Observing Children with Attachment Difficulties in School: A Tool for Identifying and Supporting Emotional and Social Difficulties in Children Aged 5-11 [Illustrated] 1849053367, 9781849053365

Citation preview

Improving Learning through Dynamic Assessment

of related interest Observing Children with Attachment Difficulties in School A Tool for Identifying and Supporting Emotional and Social Difficulties in Children Aged 5–11

Kim S. Golding, Jane Fain, Ann Frost, Cathy Mills, Helen Worrall, Netty Roberts, Eleanor Durrant and Sian Templeton Foreword by Louise Bombèr ISBN 978 1 84905 336 5 eISBN 978 0 85700 675 2

Observing Children with Attachment Difficulties in Preschool Settings A Tool for Identifying and Supporting Emotional and Social Difficulties

Kim S. Golding, Jane Fain, Ann Frost, Sian Templeton and Eleanor Durrant Foreword by Louise Bombèr ISBN 978 1 84905 337 2 eISBN 978 0 85700 676 9

Educational Psychology Casework A Practice Guide 2nd edition

Rick Beaver ISBN 978 1 84905 173 6 eISBN 978 0 85700 278 5

Learning Through Child Observation 2nd edition

Mary Fawcett ISBN 978 1 84310 676 0 eISBN 978 1 84642 964 4

Frameworks for Practice in Educational Psychology A Textbook for Trainees and Practitioners

Edited by Barbara Kelly, Lisa Woolfson and James Boyle Foreword by Sue Morris ISBN 978 1 84310 600 5 eISBN 978 1 84642 832 6

How to Help Children and Young People with Complex Behavioural Difficulties A Guide for Practitioners Working in Educational Settings

Ted Cole and Barbara Knowles Foreword by Joan Pritchard ISBN 978 1 84905 049 4 eISBN 978 0 85700 488 8

Communication Skills for Working with Children and Young People Introducing Social Pedagogy 3rd edition

Pat Petrie ISBN 978 1 84905 137 8 eISBN 978 0 85700 331 7

Improving Learning through Dynamic Assessment A Practical Classroom Resource Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan

Jessica Kingsley Publishers London and Philadelphia

First published in 2013 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers 116 Pentonville Road London N1 9JB, UK and 400 Market Street, Suite 400 Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA www.jkp.com Copyright © South Lanarkshire Council 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying of any pages other than those marked with a , storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher. Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution. All pages marked  may be photocopied for personal use with this programme, but may not be reproduced for any other purposes without the permission of the publisher. All pages marked

can be downloaded at www.jkp.com/catalogue/book/9781849053730 resources for personal

use with the programme, but may not be reproduced for any other purposes without the permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 84905 373 0 eISBN 978 0 85700 731 5

Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Section 1 Introduction: How to use this resource 1.1 Summary of what is contained in this resource

9 9

1.2 With what age range of children can this resource be used?

10

1.3 How long does it take to put into practice?

10

1.4 What materials should be used when undertaking the assessment phase of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment? 11 1.5 How are teachers involved in Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment? 11 1.6 How long does it typically take to run the intervention programme?

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1.7 Can this resource be used when doing group work?

12

1.8 What are the optimal conditions for using this resource?

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1.9 Conclusion

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Section 2 Theory and Rationale

15

2.1 Why do educational psychologists assess?

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2.2 Dynamic assessment and formative assessment

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2.3 Dynamic assessment and empowerment

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2.4 Dynamic assessment and the perceived advantages of including assistance in an assessment

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2.5 Dynamic assessment and assessment in education

21

2.6 Conclusion

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Section 3 Staged Process

25

3.1 Overview

25

3.2 Assessment

26

3.3 Feedback

27

3.4 Intervention

28

3.5 Review

30

3.6 Summary

30

Section 4 Intervention

31

4.1 Bank of Strategies: Cognitive

31

4.2 Bank of Strategies: Affective

59

4.3 INSET training and group work

81

Section 5 Materials

83

5.1 Checklist of Cognitive Learning Principles

85

5.2 Checklist of Affective Learning Principles

86

5.3 Learning Profile for (blank)

87

5.4 Child-friendly Cognitive Learning Principles

88

5.5 Child-friendly Affective Learning Principles

93

5.6 Bank of Strategies (cognitive): Resources

96

5.7 Bank of Strategies (affective): Resources

128

5.8 General Guide to Dynamic Assessment

146

Appendix: Case study

151

References 157

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the following people who have been instrumental in the preparation of this book. One often sees written in Acknowledgement sections the statement there is one person without whom this book would not have been possible – a statement that could be read as rather contrived and affected. However, on this occasion the statement is wholly accurate and truthful with regard to our manager, colleague and friend, Elizabeth King. She has long been a figure of inspiration to us both and has made this book happen, sometimes in the face of some rather difficult obstructions. We cannot thank you enough Elizabeth. The clerical staff at South Lanarkshire Council, in particular, Linda McRoberts and Margaret Doonan, have been a fantastic help throughout the several years that this book has been in preparation, especially in earlier versions of the text where their skills in design and formatting helped bring the text to life in ways that were beyond our own capabilities. The design team in the Graphics department at South Lanarkshire Council also played a key role in creating the designs that led to the final published version of this textbook. We thank them for this important contribution. We would also like to thank the many headteachers, teachers and auxiliary staff in all the schools and nurseries in South Lanarkshire Council as well as parents with whom we have worked over the years as they have given us some great ideas that are contained in this book. FL would like to thank Professor Joe Elliott and Dr Phil Stringer with whom I began my journey into the world of dynamic assessment almost 20 years ago. They have constantly been a source of support and inspiration over this time and played a significant role in helping me to develop many of the ideas that are contained in this book. FL would also like to thank Professor Jim Boyle for all his encouragement and assistance throughout my career in educational psychology. It was his lectures and support that inspired me to consider a career in educational psychology as an undergraduate two decades ago. Within this time he has managed to see me through both undergraduate and Master’s degrees as my tutor, become a colleague as a fellow tutor on the Educational Psychology course at Strathclyde University, and he still helps me to this day to grow and develop as an educational psychologist.

7

Section 1

Introduction

How to use this resource

1.1 Summary of what is contained in this resource This textbook is essentially targeted at educational psychologists who are trying to implement dynamic assessment methods into their practice but who need some guidance as to how to do it successfully. It is well established that a major difficulty with dynamic assessment approaches is how to move from theory to practice. Guidelines for making dynamic assessment real and effective in classrooms are noticeable by their absence. Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment is an attempt to fill this gap. The emphasis is on the practical; in other words, this resource provides detail on: • how to do the dynamic assessment itself – what to look out for and how to record the information • how to feed back the information gathered in a practical useful way, both to the children assessed and to the adults working with the child • how to put ideas and classroom suggestions into practice, including materials and resources that can be photocopied and used straightaway • how to review the child’s learning and make changes to the ways in which they are making progress in the classroom.

While Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment is a resource based on the use of dynamic assessment by educational psychologists, it can also be used by other professional groups who have sufficient background knowledge and experience in the areas covered, for example, speech and language therapists, special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs), specialist support teachers, and so on. The sections follow a logical pattern that should be easy for the practitioner to follow. Section 1 introduces the resource. Section 2 provides information on the background theory and rationale that underpins the resource. Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment has been developed by two practising educational psychologists over a period of almost 15 years’ practice working in nursery, primary and secondary schools in a local authority context. It has a clear theoretical foundation and rationale which is set out in Section 2. Section 3 provides details of the Staged Process in Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment. This outlines for practitioners how to put into practice a dynamic assessment using a staged process:

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assessment, feedback, intervention and review. Some other ideas for using the resource are also provided in this section, for example, doing group work or using the materials at a whole class level. Section 4, which provides details of the Intervention phase of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment, is the ‘meat’ of the textbook: it contains several hundred ideas, strategies, activities and suggestions to be used in the classroom, or at home, when working with children who are encountering difficulties. The strategies and activities that are chosen should map onto what has been discovered during the assessment phase. In this way, there is a clear rationale for the Intervention phase: the strategies and activities should be promoting or enhancing specific cognitive and/or emotional skills identified during the assessment. Section 5 contains all the worksheets and materials that are referred to in Section 4. It is intended that this is a quick, easy-to-use resource, where the pages with a tick can be photocopied directly and used as worksheets or practical aids in the classroom. Some of these materials require colour and the pages marked with a computer icon are available to download on the Jessica Kingsley Publishers’ website (www.jkp.com/catalogue/book/9781849053730). The checklists to be used during the assessment by practitioners are included in this section, as are the child-friendly Learning Principles and a blank copy of the Learning Profile. There is also a General Guide to Dynamic Assessment which can be photocopied and given to parents and other professionals when feeding back the results of an assessment. There is a case study in the Appendix, which gives an example of how Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment can be used. Finally, there is a full list of References if readers wish to read more about dynamic assessment and the publications that informed the development of this resource.

1.2 With what age range of children can this resource be used? This resource is mainly aimed at using dynamic assessment and providing intervention to primary school aged children, and the materials and worksheets reflect this age range. However, some of the more general ideas about putting dynamic assessment into practice can be applicable for any age range: from preschool right through to the secondary school years.

1.3 How long does it take to put into practice? This is a very difficult question to answer and will depend on individual circumstances. To give an approximate guide, we would usually undertake a dynamic assessment in two separate sessions, each lasting around 45–60 minutes maximum (otherwise the child will get tired); however, it can be used in one individual session if time is limited. Analysing the information recorded during the assessment and putting it in a format that can be fed back to the child, and adults working with the child, can take around 30–60 minutes, depending if video footage is available. The feedback session can take another 30–60 minutes, again depending on how this is done: for example, if video footage is used, or if the child is included in the feedback. The intervention phase is intended to be done in the everyday context of the classroom, or by parents in the home, therefore, no time approximations can be given here. The review process, for example, after six months, can take around 30–60 minutes to do, though it does not necessarily have to involve the educational psychologist (or other lead professional).

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INTRODUCTION

1.4 What materials should be used when undertaking the assessment phase of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment? There are no hard and fast rules regarding the kind of materials to use when undertaking the assessment phase of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment. It is our view that the assessment phase can be carried out with any materials or tasks (e.g. with reading and maths books currently being used by the child in the classroom). However, there are some materials that have been specifically developed for the use of dynamic assessment, and these can be particularly helpful during the assessment phase, for example, materials designed by Professor David Tzuriel (Tzuriel 2001). These usually involve the assessment of non-verbal reasoning skills, and in particular analogical reasoning, and generally the children find them novel and engaging. This can be helpful if one is trying to assess the child’s best performance in the dynamic assessment, that is, with adult (or more able peer) assistance. More information on this is provided in Section 5.8, The General Guide to Dynamic Assessment. However, what is more important when undertaking the assessment phase is not so much the content of the tasks, but instead the nature of the learning processes (or Learning Principles) that are being used by the child being assessed. Again, more detail of this is provided in the textbook, in particular, in Section 3.2.

1.5 How are teachers involved in Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment? It is crucial for the success of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment that teachers are involved in the process. While it is usually the case that the dynamic assessment is carried out by a skilled practitioner (for example, an educational psychologist) it is also important the class teacher can provide input at the feedback stage of the process and also contribute to the drawing up of the intervention plan (see Sections 3.3 and 3.4 for more details). It may even be considered helpful (if resources allow) if the class teacher were able to observe the educational psychologist administer the dynamic assessment. It is recommended in this textbook that teachers are given In-Service Training (INSET) on the dynamic assessment approach, and on how to implement Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment. INSET materials are provided for this purpose on the Jessica Kingsley Publishers website (www.jkp.com/ catalogue/book/9781849053730).

1.6 How long does it typically take to run the intervention programme? As mentioned above, the assessment phase should not take longer than two sessions of around 45–60 minutes each. The intervention phase of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment (i.e. after a plan of intervention has been agreed upon following the initial assessment) should take several weeks or even months, as time will be required to put the strategies and ideas into place. It is suggested that a review should take place around six months after the initial setting up of the intervention programme to see how much or how little progress is being made. Further details of how this should be done are provided in Section 3.5. New ideas and suggestions can be considered at this review stage (i.e. after the

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IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

initial six months) and therefore, a new programme of intervention will be agreed. Thus, it is difficult to answer the question: how long does it typically take to run the programme? The straightforward answer is to say: as long as is required to substantially improve the learning of the target child or children. Clearly this will differ from child to child according to the individual circumstances.

1.7 Can this resource be used when doing group work? While dynamic assessment is traditionally undertaken in a one-to-one context, Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment has been designed such that it can also be used in a group context. Many of the activities and worksheets are specifically designed to be used in the classroom with groups of children, and even the whole class. Groups can be as small as two or three children or as large as the whole class, all working on the same activities simultaneously.

1.8 What are the optimal conditions for using this resource? It is important when using Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment that both the educational psychologist (or other professional conducting the assessment) and those working daily with the child or children are working together on trying to improve the learning environment. When constructing the Learning Profile (described in Section 3.3) there must be a level of agreement between those working with the child about which Learning Principles will be targeted, and how to target them. Indeed, if the child can be included in this process, there will be a better chance of success. As with any assessment, it is important that the session is conducted in a quiet, distraction-free environment with good ventilation and comfortable seating and a table or desk at an appropriate height. Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment can also be used when undertaking classroom observation (using the assessment aids as a template) and therefore, such conditions may not apply. Optimal conditions for Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment also include ensuring that the parents feel fully involved in the process and are consulted at all times. Parents may indeed have some suggestions of their own about how to tackle their child’s learning, and their ideas should be considered when drawing up the Learning Profile. Children themselves may also have some insights about where their strengths and weaknesses lie and what to do about them: again, there is a better chance of success during the Intervention phase if the child feels fully included in the process, from assessment to feedback and drawing up the plan of intervention.

1.9 Conclusion The materials contained in this resource have been piloted by two local authority Educational Psychology Services in the United Kingdom. Several research studies have been undertaken on the piloting of the materials that demonstrate empirical findings relating to the use of the approach, some of which have been published in peer-reviewed journals (see Elliott, Lauchlan and Stinger 1996; Landor, Lauchlan, Carrigan and Kennedy 2007; Lauchlan 1999; Lauchlan, Carrigan and Daly 2007; Stringer, Elliott and Lauchlan 1997). These studies demonstrate the link between the assessment and subsequent improvement in learning, including positive feedback from teachers and policy-makers regarding the usefulness of

12

INTRODUCTION

the approach. We are grateful to the many educational psychologists, teachers, parents and children who have provided us with feedback over the years when using the ideas and activities that led to the development of this book. Their input has helped to improve the quality of the materials and resources, and indeed many teachers and parents have contributed directly to some of the ideas presented.

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Section 2

Theory and Rationale

2.1 Why do educational psychologists assess? There are now many different kinds of materials and methods that educational psychologists use when assessing a child. In this section we consider why educational psychologists assess. Dynamic assessment is the most recent method of psychological assessment to emerge in educational psychology work in the UK. It was the use of dynamic assessment that motivated us to develop the ideas and practical aids outlined in this text; however, we recognise that the materials and resources contained here may also be used in conjunction with any kind of educational assessment, for example, standardised tests, criterionreferenced assessment and classroom observation, and should always be applied using an ecological approach to assessment. (Bronfenbrenner 1977). Cizek (1997) argued that an often neglected question by educational psychologists is: Why am I carrying out this assessment? The goals for carrying out an assessment should be clarified first before embarking on the process (Haywood and Lidz 2007). It has been argued that there is often a huge misunderstanding made by psychologists whereby the most up-to-date technique is taken from the shelf without pausing to consider why one is carrying out the assessment (Cizek 1997). In other words, prior to embarking on the assessment process, there may be far too little attention paid to essential questions regarding the purposes of assessment. Burden (1996) argued that this can result in teachers, parents and administrators obtaining ‘useless information which they either find impossible to interpret, or which doesn’t answer the questions that were required but they didn’t bother to ask’ (p.97). Burden referred to the kinds of questions that should be asked as the ‘why’ of assessment: essentially, why is the assessment being carried out? This specific question leads to many others, for example: Who wants information about this child? What kind of information is desired? In whose interest is the assessment being carried out? What are the gains and the adverse consequences of carrying out this assessment? (Burden 1996; Cizek 1997). Gipps (1994) outlined a number of purposes in the context of assessment in education: [assessment] has to support teaching and learning, provide information about pupils, teachers and schools, act as a selection and certificating device, as an accountability procedure, and drive curriculum and teaching [but] the prime purpose of assessment is professional: that is assessment to support the teaching/learning process. (Gipps 1994, pp.1–3)

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IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

We agree that the main function of assessment should be to support the teaching and learning process, not only in educational assessment, but also in psychological assessment by an educational psychologist. Some important questions may be tackled through the use of psychological assessment, for instance: What strategies could be used to tackle the child’s learning difficulties? What are his/her cognitive strengths and weaknesses? In what ways does he/she respond to assistance? Lidz (1992) has argued that the aim of psychological assessment should be to help class teachers provide individualised programmes for children: The questions behind psychological assessment have tended to move away from such concerns as, ‘how can we most appropriately sort and classify children?’ to ‘how do we teach this child?’ and ‘how can we help classroom teachers individualise their programmes?’ (Lidz 1992, p.207)

Here Lidz (1992) refers to the relationship between psychological assessment and what happens subsequently regarding the child’s learning. In what ways can assessment inform the next steps of the child’s learning? When assessing a child, there is frequently an aim to link the findings of the assessment to the child’s programme of intervention: this is commonly referred to by teachers as ‘formative assessment’. Indeed, much of the philosophy underlying dynamic assessment shares common ground with the teaching approach of formative assessment (Yeomans 2008). Formative assessment is intended to have a subsequent, positive effect on a child’s learning through the use of feedback and consultation. There has been increasing recognition that assessment should be used to support learning, rather than merely reporting a child’s current, or past, achievement (known as summative assessment; Black 1995; Glaser 1990; Torrance 1989).

