The MCIULearns Podcast
The MCIU Learns podcast is where education leaders, innovators, and experts share insights and best practices to elevate learning and empower schools. Each episode features thought-provoking conversations with thought leaders, presenters, and program directors from Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) and beyond. Whether we’re discussing cutting-edge programs, professional development strategies, or the latest trends in education, our goal is to inspire and build capacity in educators, administrators, and all those passionate about improving student outcomes.
The MCIULearns Podcast
Beyond the Schedule: The Hidden Magic of Classroom Organization with Wendy Moran and Aimee Siravo
In this episode, we sit down with Wendy Moran, Director of Consultative Services, and Aimee Siravo, Assistant Director of Consultative Services at The Timothy School, to explore Structured Teaching for supporting students with autism. Wendy and Aimee break down what Structured Teaching is, how it aligns with the characteristics of autism, and why elements like physical structure, visual schedules, and work systems are essential for student success. They also share practical strategies for classroom setup, overcoming common implementation challenges, and building environments that promote independence, reduce anxiety, and increase engagement. Hear more about the upcoming hands-on training at The Timothy School this June.
Training Dates: June 17–20 or June 24–27
Learn more and register: learn.mciu.org/structuredteaching
What's so neat about? Structured teaching is. We're just going in and talking about strategies to support the teacher and the student in ways of instructing them. We're never telling them what to instruct. It's more how to instruct. Anyone can use a schedule, but if it's not of value to the student it becomes more work than it's worth and teachers stop doing it.
Speaker 3:Welcome back to the MCIU Learns podcast out of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit in Norristown, pennsylvania, where we host our conversations with educators, leaders and innovators working to improve the educational outcomes for all students, leaders and innovators working to improve the educational outcomes for all students. I'm your host today, cassie Bruch. I'm a project consultant in the Office of Organizational and Professional Learning and one of the areas that I work in is with autism, and I'm joined today with my colleague, kari Kessler.
Speaker 2:Welcome. Jobs and privileges is to work in the area of autism. We want to welcome today two colleagues and friends from the Timothy School, Wendy and Amy. And before we kind of jump headfirst into all of our great questions, Wendy and Amy, would you introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about yourselves?
Speaker 1:Yes, thanks so much. My name is Wendy Moran and I am the Director of Consultative Services here at the Timothy School. The Timothy School is an approved private school and we service only students diagnosed with autism. I have been affiliated with the Timothy School for well over 35 years. I started as a classroom teacher, worked with parents and moving structured teaching strategies into the home for parents to generalize skills, and then I moved to consultative services, where we provide consultative services for the Timothy School staff, school districts and approved private schools in the local areas, and we service approximately four students from 14 different school districts in central New York area.
Speaker 4:Hi, thanks for having me. I'm Amy and I have been. This is my first year in the role of assistant director, working with Wendy. Before that, I taught in the middle school program here at the Timothy School. Before that I was teaching in the public school system where I had ages between over my time there kindergarten through fifth grade and I was able to do work with some of the inclusion when I was there. After that, in between all of that, I was home with my kids for a little bit but then recently just took on this role as assistant director great, great.
Speaker 3:Thank you guys so much for joining us today. Carrie and I had the honor of being part of your training last year at the Timothy Academy and it really was a great showcase of everything that you guys do. But for those of us who are unfamiliar with the program, can you tell us a little bit about what structured teaching is and why it's beneficial, specifically for students with autism?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Structured teaching is a methodology that relies on primarily four structural elements to organize the learning environment and to assist with the clarification of behavioral expectations within a classroom. It's based on the extensive understanding and appreciation of the characteristics of autism, and we use these characteristics as strengths rather than a deficit. The reason we use structured teaching and we love it so much that when structured teaching is implemented correctly, it does a few things for us within the classroom. It decreases the likelihood of challenging behaviors, and we all want that. It reduces student anxiety, enhances receptive communication skills, promotes active learning and productive work habits and, above all, it increases and promotes student independence.
Speaker 2:As full disclosure, I cut my teeth in autism at the Timothy School.
Speaker 1:So, what did?
Speaker 2:I kind of do Go way back, and it is, and has always been, such a wonderful approach. Structured teaching there's a lot of different things that we do in autism in terms of programs. We talk a lot about applied behavioral analysis, so I want you to tell us a little bit about, like, what sets this structured teaching apart when we do think about a lot of these other resources or programs that you know some of our district partners are utilizing currently.
Speaker 4:Good question. I think structured teaching is distinctive because it emphasizes the development of a well-organized learning environment for students with autism, which then fosters engagement and independence, which is what we're all really seeking is for our students to be engaged and the most independent that they can be in the classroom. It sets itself apart by using visual supports and establishing predictable routines for our students and the physical organization to reduce anxiety and promote successful learning habits.
