SETT and ReSETT: Focus
on Student Tasks*
Joy Zabala, Gayl Bowser,
and Jane Korsten
The information in the SETT Framework is intended to guide teams through the
entire range of activities needed to provide assistive technology services–selection,
acquisition, and use of AT devices.. Although AT use is the main result of all
AT services, implementation and integration of AT into a student’s educational
program and life has been found to be one of the most challenging and least
understood parts of ongoing assistive technology service delivery. The recurrent
review and use of the SETT framework can be an extremely valuable tool to help
teams work together to support an AT user. In order to describe this process,
we have coined the term “ReSETT”.
When an IEP team has determined that assistive technology devices and services
are necessary, revisiting the SETT Framework helps teams plan for the student’s
effective use of AT in customary environments for the accomplishment of everyday
tasks. In order to expand the understanding of how the SETT Framework can be
an ongoing support for AT use, this ConnSENSE series focuses on implementation.
It offers strategies to help teams see the importance of keeping the information
in the SETT Framework up-to-date, accurate, and inclusive. When information
is reviewed periodically, the SETT Framework information can be used to guide
ongoing decisions about assistive technology services to students and measure
their impact on student performance and achievement.
Teams review the information in the SETT Framework to revisit their shared knowledge
of the student, the environments, and tasks. As they do this they ask themselves
what needs to happen so that they can work together to foster the learning and
growth of the student. Some questions may include:
What new learning do we expect to see for this student?
What environmental changes do we have to make in order to support student change?
How is the student’s performance on specific tasks expected to change
as a result of AT use?
How can we monitor the effects the use of an AT Tool has on a student’s
performance?
In previous articles, we have talked about some of the ideas that can help
teams use ReSETT to refine their information and actions about the student
and environment. We have presented the idea of helping a student develop competence
in a variety of skill areas related to AT. We have also identified strategies
for the team to use to examine the environments where the student will use
AT and to develop effective supports in those environments. In this segment,
we will focus on strategies to revisit the SETT Framework with a focus on
Student Tasks.
ReSETTing with a Task Focus:
What specific tasks will be targeted for AT use to support growth in student
achievement?
During an IEP meeting where assistive technology is considered, teams generally
describe the big picture of how AT will be used to help the student. The team
identifies specific life skills such as speaking, reading, and writing for
which the individual needs to use assistive technology supports. Later, during
implementation planning, it is important to more specifically define day-to-day
use of AT in functional routines and activities. We sometimes assume that
implementers will know how to integrate tools, accommodations or modifications,
but an educator who is unfamiliar with students’ use of assistive technology
tools and strategies may need help in identifying the places and times when
their use is warranted
When planning for implementation, a team can review all the things a student
does during a day or during a particular time period and make a plan about
which ones require the new tools, accommodations or modifications to increase
the student’s level of participation. As teams consider what help student
might need to overcome barriers to learning, four categories of tools and
strategies are available. They are changes in timing and scheduling, changes
in setting, changes in the presentation of instruction and changes in the
student’s mode of response.
In order to help teams plan well, Zabala and Korsten (2004) have developed
an activity-based implementation and evaluation plan that includes twelve
steps for planning the specifics of AT implementation. The first six steps
focus on how the student will participate in specific activities and the supports
that will be provided to ensure success. When ReSETTing, the team reviews
the general functional life skills (tasks) for which AT is required and identifies
specific day to day activities in that life skill that will require the student’s
use of AT.
Step 1 - Select activities and skills that will provide embedded opportunities
for the student to develop and use priority skills.
Once AT has been selected for a student, it’s time to take a look at
the total educational program and really focus on specific daily activities
and curricular demands in the student’s environment. One way to do this
is to simply make a list of everything that happens in a typical day. A good
way to start is to look at the daily or weekly class schedule and determine
which activities include tasks that are difficult or impossible for the student.
Once the initial review of the schedule is accomplished, it might be necessary
to look more closely at all the parts of an activity to see which parts the
student can complete independently and which parts may require the tools,
accommodations or modifications that the team has decided upon.
Step 2 - Identify barriers to performance or participation
There are four possible levels at which a student might participate in classroom
activities (Beukelman & Mirenda, 1998). Here’s a summary of Beukelman
and Mirenda’s levels of participation:
Levels of Participation
Competitive participation:
When students participate at the competitive level, they are required to meet
the academic standards of their peers. There is no need for curricular modifications,
however, when students participate at this level, they may not be required
to complete every activity. Shortened assignments or extended timelines are
the most common accommodations when students participate at a competitive
level.
Active participation:
Some students are able to participate in the general education curriculum,
however, they do not meet the same academic standards as their peers. When
this is the case, students are evaluated according to their individual goals
and often receive supplemental instruction to help them develop specific skills.
When students are active (but not competitive) participants in the curriculum,
modifications to daily activities may be needed.
Involvement:
Some students participate in classes and activities where the academic content
of their participation is minimal. For students who cannot be involved in
the same way that others are participating, alternative activities are often
developed. Once the student’s activities are identified, educators can
select from the full range of possible tools that the IEP team has selected.
The goal is always to ensure that the student is involved to the greatest
extent possible.
No Participation:
It’s important to recognize that it is possible for a student to be
physically present in a general classroom, but passive and uninvolved. This
level of academic participation is never acceptable. If, as an educator, you
are unable to identify ways that a student can be involved in classroom activities,
it’s time to ask for help from other team members.
