DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 461 192 EC 305 506

AUTHOR Dunn, Winnie; Gilbert, Mary Pat; Parker, KathyTITLE The Ecology of Human Performance Framework: A Model for

Identifying and Designing Appropriate Accommodations forAdult Learners.

PUB DATE 1997-00-00NOTE 21p.; In: Symposium on Accommodating Adults with

Disabilities in Adult Education Pograms. Proceedings of theNAASLN [National Association for Adults with SpecialLearning Needs] (6th, New Orleans, LA, September 26-28,1996); see EC 305 503.

PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Speeches/Meeting Papers (150)EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Adult Basic Education; Adult Learning; *Disabilities;

*Interdisciplinary Approach; Interprofessional Relationship;*Intervention; Models; *Occupational Therapy; Opinions

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes a model framework, The Ecology of Human

Performance (EHP) framework, for organizing adult basic education to utilizethe skills of occupational therapists. The paper also includes two responsesto the proposed framework by Janet S. Stotts and Cheryl Keenan. Reasons forthe inclusion of occupational therapy in adult education programs areoffered, including the field's expertise in identifying factors thatfacilitate or create barriers to performance and in the adjustments that canbe made to support individual needs. The EHP framework offers five strategiesfor addressing individual needs: (1) establish/restore the person's abilityto perform in context; (2) modify/adapt contextual features and task demandsto support performance in context; (3) alter the context to better match theindividual's abilities; (4) prevent problems by anticipating difficulties;and (5) create circumstances that promote more typical or complexperformances in context. Definitions are provided of major terms in the EHPframework, which is also schematically illustrated. The first response to theproposed model, by Janet Stotts, points out advantages of the EHP framework,notes differences between educators and therapists, and criticizes the modelfor focusing on deficits rather than strengths and on volunteer clients whounderstand the disability and seek assistance. The second response, by CherylKeenan, suggests translating the EHP model into a series of interventiontypes appropriate for basic education of adults with disabilities. (DB)

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Adult educators face many challenges as they serve individuals in theircommunity programs. Many consumers in adult education programs haveunique learning needs, but as professionals have become familiar with thelearning characteristics of persons with specific disabilities, the challengeshave taken on new features. For example, adult educators must nowunderstand how to respond to inquiries and requests to accommodatelearning tasks and environments so that consumers can participatesuccessfully. Even though many adult educators have madeaccommodations and adaptations for learning throughout their programs,with the focus on disabilities, there is an increasing need to know how toorganize these strategies so that they can be applied at the right time for theright needs.Although it is always possible to develop one's own framework for thinkingabout a problem, it is also useful to solicit knowledge and expertise of otherdisciplines which may have addressed aspects of the problem already. Ithas been uncommon for adult educators to work with occupationaltherapists, but occupational therapy has knowledge and expertise tosupport all types of accomrnodations. With an emphasis on identifying anddesigning the best ways to support persons to conduct their daily lives,occupational therapists can collaborate with adult educators to address thelearning issues in adult education programs. This paper offers a framework(i.e., the Ecology of Human Performance) for organizing adult educationknowledge to make it useful for the accommodations that are necessary tosupport the mandates of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Why Would Occupational Therapists be Involved in Adult BasicEducation?The first issue that must be addressed in this discussion is: 'Why wouldoccupational therapists be involved (or interested) in adult basic education?"There are four primary reasons why occupational therapists are goodpartners for adult educators. First, occupational therapists are concernedwith enabling persons to live satisfying lives. This overarching philosophy

aA provides a mechanism for examining the issues that face persons each day,which is also a primary focus for adult educators as they become involved inthe persons' lives.