2.2 Dynamic assessment and formative assessment Formative assessment (informing the next steps of a child’s learning) and in particular the research by King’s College London in the publications Inside the Black Box and Working Inside the Black Box have had a huge impact on assessment in the classroom (Black and Wiliam 1998; Black et al. 2002). This led to the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) initiative ‘Assessment is for Learning’ (SEED 2002) – an initiative that intended to transform assessment practice by teachers in Scotland to consider formative ways of assessment (e.g. giving quality feedback which would improve the child’s learning), rather than the more traditional ways of assessing a child’s performance, that is, through the provision of marks, grades and percentages. These latter ways of assessment feedback serve the purpose of summarising the child’s performance (hence, known as summative assessment), and do not have the intention of trying to directly improve subsequent teaching and learning. Formative assessment has clear links with educational psychologists’ use of dynamic assessment, which will be described below. It was the use of dynamic assessment and formative assessment and the consistency between these approaches that motivated the writers to develop the ideas and practical aids outlined in this book. As stated above, formative assessment is based on the premise that the purpose of carrying out an assessment is to help pupils. Being assessed should be a positive experience, not a negative one, and the intention should always be to assist the pupil in learning more efficiently (Crooks 1988).

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THEORY AND RATIONALE

An essential aspect of improving pupil’s learning through assessment is to provide good quality feedback (Black 1998). Thus, rather than using assessment for summative purposes, the assessor is aiming to make a positive impact on the pupil’s subsequent learning. However, formal formative assessment is not easy to administer. For example, severe constraints on their time mean that many teachers find that it is extremely difficult to collect and record observations, provide feedback to those concerned, discuss the best way forward as a result of the information, and then finally act upon the outcomes gained (Black 1998). A significant part of formative assessment and the Assessment is for Learning (AifL) initiative is that the pupil concerned is fully involved in the process. The AifL documentation highlights that learners learn best when: • They understand clearly what they are trying to learn, and what is expected of them. • They are given feedback about the quality of their work and what they can do to make it better. • They are given advice about how to go about making improvements. • They are fully involved in deciding what needs to be done next, and who can give them help if they need it. (SEED 2002, p.3)

Educational psychologists can tackle the issue of promoting formative assessment from a different perspective from the teacher, not only in the adoption of finely honed clinical skills, but also in the application of psychological theory (for example, social and cognitive psychology as argued by Frederickson, Webster and Wright 1991). It could be argued that the aim in educational psychological assessment should always be formative. Black (1998, p.116) argued in support of the use of formative assessment: ‘There is little point in gathering information unless it can be acted upon.’ The main aim of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment is to assist educational psychologists and teachers in the utilisation of assessment information in making their assessments more meaningful in the classroom. There are other philosophical arguments, however, which underlie the work presented in this resource.

2.3 Dynamic assessment and empowerment Education is a highly personal matter involving human beings: it may seem strange to some to assess children, who each have individual characteristics, using standardised methods (Kelly 1992). Kelly viewed the use of standardised methods as an ‘attempt to standardise our definition of education’ and furthermore, feels that such use ‘must inevitably remove the personal dimension from [education]’ (Kelly 1992, p.6). He felt that assessment should be perceived as a personal experience, and moreover, should be: a matter of judgement rather than of measurement, and that, as a consequence, the standards against which such judgements can best be made are those based on characteristics and previous achievements of each pupil rather than on those of his/her peers or those derived from some external and impersonal concept or definition either of particular subjects or of the educational process itself. (Kelly 1992, p.6)

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IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

In the context of this resource, Kelly’s comments are particularly pertinent. It is often argued that assessment in education often fails to consider the rights of the child being assessed (Burden 1996; Henning-Stout 1994). Sometimes it is questionable whether everyone involved in the assessment process is fully aware of what is happening, and what the possible outcomes may be, especially the child being assessed. It is not always the case that the child (or the child’s parent/guardian) has formally been asked to participate in the assessment, and furthermore, it may also be true that he is not fully aware of how the assessment results may be used (for example, making a decision regarding his education with which there may not necessarily be agreement) (Burden 1996).1 Children are rarely asked to provide insights into their own learning problems (Henning-Stout 1994). Thus, the empowering function of assessment may not be considered sufficiently by educational psychologists. As already mentioned regarding purposes of assessment, one of the first questions that should be asked by the assessor is: Why am I carrying out this assessment? Burden (1996) took this question a step further, and argued that the deeper issue is: Why have I chosen to be an educational psychologist? As Burden (1996) pointed out, many educational psychologists, particularly trainee educational psychologists, would probably answer this question by making reference to helping, or empowering, children. However, in reality, educational psychologists are often using assessment methods which do not appear to be helping, or empowering, children at all: All too often educational psychologists submit children to psychometric tests without telling them what they are doing or why, without asking their permission, without involving them personally in the process in ways that will enable them to perform at an optimum level, without informing them how well they performed, and without telling them what will happen next. (Burden 1996, pp.101–102)

In the search for standardisation and reliability, when using standardised psychometric tests, certain procedures are followed and specific tasks are given. Thus, the children must remain relatively passive; they are not able to contribute significantly to the assessment process in ways that will interfere with the conditions of the test. In this way then, educational psychologists may be viewed as doing things to children, rather than for them, and certainly not with them (Burden 1996). Furthermore, it is the children themselves whose lives are affected most significantly by the decisions made on the basis of psychological assessment, but often, they are not involved actively in the process. There is an ethical responsibility to include children in the assessment process as much as possible (Henning-Stout 1994). This has been a focus of the work presented in this book. Burden (1996) has argued that the empowerment purpose in assessment should be paramount, and the first to be considered by educational psychologists. It is also our belief that empowering children should be a primary focus of assessment since the principal reason behind referral is to help children overcome their (learning or behavioural) difficulties. Empowering the child could mean many things, but a major aspect is to offer the child the best opportunity to demonstrate his ability to learn, and to involve the child fully in the assessment and plan of intervention. A starting point, therefore, in

1 For reasons of simplicity, in this resource we have sometimes interchanged between ‘he’ and ‘she’, and also between ‘his’ and ‘her’, rather than use the clumsy terms ‘he/she’ and ‘his/her’.

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THEORY AND RATIONALE

empowering the child, may be to offer an interactive environment during assessment which enables the child to demonstrate his capability.

2.4 Dynamic assessment and the perceived advantages of including assistance in an assessment Dynamic assessment (DA) is predicated on the belief that one can learn more from a child’s cognitive development by working with him, together, as opposed to assessing his unassisted performance. The provision of assistance by the assessor is perhaps the core, defining aspect of dynamic assessment. Giving help to the child during assessment is antithetical to the procedure in standardised intelligence tests, where standardisation is necessary in order to compare results with the age-related norm. Thus, providing assistance in a standardised test would be considered as contaminating the results and, ultimately, violating the aims of the test. Little regard is given to children’s ability to modify their behaviour, that is, there is no recognition of the child’s potential to succeed with assessor assistance (Jitendra and Kameenui 1993). Advocates of DA, on the other hand, see the provision of assistance as offering many advantages to the assessor, as well as allowing children to reveal more information about their intellectual functioning: it [dynamic assessment] allows the testee in one way or another…to show not only his momentary competence, but also his ability to respond to new information and to learn from feedback and prompts during the course of the test. (Guthke 1993, p.63)

The child is personally involved in the assessment process such that interaction between assessor and assessee is legitimised. The child is encouraged to talk to the assessor, ask questions, and contribute to the assessment in ways that would not be permitted in standardised testing. It has been shown that an interactive environment reduces feelings of anxiety and apprehension on the part of the child (Bethge, Carlson and Wiedl 1982), and offers the best circumstances for the child to demonstrate his intellectual skills (Hamers and Resing 1993). Furthermore, when a child is encountering difficulty, the assessor can attempt to move the child from failure to success by changing the format of the task, providing more trials, offering successful problem-solving strategies, or providing hints (Swanson 1995). Providing assistance allows the opportunity to measure the child’s assisted performance, the level she can achieve when given appropriate cues and prompts (Campione and Brown 1987; Feuerstein, Rand and Hoffman 1979; Vygotsky 1978). Ultimately, if the assessor provides assistance, and induces change in the child’s performance, it may help the assessor gain a more in-depth understanding of the child’s problems. An understanding of the child’s sensitivity to change is a key link between assessment and intervention (Swanson 1996). Thus, the assessor will be better informed when attempting to provide guidance to teachers or parents about how to tackle the child’s difficulties. In this way, then, the interactive environment can potentially empower children since they are personally involved in the assessment, and the provision of assistance offers them the best opportunity to demonstrate their capability. It is frequently the case in assessment that children misunderstand the nature or requirements of a task. In standardised testing, it is not permitted for the assessor to provide much feedback (e.g. offering a better explanation of the task), and thus, the conclusion is often made

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IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

that children do not possess the ability to do the task: ‘If they do not understand what they are supposed to do, then it is quite unreasonable to use their performance on those tasks to infer that they lack the ability to do them’ (Haywood 1997, p.105). An interactive environment ensures that these misunderstandings are minimised. Finally, an interactive environment offers an empowering perspective since the child is given the chance to contribute fully to the assessment (a dynamic process), and thus specific test conditions are not necessarily followed. This is in contrast to the child remaining passive and having something done to him (a static process). Other than empowering the child, the inclusion of assistance in an assessment may offer the following five advantages. First, during the administration of DA there is usually a focus on process, and not product. This distinction can mean many different things. Often the way in which a child arrives at her answer (the process), rather than the final answer itself (the product), can be significant in understanding the way in which she learns (Jitendra and Kameenui 1993). Thus, in DA, the assessor examines the process involved in obtaining answers rather than merely observing whether an answer is right or wrong. Furthermore, during DA, the assessor focuses on the cognitive processes, or Learning Principles, that are believed to make up the child’s cognitive behaviour during the assessment. Since dynamic assessment includes an interactive element, it is argued that working in collaboration with the child makes it possible to identify those cognitive processes that are in the process of developing. For example, consider a child working on a classification task where he has to classify coloured blocks by colour and shape (i.e. put all the blue squares together, all the red squares together, all the blue triangles, etc.). If he is assessed on this task without assistance, he may struggle, and the assessor may conclude that he cannot classify according to two dimensions. However, instead consider that the assessor begins to help the child, either by demonstration, or by carefully guided hints (e.g. ‘In what way are these two blocks the same? Yes, that’s right, they are both blue, and is there another way in which they are the same? Yes, they are both round. That means they are the same…? Shape, that’s right’). If the child proceeds to finish the task without difficulty, the provision of assistance has revealed that the child has an ability to classify using two dimensions, but the ability is in the process of developing – it is not yet fully developed. The nature of the cognitive processes, or Learning Principles, will be described in more detail in Sections 3.2 and 5.1. Second, providing assistance enables the assessor to discern the extent to which the child has a responsiveness to intervention (Lidz 1991), that is, an ability to learn. Rather than merely measuring the child’s independent performance, the child has the opportunity to demonstrate his ability to profit from assistance in a learning environment. Many consider that the child’s capacity to improve performance, as a result of assessor assistance, represents the learning potential of the child (Feuerstein et al. 1979; Guthke 1982; Hamers and Resing 1993; Lauchlan and Elliott 2001; Vygotsky 1962, 1978). Third, the provision of assistance can provide information about how the child responds to assistance, that is, how the child learns (Lauchlan 2001; Swanson 1995). Rather than have the child tackle tasks independently, the assessor can provide help and become involved in a learning experience. The assessor can then gain information about how the child responds to the help and the ways in which the child responds to specific types of intervention: ‘The best link to classroom intervention is a sample intervention’ (Lidz 1991, p.3).

20

THEORY AND RATIONALE

In short, dynamic assessment focuses on how the child learns, not on what has already been learned. Information about the kind of assistance that helped achieve an improved performance can be useful when providing suggestions to teachers, parents and the children themselves. For example, if a child has difficulty with a specific task, the assessor may begin to break the task down into manageable parts, and help the child to solve each part in turn. The child may respond positively to this kind of help and this information can be made available to the child and her teachers and parents. Fourth, research has shown that if an assessor provides assistance and becomes involved in a collaborative process, the child is more comfortable, and extraneous factors are minimised (for example, test anxiety) (Bethge et al. 1982; Meijer 1993). Furthermore, some studies have demonstrated that the provision of assistance, to some extent, equalises students from different social and ethnic backgrounds (Carlson and Wiedl 1980; Guthke and Stein 1996; Kaniel and Tzuriel 1992). The gap between these groups and white, advantaged children is large when unassisted performance is assessed, but much smaller when assisted performance is assessed. It has been argued that affective, or emotional, factors are neglected and seldom observed through traditional standardised assessment practices (Calfee and Masuda 1997). It is more difficult for an assessor to assess such factors, and obtain a more rounded picture of a child, if she cannot enter into a shared context. The opportunity to become involved in a collaborative environment enables the assessor to explore more thoroughly the affective factors of the individual child (Tzuriel, Samuels and Feuerstein 1988). Exploring such motivational and personality factors (e.g. anxiety, fear of failure, frustration tolerance, motivation) may provide the assessor with a better understanding of the ways in which these factors may be contributing to the child’s learning difficulties. Fifth, providing assistance enables the assessor to attempt to modify the cognitive processes and affective factors during the assessment (Feuerstein et al. 1986). In other words, it may be possible not only to identify cognitive processes and affective factors which appear to be hindering the child’s performance, but also to tackle these during the assessment, using an intervention approach. Thus, an attempt can be made to modify the cognitive processes and affective factors since the assessor is working in a collaborative, interactive environment. The assessor’s role in dynamic assessment is therefore highly influential and important since his role is more active and dynamic than it would be if a non-interactive, unassisted approach was employed: the examiner constantly intervenes, makes remarks, requires and gives explanations whenever and wherever they are necessary, asks for repetition, sums up experiences, anticipates difficulties and warns the child about them, and creates reflective insightful thinking in the child not only concerning the task but also regarding the examinee’s reaction to it. (Feuerstein et al. 1979, p.102)

2.5 Dynamic assessment and assessment in education Wood (1986) outlined some important aspects of educational measurement, for example, that one should look for ‘best’ rather than ‘typical’ performances, that a more accurate picture of a child emerges when the rules and regulations of standardised testing are slackened, and that there should be a focus on helping the child rather than ‘sentencing’ him. Wood (1986) acknowledged that his notion of assessment is one that should focus not on how things often are, but on how they could, or ought,

21

IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

to be. This notion reflects the work of Russian psychologists in the late 1970s who were heavily influenced by Vygotskian theory: American researchers are constantly seeking to discover how the child came to be what it is; we in the USSR are striving to discover, not how the child came to be what it is, but how it can become what it not yet is. (Leontiev, quoted in Bronfenbrenner 1977, p.528)

These aspects of measurement outlined by Wood (1986) are reflected in dynamic assessment. For example, the search for ‘best’ rather than ‘typical’ performances is based on Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development, and also Feuerstein’s belief in the significance of peaks in performance. In assessment terminology, an individual’s ‘best’ achievement relates to the measurement of competence (what one can achieve in the most favourable conditions), while ‘typical’ achievement relates to performance (what is done in the existing conditions). An important question in assessment relates to this issue: when should one attempt to measure the child’s typical day-to-day performance in the classroom, and when should one attempt to measure what can be achieved if the child is given ideal circumstances? This may be considered prior to the selection of the particular method of assessment used by the educational psychologist. Dynamic assessment is regarded as an ongoing evaluation of a child’s cognitive performance that will change and be modified over time. In other words, DA is regarded as a process, not as a final product (as is often the case with summative assessment, for example, an examination). Formative assessment may also be considered a process and DA could be said to be formative since the aim is to inform the child’s subsequent learning and work in tandem with the pupil’s intervention programme. However, the difference between DA and formative assessment is that the latter is often focused upon the children’s unaided performance (Hamers, Pennings and Guthke 1994). Nevertheless, it could be argued that dynamic assessment is an educational psychologist’s version of formative assessment used by class teachers, with an emphasis placed on feeding back to the child and informing intervention.