Educators can use the levels of participation to think about the student’s
current level of performance for each daily task or routine and to determine
how the identified AT tools and strategies could help the student to participate
in a more active and independent manner. Most students participate at different
levels on different tasks. It’s important to help teams recognize this
as they begin to plan for AT use.
Step 3 - Identify the AT tools needed to remove barriers
Which of the student’s tools will be needed in each of these activities
in order to remove barriers to achievement? When and how will the student’s
tools be used? During implementation the team may already know what kinds
of tools and strategies to use with a particular student but there is still
a need to make a plan regarding when each one will be used. In order to make
that kind of plan, the best thing to do is to look at a typical day for the
student and then to identify the places within that day when each tool or
strategy might be used. It’s best to make a written plan so that each
educator and the student will know what is expected and what should be provided
during a particular time or a particular activity.
Step 4 - Identify strategies that encourage powerful participation
In order to make an implementation plan that incorporates the changes a student
might need in each of these categories, the team can ask questions like these:
1. What are the specific
activities that a student does each day which
might require the use of the functional skill for which tools have been provided?
2. What l
evel of participation is appropriate for the student in each
of these activities?
3.
Which of the student’s tools and strategies will be used in
each regular activity in order to help remove barriers to achievement?
When
and how will the student’s tools be used?
4.
How will everyone know about the specific expectations for this
student?
Step 5 - Determine when and how tools will be used
Sometimes use of an AT device is an effective way for a student to accomplish
a task. At other times, the AT may actually interfere with the student’s
independence or efficiency. Educators can help students to develop strategic
skills that allow them to choose the most effective tool for a situation.
Teams can also determine the specific times and places where they will expect
AT to be used and the times when another strategy for accomplishing the same
task might be more effective. When students use tools, they don’t use
them for every aspect of a life skill.
How will everyone know about the specific expectations for this student? Once
a written plan for a student’s participation in every-day tasks is developed,
there’s one more important step that must be taken. That’s to
make sure that everyone, especially the student, knows which tools and strategies
will be used during each activity. One of the most common reasons that technology
tools are not effective in helping students increase the quality, quantity
or independence of their work is that the plan is not effectively communicated
to the people who will be responsible for implementing it.
Step 6 - Determine cues to be used to support the student’s
learning and success
At this point, it’s a good idea to revisit the kinds of questions that
the team asked when thinking about the changes that were needed in the environments
and make sure that everyone has a clear understanding of their own role in
supporting this student’s technology use.
ReSETTing with a Focus on Change: Monitoring the effects of AT use
on a student’s achievement
The final step in looking at tasks is to identify how the team will know whether
their planning and organization has made a difference. As we look at change
from the perspective of tasks, one important question to ask is:
“How is the student’s daily performance on specific tasks
expected to change as a result of AT use?”
Implementation and evaluation of effectiveness are continuous on-going processes.
Including evaluation as part of the implementation plan helps teams focus
on functional results for students and their roles in determining whether
the AT is fostering achievement. It ensures that everyone has the same vision
for the student’s use of assistive technology and helps to avoid confusion
about expected outcomes. Steps seven through twelve of the Activity-Based
Implementation Plan help teams think about expected changes and what needs
to be done to ensure that evaluation of effectiveness is built into the implementation.
Step 7 - Determine the major area(s) of expected change in student performance
and identify the amount of expected to change.
Step 8 - Describe the minimum criteria for success
Step 9 - Identify factors which might undermine student progress
Step 10 - Determine what evidence (data) will be collected
Step 11 - Determine how, when, and by whom data will be collected and analyzed
Step 12 - Review data and modify the plan if indicated
Putting It All Together:
Use of the SETT Framework is an on-going process that can support the selection,
acquisition, and–most important–effective use of assistive technology.
When used to continually improve and expand a student’s educational
achievement, ReSETTing is not starting over, but rather revisiting the information
in the SETT Framework often in order to update and expand upon it as changes
in the student, the environments, the tasks and the tools occur. If the information
in the SETT Framework is accurate, up to date, and clearly inclusive of the
shared knowledge of all involved, the chances for effective implementation
are greatly enhanced. . Up-to-date information during implementation must
include a description of the student’s day to day use of assistive technology
in common routines to accomplish meaningful tasks. When AT implementation
is effective, improved student achievement is much more likely to result
In the next and final article in this series, we will discuss how team members
can think about and identify the tools and strategies they need in order to
successfully support a student who uses AT. We’ll use the concept of
ReSETT to help team members develop their own support systems and networks.
References:
Beukelman, D. & Mirenda, P. (1998). Augmentative and Alternative Communication:
Management of Severe Communication Disorders in Children and Adults. Baltimore,
MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Zabala, J.S. (1995) The SETT framework: critical areas to consider when making
informed assistive technology decisions. Houston, TX: Region IV Education
Service Center. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED381962)
Zabala, J.S., & Korsten, J.E. (1999). Making a measurable difference with
assistive technology: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Assistive Technology.
Preconference presentation at the 2001 Closing the Gap Conference. Minneapolis,
MN.
*This article is the
third in a series of four on SET and ReSETT. The first two articles in the
series can be found at:
SETT and Re-SETT: Concepts for AT Implementation
http://www.connsensebulletin.com/resett.html
SETT and ReSETT: AT Implementation Focused on the Environment
http://www.connsensebulletin.com/settenviron.html