Second, occupational therapists have expertise in identifying the factorsthat facilitate or create barriers to performance. Occupational therapistsconsider task, knowledge and skills, and environmental issues as they try to

Ecology of Human Performance FrameworkWinnie Dunn. Maly Pat Gilbert, and Kathy Parker 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 25

discover what helps persons to be successful, and what might be getting inthe way of persons completing necessary or desired tasks and meeting theirgoals. Task issues include performance of the daily life tasks themselves(i.e., self care, work, play/leisure). Knowledge and skill issues refer to thecomponents of task performance (i.e., sensorimotor, cognitive, psychosocialfeatures of performance); these components are part of the person'srepertoire. Environmental issues refer to the contexts for performance (i.e.,physical, social, cultural, temporal aspects of a person's environment); wemust not only consider the person's ability to perform tasks, but also wheretasks are performed because the context can make it easier or harder to dothings.

Third, occupational therapists have expertise in the transactions amongpersons, tasks and contexts and how this transaction can be adjusted tosupport what the person wants or needs to do. Therefore, this is animportant discipline to contribute to the process of designingaccommodations, for persons who have various learning and performanceneeds.

Finally, more than one-third of all occupational therapy personnel work inpublic education settings as their primary employment. Because of thistrend, occupational therapists are knowledgeable about educational servicemodels and recognize how to serve persons' needs in education frameworks.

What is the Ecology of Human Performance Framework?The Ecology of Human Performance is a framework for considering therelationships among persons (i.e., their skills, abilities and experiences),what persons want and need to do (i.e., their desired task performance) andwhere they need to conduct their daily lives (i.e., the contexts for desiredperformance) (see Figures 1 and 2). Persons and their contexts are uniqueand dynamic. It is impossible to understand the person without alsounderstanding the person's context (i.e., persons are imbedded in theircontexts). Persons influence contexts and contexts influence persons astask performance occurs.

A person who wishes to read the menu at a restaurant when out withfriends may need different strategies and accommodations to be successfulthan a person who wishes to read a letter from a family member while athome in the evening. In the restaurant, there are cues in the environment(e.g., other persons talking about the menu, pictures, people eatingsomething of interest at a nearby table). At home, the person may need toread less familiar words without other cues about the letter content.

The range of a person's performance is determined by considering theperson's skills, abilities and experiences and the context within which theperson must conduct daily life. A person's performance range can beenhanced or limited by the person's skills and by the context (see Figures 4and 5).

Ecology of Human Performance FrameworkWinnie Dunn. Maly Pat Gilbert. and Kathy Parker 26

A person wishes to log activities for his construction work. If he has typingskills, but a poor ability to write with a pencil, and has no computer at theconstruction site, lais performance range will be limited, because the contextdoes not support his desired task performance, even though he has a skillthat could (i.e., typing ability).The EHP offers a comprehensive framework for designing strategies tosupport a person's performance. The EBP framework enables professionalsto consider not only the skills the person might be able to develop, but alsothe skills the person already has and ways to change tasks and contexts tofacilitate successful performance. The EHP does not presume that theperson bears the total responsibility to be fixed. Rather, the focus is on thetransaction between the person's skills and the resources of the context; anyaspect that can be addressed to enable better and more satisfyingperformance is a viable strategy.

The EHP framework offers five strategies for addressing persons' needs (seeFigure 6). The Establish/Restore strategy addresses a person's ability toperform in context. When the adult educator knows about a person'sindividual strengths and needs (e.g., poor memory, good attention),strategies can be designed to take advantage of strengths while working onperformance skills that are weak and are keeping the person from achievingdesired outcomes.The Modify/Adapt strategies address contextual features and taskdemands so they support-the person's performance in context. Thesestrategies acknowledge what the person's strengths and needs are and buildaround them, so that the weak areas do not interfere with performance. Forexample, if a person has a poor memory, the provider might suggest using"post-it notes" in books, cue words on the cabinets and refrigerator, or adesk arrangement that reminds the person of important information ortasks. These strategies don't fix the memory problem, but rather keep thememory problem from interfering with performance.

