SETT: A Framework for Capacity Building Partnerships

Laurene Sweet; Alisa Jones; Colin K Drummond

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Conference: 2022 ASEE - North Central Section Conference
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Publication Date: March 18, 2022
Start Date: March 18, 2022
End Date: April 4, 2022
Page Count: 7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--39258
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/39258
Download Count: 324

Paper Authors

biography

Laurene Sweet LeafBridge of UCP Cleveland

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Dr. Laurene Sweet serves as an educational consultant, serving individuals with highly complex needs. She holds a graduate degree in Special Education with a concentration in Assistive Technology. Dr. Sweet is tri credentialed as a licensed Intervention Specialist (Moderate to Severe), Doctor of Physical Therapy, and RESNA certified Assistive Technology Professional. With over 30 years of professional experience, Dr. Sweet works with passion for students with complex learning needs to increase engagement and understanding. She integrates Trauma-Informed, relational practices with a Universal Design for Learning. Dr. Sweet offers a unique perspective as mother and advocate for a college student with complex disabilities. In collaboration with the Biomedical Engineering Department at Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Sweet co-authored Finding Need in an Educational Setting: Starting with SETT, highlighting unique assistive technology for access to project-based learning for students with the most complex needs. Other publications include A.C.C.E.S.S. to the General Education Curriculum© and a peer-reviewed case study in the Pediatric Physical Therapy Journal.

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Alisa Jones UCP of Greater Cleveland-LeafBridge Alternative Education Program

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Alisa Jones, M.Ed., is a licensed Intervention Specialist and Early Childhood Education Teacher with the ASSET Science © Endorsement implementing innovative instructional strategies that focus on STEAM-based learning for students with complex needs at an alternative education program in the Cleveland area. Alisa graduated from Robert Morris University (Pittsburgh,PA) in 2011 with a B.S. in Elementary Education and in 2013 with a M.Ed. in Special Education. She is currently pursuing a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership through Cleveland State University (Cleveland, Ohio). Throughout the past 10 years, Alisa has taught across the K-12 grade band in a variety of states including Virginia, Florida, Ohio, and Puerto Rico. In her current role, Alisa facilitates an Assistive Technology collaboration with local university partners and co-authored "Finding Need in an Educational Setting: Starting with SETT" in collaboration with Case Western Reserve University. Alisa is passionate about leading educational reform within the K-12 system through innovative instructional strategies, restorative practices, and advocating for students with learning differences.

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Colin K Drummond Case Western Reserve University orcid.org/0000-0002-9053-3649

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In January 2015, Colin re-joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering as Professor and Assistant Chair, having previously spent a year in the School of Nursing. From 2008-2013, Colin was the Director of the Coulter-Case Translational Research Partnership (CCTRP) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Colin’s research interests are on educational pedagogy, the practical application of simulation and healthcare information technology to support clinical decision-making, including advances in understanding wearable analytics for human performance assessment. He is active in developing experiential and co-curricular activities for students, the development of standards modules for design classes, and collaborative projects that address patient need.

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Abstract

A contemporary issue for many non-profits is identifying effective ways to build capacity for service delivery. In the current work, we describe the framework of a partnership that improves the ability of nonprofit staff to achieve their mission while simultaneously meeting the service motivation in an academic setting. Often, partnerships represent a pathway that – when mutually beneficial – are sustainable over an extended period of time. Over the past year, a non-profit alternative education program for children with complex disabilities and a biomedical engineering department in a higher education institution explored a collaborative relationship based on developing Assistive Technology for students with moderate to severe disabilities. By utilizing the well-known SETT framework (Student, Environment, Task, Tools) as a prelude to the Needs Analysis for design based on the Stanford BioDesign process, a pathway was established between the entities which directly contributed to the success of service delivery and student engagement. The strategic significance of the SETT-BioDesign framework is the identification of specific roles for each of the partners. In essence this can be thought of as a “matching strategy” in which the demands of the alternative education program for specific project activity are matched with the competencies of the biomedical engineering team. We have found that when bringing together different (but complementary) communities of thought, a “disciplined approach” to interdisciplinary project activity leads to collective expectation settings and reduced frustration on long-term project activity.

