NOMC Listers, After reading Dr. Bell's "quick poll" on misconceptions about structured discovery cane technique. I asked a question of the AER O&M list serv which I belong to. I thought some of you might find their responses interesting. I have copied and pasted all of the responses I recieved on this item in order. My post is first, followed by the responses. Just a little background on me: For me, Structured discovery is the way I teach. I may not do it exactly the way it is taught at LA tech, and sometimes I only get 10 or 20 hours with a client . . . but I approximate it as best I can. I'm totally blind, so it's pretty much the only way I can and know how to teach. I learned from one of the best, Arlene Hill, when I was a student at LCB. Years later, I chose to attend Western Michigan University because I lived and worked in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I had kids, a family and a life, and didn't see moving to Louisiana, again, to be an option. Plus, I wanted to break down some barriers and see if I could actually obtain a degree from WMU. I think one of the reasons I did is because I have excellent travel skills and a belief in myself as a blind person. . That's the key, really. I'm teaching full time now and find myself in the midst of two worlds. There are no other blind people that I know of who are AER certified. They are polite and respectful to me at AER conferences. I have found Most other AER professionals to be curious and interested in how I teach. I have never had anyone scoff and tell me that I can't do it or should not be able to do it. It's clear from these responses that there is a lot of confusion about what structured discovery actually is. I wonder if there is a way to change that. Tim Paulding On Oct 6, 2017, at 3:50 PM, Timothy J. Paulding <tjpaulding at gmail.com> wrote: All, One of my NFB contacts recently asked a question of an email list I am on: what are some of the top assumptions that people make when you say that you teach structured discovery? When you guys hear "structured discovery learning," What does it mean to you? To me, structured discovery learning is what I feel any O&M instructor should be doing to get students to experience the world around them. Structuring the individuals discovery of the environment, asking questions to help students problem solve, and, when a student is ready, allowing them to make mistakes to promote learning. I would be really interested to hear what some of you think! Thanks, Timothy J. Paulding, M.A., CVRT, COMS Janet Carlson wrote: I agree- in Structured Discovery Learning you use Socratic questioning ex: "I wonder how we find the way to the gym", or "wow, you did a great job finding the bathroom- what strategies did you use?", or when a student asks what a sound is rather than telling them you say "let's go find out!". With the huge "Growth Mindset" movement in education this is common language and all kids are learning that making mistakes "makes their brain grow". That when they problem solve they are building neural pathways. This is literally language elementary school children are learning and using every day. So "Structured Discovery" aligns easily in integrated settings which helps kids generalize skills. -Janet And another response: "Structured Discovery" or sometimes know as "self-familiarization" means an independent learning of a layout of an environment for travel purposes. It relies on strategies that are structured and systematic.. For instance establishing an initial home base in which to begin the exploration. Then, developing a reference system, perhaps compass directions, which you employ to remember the locations of significant landmarks within the environment. The strategy works best when one section of the environment is completely explored before another section is added. The perimeter of each section is explored first as you make your way returning to the established home base. As you travel beyond the completely explored initial area, a secondary home base can be set up that helps to tie sections together in the mind. The whole purpose being that you slowly develop imagery and locations of landmarks in your mind to assist you with orientation to the area. When I teach these strategies I usually have the student make a tactile map following their exploration to check their understanding of the layout of the area. I also complete the lesson by taking the time to disorient them then asking them to regain their orientation using their landmarks to find the home base. Hope this helps, -Lucy And Dona Sauerburger said: Hi Tim! Yes, that's exactly the way I think of it, you described it very well. It's the way any good orientation and mobility specialist teaches. -- Dona And here's an unfortunate one: I witnessed an individual make a mid-block crossing while under "structured discovery" training. There was no instructor in sight. Perhaps, no one had allowed him to "discover" the safer way to cross a street. -Greg And this one started an entirely new conversation on the AER list about whether university training programs cover using traffic to align. While I completely agree with Tim and Dona's understanding, I have come to understand that the criticism of "AER style" mobility instruction by some consumers is based on experience. The contrast between 'structured discovery' and 'AER style' learning (I recognize the 'AER style' is irritating, but it is shorthand for what we all understand and is not meant as a perjoritive in any sense) does not exist in theory, in my opinion, but it often does exist in fact. Because of funding and sometimes skills shorfalls in the toolkits of O&M specialists, some blind students are not taught to use their hearing appropriately to expand and utilize what Chris Tabb brilliantly refers to as 'auditory horizons' . In particular, students are often not taught to use the sound of traffic moving into the distance ahead of them for auditory alignment. Lack of funding sometimes result in a lack of time for quality education.. We are all aware of that. The result is that some clients/students are taught 'routes' and not 'skills'. Also, and more seriously, some O&M students graduate from university programs without an understanding of this important use of traffic sound. Unfortunately they may then,in turn, undereducate their students with an overemphasis on cane skills and an underemphasis on the appropriate and skilled use of sound. Sometimes when these students meet 'structured discovery' their world opens up....but it should have been opened long before!! I have witnessed the absence of this skill in several students who have come to The Seeing Eye after substantial 'traditional' education. It is dificult to travel well with a dog guide if this one doesn't know how to figure out where 'straight" is! I know that this skill has long been a part of the O&M tool kit. I have on tape an inteview with Doug Roberts (former Director of Programs at the Seeing Eye) in which he discusses being taught how to use traffic for alignment by Stan Suterko in 1968. I also know that it is still being taught...but not universally. Traffic sound is -nearly- universally available to give orientation information and help to know where 'straight' is. Of course In the absence of this being taught, there is nothing universal for travelers to rely upon. Sorry for the long post, but I do urge a return to the roots of skill,rather than the skill of routes. -Lucas