The Alter strategies address the possible need to find an optimal contextfor the person. This means that the professional and the personacknowledge both the person's skills and needs, and the natural features ofvarious contexts, then search to find the best possible match between thetwo (i.e., without changing the person's skills or the demands/characteristics of the context). If a person is very distractible visually, onemight find a grocery store that will deliver groceries from a list. We wouldnot ask the person to get "less distractible," nor would we ask the grocerystore to change its procedures. However, the result would be a betterperformance outcome.

The Prevent strategies address our ability to anticipate a problem in thefuture. When using this strategy, it is important to remember that theproblem does not currently exist, but is likely to occur in the future if no

Ecology of Human Performance FrameworkWirmie Dunn. Mary Pat Gilbert. and Kathy Parker 4

27

changes are made in the current pattern of living. We don't have to wait 'fora person to face failure before offering a strategy for making a situationbetter. For example, if we anticipate that a person would have difficulty in alarger social situation, we could design a plan for the person to have a morefamiliar person closely available to support interaction rather than waitingfor an embarrassing situation to occur and then "fixing" it.

The Create strategies address circumstances that promote more typical orcomplex performance in context. We select these strategies when it wouldbe useful to apply our professional expertise in situations that all personsexperience. The focus of these strategies is not on disabilities, but ratherthe use of one's knowledge and expertise to solve a community problem.For example, occupational therapists might collaborate with a company todesign a workplace that is easier for everyone to use (e.g., adjustable tablesand chairs), or work with a community to design a playground thatstimulates optimal exploration by every child, not just children who havedisabilities. These strategies might be used less in current adult educationprograms.

How Can EHP be Useful in Adult Basic Education Programs?

The EHP framework and adult basic education have complementaryphilosophies. First, the EHP framework is a model for identifying needs anddesigning strategies to support more functional performance in daily life;adult basic education programs share the focus of supporting persons'functional abilities. Second, the EHP framework embraces both person andcontext strengths as critical resources for addressing performance needs; inadult basic education programs the educators identify and thke fulladvantage of the person's adaptive strategies as clues for future successesin learning. Third, in the EHP framework, the person's specific diagnosis ordisability category is not relevant to planning strategies with the personthefocus is on what the person wants and needs to do; in adult basic educationthe educator and the person work together to identify strengths and barriersto learning separate from known or unknown disability categories.

The EHP framework can help adult basic educators make systematicdecisions about identifying needs and designing strategies that match thoseneeds. The EHP offers adult basic educators a broad-focused andsystematic method for planning accommodations to support the person'sperformance. The EHP provides a mechanism for making decisions aboutpersons' goals and skills, tasks they wish to perform, and for consideringthe contextual supports and barriers to successful performance. The EHPalso enables adult educators to organize their knowledge and expertise inorder to make decisions about which accommodation strategies would bethe best match for the person (i.e., establish/restore, modify/adapt, alter,prevent, or create).

5Ecology of Human Performance FrameworkWinnic Dunn. Mazy Pat Gilbert. and Kathy Parker 28

How can OT's Provide Support for the Accommodation Process inAdult Basic Education?Occupational therapists and adult basic educators are excellent partnerswhen serving persons who have learning needs. The adult basic educatorcontributes expertise in skill development in the content area(s) of interestto the person being served. The occupational therapist contributes expertiseabout the relationships between the desired performance and possible taskor context adaptations that can better support successful performance.With these areas of expertise, both are interested in better functionalabilities, both consider the person's strengths and contextual supports ascontributors to a successful outcome, and both focus on performance needsrather than labels. With this partnership, consumers in adult educationprograms have access to wonderful opportunities to have successful andsatisfying lives.

Eco log/ of Human Performance FrameworkWITITItc Dunn. Mazy Pat Gilbert and Kathy Parker 29

ECOLOGY OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE (EHP) DEFINITIONSPerson: An individual with a unique configuration of abilities, experiences,and sensorimotor, cognitive, and psychosocial skills.

