Pragmatic Mechanics

The strategies for improving our students' social-pragmatics are a hot topic in the Aspergers Community. My reading has introduced me to a great deal about strengthening students' Theory of Mind, or Perspective-Taking, and Carol Gray's Social Stories and Comic Book Conversations. And I am intrigued by the formats of these strategies in the Art Classroom.

The format for many of the interventions do not seem conducive to the everyday classroom environment, as these interventions are often facilitated by clinicians or specialists, often after-the-fact or beyond the scope of the 'teachable moment.' Perhaps it's impossible to imagine, though, a more beneficial treatment than what Carol Gray and others have devised. My issue, then, becomes more a question of expanding the range of educators/staff who can utilize the lessons of these pragmatic strategies.

As an art educator, my name rarely is included in those who may contribute to the treatment of the pragmatically-deficient student. And for good reason. I'm not at all surprised and do not feel slighted in the least, because the typical scope of the art teacher does not include teaching social pragmatics to young artists. But, I reserve the right to claim that no two art teachers are exactly the same. And so, why couldn't the artroom be a place for pragmatic practice?

Currently, my work in a course titled Teaching in New Media, led by Jen Hall and Fred Wolflink at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design, has expanded my expectations for a typical visual art curriculum. My work in the class has alerted me to the teaching potential to be found in the realm of interactive media and robotics/mechanical structures. It is here where my brainstorm lies.

By viewing the role of various parts and pieces found in robotics or mechanical structures, one sees the give-and-take or cause-and-effect between actions. This visual of one thing leading to a next, or a domino effect, is also at play in the social-pragmatic strategies I've read so much about. Why not incorporate the use of machines or robots into the teaching of pragmatic strategies?

My plan, in its earliest stage at present, is to develop a easy-to-assemble machine, built in art class, which will allow students to input social situations into a coded, interactive environment, thereby making visible the complex interactions present in everyday communications. The student with AS, who perhaps is prone to working with systems or analyzing how things work, may find this approach beneficial to internalizing the pragmatic strategies that they have learned.

In theory, the machine would be simple, made from lightweight materials, and sequential. The pieces would move by a single crank, and the social interactions would be activated in sequence through this simple motion. The coded 'players' would be inserted for each specific situation, with students/staff writing or drawing symbols on small cards that would be attached in appropriate places on the machine. As the crank is turned, the first bit of information in the situation would be revealed, followed in sequence by the remaining bits of information, until the conclusion reveals a desired outcome for the student and others involved.

Here's an example: imagine a student had a horrible, raging fit in the middle of a math game. No one really knows what happened, but there's no doubt that the student is upset. The teacher is also upset because the class had to stop and the student was unable to complete the assignment. The problem is that no one really knows why the other is upset. The student thinks the teacher just doesn't "get it," and the teacher thinks the student is just being "overdramatic."

Now, a staff sits down with the student in a quiet place, away from the situation, and gets the real scoop. Apparently, when the math game pieces were being passed out, the teacher passed the cards out in a different order than usual: she usually passes them out clockwise around the room, but today she walked counter-clockwise. The student had noticed this and told the teacher, to which she said, "It'll be fine. I'm just passing them out a different way today." The student counted the students in the room, and she determined that, had the teacher handed out the cards the "right" way, she would have ended up with the card that the student to her right now possesses, which is just not fair. As the game progressed, the student to the right had a very good card, as he was getting all the benefits of a good card. Meanwhile, our student's card was not garnering equally wonderful results. This was seen by the student as unfair. She should have have had the winning card! But the teacher had unfairly changed the way she passed out the cards and now her card wasn't winning. This is why she got upset and started yelling and throwing the game about.

All in all, the staff is able to understand the student's frustrations. The outcome still was not appropriate, though, and the staff would like to share with the student some strategies for what to do if it happens again. The staff also thinks it's important to explain to the student that the teacher had not intended to make the student lose at the math game.

Here's how this little Pragmatics Machine comes into play: using the information gathered from the discussion, the staff and student will fill in the appropriate information on the cards. The cards are coded and placed into the machine. If placed correctly, the student will watch as the cards interact with each other to illustrate visually a more desired outcome to the situation (one that doesn't involve a raging tantrum). As the crank turns, a card with the Setting (classroom) and the Activity (math game) is revealed. The crank continues to turn and a new image is revealed: the participants (student and teacher). Then the Problem (the unlucky card) is revealed, followed by a thought bubble icon which shows first the student's thoughts ("This is unfair! She gave me a bad card!") and, second, the teacher's thoughts ("I just decided to pass out cards differently today. I have no knowledge about the cards before handing them out."). Finally, the Solution card is turned and reveals whatever outcome the student had brainstormed (possibly, an image of the student being a good loser and shaking the hand of the person who won). The crank is stopped and the student discusses the action of the machine.

By focusing on how one piece of information affects the next, the student is able to make a social map in her head for this particular situation. The machine construction, which she can follow visually by watching the parts' interacting, will help her connect to the social-pragmatics involved in such a situation.

As time passes and practice with the machine is accumulated, the student will be able to picture in her head the possible inner-workings of these problematic social interactions and imagine a more appropriate outcome or final piece before she decides to act.

I'm excited by this idea in that it will take the common intervention strategies in use today and make them tangible in a new way, and via a new source: the art room. For some students, who are fascinated by moving parts or mechanical systems, this may allow for a more internalized acceptance and execution of these strategies, in real-time situations.

As I begin my trials with this project, I will update my findings here and welcome any feedback and/or questions about my goals.