Abstract:

The purpose of this pilot study is to increase the understanding of classroom communication between the special school's students and pedagogues/teachers. This is done by focusing on classroom situations where digital tools are used in the interaction between students and pedagogues.

The study was conducted in the autumn of 2022 at a municipality-wide primary special school in Sweden. The school includes students with autism and autism-like conditions from preschool up to grade 9 ( 6 - 15 years old). One of the school's most important missions is to provide the students with communication that they can use - in all situations. As many students in the school lack a spoken language, several different but also alternative and complementary communication methods are used, including digital tools/aids. However, the most common (digital) devices for communication at school are notebooks and IPads.

The use of digital tools in teaching situations in special schools is today common all over the world [1]. And because communication is fundamental to self-determination and is considered to contribute to increased quality of life, there are several interventions designed for people with neurodevelopmental disorders focusing on improving communication skills [2]. Although previous research points to the widespread use of digital tools for communication, there is still a lack of research into quality aspects of communication with a few exceptions, see for example [3].

Based on the assumption that the desire to communicate is affected if the student finds it meaningful, we seek answers to in which classroom situations communication occurs, either on the student's own initiative or in response to the teacher's insistence. As well as we want to identify in which situations communication fails i.e no response to a question.

The study includes two types of qualitative data: 1) teachers documenting communication situations, and 2) researchers' observation of lectures. The data was analyzed guided by the question: “In which situation does communication make sense for the student?”

The results show us that the students included in this study, use digital tools in several different situations ranging from sending an email during class to tell guardians about the school day, to choosing which color to paint with during lessons. The data also shows us that the students seek communication with their teachers to a varying degree and that the communication often includes a digital tool if such is available. When communication fails, we see how the pedagogues try several different techniques to enable several different ways of responding.

References:
[1] Cumming, T., Rodríguez, C. D., & Strnadová, I. (2014). Aligning iPad applications with evidence-based practices in inclusive and special education. In Assistive technologies: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 397-420). IGI Global.
[2] Bailey, B., Bryant, L., & Hemsley, B. (2021). Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality for Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Communication Disability and Neurodevelopmental Disorders: a Systematic Review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1-24.
[3] Sutton, B. M., Webster, A. A., & Westerveld, M. F. (2019). A systematic review of school-based interventions targeting social communication behaviors for students with autism. Autism, 23(2), 274-286.

Keywords:

Special education, communication, digital tools.