A. Persons are unique and complex and therefore precisepredictability about their performance is impossible.

B. The meaning a person attaches to task and contextual variablesstrongly influences performance.

Task: An objective set of behaviors necessary to accomplish a goal.A. An infinite variety of tasks exists around every person.B. Constellations of tasks form a person's roles.

Performance: Performance is both the process and the result of the personinteracting with context to engage in tasks.

A. The performance range is determined by the interaction betweenthe person and the context.

B. Performance in natural contexts is different than performance incontrived contexts (ecological validity, Bronfenbrenner, 1979)

Context: The AOTA Uniform Terminology (3rd ed.) definition for context isas follows:

Temporal Aspects (Note: Although temporal aspects are determined by theperson, they become contextual due to the social and cultural meaningattached to the temporal features):

1. Chronological: Individual's age.2. Developmental: Stage of phase of maturation.3. Life Cycle: Place in important life phases, such as career cycle,

parenting cycle, educational process.4. Health Status: Place in continuum of disability, such as acuteness

of injury, continuum of disability, or terminal nature of illness.Environment:

1. Physical: Non-human aspects of context (includes the naturalterrain, buildings, furniture, objects, tools, and devices).

2. Social: Availability and expectations of significant individuals, suchas spouses, friends, and caregivers (also includes larger socialgroups which are influential in establishing norms, roleexpectations, and social routines).

3. Cultural: Customs, beliefs, activity patterns, behavior standards,and expectations accepted by the society of which the individual isa member (includes political aspects such as laws, which shapeaccess to resources and affirm personal rights; also includesopportunities for education, employment, and economic support).

Ecology of Human Performance FrameworkWinnie Dunn, Mary Pat Gilbert. and Kathy Parker 7 30

Therapeutic Intervention: Therapeutic intervention is a collaborationbetween the person/family and the occupational therapist, directed atmeeting performance needs.

Therapeutic interventions in occupational therapy are multifaceted and canbe designed to accomplish one or all of the following.

Establish/Restore a person's ability to perform in context.Therapeutic intervention can establish or restore a person's abilitiesto perform in context. This emphasis is on identifying the person'sskills and barriers to performance, and designing interventions thatimprove the person's skills or experiences.

Adapt contextual features and task demands so they support performancein context.

Therapeutic interventions can adapt contextual features and taskdemands so they are more supportive of the person's performance. Inthis intervention, t.he therapist changes aspects of context andtasks so performance is more possible. This can include enhancingsome features to provide cues or reducing other-features to reducedistractibility.

Alter the actual context in which people perform.Therapeutic interventions can alter the context within which theperson performs. This intervention emphasizes selecting a contextthat enables the person to perform with current skills and abilities.This can include placing the person in a different setting that moreclosely matches current skills and abilities, rather than changing thepresent setting to accommodate needs.

Prevent the occurrence or evolution of maladaptive performance in context.Therapeutic interventions can prevent the occurrence or evolution ofbarriers to performance in context. Sometimes therapists cananticipate that certain negative outcomes are likely withoutinterventions to change the course of events. Therapists can createinterventions to change the course of events. Therapists can createinterventions that address person, context, and task variables tochange the course, thus enabling functional performance to emerge.

Create circumstances that promote more adaptable/complex performancein context.

Therapeutic interventions can create circumstances that promotemore adaptable performance in context. This therapeutic interventiondoes not assume a disability is present or has the potential tointerfere with performance. This therapeutic choice focuses onproviding enriched contextual and task experiences that will enhanceperformance.