2.6 Conclusion Lidz (1991) offered a useful comparison between the three approaches of dynamic, norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment: If we wish to determine how far the child’s knowledge base deviates from the norm, we will continue to administer a [norm-referenced] measure. If we wish to determine the content of the child’s knowledge base within a specific domain, we will administer a curriculum-based or criterion-referenced test. If we wish to derive hypotheses about how the child learns, how responsive the child is to attempts to intervene, and what seems to be interfering with the child’s ability to profit from existing attempts at instruction, we will use dynamic assessment. (Lidz 1991, pp.121–122)

The message here is clear: dynamic assessment should not be seen as trying to replace traditional approaches to assessment. It should be recognised that different methods of assessment can serve different purposes: they may be used in an attempt to answer completely different assessment questions (Cizek 1997). Kaufman (1994) believed that educational psychologists should be familiar with

22

THEORY AND RATIONALE

standardised intelligence tests, criterion-referenced assessment and dynamic assessment, but argued that the latter two methods should not be seen as alternatives to standardised intelligence tests, but rather as supplementing the information that can be gained from them. In considering the relationship between purposes and methods of assessment, it may be said that the use of dynamic assessment potentially fulfils the empowerment purpose of assessment. This resource will outline how this can be done, and how the children and young people assessed can play an active part in the assessment and intervention process. Dynamic assessment also aims to learn more about a child’s learning style and link assessment findings to subsequent intervention (Elliott 2003; Lidz 2000). However, a survey of 88 educational psychologists (EPs) in the UK (Deutsch and Reynolds 2000) indicated that, while most EPs were in favour of the approach, a common difficulty reported was how to move from theory to practice. In particular, EPs seemed to find the report writing aspect of dynamic assessment very challenging. The EPs reported that they often found it difficult to communicate the findings of DA, and make the link to the classroom, in terms of suggestions and recommendations for teachers and other staff. One might argue that if the suggestions and recommendations made on the basis of a dynamic assessment are not put into practice by those working daily with the child, it almost renders the assessment meaningless. While the arguments in favour of using the DA approach are strong (Lauchlan 2001), and indeed are recognised by educational psychologists (Deutsch and Reynolds 2000), there remains insufficient evidence that it can change the nature of children’s intervention programmes significantly (Deutsch and Reynolds 2000; Elliott 2003; Lauchlan and Elliott 2001; Yeomans 2008). There may be potential for the use of the DA approach in answering the more important questions described above; however, it has not yet realised that potential (Murphy 2011; Yeomans 2008), mainly because there has been insufficient consideration of how to make dynamic assessment meaningful in the classroom. Some have argued that there has been a lack of criticality by authors in the field (Burden 2002); however, it is argued here that there is little useful advice by authors (possibly because most of the DA literature is written by academic researchers rather than practising educational psychologists) as to the most effective ways in which to feedback the results of the assessment in order to maximise such an impact on a child’s learning. Alternatively, highly specific advice is provided; for example, recommendation of a specific programme of intervention that will not be available in most circumstances, and moreover, the assessment will be based on several hours contact time, a situation that is simply not an option for most practising educational psychologists. The ‘greater emphasis…on informing intervention’ (Elliott 2000, p.735) has formed the basis of our assessment practice when working as educational psychologists with children and young people with a range of learning difficulties. We encapsulate the work under the statement: Improving learning through dynamic assessment. The resources and practical ideas discussed in this book emerged from our work using dynamic assessment approaches. However, the value of these materials in the wider context of psychological assessment was quickly recognised by other educational psychologists using more traditional assessment approaches. While the rest of the book will refer to the practice of dynamic assessment, it should be acknowledged that the resources and ideas could also be valuable to those psychologists employing other assessment approaches.

23

Section 3

Staged Process

3.1 Overview Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment is a framework with four parts: assessment, feedback, intervention and review. For each of these elements, practical materials have been developed that can be used by educational psychologists, teachers and others when trying to link assessment to intervention in the classroom. The practical elements are as follows: • Assessment °° Materials: checklists of Learning Principles (cognitive and emotional) °° Aim: to be used as a practical aid to help with the recording of information during assessment. • Feedback °° Materials (1): a proforma entitled a ‘Learning Profile’ °° Aim (1): to be used to summarise quickly and effectively the findings of the assessment to parents and teaching staff °° Materials (2): the Learning Principles adapted into simpler, child-friendly language, with accompanying graphic representations and a child-friendly version of the ‘Learning Profile’ °° Aim (2): to be used to feed back to the child following assessment. • Intervention °° Materials: a Bank of Strategies provides specific ideas that will provide a focus for the intervention period °° Aim: to map directly onto the two checklists (i.e. strategies and resources are provided for each for the Learning Principles). The Bank of Strategies provides specific ideas that will give a focus for the intervention period. They can be used by teachers, parents and the children themselves. • Review The fourth stage is to review the Learning Profile, perhaps after six months, or any other period of time considered appropriate. The review may be a formal process, perhaps involving the educational psychologist, or it may be done informally with the child (and possibly parents) and appropriate members of school staff. The Learning Profile may be amended on the basis of this review, or it may be continued, with alternative strategies added.

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IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

In addition to this four stage framework, the materials in Section 5 of this book, and in particular the child-friendly Learning Principles and accompanying graphic representations (see Sections 5.4 and 5.5) can also be used when doing group work with children, or as part of a systemic intervention in several classrooms in a school (see Section 4.3 for more detail). We have also developed various in-service training (INSET) presentations that are available for downloading from the Jessica Kingsley Publishers website (www.jkp.com/catalogue/book/9781849053730). These INSET presentations, which can be used to train teaching staff in making them more aware of dynamic assessment generally, but also of the Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment resource, which in turn will make the assessment feedback more understandable and more likely to have an impact. We have also included within this resource a photocopiable booklet that provides general background information on dynamic assessment that is written in simple, clear, user-friendly language, and can be distributed to staff, parents and children when an assessment has been undertaken (see Section 5.8). There now follows further details on each of the main elements of the approach to Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment.

3.2 Assessment There are a number of Learning Principles that the assessor is aiming to observe during an assessment. These can be divided into cognitive skills (aspects of problem-solving behaviour) and affective (emotional) factors. When assessing a child, and in particular when using a collaborative approach between assessor and child, the aim is to bring about change in these Learning Principles. In other words, in what ways can the assessor enable change in the child’s approach to learning during the assessment? For example, a child may be very impulsive (i.e. not reflective) at the beginning of the assessment; however, after intervention by the assessor to tackle this Learning Principle (perhaps through comments such as ‘slow down, take your time, you know you do better when you stop and think about it first’), the child may make the transition from ‘other-regulated’ to ‘self-regulated’ (Wood, Bruner and Ross 1976) and become more reflective as a result. The idea to develop checklists of Learning Principles (see Sections 5.1 and 5.2) emerged from the increasing difficulty the authors were having in the recording of information during the use of dynamic assessment. This was mainly because, in dynamic assessment, one is trying to intervene and provide ‘mediation’ as well as being an assessor. The checklists can be used in a similar way when using a formative assessment approach, that is by working with the child over a period of time, and observing their learning behaviour and responses to intervention, according to the Learning Principles outlined in the checklists. The development of the checklists was based on the list of deficient cognitive functions by Feuerstein et al. (2002), and the list of non-intellective factors by Tzuriel et al. (1988). However, an essential difference is that we have worded the checklists positively, that is, what the child can do, rather than what the child cannot do. Moreover, we have adapted the content of the checklists, including adding some new Learning Principles, based on our several years’ experience of using a dynamic assessment approach. Because the emphasis in DA is about ‘change’, the checklists (see Sections 5.1 and 5.2) have

26

STAGED PROCESS

a separate column ‘change’ (marked ‘Ch.’), where assessors can comment on whether there is change in the Learning Principles during the assessment itself, or over time, if used in a formative way. The information recorded on the checklists can be used directly to inform the feedback given to parents, the child, teaching staff and other professionals (vis-à-vis a Learning Profile that will be discussed below). It is recommended that the assessor prioritises three Learning Principles that are deemed to be most important to the child’s learning during the dynamic assessment. It is this process of moving from Assessment to Feedback that is a crucial part of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment, and is now discussed below.

3.3 Feedback The idea of a Learning Profile (see Section 5.3) was developed in response to feedback from teaching staff and parents who found it difficult to assimilate the information provided in our dynamic assessment reports. These reports tended to be rather lengthy accounts of the assessment, sometimes littered with jargon and concepts that teachers and parents found difficult to comprehend (e.g. cognitive modifiability, mediated learning, non-intellective factors). It was concluded that, instead of writing up to three or four pages of text on the cognitive skills and affective factors of the child’s learning, it was felt to be more meaningful and valuable for staff and parents to transform the information gathered during the assessment into a one page profile of the three most important factors that were highlighted during the assessment. The words ‘most important’ are significant because the three Learning Principles highlighted could be those skills that were most amenable to change during the assisted assessment, and could therefore be encouraged more in the classroom. This is in accordance with Feuerstein’s theory of structural cognitive modifiability (Feuerstein et al. 2002). Alternatively, there may be a focus on those Learning Principles that were difficult to modify during the assessment, and that therefore require further, significant investment. Or, indeed, the assessor may decide to focus on the Learning Principles that were clear strengths in the child, those that were demonstrated throughout the assessment. It may be the case that such strengths are being underused in the child’s everyday classroom activity and should therefore be promoted. On the right hand side of the Learning Profile are some ideas or activities that are suggested to help address or encourage the most important factors which were highlighted. These ideas are taken from a Bank of Strategies that will be described in further detail in Section 3.4 on Intervention. The Learning Profile can be used in different ways. For example, it could be completed at a review meeting with teaching staff and parents, where a consultation approach could be used to identify three significant areas of the child’s learning, as well as deciding on the corresponding ideas and suggestions for intervention. The Learning Profile is intended to be a practical resource that can be used by the child’s teacher, parents, auxiliary staff, learning support staff, as well as the child himself. Moreover, writing a Learning Profile should be less time consuming than writing a three or four page detailed report. An example of a completed Learning Profile can be seen in the case study in the Appendix. It could be argued that focusing on only three of the many cognitive and affective Learning Principles observed during the assessment may not be a full account of the child’s learning. However, the Learning Profile is intended to be a more focused report to make it easier to enable change, since it is easier to

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IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

implement an action plan that focuses on only a few issues in a child’s learning rather than trying to address many different issues simultaneously. Moreover, the Learning Profile can be reviewed at suitable intervals (e.g. every six months) to ensure it is being effective in addressing the issues highlighted, or whether there needs to be any changes to the Learning Profile. As described above in Section 1, an important factor often overlooked is the inclusion of children in the feedback process following an assessment. In trying to change some aspects of the child’s learning and improve the child’s teaching and learning, it is commonly the case that those attending a feedback meeting (e.g. educational psychologist, teacher, support for learning staff and parents) do not include the child in this feedback. Often this is because it is felt that the language used in such a feedback session may be too difficult for the child to understand, and that there is therefore little point in including the child. For example, it may be that the child’s reading ability would not enable them to access the language in the report which has been written following an assessment. We feel that neglecting the role of children in trying to change their own learning style is a gross misrepresentation, and potentially harmful to the success of an intervention plan. We have written the Learning Principles in much simpler, child-friendly language (see Sections 5.4 and 5.5) and each Learning Principle is depicted by a graphic representation to aid the child’s memory, thus helping the intervention process.

3.4 Intervention As discussed in Section 3.3, the intention of the Learning Profile is not only to feed back those factors that appeared to be most important to the child’s learning during assessment, but also to provide suggestions and recommendations to tackle or encourage these factors. After using the dynamic assessment approach for several years, we developed some ideas and suggestions that could be made to teaching staff and parents on the basis of the information gathered during assessment. However, we felt that we had quickly exhausted our ‘list of strategies’ and felt that we needed to build up a more extensive ‘Bank of Strategies’ (see Sections 4.1 and 4.2) to which we could refer when feeding back our assessment results. Ideally, we wanted to build up strategies and recommendations for each of the Learning Principles that were delineated in the checklists described above. Some of the ideas, games and activities have been provided to us by the many staff with whom we work in South Lanarkshire schools. The aim was to create a much simpler framework from the recording of information during the assessment (via the two checklists) to the feedback meeting (via the Learning Profile) and then to the intervention programme (via the Bank of Strategies). Figure 3.1 provides an overview of this process and the relationship between the four elements of the Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment resource: assessment, feedback, intervention and review.

28

STAGED PROCESS

Assessment Complete Learning Principles Checklist Identify important factors for child's learning

Feedback Complete Learning Profile Feed back to parent, teacher and specialist support Feed back to child (using child-friendly resources)

Intervention Strategies identified from Bank of Strategies

Parent strategies

Teacher strategies

Child strategies

Working with individual child

Working with whole class or group

Working within class, group or individually

Review formal/informal Figure 3.1: Graphical representation of the four key elements of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment: assessment, feedback, intervention and review

In building up a Bank of Strategies we have developed interventions that can be used at an individual level with the child, at a group level, and at a whole class level. Moreover, the Bank includes not merely some hints, but also activities, games and resources that could be tried with the child at home, as part of a small group, or as part of the whole class. We are grateful to the many class teachers and parents who have provided us with ideas for the Bank of Strategies. We have assembled the ideas, games and activities related to each of the Learning Principles into themes, because many of the ideas for each Learning Principle overlap with others. A table outlining the themes, and the comprising Learning Principles, is provided at the beginning of each section.

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IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

3.5 Review The last part of the Staged Process is to review the Learning Profile and the suggested intervention strategies. This is a very important part of any assessment since not every strategy suggested will work for every child, therefore it is necessary to review any intervention to ascertain whether or not it has been effective. If the strategies tried have indeed been effective for the child, it is important for those involved to provide positive feedback. If not, it is important to highlight this and the reasons why, and where necessary, discuss alternatives. It is possible that after a period of six months that some positive changes have already occurred in those Learning Principles highlighted by the Learning Profile. Thus, after a review of the original Learning Profile, it may be that other Learning Principles, perhaps observed during the original assessment, can be included in the newly modified Learning Profile. Alternatively, it may be that those Learning Principles highlighted in the original Learning Profile have not changed significantly in the time since the last review, and that there may need to be changes made to the suggestions/recommendations designed to encourage those said Learning Principles. It may or may not be necessary to include the educational psychologist in the review of the Learning Profile.

3.6 Summary The four strands to our development work following years of experience of using a dynamic assessment approach, as outlined above, form the basis of the Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment resource. It is intended to provide a clearer relationship between the assessment process and the subsequent feedback to staff, parents and children, which then informs a plan of intervention and review. The practical materials that accompany this approach are detailed below. The resource encapsulates our approach of linking assessment, feedback, intervention and review. It is intended to help educational psychologists, teachers and others who are trying to implement the potentially powerful ideas and concepts underlying dynamic and formative assessment, but who are given little guidance in making the transition from theory to practice.

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Section 4

Intervention

4.1 Bank of Strategies: Cognitive As many of the cognitive skills required for learning overlap, so do the strategies and activities that may help children to develop these skills. Therefore, we decided to divide the Bank of Strategies into themes rather than attempt to suggest individual strategies for each of the checklist items. The themes are as follows: 1

2

3

Reflectiveness (4.1.1)

(strategies also relevant for Recognition) Planning (4.1.2)

(strategies also relevant for Nature of response) Communication (4.1.3)

(strategies also relevant for Justification of response, Problem definition and Vocabulary)

4

5

6 7

Memory (4.1.4)

(strategies also relevant for Transfer of learning) Exploratory behaviour (4.1.5)

(strategies also relevant for Comparative behaviour) Spatial orientation (4.1.6) Efficiency (4.1.7)

Table 4.1 provides a summary of the themes and how they relate to each of the Learning Principles (cognitive). This enables the assessor to quickly identify the theme that is linked to the particular Learning Principle they are interested in, and therefore to access strategies for intervention. For each theme there are tips for teachers to consider in the classroom, specific classroom activities and tips for parents. The materials that are referred to under each theme are provided in Section 5, which are photocopiable and can be used directly. Some of these can be used at a whole class level. When considering an individual child, the specific tips or strategies that are to be used (and given to teachers and/or parents) should be collated according to the individual child’s needs following the dynamic assessment. The strategies chosen form part of the Learning Profile that is drawn up for each child (see Section 5.3). In our experience it can often be the case that a teacher or parent is overwhelmed when given a long list of tips and strategies. Instead, a shorter, more targeted list of strategies is likely to have more success. This can be amended after an agreed period, with other strategies chosen if considered appropriate.