Speaker 2:Wonderful and I can say because I think, partly because I come from Timothy you know, as I set up my classrooms and now as a consultant to the districts in Montgomery County, that's always been my first line of defense, Amy, going in and looking at a classroom, that whole structural space, and it is something that we have gotten away from. And you're receiving calls for consultation or whatever. I just think that, thinking through what you were just talking about with structured teaching and those benefits, they're also in the evidence-based practice literature, everything you just talked about. So that's wonderful. We know that this benefits students with autism, but talk us through a little bit more along those lines, like kind of what kind of kid with autism benefits?
Speaker 1:That's so awesome. It does benefit students with autism, and they're way high up on that list. But it would not be uncommon for us to provide general ed teachers the same information. There are strategies that are effective for all students. However, the emphasis is put on visual learners. Those who are visual learners and those who have challenges with executive functioning skills are those that benefit the most from the elements of structured teaching. And what's so neat about structured teaching is we're just going in and talking about strategies to support the teacher and the student in ways of instructing them. We're never telling them what to instruct, it's more how to instruct what reaches these students.
Speaker 1:So we know that students on the spectrum definitely tend to thrive in a highly structured environment. They demand clear behavioral expectations. They demand clear behavioral expectations. I've never really met a student who wants to misbehave. Usually it is that they just clearly don't understand exactly what's expected of them. So clarifying those behavioral expectations through structured teaching. And we know they crave sameness and routine. It's characteristic of students with autism and so we take that as their strength and we provide them sameness and routine. We create really strong, functional routines that they can rely on.
Speaker 3:Great Thanks. So much, wendy, and I think what I'm really hearing it's you know no-transcript.
Speaker 1:But the first element of structure that we use is physical structure. We utilize the furniture and equipment within the classroom and we move that furniture equipment around to develop clear, visually clear learning and instructional environments. And we clarify the behavioral expectations. Our expectation is that a student should enter the room and as they visually scan that room they can understand just by the setup of the classroom what the behavioral expectations is. And we set it up so that the students understand what we expect of them and what they can expect of us. And once we establish that, we're very consistent with it. So that's physical structure.
Speaker 1:Once we have the physical structure set up and the boundaries are clearly defined, we then use schedules and we use schedules to establish where and when in that environment a student should be someplace. So we put up schedules, we teach the routine of checking schedules and then we teach them that they can go to schedules to receive accurate information of where and when they should be someplace, accurate information of where and when they should be someplace. So once we have the physical environment set up, we teach the students to look at information to know where and when they should be someplace. And the next element is the work system. The work system clarifies behavioral expectations of what we would like the student to do in any of these given areas.
Speaker 1:I think one of the misconceptions of structured teaching is that the work system has something to do with work tasks. It has nothing to do with it. That is how we teach them to read visual instructions so they know exactly what we expect them to do in one place at a given time. So that's the work system. Every work system answers three questions for the student what work does the teacher expect me to do, in what order would she like me to do it, and what is she going to give me if I complete that work? And so we clarify that for students and motivate them to work for that reinforcement.
Speaker 1:The last element of structure is visual structure and visual highlighting. This is the only element of structure that we intend to fade at a given time. Physical structure, schedules and work systems are intended to be blended into the environment and lifelong skills. Visual structure is just our way of clarifying pertinent information for the students. So we use routines and visual highlighting to clarify important details, because we know our students have an excessive focus on details. We want them just to look at the details that are important, and so we use visual structure and visual highlighting in order to do that.
Speaker 3:Thanks so much for all that, wendy, and I think one of the things that Carrie and I see is we're in and out of classrooms where sometimes teachers struggle with how do they set up the classroom so it's organized well, and so in structured teaching, you've talked about all these elements, but what advice do you have for teachers who are trying to set up these instructional spaces within their rooms?
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's a good question. I think the first thing is when we look at our classrooms. Our classrooms don't look like a typical classroom when you go into our classroom, like when Wendy talked about the physical structure, how we're using the furniture in that environment. So when we design the classroom, we look at the different areas to provide the student with a clear beginning and an end so they understand those expectations. It provides the students with the predictable routines which then again clarifies behavioral expectations within those areas. And something that we look at is we try to decrease the likelihood of those challenging behaviors as we're setting up the environment, likelihood of those challenging behaviors as we're setting up the environment While we promote learning. It motivates the students and also can help with those executive functioning skills. And we also want to make sure that when we're looking at the environment and we are decreasing those auditory distractions and visual distractions. So it goes back to what Wendy also said we really want them to look for that pertinent information within the classroom.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. That's exactly what we hope to see. So, thinking about structured teaching and what you need to learn and do, what do you guys find as the biggest challenges educators face when they're first starting to implement structured teaching? You have the program there, you have the support, but if people are coming and learning and then going back to do, I guess you know that's sort of you know what are the obstacles there and how do you help those educators who may not be on site get over those obstacles.
Speaker 4:Even within our building sometimes you see a little bit of that sometimes because you really have to, as the educator, understand like why am I doing this?
