Practice and Feedback
Practice: Assessing the Learner’s Skills in the Selected Domain
Learning Objectives
Context
Mrs. Melanson, Bianca’s resource teacher, is ready to assess the selected domains: Language and Communication Skills, Daily Living Skills (Hygiene and Grooming, Bathing, Sleeping Habits) and Community Skills (Internet Safety). She tries to contact Bianca’s mother, Ariane, to let her know that Bianca will be bringing home an envelope with the relevant sections of the questionnaires to be completed (Internet Safety, Hygiene and Grooming, Bathing Skills and Sleeping Habits). Mrs. Melanson is unable to reach Ariane and so leaves her a voicemail message, reminding her of the purpose of the questionnaires and providing a quick explanation of the response options. She also says she will contact her if she has any additional questions for her.
Mrs. Melanson meets with Bianca and does the structured assessment for the Language and Communication domain with her. Before starting the assessment, the two spend a few minutes talking about their favourite activities in order to create a relaxed atmosphere for the session. Mrs. Melanson uses the Preparing for the Structured Assessment guide and the questions she has prepared to help her conduct the structured assessment and evaluate Bianca’s skills. Mrs. Melanson alternates between simple instructions and more difficult ones. She immediately records each piece of information in the appropriate scoring protocol throughout the session. Because the assessment is done in a playful context, Bianca is very cooperative. She does not notice that Mrs. Melanson is assessing her, and she is not bothered by the scoring protocol.
The session lasts about 30 minutes, and Mrs. Melanson is able to use all the scenarios she had planned. She gets a complete picture of Bianca’s strengths and challenges.
Mrs. Melanson then carries out three observation sessions with Bianca to assess Requesting Skills in the morning, at recess, and in the afternoon. Mrs. Melanson sits at the back of the classroom and tries to keep a low profile. But Bianca is very distracted and keeps turning around to greet Mrs. Melanson. The teacher intervenes several times without success: Bianca keeps trying to interact with Mrs. Melanson. Mrs. Melanson’s observation session at recess is more useful. She moves around but stays close enough to Bianca to hear her. She manages to enter some information in the scoring protocol.
Instructions
Use the worksheet below to reflect on Mrs. Melanson’s approach: how did she follow the advice that applies to each assessment method selected (questionnaire, observation, and structured assessment) and data collection? Where could she make improvements?
Learning Objectives- Assess the learner’s skills in accordance with the instructions provided in the CALI Administration Guides.
- Efficiently record the data collected through the questionnaire, observation, interview, or structured assessment.
Context
Mrs. Melanson, Bianca’s resource teacher, is ready to assess the selected domains: Language and Communication Skills, Daily Living Skills (Hygiene and Grooming, Bathing, Sleeping Habits) and Community Skills (Internet Safety). She tries to contact Bianca’s mother, Ariane, to let her know that Bianca will be bringing home an envelope with the relevant sections of the questionnaires to be completed (Internet Safety, Hygiene and Grooming, Bathing Skills and Sleeping Habits). Mrs. Melanson is unable to reach Ariane and so leaves her a voicemail message, reminding her of the purpose of the questionnaires and providing a quick explanation of the response options. She also says she will contact her if she has any additional questions for her.
Mrs. Melanson meets with Bianca and does the structured assessment for the Language and Communication domain with her. Before starting the assessment, the two spend a few minutes talking about their favourite activities in order to create a relaxed atmosphere for the session. Mrs. Melanson uses the Preparing for the Structured Assessment guide and the questions she has prepared to help her conduct the structured assessment and evaluate Bianca’s skills. Mrs. Melanson alternates between simple instructions and more difficult ones. She immediately records each piece of information in the appropriate scoring protocol throughout the session. Because the assessment is done in a playful context, Bianca is very cooperative. She does not notice that Mrs. Melanson is assessing her, and she is not bothered by the scoring protocol.
The session lasts about 30 minutes, and Mrs. Melanson is able to use all the scenarios she had planned. She gets a complete picture of Bianca’s strengths and challenges.
Mrs. Melanson then carries out three observation sessions with Bianca to assess Requesting Skills in the morning, at recess, and in the afternoon. Mrs. Melanson sits at the back of the classroom and tries to keep a low profile. But Bianca is very distracted and keeps turning around to greet Mrs. Melanson. The teacher intervenes several times without success: Bianca keeps trying to interact with Mrs. Melanson. Mrs. Melanson’s observation session at recess is more useful. She moves around but stays close enough to Bianca to hear her. She manages to enter some information in the scoring protocol.
Instructions
Use the worksheet below to reflect on Mrs. Melanson’s approach: how did she follow the advice that applies to each assessment method selected (questionnaire, observation, and structured assessment) and data collection? Where could she make improvements?
When you are satisfied with your answers, click here to compare your comments with those of an experienced professional.
| Assessment Method | Positive Aspects | Areas for Improvement |
|---|---|---|
| Questionnaire |
|
Mrs. Melanson could have asked Ariane to call her back to make sure she did not have any questions about the questionnaire. |
| Observation |
|
Although she kept a low profile, Mrs. Melanson was not able to conduct the observation session in the classroom. For some students, it is necessary to ask another person to play the role of the observer, so they remain attentive. With the necessary permission, it is also possible to film the learner in the classroom and then document the information while watching the video. |
| Structured Assessment |
|
|
-
Example and Modelling Next item