31

Vocabulary

Transfer of learning

Spatial orientation

Reflectiveness

Recognition

Problem definition

Planning

Nature of response

Memory

Justification of response

Exploratory behaviour

Efficiency

Comparative behaviour

Communication

Learning Principle

Ó Ó

Planning

Reflectiveness

Ó Ó

2

1

Ó

Ó

Ó

Ó

Communication

3

4

Ó

Ó

Memory

Theme

Table 4.1: Summary of themes (cognitive)

Ó

Ó

Exploratory behaviour

5

Ó

Spatial orientation

6

Ó

Efficiency

7

INTERVENTION

4.1.1



Reflectiveness…teacher tips 33Encourage the class to check their answers before submitting a piece of work, perhaps incorporating ‘Checking Time’ into the classroom routine. This can be done with the whole class, or it could be that children have a set time every day or week where they gather in groups to share what they have done. This could be scheduled after children have completed their planned activities. 33When introducing new work to pupils in class, a traffic lights system can be used, where green (or a tick) means the child has understood and is ready to tackle the tasks independently, amber (or a question mark) to signify that the child has understood some things, but not everything, and may need help at some point, and red (or a cross) to indicate that the child has not understood what to do. These coloured Traffic Light Cards can be downloaded from the Jessica Kingsley Publishers website (www.jkp.com/catalogue/book/9781849053730) and cut into a neat size, which can be easily placed within the palm of the child’s hand, and which can be hidden from view from the other pupils. The alternative version using a tick, a question mark and a cross is available in Reflectiveness Resource 1 (p.96), and again these can be cut into a neat size, and easily placed within the palm of the child’s hand. 33Try to include a set time to reflect on what the children have learned in class, perhaps at the end of the school day. Whole class discussion can revolve around the question: ‘What is something new you have learned today?’, with every pupil encouraged to provide a response. The Traffic Light Cards (outlined above) could be used by the children as a quick check at the end of the day to indicate whether they have had a good, bad, or indifferent day. 33Have a supply of Feedback Cards (see Reflectiveness Resource 2, p.97), which can be completed by the pupils after they have finished a piece of work. The question can be simple as ‘What did you think about this task?’, with bullet points underneath, which can be completed by the child, either anonymously, or with their name at the bottom. 33The use of meta-cognitive questions at the end of a task encourages reflectiveness. These types of questions could be used with individual children through the use of Meta-cognitive Prompt Cards, laminated and placed at their desk (see Reflectiveness Resource 3, p.98). These questions could also be used as part of a whole class approach by incorporating metacognitive questions into the teaching routine. For example, the class teacher may want to display the questions around the classroom. 33Encourage the child(ren) to talk through tasks, since this may slow them down, while at the same time, alerting them to any errors. 33Try wherever possible to ask open-ended questions since they invite more observation on the part of the child than closed questions. Questions that begin with ‘How did you…?’ or ‘Why do you think…?’ also encourage children to reconstruct and create meaning from their experiences. 33Wherever possible comment on what you see children doing as they carry out an activity. This can be as simple as describing to them what they are doing (‘Ah, Milly, I see you’re doing a good job of organising your story into three sections. That is a really good idea’). This encourages children to attend to, and evaluate, the experience as it is happening, and makes it easier for them to recall the event later.

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

33



INTERVENTION

4.1.1

33Wherever possible encourage children to carry over activities to the next day. For example, introduce a ‘what we learned yesterday’ time into the daily classroom routine. As children reflect on their experiences, they may recall problems they encountered and/or consolidate what was learned.

34

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

INTERVENTION

4.1.1



Reflectiveness…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home if considered appropriate.

Picture Sequencing This ‘Picture Sequencing’ activity can be done with individual children or in small groups. The child is asked to think of an event (e.g. getting ready for school, travelling to school), and then is asked to draw a representation of each part of the sequence on the worksheet (see Reflectiveness Resources 4, 5, 6 and 7, pp.100–103). Alternatively, the child can write on the boxes, or stick in some pictures to represent the sequence of events, for instance from old magazines. Four versions are provided to reflect the age and stage of the child, thus the more boxes, the more complex the activity will be.

Story Sequencing For older children, who have a better literacy level, this adaptation of the Picture Sequencing activity can be used. A story can be cut out into sentences, or paragraphs, and arranged in a random order. The pupil’s task is to rearrange the sentences or paragraphs into the correct order of events.

I Went to the Market and I Bought… Playing word games such as ‘I went to the market and I bought…’ can help children develop sequencing and reflection skills. An alternative to this activity is: ‘I was going on holidays so in my suitcase I packed…’ These games can be played in a similar way to the well-known parlour game ‘The Minister’s Cat’, that is the list is built up gradually (either randomly or using the alphabet), with each child taking a turn to add an item to the list, after repeating the list as it stands.

Reflective Diary Some children may benefit from keeping a ‘Reflective Diary’, writing in each day their reflections on what they have done in school, and what they have learned. Questions such as: ‘What did I learn today at school?’ or ‘What did I enjoy today?’ can be adapted according to a child’s age and stage. For example, more complex supplementary questions could be asked, such as ‘How will what I learned today help me in the future?’, or ‘How does what I have learned today relate to real-life contexts?’ Another option, if the child is able and wishes to do so, is to complete the Reflective Diary through the use of drawings as a way to communicate their thoughts and feelings about each day.

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Reflectiveness…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Encourage your child to talk through their homework, since this may slow them down, while at the same time, alerting them to any errors. 33Encourage your child to provide explanations as to how they solved the problems in their homework by using questions such as ‘How did you do that?’ or ‘Tell me how you worked that out?’ 33Try wherever possible to ask open-ended questions since they invite more observations on the part of your child than closed questions. Questions that begin with ‘How did you…?’ or ‘Why do you think…?’ also encourage children to reconstruct and create meaning from their experiences. 33Wherever possible comment on what you see your child doing as they carry out an activity (when doing a jigsaw puzzle: ‘Ah, Andrew, I see you’re putting all the outside pieces all together first. That is a really good idea.’). This encourages children to attend to, and evaluate, the experience as it is happening, and makes it easier for them to recall the event later. 33When your child returns from school, make sure you ask them questions such as ‘What went well today in school?’ or ‘What did you enjoy today in school?’, rather than the more general, commonly used questions such as ‘How was school today?’. Also, try to identify when in the day you receive a better quality response from your child to these questions. For example, your child may not say much as soon as they arrive home, as they do not want to talk about school, but maybe later, over dinner, or before going to bed, is a better time for your child to talk about their day. Answering these questions will help your child with reflection and retention of learning. 33If your child does not answer positively to the questions suggested above (i.e. if they do not say anything went well in response to ‘What went well today in school?), try to discuss with them what could be done to make things better the next time. 33Try to discuss with your child why we need to learn certain things (e.g. reading, spelling, maths work), and try to relate the work to real-life contexts. This will bring some meaning of the tasks to your child, making them appear worthwhile.

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Planning…teacher tips 33The use of meta-cognitive questions at the beginning of a task helps develop the child’s ability to plan how they will tackle a problem. For example, by asking the question ‘What do I have to do here?’ before starting a piece of work. These ideas could be used with individual children through the use of Meta-cognitive Prompt Cards (see Planning Resource 1, p.104. These questions could also be used with the whole class by incorporating meta-cognitive questions into the teaching routine. For example, the class teacher may want to display the questions around the classroom. 33A key aspect of self-regulation is helping children to learn how to set goals independently through planning. Encourage children to set goals related to what they have to study. For younger children, it may be necessary to provide more assistance in this process. Goal setting can involve many things, but may include completing a series of practice questions each day to prepare for a quiz or studying five vocabulary words per night for a test at the end of the week. 33Help children to understand the importance of planning and goal setting. Developing a plan of attack to achieve their goals is necessary, and will help children to set reasonable goals within a specific time frame (see also Motivation Resources 1, 2 and 3, pp.113–115). Examples of planning include arranging a study diary or completing parts of a large project for an hour every other day. At this point, children should ask themselves ‘What is my goal (what do I want to do) and by when?’ Planning can be both long term and short term, but ideally, should be done by the child, thereby building independent planning skills; the point of this is to help children to set goals and plan on their own. 33Make planning a regular part of the day. Planning should be a regular classroom activity so children will automatically begin to think about what they want to do and how to carry it out. Planning should be at the same time each day and can be done in small groups, pairs or individually. 33Encourage children to elaborate their plans in order to extend their ideas. For example, in project work, you can do this by asking children to give details such as where they want to work, what materials they intend to use, the sequence of their activities and the outcomes they expect to achieve. 33By writing down and recording children’s plans, they will get the message that their ideas are valuable. With older children, encourage them to begin writing down their ideas by themselves. Documentation such as writing, drawing and photography helps children become more conscious of the process and value of planning. They are likely to think through and elaborate on their ideas as they formally record them.

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Planning…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

Let’s Plan This activity can be done whole class. It is designed to encourage the children to develop their skills in planning. A specific task is given to the children in groups that involves making a plan with several steps. Some ideas are given below. The meta-cognitive questions provided in the Planning Resource 1 (p.104) can be used as an aid to help the children complete the task. The children can then discuss the steps they feel are necessary in order to carry out the task effectively. The plans can then be shared with each group and the best, most effective plan can be decided upon by the whole class. Ideas for this activity (the teacher is encouraged to come up with his own ideas that are age-appropriate for the class or related to a topic recently discussed in class): yy Making a cup of tea yy Fixing a puncture on your bicycle yy Organising a surprise birthday party yy Putting up the Christmas decorations yy Having a jumble sale.

Famous quotes about planning This activity is more appropriate for older primary aged pupils or secondary aged pupils and can be done in small groups or as a whole class activity. The class is encouraged to have a discussion about the following famous quotes about planning and asked to consider the following questions: who was the person?, What did they mean when they said this?, Do you agree?, and Which of the statement do you think is the best? The following eight quotes are given as suggestions; however, other ones can be used if considered more appropriate: yy ‘By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail’ (Benjamin Franklin) yy ‘In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable’ (Dwight D. Eisenhower) yy ‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’ (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) yy ‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’ (John Lennon) yy ‘Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face’ (Mike Tyson) yy ‘If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else’ (Yogi Berra) yy ‘Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago’ (Warren Buffett) yy ‘If you don’t know exactly where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?’ (Steve Maraboli)

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Planning…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Encourage your child to use lists. For example, ask them to design a checklist of five things they need to do in the morning before going to school. Checklists such as these can be useful planning tools which will help with children’s organisational skills and responsibility for their own learning. Other checklist ideas include planning a bedtime routine or homework routine. See Planning Resource 2 (p.106) for an example. 33Have a monthly family calendar to plan for important activities and events. Encourage your child to enter activities and events important to them and to check it regularly. 33Before children begin homework, ask them to think about and estimate how long it should take and then check their estimates. This will encourage planning ahead and organisation. 33Provide children with a weekly planner or homework diary to help with planning and organisation. These are time planning tools that will help children to get their homework in on time and prioritise activities. 33Encourage your child to set goals for the day, week or month on a regular basis. Helping children to set goals is one tangible way of increasing their planning skills. 33Involve your child in planning family events and outings, perhaps giving them the responsibility of planning a family day out (e.g. where to go, how long it will take, what you will need, what time you will leave, etc.). This will encourage children to look ahead by working out steps required to achieve goals.

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Communication…teacher tips 33Check that the child has understood the vocabulary and information provided by asking them to explain their understanding of what has been said. 33Speak in short sentences and relatively slowly. 33When asking the child questions, and no response is forthcoming, give them three or four possible answers to choose from. 33Provide instructions in a multisensory way to avoid any obstacles a child has with language comprehension. For example, instructions could be given orally, verbally, in picture form or by acting out what the task is. 33To reinforce and extend comprehension, teachers can read children stories that contain new vocabulary. They may also ask pupils to act out the corresponding action or ask them to draw the word with a picture describing it. 33Teachers can list several new vocabulary items and have pupils write short stories using them.

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Communication…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

Word Bingo Word Bingo is similar to traditional bingo, but words are used rather than numbers, and instead of calling out the words, the teacher reads out a definition. This game can help the development of literacy skills in a fun way. See Communication Resources 1 (Early Primary) and 2 (Late Primary) (pp.107–109) for some ideas as to how this can be played. The sheets can be adapted to make up different ‘bingo cards’. The number of ‘words’ needed to win the game can be flexible, but it is suggested to start with three, and build up from there.

Why Say In this ‘Why Say’ game, the child is asked to consider alternative options for a commonly used word. The activity is used to develop the child’s vocabulary, and to use labels appropriately. Communication Resource 3 (p.111) provides an example of the activity and Communication Resource 4 (p.112) is a photocopiable resource which can be used by the teacher to think up alternative words for the activity.

Guess the Word In this game, the child has to guess the word that is pinned to their back using the help of their fellow classmates via clues or prompts. The words can be written on self-sticky notes or index cards. For example:

School – (prompts may be along the lines of: it has classrooms, we come here every day, there are teachers, we learn here, it has a playground). Bicycle – (prompts may include: it has two wheels, it has handlebars, sometimes it has a bell, sometimes it has stabilisers). Car – (prompts may include: it has four wheels, it has a steering wheel, it takes you places, it comes in different colours, it is sometimes kept in a garage).

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Communication…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Encourage your children to express themselves by listening to them. Listen carefully and pay attention to all the ways they are communicating to you (e.g. non-verbal communication is often overlooked). 33Encourage children to listen by removing distractions when you are talking to them. Turn off the television, ask them to look at you, or have them come in the same room with you while you talk to them. 33Encourage your child to pay attention to the many ways people express themselves. Ask your child, ‘What does my face tell you?’ or ‘How do you think your sister is feeling right now?’ 33Use books, magazines and television to talk to your child about facial expressions, what they mean, and to watch for body language to help them understand what the other person is feeling. 33Take the time to repeat back to your child what you think they meant, that is seek clarification for what they said to you. 33Ask your child to repeat back to you what they think you said. This will help you see how well your child listens during a conversation. 33Use regular eye contact and have your child practise using eye contact when speaking to other people. 33Make a game of learning to take turns talking. As an analogy, you might want to use tennis: you talk, you listen, you talk, you listen. 33Teach by example. Practise the art of conversation and let your child see the right way to hold a conversation by sticking to the topic discussed and returning the same questions ‘Yes, I had a good weekend. Did you?’ Include the child in daily routines and take the time to wait for their participation. 33Avoid questions that stop conversation. In other words, avoid the following: yy Closed questions that invite an answer that will stop with a simple ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or other oneword answer (e.g. ‘Did you have a good day at school?’ Instead use: ‘What was good at school today?’). yy Questions that bombard or demand (e.g. ‘What’s that?’, ‘What colour?’, ‘What shape?’, etc.) (These questions are OK if the child is asking them!) yy Questions that answer themselves (e.g. ‘Is that the blue one?’).

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Memory…teacher tips 33Use multisensory materials wherever possible in the classroom to help children remember and follow instructions (e.g. Picture Prompt Cards: see Memory Resource 1, p.113). These can be used in a chronological order to help children understand what activities they will be doing that day. This can be especially helpful for children on the autistic spectrum. 33Use visualisation to enhance meaning by asking children questions such as ‘Close your eyes and picture…?’ and by saying ‘Can you see…?’. As well as ‘Can you tell me about…?’ This will increase the child’s ability to retrieve and retain information through the imagining process. 33The use of group questions can help maintain the involvement of children. For example, rather than ask one child a question it may be more effective to say ‘everyone who agrees raise your hand’ or give choices of answers and ask the children to raise their hands for their choice of answer. 33Increase positive reinforcement and positive feedback when a child remembers something with which they would normally have difficulty. 33After giving out instructions it may be useful to ask the child to tell someone (either partner or teacher) what they have been asked to do. This can be done with individual children or the whole class by asking the children to paraphrase instructions or information to be remembered. 33Try to avoid timed tests. Give the child extra time for recalling and responding. 33Incorporate wherever possible the teaching of four valuable techniques for enhancing memory including visualisation, linking, locating and chunking. Explanations of each can be found in Memory Resource 2 (p.114).

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Memory…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

Memory Challenge In ‘Memory Challenge’, the children are asked to view for one minute either ten (younger children) or 20 (older children) objects that are placed on a tray. After one further minute, where the objects are covered with a table cloth or towel, they are asked to memorise as many objects as they can using Memory Resources 3 and 4 (pp.115–116). They can write the objects down or draw them, or they can name them out loud. The children can be told that they will be asked to recall the objects prior to viewing them. Please see Memory Resource 5 (p.117) for a list of suggested items that you could use for this activity. This activity is designed to develop the children’s short-term memory skills in a fun way. This game can be played in conjunction with the memory techniques discussed in Memory Resource 2 (p.114).

Memory Pairs ‘Memory Pairs’ is a traditional memory game that will be familiar to many. Any type of cards can be used, including two packs of playing cards, or children’s ‘snap’ cards, or specially designed cards can be found in many children’s toy shops that are specifically for this kind of memory game. Try, if possible, to have cards in which the child may be interested (e.g. pictures of animals). The pairs of cards are put in rows face down. As many as forty pairs can be used, but you can build up from five pairs upwards, depending on the level of the child. The first person turns up two of the cards: if they match, the person can keep them. If they do not match, the child must try to remember their location, so that they can match up the correct pairs when it is next their turn. Each person takes turns. The winner is the person who has the most pairs once all the pairs have been matched up.

Who’s Missing? In this ‘Who’s Missing?’ game, a nominated child is blindfolded, while another child in the class is asked to leave the room. After the child leaves the room, the blindfold is removed from the nominated child, and the task of the child is to guess which of their classmates has left the room. There are two levels to this activity: the simpler level is where the classmates remain in their usual seats, the more difficult level is where the pupils are asked to change seat. The aim of the game is to develop the memory skills of young children in an enjoyable way.