Speaker 4:You need to know the why behind the structure that you're putting in place, I think, first for it really to be successful. So when you're starting out, you want to make sure that a teacher has a full understanding Everyone in the classroom really have a full understanding of the why they're using the elements of structure and how to assess and then modify, because it's always changing. I mean, whenever you're in the classroom you're always changing different things and really assessing to see what works with the students and making sure that we're differentiating for each student's skill set, because we know all of our student skill sets aren't the same and we really want to make it individual. Because if it's not, then we see that maybe things aren't working and then teachers aren't buying into it and then they back off and say it's not working, when really we really need to assess and make sure we're looking at those individual skill sets to make sure that our students are successful.
Speaker 2:Wonderful. So before we talk a little bit about the training opportunities that Timothy has available for districts or educators, is there anything else that you would want to convey to people about structured teaching, Anything we didn't ask about today? Get to.
Speaker 1:I think there would be a few things that we would be remiss if we didn't mention during this time. The implementation of structured teaching takes time, it takes a lot of effort and, as Amy talked about, assessment and setting all of the elements of structure to the specific skill set of the students. Anyone can use a schedule, but if it's not of value to the student, it becomes more work than it's worth and teachers stop doing it. And that's the most important thing is the buy-in. What is it worth to me? And I think as consultants, we go into classrooms all the time and say we don't want to make more work for you, we want you to see the benefits of this, and I know truly myself.
Speaker 1:When I started structured teaching I wasn't completely on board. I just thought about the schedule as a schedule and it was up and I'm going to do something really great with this schedule. But as I learned the benefits of the schedule, how it helps the students, the decrease in behavioral challenges that I experienced every day, I bought in more and more and more. And we just don't stop with it. And structured teaching is some. Structure is something we all love in our lives and so we're really offering our students something that they can use lifelong, for their entire life. These are elements that I've taught my children. Amy teaches her children how to use them, and we use them every day, and that's the biggest benefit that I can see.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much. I think we've really primed people listening to, want to learn more about structured teaching and, as we're talking, just reminds me of so much that we learned in that training last year and thinking about transition and older students. So we'd love to have you back to kind of continue this conversation, thinking about you know some of our older students in your program and how structured teaching supports them in being lifelong learners and successful adults. So for those people who are now listening, who are considering integrating structured teaching and want to learn more, what does that look like for them and what does collaboration look like among you know? Team members at Tim Academy.
Speaker 1:There are several ways. Schools can train and support their staff and then, in turn, their staff can turn around and train and support their staff, and then, in turn, their staff can turn around and train and support their staff within the classroom. In special ed, we work with huge teams and sometimes districts will train one person, and so we really rely on our trainings to be really comprehensive so people truly understand teachers truly understand what structured teaching is, how to implement it and how to effectively go back into their classrooms and work with their classroom staff to support that, and districts in the area are choosing to use many different ways to support their staff. For instance, many people can come to two weeks of training during the month of June. Here at Timothy School, it's a three and a half day training that reviews all of the elements of structured teaching as well as applying these elements of structured teaching to support positive behavior in the classroom and community-based instruction, as well as functional skills. So that's like our flagship training. We love that training. We have so much fun.
Speaker 1:Oftentimes teachers will think, oh my gosh, I'm just going on vacation and now I'm electing to go to a three and a half day training. But you both can attest that we have so much fun during that training. We actually work with a demonstration classroom of students that are here and help us learn how to implement structured teaching. Some districts also elect to have us design, set up and launch classrooms within their own buildings, and we do that along with ongoing consultative services to their teachers who are implementing structured teaching, because sometimes you get started and then you're like wait a minute, I have a question about this, and so some districts might do face-to-face in their district consultation. Some may elect to do indirect services, which might be a phone call, which might be a Zoom call, just to enhance the application of structured teaching in their programs with the Timothy School, with Tim Academy, for training on June 17th through the 20th and again the following week, the 24th to the 27th.
Speaker 2:I, like Wendy, have about 30 years. It's hard to believe it's been that long and I've had the privilege to learn a lot of different things. And there's a lot of things I don't know for sure, but I've always come back to my time at the Timothy School in structured teaching. I think it's a wonderful way to think about your classroom and about design and independence and all the things that Amy and Wendy talked about today. So I encourage our listeners to look at the information and to think about how that would apply to them.
Speaker 3:I will say Carrie talks about you know her time at Tim Academy and with structure teaching so much in our work that we do together and it was really great to be able to go and experience that last year, and you know it was overwhelming feedback from everybody that it was one of the most effective trainings that they've went to.
Speaker 3:And so for those of you who are out there who want to learn more, on our MCIU Learning Network page, we do have a specific page for structured teaching. You can find that at learnmciuorg slash structured teaching. This podcast is going to be linked there, as well as information on how to get in contact with Carrie myself, as well as with the Tim Academy, and to learn more about that training, as well as to hear from people who went through it before and get their feedback too. And so we want to invite everyone to not only visit that page but our learning network as a whole, which is learnmciuorg, and there's a wealth of educational resources and updates from the Office of Organizational Professional Learning and the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit at large. And don't forget, if you're not following us, to follow us on social media at MCIU Learns, and we are on Facebook, linkedin and Instagram Amy and Wendy, thank you so much for your time today and hopefully we've convinced you to come back and record another episode with us.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for having us. Thank you both you.