Ecology of Human Performance FrameworkWhmle Dunn. Maty Pat Gilbert. and Kathy Parker 8 31

Figure 1

ECOLOGY OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE

io 0PERFORMANCE

PERSON

CONTEXT TASK

Figure 1: Schemata for the Ecology of Human Performance framework. Persons are imbedded in their contexts. Aninfinite variety of tasks exists around every person. Performance occurs as a result of the person interacting with context toengage in tasks.Figure 2: Schemata of a typical person Within the Ecology of Human P.rformance framework_ Persons use their skillsand abilities to 'took through' the context at the tasks they need or want to do. Person derive meaning from this process.Performance range is the configuration of tasks that persons execute.Figure 3: Illustration of Roles-in the Ecology of Human Performance framework. Life roles are a constellation of tasks.Persons have many roles; some tasks fall into more than one role. These rale configurations are unique for each person.Figure 4: Schemata of a person with limited skills and abilities within the Ecology of Human Performance framework.Although-context is still useful, the person has less skills and abilities to 'look through' context and derive meaning. This limitsthe person's range.Figure 5: Schemata of limited context within the Ecology of Human performance framework. The person has adequateskills and abilities, but the context does not provide resources needed to perform. In this situation, performance range islimited.Figure 6: Illustration of Therapeutic Interventions within the Ecology of Human Performance framework. The arrowsindicate the variables that are effected by each intervention.

Ecology of Human Perforznance FrameworkWinnie Dunn. Mazy Pat Gilbert. and Kathy Parker

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE32

REFERENCES

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge,MA: Harvard University Press.

Dunn, W., Brown, C & McGuigan, A. (1994). The ecology of humanperformance: A framework for considering the effect of context.American Journal of 0 cupational Therapy. 48, 595-607.

Dunn, W., Brown, C., McClain, L, & Westman, K. (1994). The ecology ofhuman performance: A contextual perspective on human occupation.In Royeen, C. (Ed.). AOTA Self Study Series: The Practice of theFuture: Putting Occupation Back into Therapy. AOTA: Rockville.

1 0Ecology of Human Performance FrameworkWinnie Dunn. Mary Pat Gilbert. and Kathy Parker 33

ECOLOGY OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE MODEL

Response by Janet S. Stotts

Advantages to using EMI in Adult Education

I agree with the authors when they say that it is too early to tell if there aregoing to be any advantages to using this model. Although the newintroduction that was added states that "the model is prescriptive as well,providing a logical process for determining and selecting interventions tohelp an individual function in an environment," the original closing sectionstates that "scholars will therefore need to refine these constructs byassessing their adequacy and answering practice-oriented questions." Itgoes on to say: "A primary question is: 'How do we capture contextualfeatures objectively, and how do we then decide which features are salientfor particular performance situations?'" They go on to decry the "tendencyto take ideas created through professional dialogue in the literature andregard them as certainty..."I believe that their original conclusion is correct and that while there aresome interesting ideas in this piece that can be fleshed out by further study,this is by no means ready to adopt for practice in occupational therapy; andeven less so, to translate into another field. The ideas that are mostinteresting are the emphasis on considering a person's environment whenplanning any type of intervention and the five types of interventions that aredelineated.The idea that a person's environment is important to his or her educationalplanning, regardless of whether the person has a disability, is certainly nota new one to most adult educators. Indeed, it is the foundation of one of themost successful programs in adult education, family literacy. However, therelative newness of an idea is not a reliable measure of its utility, so it isnever amiss to remind adult educators of the importance of a student'senvironment in his or her educational planning.

The five categories of accommodations are also a helpful concept. They canremind adult educators of all the possibilities that should be consideredbefore instruction or testing can begin. However, there are a number ofthings that must happen before students and educators get to this point.They are covered in the next section.