Can You Colour? In this ‘Can You Colour?’ activity, children are read aloud a set of colours and they are asked to memorise the list in the correct order by colouring in the worksheet provided. Worksheets are provided in Memory Resources 6, 7 and 8 (pp.118−120) depending on the different ages and stages of the children completing the task (i.e. Memory Resource 6 involves remembering three

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colours, Memory Resource 7 involves remembering six colours, and Memory Resource 8 involves remembering nine colours). Space is provided for ten tasks per sheet. The children are asked to wait to hear the full list before beginning to choose the appropriate coloured pencils or pens. The children can work up from the three-colour worksheet, to the six-colour worksheet until they are able to complete the nine-colour worksheet, developing their memory skills throughout the process. This game can be adapted to a similar activity entitled ‘Can You Draw?’ In this activity, children are asked to draw a number of objects that are read aloud to them. For example, ‘Can you draw a pencil, a house and a car?’ The child then has to draw the three objects in the correct order. The worksheets provided in Memory Resources 6, 7 and 8 (pp.118−120) can be used if desired, or blank paper can also be used. Similarly to ‘Can You Colour?’, this activity can be adapted whereby the children have to memorise three, six or nine objects to draw, depending on the age and stage of the children doing the activity. Alternative ways of doing the same activity but in a different way could be: ‘Can You Make?’ (e.g. involving play dough whereby the children have to sculpt the number of objects in the correct order, e.g. ‘Can you make a ball, a sausage and an arch?’) and ‘Can You Act?’ (e.g. where the children are asked to act out a number of actions in the correct order, e.g. ‘Can you act digging a hole, going to sleep and playing at tennis?’).

One day i went… In this game, the children are asked to develop a story around a visit to the shops where the task is to memorise the list of items purchased. With each child who participates, one item is added to the list, for example the first ‘player’ begins the list by saying: ‘I went to the shops and I bought a tin of beans.’ The next player must repeat the list and add a further item, for example, ‘I went to the shops and I bought a tin of beans, and some apples.’ When a child forgets one of the items in the list they are eliminated from the game. The game continues until there is one child left. Other modifications of this game could be ‘I went to the zoo and I saw…’ or ‘I went to the beach and I saw…’. This game is very similar to the ‘I Went to the Market and I Bought…’ game described under the Reflectiveness classroom activities (see p.35).

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Memory…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Increase positive reinforcement and positive feedback when your child remembers something with which they would normally have difficulty. 33To remember something such as a name, get your child to make a rhyme or song from the information. Because humans are wired to remember music and its associations, setting facts to music can help children remember them. 33If they aren’t already, help your child to become interested in the subject they need to memorise. Look for books, stories, videos, films or music on the subject. Or visit a museum or library. If your child becomes interested in the material she is learning, she will remember it more easily. 33Whenever possible, encourage your child to use mental images to help her remember information. Suggest that your child close her eyes and get a picture in her mind representing the information she wants to remember. 33Teach your child to use a specific picture to represent an idea or concept. Another way is to create a mind map of various ideas and how they relate to one another. 33Have your child make her own notes or drawings, for example, teach your child to use a specific picture to represent an idea or concept. When your child creates her own system for organisation (using specific colours, making numbered lists of facts to be memorised, putting information into charts and graphs, etc.), she will be more likely to remember the information.

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Exploratory Behaviour…teacher tips 33Brainstorming is one of the most effective techniques for generating a large number of solutions since it assists with the development of flexibility of mind, divergent thinking and a sense of competence and autonomy. Try working with the whole class or groups in brainstorming answers to problems. Exploratory Behaviour Resource 1 (‘Think About It!’, p.121) can be photocopied and the problem scenarios distributed to class groups as a starting point for discussion. 33Encourage pupils to take on different roles in the classroom. For example, ask pupils to write stories from different perspectives, such as the first day at school from a teacher’s perspective or a child’s perspective. It is important to teach children to appreciate and be pleased with their own creative efforts. 33Try to provide opportunities and give credit for self-initiated learning. We can sometimes be guilty of the following, which may interfere significantly with such efforts: overly detailed supervision, too much reliance on prescribed work, failure to appraise learning resulting from a child’s own initiative, and attempts to cover too much material with no opportunity for reflection. Being aware of such obstacles, and when they are arising, is a good starting point in overcoming them. 33Try to provide chances for children to learn, think and discover, without threats of immediate evaluation. Constant evaluation, especially during practice and initial learning, makes children afraid to use creative ways to learn. We must accept their honest errors as part of the creative process. 33Encourage curiosity, exploration, experimentation, fantasy, questioning, testing and the development of creative talents. 33Use critical questions as much as you can: yy Is that always the case? yy Can you justify that? yy Can you give me an example? yy Is there reason to doubt the evidence? yy Put yourself in the shoes of those opposing your opinion. How might they argue their case? yy How would other groups or types of people respond? yy To answer this question, what other questions will we have to answer first?

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Exploratory Behaviour…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate. Exploratory behaviour can be broken down into creative thinking (the ability to see a different way to do something, generate new ideas, use materials in new ways) and critical thinking (the ability to break down an idea into its parts and analyse them by sorting, classifying, comparing similarities and differences).

Activities related to developing creative thinking

Imagine All the Different Ways Ask the children to imagine all the different ways they could get to school (other activities could be substituted). Other ideas include asking the children: yy Imagine all the different ways you could travel on holiday. yy Imagine all the different things you can make/eat/cook with milk. yy Imagine all the different ways you could make extra pocket money.

Everything You Can Think of Introduce class quizzes around topics such as ‘Everything you can think of that’s red’ or ‘Everything you can think of that’s round’ and time the children to come up with as many solutions as possible (this could be done in groups or pairs and can be done with or without a time limit). See Exploratory Behaviour Resource 2 (p.122) for more ideas.

Creative Challenge Introduce various props to the classroom and set Creative Challenges to groups of children to make things from empty boxes, cartons, and many other recyclable materials that would otherwise be thrown out.

Activities related to developing critical thinking

Same or Different In this ‘Same or Different’ activity, the children are asked to compare and contrast two things and think what is similar and what is different. See Exploratory Behaviour Resource 3 (p.123) which can be photocopied and used to accompany this activity. Suggestions which can be used for this activity include: yy a spoon and a fork yy a lamp and a candle yy a T-shirt and a pair of socks yy a dog and a horse yy a table and a chair.

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Mirror Mirror In this ‘Mirror Mirror’ activity, children are paired up and asked to look in a mirror to compare their similarities and differences. This may include discussions of colours (e.g. of hair, eyes, clothing, shoes), textures of clothing, and so on. The idea of this activity is to promote similarities and differences, while encouraging the children to be more self-aware. At the end of the discussion, each child could be asked to think about someone who is most different in appearance to themselves and think about reasons why they like that person. The aim of this last exercise is to encourage the children to understand that there is more to a person than merely their physical appearance. Exploratory Behaviour Resource 3 (p.123) can be adapted to accompany this activity.

About Me The core idea of this ‘About Me’ activity is to encourage comparative behaviour in the child by having them think about events in their life (or their physical appearance) in the present and what they were like in the past. This will be most effective through the use of photographs. The following ideas are suggested to facilitate this activity: yy physical appearance of the child yy physical appearance of family members yy physical appearance of friends yy the child’s home (particularly relevant if the child has recently moved house) yy the child’s bedroom, or another room in their house yy a holiday yy a birthday party. The child is asked to think about how things have changed, focusing on the similarities and differences between past and present. Exploratory Behaviour Resource 3 (‘Same or Different’ p.123) can be adapted to accompany this activity, completing the blanks on the worksheet with ‘Past compared with present’.

Think About It! In this ‘Think About It!’ activity, children are given the outline of a scenario and asked to consider as many different ways of solving the problem as possible. This activity can be done individually (including at home), in small groups, or as a whole class activity. Some examples of possible scenarios that could be used are given below: yy You and your friend are playing a ball game and accidentally break the window of a neighbour’s house with the ball. yy You borrow your sister’s favourite CD and stand on it by accident, breaking it. yy You want to go to a friend’s birthday party but it’s already been arranged that you help your mum with the shopping.

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yy You have been going to a swimming club for a year and don’t really like it, but your mum is really proud of how well you are doing at it. yy You are in the playground and witness a boy being picked on by another group of boys. yy You really want to buy a new computer game that has just come out, but you don’t have enough money. These are also summarised in Exploratory Behaviour Resource 1 (p.121).

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Exploratory Behaviour…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Encourage your child’s curiosity, especially around how things work. If you are unsure, look up things together on the internet, or in an encyclopedia. 33If possible, try to provide a variety of materials for open-ended exploration by your child, such as sand, water, play dough, blocks, and so on. Keep things that you might normally throw away, and build up a ‘resource box’ of these items (e.g. egg boxes, wrapping paper, bits and bobs). 33Encourage your child to problem solve, asking questions such as: ‘If I do this, what will happen next?’ For example, if playing with blocks: ‘If the structure falls down, what can I do to balance it better?’ Try to consider whether your child’s questions could be tested through experiment. In other words, try to ask your child the following: ‘How could we go about finding out whether that is true?’ An example might be: ‘If I drop these two objects in the water, which one will sink faster?’ 33Prepare your child for new experiences, and help to develop creative ways of coping with them. 33Play rhyming games with your child, e.g. ‘Let’s think up as many words as we can that rhyme with “bar”’. Alternatively, play a similar kind of game by trying to think up as many words as possible using a specified group of letters (around five or six letters). For example, ‘Let’s think as many words as we can using the letters “B”, “A”, “C”, “T”, “E”, “R”’. You can play these games while in the car, waiting for a bus, when doing the shopping, and so on. 33Provide your child with opportunities to compare things, for example, when doing the shopping (e.g. ‘What’s all the differences we can think of between an apple and a banana?’), or when travelling (e.g. ‘What’s all the differences between a tree and a bush?’).

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Spatial Orientation…teacher tips 33Encourage discussions involving recognising, describing and naming shapes, perhaps using objects visible in the classroom (e.g. ‘How many circles are there in this classroom?’). 33Encourage the use of words that indicate where things are in space (e.g. beside, inside, behind, above and below). 33Introduce activities that encourage children to recognise when a shape’s position or orientation has changed. 33A poor understanding of space can affect a child’s ability to read from left to right. Allow the child to use the index finger of his preferred hand to ‘track’ the words across the line of print as he is reading. Not only will it help him to organise space, but also it will strengthen left-toright movements of the eyes across the page. 33If the child’s work looks messy, create spaces on the paper. For example, if the child tends to write from one edge of the paper to the other, leaving no margins, make sure she uses paper/ jotter with margins. Similarly, use paper/jotter with decently spaced lined paper. Alternatively, encourage her to rule the margins/lines in by herself. Spaced/lined paper can be important for maths work as well as for writing. The space provided should be generous but not excessive. In fact, if you can get the child to rule off her own paper, you’ve made a big step forward and so has the child. Chances are that ruling off space will soon become unnecessary. 33Observe the child as he does everyday tasks. One of the reasons a large number of children continue to have spatial difficulties is because many times, for unclear reasons, they haven’t developed a ‘preferred side’ by the time they are seven years old. By ‘preferred side’, psychologists mean that children will, the majority of the time, drink with, open doors, comb their hair, brush their teeth, draw, write, throw a ball, etc., with the same hand. When the child switches hand for major tasks that clearly require only one hand, it may be worth considering whether a specialised assessment (e.g. occupational therapy) is required. 33Introduce activities that encourage the child to investigate and predict the results of putting two or more shapes together.

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Spatial Orientation…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

Circles, Circles All Around In this ‘Circles, Circles All Around’ activity, children are formed into pairs or small groups and asked to notice circles in the environment around them. This can be done in school or perhaps in the playground. This activity bridges the children’s knowledge of shape from the abstract to reallife contexts. The activity can be adapted and used with squares, triangles and any other shape that is considered appropriate. Spatial Orientation Resource 1 (p.124) can be used to accompany this activity.

Find Your Way In this ‘Find Your Way’ activity, the children are asked to provide directions from one landmark to another using a ready-made map (provided in Spatial Orientation Resource 2, p.125; please note that a colour version of this resource is available on the Jessica Kingsley Publishers website, www.jkp.com/catalogue/book/9781849053730.). The intention is to develop their positioning and orientation skills in a fun and enjoyable way. The child is asked to provide directions to travel from one place to another on the map, either orally, or in writing, depending on the individual’s learning style, and also whether the activity is being carried out at the level of the individual, small group, or whole class. An alternative and more real-life way of playing ‘Find Your Way’ is to ask the children to provide directions to travel from the classroom to another place in the school. This can even be extended to include a Treasure Hunt element to the activity, whereby clues to the next place (and/or treats) are left in each of the chosen locations.

Shape Bingo As the name of this activity suggests, ‘Shape Bingo’ is based on traditional bingo principles, but shapes are used instead of numbers. Colour materials to accompany this activity can be downloaded from the Jessica Kingsley Publishers website (www.jkp.com/catalogue/book/9781849053730). Each board consists of six different possible shapes (eight shapes are used in total across the many response boards provided − see Spatial Orientation Resource 4). These are: square, circle, triangle, rectangle, hexagon, diamond, oval and octagon, and come in four different colours (blue, yellow, red and green) and two different sizes (big and small). As in any usual bingo format, different coloured shapes are called out by the teacher/adult/peer using the teacher cards provided in Spatial Orientation Resource 3. The teacher cards are provided in order to keep track of the shapes that have been called out, and also to check the winner has not made any error. Two of these teacher cards have been provided in order to get started with the game, however, others can be created, in other words, the teacher/adult/peer can decide to come up with their own combination of the shapes, colours and sizes, and can keep going until someone has managed to cover all the shapes on their response board. The children have to mark off the shapes that have been called out by the teacher/adult/peer if they match the shapes that are displayed on their response board (Spatial

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Orientation Resource 4). The covering cards provided in Spatial Orientation Resource 5, can be used for the purpose of marking off the shapes that have been called out: both by the children to track their progress, and by the adults to monitor the shapes that they’ve called out already. When a child has marked off all the shapes on their response card, they shout out ‘Shape Bingo’.

Secret Shape In this activity, a number of different shapes are placed into a bag. The child’s task is to place their hand into the bag and feel their way around one of the shapes, and on this basis, try to guess which shape they have selected. The child is encouraged to describe aloud the attributes of each shape they are feeling, which will help facilitate a discussion of each shape’s particular properties. An alternative way to play this game is to have the other children in the group try to guess the chosen shape based on the child’s description of its properties.

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Spatial Orientation…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Play ‘directional’ games with your child. Young children, especially preschoolers, like to play games in which they point to parts of their body, for example, ‘Show me your hair. Now your knee. Now your thumbs.' This should progress to games that name sides, such as ‘Show me your right elbow. Now show me your left foot. Now wiggle your right hand.’ Every opportunity should be taken to teach and reinforce this ability. 33Incorporate directional words in your conversations with your child. For example, on the way to school say, ‘We’ll take a right turn at this corner. Now we’ll take a left turn, etc.’ See if your child can begin to anticipate the direction of the turn. For example, say, ‘We are going to turn this way (point) at the next corner. Can you tell me what direction (left or right) that is?’ 33An excellent place to deal with spatial problems is the local supermarket. As you and your child push the trolley up and down the aisles, incorporate directional terms into your conversation in an incidental way, for example, ‘While I am getting the bread, you go down that aisle and turn left that way (point) and pick up some milk. Then we’ll meet back here.’ 33Give your child things to do that require placement of objects to the right or left of something, for example, ‘Put those books to the left of the fireplace’ or ‘Put the CD player to the right of the flower pot?’ There are many other directional words that can be used again and again with the child: over, under, in front of, behind, on top of, in, out, above, etc. 33Play a game in which you hide an object, and the child must find it. You begin the game by saying, ‘I have something. You can find it only by following the directions I give you. Take three steps forward. Now turn to your right. Take two steps. Now turn to your left and take two steps. Now take three steps forward,’ and so on. Treats can be used to make this activity even more enjoyable for children.

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Efficiency…teacher tips 33Provide pupils with a student diary and encourage them to place important events such as after-school activities and daily homework in their diaries. 33Teach the pupils to break complex tasks such as projects into smaller jobs and then plan out the work. If a project is due in two weeks, work out what needs to be done and work backwards from the due date. 33Encourage pupils to measure the time they spend on school work and encourage them to work efficiently and quickly. It is common for children to think they have spent hours doing work when much of their time was spent sharpening pencils, arranging books or chatting. 33Establishing a set time such as 30 minutes is an effective way of encouraging children to work quickly. 33Help children to prioritise their work if they are busy. This could be achieved by encouraging them to categorise their tasks as Important, Urgent, and so on. 33When encouraging pupils to finish a task within a given time, it is useful to use a countdown method (‘You have ten minutes left… Now you have five minutes… OK, finish the sentence you’re on’). This will give the pupils time to complete a sentence, for example, rather than leaving work unfinished. 33Divide work into smaller sections (i.e. ask the child to complete one section at a time) and suggest times and expectations for completion. Ask children how long they think they have to perform a certain task. Let the children set their own time and have them race against the timer.

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Efficiency…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

I Will Finish Using Efficiency Resource 1 (‘I Will Finish’, p.126), encourage children to predict when they think they will complete a particular task. If they manage to complete the task in the time predicted, offer a reward for their efficient work (as long as it is correct of course!).