The specific instance in which the alternative education-university partnership has been deployed centers around the need for assistive technology capable of providing students with the ability to independently participate in vocational tasks like stamping signatures and logos, creating artwork, and meal prepping. In the absence of SETT considerations, tasks were initially thought to be a requirement for a single generalized complex robot. By breaking down the necessary responsibilities through the SETT framework, the specifications were revised to design simpler task-specific robots that were constructed and placed successfully in service. This set the stage for a more realistic (iterative) strategy for development and launch of assistive technology. This was not a case of “one-and-done” in which external volunteers “jump in” to create a device or system that only partially meets the educational needs of the staff, left with a refreshed but non-optimal project execution. Interdisciplinary processes take time to carry out; herein lies a challenge when working with a university in which the lifecycle of student activity is not aligned (much shorter) that that of the project for the alternative education program. A disciplined approach to the partnership enables students to more easily engage for short periods and create value, but without taxing the nonprofit staff.

Conclusions: The SETT-BioDesign framework provides a foundation for capacity building in which advanced assistive technology can be introduced into the nonprofit alternative education setting in a productive, mutually beneficial, and sustainable fashion.

Citation
Format

Sweet, L., & Jones, A., & Drummond, C. K. (2022, March), SETT: A Framework for Capacity Building Partnerships Paper presented at 2022 ASEE - North Central Section Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--39258

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - A contemporary issue for many non-profits is identifying effective ways to build capacity for service delivery. In the current work, we describe the framework of a partnership that improves the ability of nonprofit staff to achieve their mission while simultaneously meeting the service motivation in an academic setting.  Often, partnerships represent a pathway that – when mutually beneficial – are sustainable over an extended period of time.  Over the past year, a non-profit alternative education program for children with complex disabilities and a biomedical engineering department in a higher education institution explored a collaborative relationship based on developing Assistive Technology for students with moderate to severe disabilities. By utilizing the well-known SETT framework (Student, Environment, Task, Tools) as a prelude to the Needs Analysis for design based on the Stanford BioDesign process, a pathway was established between the entities which directly contributed to the success of service delivery and student engagement. The strategic significance of the SETT-BioDesign framework is the identification of specific roles for each of the partners. In essence this can be thought of as a “matching strategy” in which the demands of the alternative education program for specific project activity are matched with the competencies of the biomedical engineering team. We have found that when bringing together different (but complementary) communities of thought, a “disciplined approach” to interdisciplinary project activity leads to collective expectation settings and reduced frustration on long-term project activity.

The specific instance in which the alternative education-university partnership has been deployed centers around the need for assistive technology capable of providing students with the ability to independently participate in vocational tasks like stamping signatures and logos, creating artwork, and meal prepping. In the absence of SETT considerations, tasks were initially thought to be a requirement for a single generalized complex robot. By breaking down the necessary responsibilities through the SETT framework, the specifications were revised to design simpler task-specific robots that were constructed and placed successfully in service.  This set the stage for a more realistic (iterative) strategy for development and launch of assistive technology.  This was not a case of “one-and-done” in which external volunteers “jump in” to create a device or system that only partially meets the educational needs of the staff, left with a refreshed but non-optimal project execution.  Interdisciplinary processes take time to carry out; herein lies a challenge when working with a university in which the lifecycle of student activity is not aligned (much shorter) that that of the project for the alternative education program.  A disciplined approach to the partnership enables students to more easily engage for short periods and create value, but without taxing the nonprofit staff.

Conclusions: The SETT-BioDesign framework provides a foundation for capacity building in which advanced assistive technology can be introduced into the nonprofit alternative education setting in a productive, mutually beneficial, and sustainable fashion.

AU  - Laurene Sweet
AU  - Alisa Jones
AU  - Colin K Drummond
CY  - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
DA  - 2022/03/18
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - SETT: A Framework for Capacity Building Partnerships
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/39258
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--39258
ER  -