Challenges Regarding the Use of EHP in Adult Education:The Differences Between Educators and TherapistsOccupational therapists and adult educators have different degrees ofpreparation to work with adults who have disabilities. Therapists arespecifically trained to work with disabilities in both adults and children. Asfar as I know, there is no college or university in Kansas, and few enough in

Ecology of Human Performance ModelJanet S. Stotts , Respondent

ii34

other states, that offer courses in adult basic education for adults withdisabilities. Even certified teachers only have a class in 'The ExceptionalChild" unless they have Special Education certification. And even then, thecourse work references the K-12 educational system, not working withadults.This lack of the theoretical background necessary to inform choicesregarding curricular interventions combined with a lack of experienceworking with adults with disabilities is one of the biggest challenges adulteducators face, regardless of the model chosen to assist them. This makes iteven more imperative that whomever is drawing up the model not make anyassumptions about the knowledge base of those who will be implementingthe model.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was a huge unfunded mandate for thefield of adult basic education. Programs that only have the necessaryfunding to serve 3% or less of their target population were challenged toexpand their service to an expensive population. While a few adulteducation state offices have managed to get their state's special educationfunding to apply to their clients in adult education who are 21 or younger,for the vast majority of adult education students, there are no sources offunding to cover the expense of hiring additional adult basic education staffand no sources of funding for any of the interventions.

Occupational therapists usually work full-time with the accompanying perksand responsibilities. Adult educators often work part-time, from as few asthree to as many as thirty hours a week, usually without benefits. It is alucky adult educator that gets paid for even one hour of preparation time.Any extra time spent with students who need special attention is usuallyunpaid time. While many interventions can be done at little or no expense,the biggest challenge is paying the salary of whoever it is that reviews thestudent's assessments, decides on the appropriate interventions, and thentakes the time to implement them.

The whole area of assessment is a major challenge for adults, especiallythose with learning disabilities. The authors presume that adult educators,like therapists, know what the "skills and abilities" of the adults withdisabilities who enter their programs are and how those disabilities affecttheir students' education and their lives. They also presume that the adultsknow what their disabilities are and what their needs are. This is seldom thecase when serving undereducated adults, especially those with learningdisabilities. A primary challenge of educators is to find the necessaryfunding for adult assessment and a professional who is experienced inassessing adults. They also need to be able to interpret the results cif theassessment in terms that students can understand and accept. If studentneeds are not known, it is impossible to correctly fulfill those needsregardless of which model of therapeutic intervention is used.

12Ecology of Human Performance ModelJanet S. Stotts Respondent 35

Ecology of Human Performance Model is a Deficit-Based Model,Not a Strengths-Based ModelThe EBP model focuses on what the person cannot do and how to eitherestablish or restore the person's abilities or change either the task or theenvironment to make up for that person's supposed "deficiencies." I wouldsuggest that the first set of terms, "establish or restore," both of which implyan absence of an ability, be changed to "enhance" which implies furtheringan ability that already exists.

According to the authors, some interventions "...are common options chosenby therapists, particularly within the medical model, which considers whatis wrong with the person and sets a plan to correct the problem." On theother hand, good educational planning looks at a student's strengths in allfacets of his environment and uses those strengths as the starting point forany activities or interventions. The challenge for adult education in thissituation is the same as those mentioned above: how to afford theassessments that will identify a student's strengths and how to pay for thetime of the person who plans the individual educational program based onthose strengths.The ERE' Model Mainly Focuses on Services to Volunteer Clients orTheir Families Who Understand the Disability and Seek AssistanceThe model takes it for granted that the clients/families understand thedisability and are willing participants in attempts to intervene. One of themost difficult challenges faced by adult educators is that many students willnot accept the designation of having a learning disability because in theirminds it is the same thing as mental retardation, and they refuse to acceptinput to the contrary. None of the categories of interventions mentioned bythe authors are possible if students do not believe that they need them orwould rather struggle along without them than accept that they have alearning disability. Despite the fact that there are accommodations availablein many areas of their lives, they will forgo these accommodations ratherthan accept what they view as an unacceptable label.

Without knowledge of the label, however, they will never learn to self-advocate. Other students will accept their learning disability but only in alimited context. Once they get their GED, they lose all interest in learninghow this disability will affect them in their other facets of their life. Even inpreparing for the GED, they will complain about any attempt to presentmaterial on learning to learn. If it does not have a direct relationship to theGED, they view it as a waste of time Counseling would be helpful in thesesituations, but again the question of funding arises. Who will pay thecounselor?

