more.

• Top 10 Tips for Working with Students Who Have Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairments 

• Active Learning Space: Dr. Lilli Nielsen's techniques that emphasize simple ways to change the environment so that a child becomes an "active learner".

We are to help! Request our ECC Cheat Sheets to help educate your school-based team and other today. We have cheat sheets that explain the Expanded Core and supports for related servers. 

We are to help teachers, parents and paraprofessionals with developing Expanded Core activities or lessons. Submit an ECC Virtual Helpdesk ticket to schedule a session. Sessions are 60 minutes and are free. Teachers that have similar helpdesk requests will be grouped together when possible. This allows us to build a community of practice to support teachers. We abide by confidentiality during group sessions. 

• The best place to start planning is with the student. Teachers can empower students to identify accommodations and give input for what works best for them. One accommodation, technology or support may not be enough. Most students require a combination of supports to allow flexibility to meet the educational needs. Some students may not feel comfortable speaking out in front of their peers. Teachers can arrange special time to meet with students to learn about their needs. Encourage your student to develop a vision disability statement. The teacher of students with vision impairments can lead this initiative. The disability statement allows students to identify their needs and accommodations.  

•  Here's some practical classroom strategies for designing your classroom. Click here for other quick tips for setting up your classroom. For students who have multiple impairments or CVI, be careful of visual clutter. Visual clutter can include complex patterns and too much visual information. This can happen in the classroom decor such as walls or bulletin boards as well as in clothing. Some teachers innocently wear clothing that is too visually complex for them. A simple black apron can help with this. Read more about strategies for students who have CVI or additional disabilities here.