Quick Counting In this ‘Quick Counting’ activity, children are asked to imagine they are going to the shops. They are asked to buy a list of items and their task is to count in their head how many items are on the list. This encourages efficiency in thinking, by summarising quickly a number of objects. Examples of shopping lists are provided in Efficiency Resource 2, p.127.

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Efficiency…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33As children learn basic time concepts such as weeks and months, give them a calendar to place on their bedroom wall. They can cross off the days or countdown until special events such as birthdays or the end of term. They can also use a calendar to plan each day including their after-school activities. 33A valuable time management technique for adults and children is to establish a work routine that suits individual physical requirements as well as schedules. For example, give children different homework routines that reflect their individual needs.

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4.2 Bank of Strategies: Affective In a similar format to the Bank of Strategies for the Learning Principles (cognitive), we have divided the Learning Principles (affective) into themes rather than attempt to suggest individual strategies for each of the checklist items. The themes are as follows: 1

Concentration and attention (4.2.1)

4

Flexible thinking (4.2.4)

2

Confidence (4.2.2)

5

Presentation (4.2.5)

3

Motivation (4.2.3)

(strategies also relevant for Confidence in correct responses and Accessibility to assistance) (strategies also relevant for Frustration tolerance, Task perseverance and Vitality and awareness)

Table 4.2 provides a summary of the themes and how they relate to each of the Learning Principles (affective). This allows you to quickly ascertain which theme is linked to the particular Learning Principle you are interested in, and to access strategies for intervention.

Table 4.2 Summary of themes (affective) Theme Learning Principle

1

2

3

4

5

Concentration Confidence Motivation Flexible Presentation and attention thinking

Ó

Accessibility to assistance Attention Concentration Confidence in correct responses

Ó Ó Ó Ó

Flexible thinking Frustration tolerance Motivation

Ó Ó Ó

Presentation Task perseverance Vitality and awareness

Ó Ó

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As with the Learning Principles (cognitive), we have provided under each theme a list of tips for teachers, some specific classroom activities, and also tips for parents. The materials that are referred to under each theme are provided in Section 5, which are photocopiable and can be used directly. Some of these can be used at a whole class level. When considering an individual child, the specific tips or strategies that are to be used (and given to teachers and/or parents) should be collated according to the individual child’s needs following the dynamic assessment. The strategies chosen form part of the Learning Profile that is drawn up for each child (see Section 5.3). In our experience it can often be the case that a teacher or parent is overwhelmed when given a long list of tips and strategies. Instead, a shorter, more targeted list of strategies is likely to have more success. This can be amended after an agreed period, with other strategies chosen if considered appropriate.

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Concentration and attention…teacher tips 33Take the time to notice the pupils being on task and working hard and give feedback accordingly. 33Reduce the distractions in the pupils’ work area (e.g. remove extra pencils, books). 33Divide work into smaller sections (i.e. ask pupils to complete one section at a time) and suggest times and expectations for completion. Ask the pupils how long they think they have to perform a certain task. Let them set their own time and have them race against the timer (see Efficiency Resource 1, p.126). 33Try to combine your verbal instructions with pictorial illustrations of what to do, or try to use demonstrations. 33Remember that it is more difficult for pupils to retain concentration when given a long list of instructions and so give instructions one step at a time. 33Ask pupils to summarise the information they have just been given orally, to the class teacher or to a partner. 33Balance tasks with more active learning to improve attention. If possible, try to create opportunities for hands-on activities which can often help concentration. 33Use cue words to alert the pupil to pay attention (this could be a word agreed in private between the pupil and teacher or a word for the whole class). 33Establish a non-verbal cueing system (e.g. eye contact, hand signals) to remind the pupil to pay attention.

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Concentration and attention…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

Concentration Game ‘Concentration Game’ is a whole class activity aimed at promoting good concentration through intermittent positive reinforcement. The idea is to record a tape or CD with a buzzer noise to go off randomly (or alternatively an alarm clock can be used) to check if the class are concentrating. When the buzzer goes off the teacher scans the room for ‘good concentrating’. Rewards can be given to individuals or groups who are concentrating well. These can be tokens for classroom rewards or points awarded for existing classroom reward schemes. Some tokens are provided in Concentration and Attention Resource 1, p.128, to accompany this activity as a starter. These can be photocopied and used by the class teacher.

Class Clock In this ‘Class Clock’ activity the teacher explains to the class (could be group or individual) that they have a set time to work (e.g. 35 minutes). They are also told that they will have free time after this (e.g. 15 minutes) providing they have concentrated and paid attention for the working time. The teacher then explains to the children that they will be watched during the working time for anyone not concentrating and those identified will be timed to assess how much time they have spent not concentrating. This time will be deducted from the free time at the end of the lesson. This activity can be carried out at a group or individual level whereby the group loses free time if someone is not concentrating or the individual loses time themselves if they are not concentrating.

Concentration Cards ‘Concentration Cards’ can be used as a whole class activity for individual children who find it difficult to concentrate. The children are given four concentration cards (Concentration and Attention Resource 2, p.129) at the start of a day and are informed that, if they still have these cards at the end of the day, they will receive a set period of free time (e.g. 20 minutes). If the child manages to retain some of the cards, the free time could still be given but reduced accordingly. For example, if a child still has three cards at the end of the day they may receive 5 minutes free time, two cards may receive ten minutes and one card may receive five minutes. The aim is for the child to concentrate as much as possible to achieve the 20 minutes’ maximum free time. Other rewards may be introduced rather than free time and also the number of cards given can be altered in view of the age and stage of the child.

Take a Break This ‘Take a Break’ activity is designed to be used with individual children who have difficulties with attention and concentration. The class teacher should begin by discussing with the child how long or how many times in a day they are off task (i.e. not concentrating). The child and the teacher then agree on a set number of times the child needs to have a break in a day. The class teacher and the child then agree on a productive way for the child to spend their breaks from learning

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(could be personal reading or running an errand). Following this, the child is given the appropriate number of ‘Take a Break’ tokens (Concentration and Attention Resource 3, p.130) that they can use throughout the day. The long-term aim is to have the child reduce the tokens needed every week or day. There should be a weekly reward for reductions in ‘Take a Break’ cards which has been mutually agreed upon by the teacher and child, as a further incentive.

Dot to Dot Please read the details of this ‘Dot to Dot’ activity in the Motivation section (4.2.3 and Motivation Resource 4, p.137), where it is described in the context of working on motivation. The activity can also be used to help motivate children to improve their concentration and attention.

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Concentration and attention…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Provide a quiet area with minimal distractions for your child to do homework. It may be necessary for you to stay in the room to keep your child on task. 33Keep instructions simple and clear. Make sure you establish eye contact before you ask your child to do something. 33Provide as much structure as you can at home (mealtimes, waking up times and bedtimes should be kept consistent). A set routine at these times can reduce stress and build up selfconfidence. 33Use rewards and consequences (involve your child in choosing rewards). 33Focus on and encourage good behaviours, i.e. when your child is demonstrating good attention and a good level of concentration. Give praise and show your child that you are pleased. Do not dwell on the negative instances of poor attention and poor concentration. 33Provide opportunities to learn sequencing and organisation skills. Pin up a checklist in the bedroom for what your child should do before going to school and/or what should be done before going to bed (see Planning Resource 2, p.106).

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Confidence…teacher tips 33Enlisting the support of peers in the classroom can greatly enhance a pupil’s confidence and self-esteem. Pupils with good social awareness, and who like to be helpful, can be paired with the child who lacks confidence during tasks. 33Encourage the use of self-evaluation by the pupil, for example, ‘What did you do well?’, ‘What could you have done better?’ ‘If you were to give your work a mark out of ten what would it be?’ 33Cross-age tutoring with older or younger pupils can also have social benefits. For example, ‘work buddies’ are often used in schools, whereby older pupils are paired up with younger pupils to provide both with the opportunity to improve aspects of learning, as well as help promote self-esteem and other social skills. 33Try to provide opportunities for small group work to complete assignments/projects, aiming for a mix of abilities and social skills within each group. Encourage pupils to share organisational ideas and responsibilities. Such group work provides an ideal setting for developing confidence and interpersonal skills on a regular basis. 33It is important to be aware that the adult’s response to a request for help can be crucial to the child’s feelings about whether they will ask again. On some occasions an adult may react as if the child’s request for help has emerged because of a problem the child has (e.g. they were not listening properly). Instead it is important to try to convey the impression that there may be occasions where the responsibility lies with the adult (e.g. that they did not give clear directions and may need to explain the task again).

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Confidence…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

Chat Cards Children who have low self-confidence can find it difficult to initiate and maintain a conversation with peers. In this activity, ‘Chat Cards’ are used as a prompt to encourage interaction and build confidence. The activity can be used in class as part of the daily routine, such as chat time, or with groups or pairs alongside Circle Time activities. Some starter ‘Chat Cards’ are provided in Confidence Resource 1, (p.131) but you may also want to develop your own.

Storytelling (or ‘My Best Moment’) In this ‘Storytelling’ activity, children are encouraged to write or draw their own stories about a situation in which they have performed well and been successful. Examples would include: a piece of work they have completed in class, a sporting activity, a social situation, or a school performance. Some titles are given below to help stimulate ideas for each of these situations. The child could work through each of these situations, perhaps one per month (or more frequently, if possible). The child can write (or draw, if they would prefer, e.g. if their written skills are not developed) about the experience as a story, emphasising the skills that they utilised. If the child wishes, the story can be shared with their parents, the rest of the class, or a small group within the class (e.g. they may already be working in a small group for some class work such as reading). Confidence Resource 2, (p.132) can be used as a template to help the child structure their story. Suggested titles for the activity: ‘My Best Moment’: yy My proudest moment yy My caring moment yy My sporting moment yy My creative/artistic/musical moment yy My kindest moment yy My happiest moment yy My hard-working moment yy My successful moment.

Pupil of the Week In this activity, one child is chosen each week to be the ‘Pupil of the Week’. Classmates are asked to write a positive comment about this pupil and post it in a box made available in the classroom throughout the week. At the end of the week, the class are asked to come together and the positive statements are read aloud to the child. In this activity, the class teacher chooses a pupil at the

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beginning of each week who will be the focus of this enhancing confidence exercise. While it is recognised that many schools and teachers use such a system, we suggest an alternative way of doing this, which will we hope be clear from the instructions below. yy Step 1: The teacher places a shoebox (or similar) in a specific area of the classroom, with a pile of blank paper, appropriately sized (e.g. A5). yy Step 2: The teacher chooses one of the pupils at the beginning of the week to be the ‘Pupil of the Week’, that is usually, a pupil who has been identified as requiring confidence building. yy Step 3: During the course of the week, the pupils are encouraged to place a positive statement about the Pupil of the Week into the shoebox. For example, they can write what they like about the Pupil of the Week, or something they have noticed this pupil do during the week that is complimentary. Note: All pupils should participate in the activity in order to avoid highlighting differences in popularity among the pupils. yy Step 4: At the end of the week, the class teacher selects those statements that are appropriate for building the target child’s confidence. The statements can be read out to the whole class, in a small group, or if it is felt that the target child would not cope with this, to the child alone (perhaps with another member of staff such as the head teacher of the school or the child’s parent(s)).

Promoting Social Skills in the Classroom Often children with low confidence require their social skills to be enhanced. This can be done with the whole class by the class teacher rather than singling out the individual child for special treatment. Social skills can be taught directly to the whole class, introducing one social skill to be worked on and promoted each week. The social skills can be taught by explanation, demonstration, teacher modelling or peer modelling. The social skills provided here are suggestions that could be used; however, others can be created by the class teacher, either alone, or in collaboration with the class, e.g. ‘What social skill should we work on next week?’ This may be done in collaboration with the use of Circle Time (Mosley 2006), whereby a social skill (or lack of) among some of the children emerged during Circle Time discussion. Ideas of some social skills that could be promoted: yy Let’s try to greet each other nicely: try being the first person to say ‘Hello’. yy Let’s try asking for help politely: if you are unable to reach a pencil or rubber ask in the following way: ‘Could you please pass me your rubber?’ yy Let’s try to remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ (in older primary classes this could be promoted in a fun way by asking the pupils to do it in the modern language they are learning). yy Let’s try waiting patiently (e.g. if you need help with a class task or when waiting in line to come into school). yy Let’s try taking turns (e.g. with toys, or in conversation/discussion in class).

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Classroom Wall of Fame The idea of the ‘Classroom Wall of Fame’ is to create a collage of the pupils’ best pieces of work, such as examples of their work of which they are satisfied or proud. This could be a piece of artwork, a story they have written, or perhaps a page of sums where they obtained all the correct answers. The Classroom Wall of Fame can be gradually built up for a target child over the course of the school year, or for a small group of children. Alternatively, the activity can be done by the whole class, perhaps choosing one pupil each week to be the target child for a Wall of Fame. The idea of the Classroom Wall of Fame can be extended to include the other pupils in the class. For example, a target child is chosen each week to be the ‘subject’ of the Classroom Wall of Fame. During the course of the week, the other pupils in the class have to write something up about the target child that is positive, such as a reason why they like the person, or a strength they think she has, or a nice thing she has done during the week. This is similar to the activity described above under ‘Pupil of the Week’. In order to avoid any unfortunate incidents, the class teacher can ‘screen’ the comments written by the other pupils by asking that they are submitted to her in the first instance before being placed on the Wall of Fame.

Self-reflection and Self-evaluation In this activity of ‘Self-reflection and Self-evaluation’, children are encouraged to reflect on their school work and evaluate their performance in a solution-focused way, focusing on what they did well, in order that their strengths can be further promoted. By helping the children highlight their individual strengths, it is intended that they will become more aware of what they can do well, and in turn will help build self-confidence. You may want to use Confidence Resource 3, (p.133) as a template to be used to help pupils complete this activity. The template is provided for ‘What did I do well this week?’ However, the same questions (and worksheet) can be used for reflecting on what the pupil did well today, or this afternoon, or during playtime, and so on. If the pupil is unable to complete the worksheet on his own, then it can be done verbally with the help of an adult or more able peer.

Job Chart ‘Job Chart’ can be a creative activity for the whole class where, collaboratively, the teacher and pupils list the jobs that need to be completed within the classroom each week. Involving the children in this collaborative activity enhances their feelings of belonging and self-worth, and thus their confidence, and creates a general positive ethos within the classroom. The allocation of pupils to jobs can be done in a fun way, for example, pulling the names out of a hat. Alternatively, the allocation of jobs could become in itself another collaborative activity by dividing the children into groups and asking them to allocate specific jobs to individual children based on each child’s skills and abilities.

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Confidence…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Record your child’s accomplishments by keeping a scrapbook or by helping your child make up a book about themselves. This is a good way to help your child see themselves as somebody who can achieve. 33Look for ways to tell your child what you like about them, such as what their positive qualities are. 33When things go wrong, focus on the behaviour that is unacceptable, not the child. 33Avoid comparing your child to other children. 33Spend quality time with your child and let them see that you enjoy being with them. 33Let your child answer some of their own questions. For example, you could encourage them to look up in an encyclopedia to answer a question, rather than you answering for them. 33Don’t do things for your child that you think they are able to do for themselves. 33Put a picture of your child with family members next to your child’s bed. This is a reminder that your child has family support. 33Teach your child to set goals, follow through and complete projects. This builds self-confidence and shows children that they have some control in their lives. They do not have to be largescale projects, but small things, for example, organising a family outing.

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Motivation…teacher tips 33Use a variety of teaching methods to account for individual learning styles. 33Use a variety of ways for pupils to participate and to feed back answers (i.e. writing, drawing, sculpting, singing, acting). 33Provide pupils with opportunities to experience success. 33Provide a variety of ways for pupils to demonstrate competence. 33Arouse enthusiasm and curiosity in the classroom, for example, have a five-minute ‘Interesting Fact of the Day’ activity/discussion. 33Provide pupils with the experience of discovery, for example, by setting a challenge task where they have to go on the internet or consult an encyclopedia for the answer. 33Provide opportunities for pupils to undertake challenging tasks and succeed.

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Motivation…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

Reward Menu Rewards are often central to effective school interventions and act as incentives that pupils can earn for appropriate school performance or conduct. In this activity, reward menus are created to allow the pupil to select from a range of reward choices, since rewards are often most powerful when chosen by the child. The class teacher would begin by creating a ‘reward deck’, which is essentially a deck of cards with different classroom rewards written on them. This will be the master ‘reward deck’. Whenever the teacher wants to create a reward menu for a particular child, she first screens reward choices that appear in the ‘master deck’ and temporarily removes any that seem inappropriate for the specific child. The teacher then sits with the child and presents each of the reward choices remaining in the deck. For each reward option, the child indicates if they like the reward a lot, a little or not at all. The teacher then sorts the rewards into three piles that match these rating categories. The teacher can then assemble the child’s Reward Menu using the child’s top choices.

Pen Pals Both writing and receiving letters (or email messages) is motivating for children and can help greatly with children who dislike writing. It may be helpful for teachers who are trying to motivate children to organise pen pal relationships. These can even be among pupils in the same class or school, and do not necessarily have to be with children in another country (although the children may find this more interesting). The use of pen pals can be an excellent way to support children’s reading and writing development.