In conclusion, while the authors' article contains some ideas that can be ofuse to adult educators, I believe that the differences in funding and trainingof the professional and the differences in those that they serve will make it

Ecology of Human Pcrformance ModdJanct S. Sto tts Rcspondcat 13 36

challenging to adopt this model even after it hns been'more thoroughlyexamined and researched.

14Ecology of Human Performance ModelJanet S. Stotts Respondent 37

THE ECOLOGY OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE MODEL

Response by Cheryl Keenan

Following is a summqry of my thoughts on the Ecology of HumanPerformance Model as it pertains to teaching adults with disabilities.

The model was presented in a paradigm appropriate for use in theoccupational therapy field. However, the model has potential for translationinto a paradigm that would be useful to an adult educator who is teachingindividuals with disabilities. The primary advantage is that, if adapted, itwould give adult educators a systematic way to approach accommodations.In its translation, the model would support existing and emergingknowledge in the field of adult education in the following ways. The modelwould support teaching in the context of an adult's life and account for anaccumulation of experience. It would address performance as a "range" andlink it to context. It would demonstrate the problems associated withisolated approaches to teathing basic skills out of context and it wouldreinforce the application of skill or transfer of learning.

A preliminary attempt at translation of intervention types appropriate foradult education could be as follows:

1. Establish or restore the skill in context of the learner's life context.It may be more appropriate to refer to the "establish or restore" interventionmore generally as "skill development or skill enhancement." Theconnotation of the intervention as stated is one of a remedial nature andemphasizes a "deficit model" or a "medical model" of intervention which issometimes inappropriate for adult skill development.

2. Alter the context.

This intervention actually assumes no intervention with the learner or theskill, but rather adapts the environment. It assumes living within thefunctional limitation of the disability, and while it is very appropriate for anoccupational therapy paradigm, it may be inappropriate for the adulteducation paradigm. If there is no goal to enhance or develop a basic skill,the intervention is not appropriate for adult education services. Accordingly,this intervention should be dropped from the translation model.

3. Adapt the task to support the context in which it is taught and will beperformed.

This intervention is probably the most appropriate for adult education as itdescribes systems by which a teacher can make true accommodations ininstructional strategies and physical environment in which to teach skillsenhancement.

Ecology. of Human Performance ModelCheryl Keenan. Respondent 15 38

4. Prevent failure.

While the occupational model presents the intervention as preventing"maladaptive performance," an adult education model could use thisstrategy in a pro-active manner. For example, if the program establishes aclear understanding of the types of activities it offers, the level ofcommitment needed, the way learners will participate in the evaluation oftheir own learning goals, etc., it will "prevent" a learner from dropping outbecause of unrealistic expectations. In effect, by establishing goodcommunication processes up front, learners will be less likely to view theirparticipation as "failures" and will be more likely to continue in the program.

5. Create a sound educational environment for all students.This intervention emphasizes that if a program has good educationalpractices in place for all of its learners, learners who have disabilities willalso benefit. Those practices must emphasize teaching in context andviewing performance in the context in which it will be applied.

In defining areas for future work, the article is consistent with several newdirections in adult education. It discusses the need to develop assessmentsystems which link to intervention strategies, or in education terms, linksassessment to curriculum and instruction. It defines the need to focus onwhich strategies have greater patient outcomes and on the need to focus onhow certain contexts support performance in like environments or, ineducation terms, transferring learning.

16

Ecology of Human Performance ModelCheryl Keenan. Respondent 39

ECOLOGY OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE MODEL:A POTENTIAL ADULT EDUCATION

ADAPTATION

Establish or restore the skill in the learner's lifecontext.

Alter the context.

Adapt the task to support the context in which it is taughtand will be performed.

Prevent failure.

Create a sound educational environment for all students.