Goal of the Week This ‘Goal of the Week’ activity is designed to maintain the pupil’s focus and motivation. Having achievable goals is important in keeping the children interested. This can be done using smaller steps towards a bigger goal. Motivation Resources 1, 2 and 3 (pp.134–136) provide some visual ways in which this can be done. The worksheets can be used for individual children, having the child complete the goals and the steps required to achieve them. Alternatively, the worksheets can be used with a small group of children who are working together on a piece of work, for example, a project, or even to write a short novel. Finally, the worksheets could be used with the whole class, with the smaller steps and bigger goal completed in collaboration with the teacher and the rest of the class. ‘Goal of the Week’ can be adapted to suit the needs of the individual pupil, group or class. In other words, the task can be ‘Goal of the Month’, ‘Goal of the Term’, or there does not have to be a time limit placed on the task.

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Dot to Dot In this activity the child has to complete a dot-to-dot picture for each aspect of good behaviour, or good learning, in which they have engaged. For example, if it is felt that the child needs to work on their on-task behaviour, they are rewarded with the completion of joining two dots for each time this is noticed by the class teacher. The child will be able to see in progress the completion of the drawing. Once the drawing is fully completed the child receives a reward that was agreed by the teacher and pupil (or also parent, or head teacher) prior to the commencement of the activity. This may be extra play time, a treat from the parent (e.g. going to a sporting event or activity at the weekend) or something else that the child would like. Motivation Resource 4 (p.137) can be used in conjunction with this activity, or alternatively it can be adapted to include a picture that is of specific interest to the child. Any dot-to-dot picture can be used. However, it is important the rules are clear at the outset of what the child must do to be rewarded with the joining of two dots, and what the ‘big’ reward is, when the drawing is completed.

Reflective Planning Questions It is important for maintaining motivation that the pupils are clear about what they need to do, how they will stick with the task, and what is needed to complete it. Planning questions, similar to those used in encouraging reflectiveness (see Section 4.1.1) can be used for maintaining motivation. See Motivation Resource 5 (p.138) for a suggested set of questions. As with the other activities, these questions can be used with an individual child, with a small group, or with the whole class.

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Motivation…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home.

Returning to school following a school holiday 33Get your children back on a healthy sleep cycle. Start putting them to bed at a reasonable time for at least a week before school starts. Children in their early school years generally need ten hours’ sleep per day to allow them to concentrate and be motivated to learn. 33Buy school supplies together. Let children have choices about which stationery they need. This is a fun way to help them get motivated about returning to school. 33Visit the library with your child over the summer holidays and encourage them to read for pleasure.

Homework 33Homework must have a definite place in your child’s after-school schedule. Homework can be attempted after a snack or a 30 minute play period after returning from school, but should not be done too late in the day. 33Provide a study area or special place where your child can do homework. Be sure that the study area has the proper materials that your child will need (i.e. paper, pencils, pens, etc.). 33Parents should discuss with their children the nature of the homework task, make sure they understand what they are supposed to do and guide them through the first few items. 33Offer simple reinforcers for successful homework completion (e.g. choosing what’s for dinner, inviting a friend over, staying up 15 minutes longer before bed, watching TV for longer or skipping a chore). 33Make a game out of homework completion: ask your child to guess how long it will take to complete their homework and set a timer challenging your child to beat the clock (also see Efficiency Resource 1, p.126).

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Flexible Thinking…teacher tips Note: The tips, strategies, games and activities in the section on ‘Exploratory Behaviour’ (pp.121– 123), especially those under the subheading ‘Activities related to developing creative thinking’, will also be appropriate for flexible thinking. 33Use drama and group games to develop new ideas and encourage cognitive flexibility, for example, miming games such as charades. 33Use social stories and timetables (e.g. using pictures) to prepare children for changes in routine (see Memory Resource 1, p.113, for Picture Prompt Cards that can be used to make up picture timetables). 33Ensure that children understand the payoffs for being flexible to give them increased motivation for working on these skills. These payoffs might include: reducing their everyday stress and maintaining their comfort during periods of uncertainty, feeling enjoyment or excitement from unexpected novelty and surprise, making sense of change and feeling competent in adapting quickly when things don’t go as planned. 33Present problems in the classroom where two different answers can be just as good. 33Discuss scenarios of how to arrive at the same answers by choosing different routes, for example, different routes to the same destination, or different ways to solve a maths problem. 33Teach alternative uses for the same tool or object. This could be a game where children are given an item and have to pretend it is something else.

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Flexible Thinking…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

Squiggle Game In the ‘Squiggle Game’, the class teacher begins by drawing a squiggle on the board and asking the children to come up with ideas of what they see in the squiggle. After a few minutes the teacher asks one child to come to the front and draw his idea on the board (the drawing must include the squiggle). The class teacher then passes out ‘Squiggle Game’ worksheets (Flexible Thinking Resource 1, p.141) to the children and asks them to create individual drawings from their squiggles. Children should be given around 10 minutes for this activity and should be encouraged to turn the paper around to give different perspectives. The purpose of this activity is to enhance children’s creativity, particularly with an emphasis placed on children who find it difficult to be flexible thinkers. This activity allows children to consider how people may have different perspectives on the same thing.

Link the Word Flexibility is the process of generating a variety of types of potential solutions. For children who have difficulty with flexibility, verbal associations can help them become more successful problem solvers. This can be developed through the construction of word spiders. First the children are asked to think of as many related words (associations) as they can to the target word, e.g. fish. The teacher notes all the responses on the board. Next, the children are asked to put their answers into categories in the form of a word spider and are given out ‘Link the Word’ worksheets (Flexible Thinking Resource 2, p.142) to assist them with this. For example, answers given to fish may be ‘trout’ (types of fish) or gills (parts of fish). Following this initial introduction, the class teacher can provide the children with other target words and give them a set time to produce their own associations and to develop word spiders. It is hoped that, through this process, children automatically begin adding new associations and even new categories. Some examples of target words that could be used are as follows: yy Fish yy Beach yy Car yy House yy School. However, each class teacher is encouraged to invent their own target words.

What Would You Like to Be? In this ‘What Would You Like to Be?’ activity, the whole class is asked to make a decision about which animal they would like to be. The activity is best suited to the gym hall with the names or pictures

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4.2.4

of four animals in each corner. The children are then asked to stand in the middle of the hall and given a moment to decide on which corner to go to. Once each child has made a decision, a team leader for each animal is nominated to write down the reasons for people choosing the particular animal. The children are asked to compile a list of three items per group. Groups are then asked to come together and discuss the reasons why each group chose their particular animal. Some other ideas for themes include cars, countries and food. The aim of this activity is to help children to understand someone else’s perspective and encourage flexibility of thinking.

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Flexible Thinking…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Identify times when the family have had to change plans due to circumstances, and discuss why the plans had to be changed and how it felt. It is good for children to talk about times when they were able to be flexible since this helps them understand their responses to change. 33Teach your children the art of compromise (the ability to let go of something to gain something else) by using turn taking and making choices wherever possible. 33It is important to emphasise that change can be a positive thing. You can do this by discussing how people in your family have changed. Focus on the positives (what someone can do now that used to be difficult, for example). 33Model flexibility to your child. Your responses to unexpected events or disappointments can be a powerful indicator of how your children will learn to react.

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Presentation…teacher tips Note: The following tips are designed to promote a relaxed, calm and anxiety-free classroom, or indeed relaxed, calm and anxiety-free pupils. 33Distraction helps the anxious child to relax by focusing away from the preoccupation with self onto an alternative activity or image. 33Distraction techniques include introducing a non-emotional, routine activity to engage the child’s attention, such as doing a word search or running an errand. 33Emotional Literacy tasks within the classroom, such as teaching problem-solving skills and discussing the language to label and express emotions, can support the emotional climate. Helping an excessively anxious child to focus on the needs of others can support the management of their own anxieties, as can social stories, role-play, drama, and encouragement to share their worries with a friend or adult. 33Introduce calming music and scents into the classroom. 33Reward non-anxious behaviours and ignore anxious behaviours. For example, reward a child who answers a question voluntarily for the first time or who doesn’t get upset in a situation that would usually upset them. 33Do not provide too much support and reassurance – try to encourage the anxious child to work out answers for themselves rather than frequently telling them whether they are right or wrong. 33Encourage risk taking in small steps, establishing with the child a set of challenges to help them overcome a particular fear. For example, start off with encouraging the child to answer a question in a pair, then in a small group, then in front of the class. Reward each attempt. 33Talking to parents regularly can help to keep school staff informed about events in the child’s family that may be causing anxiety. It can also help in sharing the strategies that work at home, or indeed, sharing with parents the strategies that work in school. Talking to parents can help the teacher to understand the nature of the anxiety, for example, anxiety resulting from bereavement, compared to anxiety elicited by a forthcoming test. 33Support agencies such as educational psychologists or behaviour support services could help the school in screening and identifying anxious pupils who do not respond to a whole school approach. These pupils can be included in smaller group work offering a more intensive and therapeutic approach to learning to manage their anxiety. 33Particularly vulnerable and excessively anxious pupils can be supported by intensive individual input from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Outreach Services.

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Presentation…classroom activities These classroom activities can also be shared with parents to use at home, if considered appropriate.

Scary Situations ‘Scary Situations’ is a whole class or small group activity where pupils are encouraged to think about and discuss situations that could cause them anxiety. Because of the collaborative nature of this activity, pupils can be encouraged to think up ways in which the anxiety could be managed. This activity may also be useful in helping to develop creativity and problem-solving skills. Presentation Resource 1 (p.143) provides some starter examples of possible ‘Scary Situations’. Presentation Resource 2 (p.144) can also be used to accompany this activity.

Worry Box The purpose of a worry box is to encourage anxious children to write (or draw) any worries or concerns they might have and post them into the box. The box can take the form of an empty shoe box or cereal box and can be decorated accordingly (perhaps by the target child). This activity is designed to be used as a whole class exercise, or can instead be used solely with an anxious child individually. When using the worry box, time should be set aside each week to give the child or children the opportunity to discuss their ‘worries’ with the class teacher or another adult working in the school. If the worry box is being used with the whole class, worries can be discussed at the end of each week anonymously in a group discussion, encouraging pupils to discuss possible solutions or ways the person could manage the problem.

Safe Place ‘Safe Place’ is a visualisation exercise that can be used to teach children relaxation and help them to manage anxious or difficult situations and emotions. Presentation Resource 3 (p.145) gives a description of how to carry out the ‘Safe Place’ exercise.

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Presentation…parent tips The classroom activities described above can also be shared with parents to use at home. 33Encourage and reward independent activities, that is, when your child is able to accomplish something (e.g. their homework, tidying their room, buying something in a shop) without the need to ask for any help. 33Explain and prepare for new situations in advance describing in detail what is going to happen, and when and where. In this way, it will not come as a ‘surprise’ to your child as they have an awareness of the new situation beforehand. 33Be aware that daydreaming and concentration problems at school may be caused by your child’s preoccupation with fears and anxieties. Take time to discuss these possible fears and anxieties with your child, but do not ‘push’ it if your child is unwilling to talk. Your child will decide in her own time when she wants to discuss her fears and anxieties. 33Choose books to read to your child that address specific anxiety provoking situations. There are many good children’s books available that address a number of different emotions and anxieties. These can be found in your local library, a good bookshop, or even online. 33Be open and explain stresses on the family to your child in simple terms. Children are sensitive to adult anxiety and may exaggerate situations that are not explained fully to them. 33Suggest that your child write a story or draw a picture of scary things, and look for clues to help you understand your child’s fears better. 33Teach your child how to rate fear. If your child can visualise the intensity of the anxiety on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the strongest, your child may be able to ‘see’ the fear as being less intense than they first imagined. Presentation Resource 1 (p.143) can be used to help structure this activity. 33Build your child’s personal strength by praising them for facing challenges or trying something new.

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4.3 INSET training and group work Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment is not intended as merely an aid to carry out assessment work by educational psychologists and teachers. The materials can also be used to undertake group work with children and young people. For example, the child-friendly Learning Principles (both cognitive and affective) can be used as a basis to promote some useful cognitive skills and affective factors that should aid the cognitive and social development of the children and young people, to whom they are targeted. This can be done using the child-friendly language of the Learning Principles (see Sections 5.4 and 5.5), and their accompanying graphic representations presented in the form of Prompt Cards. The Learning Principles can be promoted further at a group level by referring to the many activities, games and general strategies that are provided for each of the Learning Principles in Sections 4.1 and 4.2. It is our view that it is crucial to have teachers and other school staff ‘on board’ with the purposes of Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment, and what that entails. We frequently provide In-Service Training (INSET) to staff in the schools in which we work. We feel that this provides staff with a shared language with which we can discuss aspects of children’s Learning Principles (cognitive and affective), and their potential to change these aspects of their behaviour. Following some of our INSET sessions, class teachers have expressed an interest in observing some of our dynamic assessment work, which is something that we find to be particularly valuable in our efforts to facilitate significant change in the children’s functioning. We have prepared several INSET presentations that readers may find useful when providing training to accompany the use of this resource. These presentations are available to download on the Jessica Kingsley Publishers website (www.jkp.com/catalogue/book/9781849053730). Please feel free to use, or adapt, the INSET materials provided. All we ask is that the source of this material is acknowledged in your presentations (i.e. Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan (2013) Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London and Philadelphia). There are four presentations available for download from the website: 1. A basic introduction to dynamic assessment targeted for use when giving training to school staff. 2. A presentation outlining the links between formative and dynamic assessment also aimed at school staff. 3. An introduction to the background theory and concepts underlying dynamic assessment that we have used when providing training to educational psychologists and trainees. 4. An outline of this resource Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment, again usually provided to educational psychologists, but can also be provided to school-based staff, as well as other professional groups.

The INSET materials emerged from the work done by the authors in completing a general guide to dynamic assessment, which was originally published by South Lanarkshire Council (SLC 2003). A photocopiable version of this booklet is available in Section 5.8. This guide is written in clear and simple language and can be distributed to parents and teachers when a psychologist is feeding back the results of dynamic assessment. We created the guide as it is a common criticism of the dynamic

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assessment approach that the literature is often full of complex language and unnecessary jargon, which serves to cloud the ideas and concepts rather than illuminate them for practitioners in schools and parents (Buchel and Scharnhorst 1993; Deutsch and Reynolds 2000).

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Section 5

Materials

Section 5 contains all the materials, worksheets and resources that have been referred to in Sections 3 and 4. These materials can be photocopied and used directly by those professionals who have considered carefully how they will help improve the learning of an individual child, a small group or indeed a whole class. In ideal circumstances the materials chosen should relate to the Learning Principles (cognitive and affective) that have been identified as a target for intervention work. Sub-section 5.1 (p.85), The Checklist of Cognitive Learning Principles is to be used by assessors when carrying out a dynamic assessment or observation, in order to help them record the information that will be used in the feedback process. Sub-section 5.2 (p.86), The Checklist of Affective Learning Principles should be used by assessors when carrying out a dynamic assessment, or observation, in order to help record the necessary information that will be used when feeding back the results. Subsection 5.3 (p.87) is a blank Learning Profile that is to help guide the feedback process. This can be photocopied and completed at a review/feedback meeting, in order to decide upon the three Learning Principles that are going to be targeted by a programme of intervention. Alternatively, the professional can complete it herself, based on the information gathered during the dynamic assessment, or indeed can complete it in collaboration with the targeted child. Sub-section 5.4 (p.88) consists of the Cognitive Learning Principles written in child-friendly language, with accompanying graphic representations for each, which are done in order to help trigger the child’s memory on the Learning Principles being targeted. These can be photocopied and used directly as Prompt Cards, though the reader is cautioned that these should be placed back to back and copied double-sided, so that each card corresponds to the Learning Principle written in words with its corresponding graphic representation on the reverse side. Alternatively, the graphic representation can be used alone, in which case, the double-sided photocopying is not required. Sub-section 5.5 (p.93) consists of the Affective Learning Principles written in child-friendly language, with accompanying graphic representations for each, again which are done in order to help trigger the child’s memory on the Learning Principles being targeted. These can be photocopied and used directly as Prompt Cards, though again the reader is cautioned that these should be placed back to back and copied double-sided, so that each card corresponds to the Learning Principle written in words with its corresponding graphic representation on the reverse side. Alternatively, the graphic representation can be used alone, in which case, the double-sided photocopying is not required.

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Sub-section 5.6 (p.96) contains all the materials and worksheets that are required in order to carry out the classroom activities that relate to each of the themes of the Cognitive Learning Principles described in Section 4.1. Sub-section 5.7 (p.128) contains all the materials and worksheets that are required in order to carry-out the classroom activities that relate to each of the themes of the Learning Principles (affective), described in Section 4.2.