17Ecology of Human Performance ModelChexyl Keenan. Respondent 40

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base

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needs

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ities

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ach

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raille

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tern

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atCh

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ght o

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ovid

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prin

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uts

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lle,

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ort c

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air-

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pro

gram

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ide

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nifie

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evel

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ched

ule

with

freq

uent

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ks a

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st p

erio

ds

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p a

team

of l

earn

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to p

rodu

cea

cla

ssro

om n

ewsl

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rPr

omot

e fo

rmat

ion

of s

tudy

gro

ups 19

1Cas

e Ex

empl

aSa

m s

tate

s th

at h

e ha

s d

fficu

lty s

ittin

g st

ill fo

r ext

ende

d pe

riods

of t

ime

Sam

tells

you

that

he

has

rece

ntly

rece

ived

apo

or p

erfo

rman

ce ra

ting

at w

ork

wher

e he

sits

and

mon

itors

vide

o fe

edba

ck fo

r a .s

ecur

Ity o

ffice

at a

sho

ppin

g m

all

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blish

/R

esto

re

Red

ucet

he'

Impa

irmen

t.,

Mak

eap

prop

riate

refe

rral t

ode

crea

seag

itatio

n

Adap

ted

from

:

Adap

ted

from

:

Sitti

ng to

lera

nce:

Sitti

ng fo

r lon

g pe

riods

cause

sin

crea

sed

agita

tion

and

decr

ease

d at

tent

ion

to ta

sk.

BUilc

iCo

mpe

nsat

ory.

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urag

e le

arne

rto

brin

g "f

idge

t"o

bjects

, for e

xam-

ple,

pap

er c

lips,

smal

l bal

ls, e

tc.

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urag

e hi

m/

her t

o us

e th

ese

item

s to

relie

vebu

ildin

g te

nsio

n.

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e le

arne

r che

wgu

m, l

icor

ice,

lol-

lipop

or c

hcw

on

tubi

ng.

Js

1011

Misr

atan

av

Chan

ge th

e Ta

sko

rEx

pect

atio

ns.

:Afta

nger

riertt

:ii!CO

htei

i idw

hiCh

theL

earn

erPr

eVen

t the

;,

Prob

lem

fro:

Alte

rmie

Pr

ths

the

Occ

urrin

gTe

chno

logy

Task

Allo

w e

xtra

tim

eto

com

plet

eas

signm

ents.

Use

diff

eren

tty

pes o

f cha

irs(e.

g., ro

cking

chai

r, be

anba

gch

air,

ther

apy

ball)

I

Hav

e le

arne

r sit

clos

e to

the

teac

her,

on th

e _-

fring

es o

f a q

uiet

corn

er,

and/

or. .

:aw

ay fr

om th

e,

win

dow

.

Low

er th

elig

hts

Hav

e le

arne

r tak

ea

brea

k ev

ery

half

hour

and

enc

our-

age

him

/her

tole

ave

the

clas

s-ro

om

and

take

aw

alk.

Hav

e le

arne

r wor

kw

ith a

par

tner

who

will

cue

hirn

/he

r to

stay

on ta

sk

Dun

n, W

., Br

own,

C.,

& M

cGui

gan,

A. (1

994).

The

ecol

ogy

of h

uman

per

form

ance

: A fr

amew

ork

for c

onsid

erin

gth

e ef

fect

of c

onte

xt.

Amer

ican

Jou

rnal

of O

ccup

atio

nal T

hera

py, 4

8, 5

95-6

07.

,

Smith

R. (1

993).

Tech

nolog

y Part

II: A

dapti

ve E

quipm

ent a

nd Te

chno

lOgy

. AOT

ASe

lfSt

ucly1

Serie

s 41

8.Cl

assio

orn.

Appl

icatio

ns fo

r Sth

ool

Base

d Pr

actic

e. C

harlo

tte B

rasic

-Roy

een,

ed.

Roc

kville

, MD.

BES

T CO

PY A

VA

ILA

BLE

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