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5.1 Checklist of Cognitive Learning Principles LEARNING PRINCIPLE

Y

N

Ch

Comment

Communication Is the child communicating their answers in a clear and coherent manner? Comparative behaviour Is the child comparing objects, noticing what is similar/ different? Efficiency Is the child working at a reasonable pace rather than taking excessive time to ensure the answer is correct? Exploratory behaviour Is the child searching for solutions rather than setting on the first one that comes to mind? Justification of response Is the child able to justify their responses, i.e. explain how they solved the problem? Memory Is the child able to remember information/strategies sufficiently, in order to complete tasks? Nature of response Is the child answering with meaning rather than guessing randomly? Planning Is the child using a plan or strategy to solve the problem? Problem definition Is the child showing that they understand the nature of the task? Recognition Is the child able to recognise when answers are incorrect? Reflectiveness Is the child pausing to reflect on their answers? Spatial orientation Is the child aware of positioning, left and right and coordination? Transfer of learning Is the child able to transfer the learning from one problem to the next? Vocabulary Is the child labelling the information using the appropriate vocabulary? Ch = change Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

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5.2 Checklist of Affective Learning Principles LEARNING PRINCIPLE

Y

N

Accessibility to assistance Is the child seeking help, prompting assistance and willing to become involved in a collaborative exchange? Attention Is the child able to sustain attention for a significant period of time? Concentration Is the child able to focus and remain concentrated on the task? Confidence in correct responses Is the child answering with conviction, sticking to their answers when challenged? Flexible thinking Is the child flexible in their use of strategies and in their general way of working, e.g. are they able to change how they approach a problem? Frustration tolerance Is the child attempting problems/tasks regardless of perceived difficulty, e.g. are they keen to try? Motivation Is the child keen to perform well? Presentation Is the child relaxed/comfortable? Task perseverance Is the child continuing to work on the task despite encountering difficulties? Vitality and awareness Is the child eager, full of energy and alert? Ch = change

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Ch

Comment

MATERIALS

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5.3 Learning Profile for _______________ Areas that are important for _______________’s learning

Strategies to try out with ____________

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5.4 Child-friendly Cognitive Learning Principles 1. I communicate my answers in a clear way (communication). 2. I can spot when things are the same and different (comparative behaviour). 3. I work without rushing or taking too long (efficiency). 4. I search for answers to problems (exploratory behaviour). 5. I can explain how I got my answers (justification of response). 6. I can remember information that will help me solve tasks (memory). 7. I choose my answers carefully (nature of response). 8. I plan how I will solve a problem (planning). 9. I can understand what I am being asked to do in tasks (problem definition). 10. I notice when my answers are not correct (recognition). 11. I take time to think about my answers (reflectiveness). 12. I can understand positions and know my left and right (spatial awareness). 13. I can use what I have learned to help me with other tasks (transfer of learning). 14. I use the correct words when naming information (vocabulary).

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MATERIALS

I communicate my answers in a clear way

I can spot when things are the same and different

I search for answers to problems

I work without rushing or taking too long

I can explain how I got my answers

I can remember information that will help me solve tasks

I choose my answers carefully

I plan how I will solve a problem

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Note: The corresponding graphic representations of each of these Learning Principles are on the following page. It has been made in a way such that the two pages can be placed back to back, thus creating individual Prompt Cards, with the words on one side and the picture on the other. Thus, the top left ‘word description’ will correspond to the top right picture, and vice versa, and so on for the others.

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earc

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I can understand what I am being asked to do in tasks

I notice when my answers are not correct

I take time to think about my answers

I can understand positions and know my left and right

I can use what I have learned to help me with other tasks

I use the correct words when naming information

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Note: The corresponding graphic representations of each of these Learning Principles are on the following page. It has been made in a way such that the two pages can be placed back to back, thus creating individual Prompt Cards, with the words on one side and the picture on the other. Thus, the top left ‘word description’ will correspond to the top right picture, and vice versa, and so on for the others.

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5.5 Child-friendly Affective Learning Principles 1. I ask for help when I need it (accessible to assistance). 2. I can keep my mind on my work and not be put off (attention). 3. I can stay interested in a task (concentration). 4. I stick to my answers when challenged (confidence in correct responses). 5. I can change the way I try to solve a problem (flexible thinking). 6. I give my work a try even if it looks difficult (frustration tolerance). 7. I want to do well in school tasks (motivation). 8. I feel relaxed and comfortable (presentation). 9. I keep going with my work even if it’s difficult (task perseverance). 10. I am awake and ready to learn (vitality and awareness).

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I ask for help when I need it

I can keep my mind on my work and not be put off

I can stay interested in a task

I stick to my answers when challenged

I can change the way I try to solve a problem

I give my work a try even if it looks difficult

I want to do well in school tasks

I feel relaxed and comfortable

I keep going with my work even if it’s difficult

I am awake and ready to learn

Note: The corresponding graphic representations of each of these Learning Principles are on the following page. It has been made in a way such that the two pages can be placed back to back, thus creating individual Prompt Cards, with the words on one side and the picture on the other. Thus, the top left ‘word description’ will correspond to the top right picture, and vice versa, and so on for the others.

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5.6 Bank of Strategies (cognitive): Resources Reflectiveness Resource 1 Traffic Light Cards

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

?





?





?





?



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Reflectiveness Resource 2 Feedback Cards

What did you think of this task?

What did you think of this task?

yy

yy

yy

yy

yy

yy

What did you think of this task?

What did you think of this task?

yy

yy

yy

yy

yy

yy

What did you think of this task?

What did you think of this task?

yy

yy

yy

yy

yy

yy

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Reflectiveness Resource 3 Meta-cognitive Prompt Cards

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Is my answer correct?

Do I need to change my answer?

Do I need to add anything to my answer?

What have I learned from this task?

What did I like about this task?

What did I dislike about this task?

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MATERIALS

What did I find easy about this task?

What did I find difficult about this task?

How could I do this better next time?

Did I understand what I have done?

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(1)

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

(2)

(3)

Name: Age: Age group 1

GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL

Reflectiveness Resource 4

MATERIALS MATERIALS

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MATERIALS

(1)

(3)

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

(2)

(4)

Name: Age: Age group 2

travelling to SCHOOL

Reflectiveness Resource 5

MATERIALS

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(1)

(3)

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

(2)

(4)

Name: Age: Age group 3

my weeekend

Reflectiveness Resource 6

MATERIALS MATERIALS

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MATERIALS

(4)

(6)

(3)

(5)

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

(2)

(1)

Name: Age: Age group 4

MY HOLIDAY

Reflectiveness Resource 7

MATERIALS

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MATERIALS

Planning Resource 1 Meta-cognitive Prompt Cards

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What should I do first?

What will I do next?

Do I know where to get information that will help me with the task?

Do I understand what I need to do in this task?

How much time will I need for this task?

Will anything I’ve learned before help me with this task?

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MATERIALS

What do I expect to find out by doing this task?

How can I spot a mistake if I make one?

Am I on the right track?

What strategies can I use to complete this task?

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Planning Resource 2 Organisational Skills MON

TUES

WED

THURS

Morning Have bath/shower Brush teeth Get dressed Make bed

After school Change clothes Fold school clothes Do homework Pack school bag Put books/materials away

Night Have bath/shower Brush teeth Fold clothes

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FRI

SAT

SUN

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Communication Resource 1 (Early Primary) Word Bingo

Note: The corresponding descriptions of these objects are on the following page. It has been made in a way such that the two pages can be placed back to back, and cut out into individual cards. Thus, the cards can be mixed up and chosen at random for the bingo game, or alternatively, they can be used to make up different ‘bingo cards’. The bingo cards can be made up in this way (i.e. placing the two sheets back to back), giving the option of playing with the words or the pictures facing up. To clarify, the description of the top left picture is on the top right hand side, and vice versa, and so on for the others.

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Small green, round vegetable that can sometimes get mushy or frozen

Long and pointy orange vegetable that can help you see in the dark

Yellow fruit that is long and bendy

Round fruit that can be red or green

Goes choo choo and moves along tracks

Flies in the sky and is driven by a pilot

Has wheels, a driver and can take you to school, sometimes comes as a double decker

Has four wheels, comes in different colours, can be kept in garage

You live in one, has door, windows and maybe a garden

Lives on a farm, goes moo, gives milk

Has four legs and barks and can be a pet

Has whiskers, purrs and drinks milk

Wear it on your head to keep you warm

Furry, can take it to bed and is cuddly

Round, you can kick or bounce it

Has leaves, you find in a forest

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Communication Resource 2 (Late Primary) Word Bingo 8

Note: The corresponding descriptions of these objects are on the following page. It has been made in a way such that the two pages can be placed back to back, and cut out into individual cards. Thus, the cards can be mixed up and chosen at random for the bingo game, or alternatively, they can be used to make up various different ‘bingo cards’. The bingo cards can be made up in this way (i.e. placing the two sheets back to back), giving the option of playing with the words or the pictures facing up. To clarify, the description of the top left picture is on the top right hand side, and vice versa, and so on for the others.

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A green fruit that is small, round and juicy

110

A red fruit that you usually eat with cream in the summer

A yellow fruit that is jaggy on the outside

A large vehicle that is used to transport goods

It has two wheels, handlebars and sometimes stabilisers

It flies in the sky and it has propellers

It sails on the sea

A horse-like animal with black and white stripes

An animal with a long neck and black and yellow stripes

A large animal with a trunk and is either African or Indian

It has four sides of equal length and four right angles

It has three sides and three angles

You wear these clothes at night to go to bed

This is a sport where the 11 players on each team are trying to score goals by kicking the ball into the net

This is a sport played with rackets across a net

This is a sport played with an oval shaped ball and players can run with the ball in their hands

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Communication Resource 3 Why Say Name: Age:

Why say ‘excellent’ when you can say…

first class super brilliant amazing superb

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Communication Resource 4 Why Say Name: Age:

Why say ‘ ’ when you can say…

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Memory Resource 1 Picture Prompt Cards

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Memory Resource 2 Techniques for Enhancing Memory

1. Picture it! When you are asked to remember something, try picturing it in your mind. In other words create a picture of a scene involving the thing you have to remember. The sillier the scene, the better – you are more likely to remember it.

2. Link it! You can use linking when you want to remember more than one thing. The basic idea is that you create a connection between the two or more things that you are asked to remember. For example, you are asked to remember to buy a yogurt and a banana at the shops. A connection can be created by imagining the banana being sliced into the yogurt to make it more scrumptious.

3. Position it! It may help to remember things by connecting them to specific places – this is similar to the ‘Link it!’ method described above. For example, to remember a watch you can think of it being placed on someone’s wrist, or to remember a jotter you could think of it being placed on a school desk. So it is the complete image (watch on wrist, jotter on desk) that you recall rather than the individual items.

4. Chunk it! In this method of remembering things, you can cut down a long list of things into smaller parts. A classic example is how we recite telephone numbers – where we cut it down into two or three parts. For example, 01314772560 would normally be represented by the area code for the city (in this case 0131 for Edinburgh), followed by a three-digit string of numbers (sometimes indicating the area of the city) and finally a four-digit string of numbers. Therefore, the number would be better remembered as follows: 0131 477 2560.

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Memory Resource 3 Memory Challenge (Early Primary)

Can you remember what you saw? 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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Memory Resource 4 Memory Challenge (Late Primary)

Can you remember what you saw?

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1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

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Memory Resource 5 Memory Challenge

Rubber

Stapler

Pencil

Sellotape

Sharpener

Paintbrush

Marble

Chalk

Coin

Sweet

Scissors

Hairbrush

Ruler

Duster

Watch

Jotter

Button

Toothbrush

Piece of string

Glue stick

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Memory Resource 6 (Early Primary) Can You Colour?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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Memory Resource 7 (Middle Primary) Can You Colour?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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Memory Resource 8 (Late Primary) Can You Colour?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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Exploratory Behaviour Resource 1 Think About It!

Problem scenarios

1. You and your friend are playing a ball game and accidentally break the window of a neighbour’s house with the ball. Explore different ways of solving this problem.

3. You want to go to a friend’s birthday party, but it’s already been arranged that you help your mum with the shopping. Explore different ways of solving this problem.

2. You borrow your sister’s favourite CD and stand on it by accident, breaking it. Explore different ways of solving this problem.

4. You have been going to a swimming club for a year and don’t really like it, but your mum is really proud of how well you are doing at it. Explore different ways of solving this problem.

5. You are in the playground and witness a boy being picked on by another group of boys.

6. You really want to buy a new computer game that has just come out, but you don’t have enough money.

Explore different ways of solving this problem.

Explore different ways of solving this problem.

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Exploratory Behaviour Resource 2 Everything You Can Think Of

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1.

Everything you can think of that’s blue.

2.

Everything you can think of that’s square.

3.

Everything you can think of that is a mode of transport.

4.

Everything you can think of that’s a vegetable.

5.

Everything you can think of that’s a fruit.

6.

Everything you can think of that’s a game or sport.

7.

Everything you can think of that’s an animal.

8.

Everything you can think of that starts with the letter ‘r’.

9.

Everything you can think of that is a country.

10.

Everything you can think of that is a capital city.

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

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Exploratory Behaviour Resources 3 Same or Different

What is different?

What is the same?

What is different?

Compare ______________ with _______________

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Spatial Orientation Resource 1 Circles, Circles All Around

Today’s shape is…

Object (What is it?)

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Place (Where is it?)

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Spatial Orientation Resource 2 Find Your Way Map

woods

£

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Efficiency Resource 1 I Will Finish

I will finish: _________________________ _________________________

I will finish: _________________________ _________________________

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Efficiency Resource 2 Quick Counting Examples 1. You are asked to buy:

2 apples, 1 grapefruit and 1 banana

2. You are asked to buy:

1 pineapple, 2 oranges and 1 pear

3. You are asked to buy:

2 tomatoes, 3 apples and 1 lettuce

4. You are asked to buy:

4 onions, 2 grapefruits, 1 carrot and 2 peaches

5. You are asked to buy:

1 orange, 3 mushrooms and 2 melons

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5.7 Bank of Strategies (affective): Resources Concentration and Attention Resource 1 Reward Tokens

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REWARD TOKEN

REWARD TOKEN

REWARD TOKEN

FIVE MINUTES TALKING TO A FRIEND

FIVE MINUTES EXTRA TIME AT INTERVAL

EXTRA SNACK

REWARD TOKEN

REWARD TOKEN

REWARD TOKEN

LUCKY DIP

HELP TEACHER FOR FIVE MINUTES

PACK UP FIVE MINUTES EARLY

REWARD TOKEN

REWARD TOKEN

REWARD TOKEN

TEN MINUTES PLAYING GAME WITH FRIEND

GO OUT FIVE MINUTES EARLY FOR INTERVAL

SWEETS FOR YOUR GROUP

REWARD TOKEN

REWARD TOKEN

REWARD TOKEN

POINTS FOR GROUP

GROUP TO PACK UP FIVE MINUTES EARLY

GROUP GAME FOR TEN MINUTES

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Concentration and Attention Resource 2 Concentration Cards

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

CONCENTRATION CARD

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Concentration and Attention Resource 3 ‘Take a Break’ Tokens

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TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

TAKE A BREAK TOKEN

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Confidence Resource 1 Chat Cards

What is your favourite…?

Where did you go…?

• Film

• At the weekend

• Food

• Last night

• Animal

• On your birthday

• TV Programme

• Last weekend

What do you like to…?

What is your least favourite…?

• Eat

• Food

• Play

• Drink

• Drink

• TV Programme

• Watch

• Game

How many do you have…?

Do you have any…?

• Brothers

• Pets

• Sisters

• Hobbies

• Cousins

• Brothers or sisters

• Friends

• Cousins

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Confidence Resource 2 Storytelling Title: My _________________ Moment My______________________ moment is when ____________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ What did I do that was ____________________________________________________________ ? What happened first? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What happened next? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ When did it happen? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Where did it happen? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Who was I with? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Who noticed? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ How did it make me feel? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

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Confidence Resource 3 Self-reflection and Self-evaluation Name:_____________________________________________ Date: ___________

What did I do well this week? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Which skills did I use to achieve this? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Are there any other times (e.g. other kinds of work in class) that I use these skills? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Who might have noticed me using these skills? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ When could I try out these skills again in the future? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

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Motivation Resource 1 Goal of the Week

Goal!

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Motivation Resource 2

Finishing line

Goal of the Week

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Motivation Resource 3 Goal of the Week

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Motivation Resource 4 Dot to Dot 16

11 •

12 • 15•

10 •

8• 7•

•

• 17 13 9 • • 14• • 18

• 6

• 19

5• 4•

• 20 • 21

3•

• 22

2• 1•

• 23

• • 45 44

• 24 43 • 42

• 25

• 32• 31•

39 • 38 •

• 37

41 •

40 • • 36

• 35

• 26 • 34

• 33

30 •

• • 29

27 • 28

When this drawing is finished _________________________ will receive _____________________ as a reward from _________________________ .

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Motivation Resource 5 Reflective Planning Questions

At the beginning of the task What do I need to do here? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What is the first thing I need to do? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What will I do next? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Does this task relate to anything else I have done before? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

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In the middle of the task How am I doing so far? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Do I need to go back and change anything? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ How will I know when I’m finished? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

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At the end of the task Have I done the task well? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Is there anything I could have done better? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What have I learned from doing this task? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What parts have I enjoyed doing? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

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Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

My squiggle is _______________________________________________________

Name: _____________________________________________________________

Squiggle Game

Flexible Thinking Resource 1

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Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

Word: _____________________________________________________________

Name: _____________________________________________________________

Link the Word

Flexible Thinking Resource 2

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Presentation Resource 1 Scary Situations

In the gym hall you are asked to stand in line and wait to be chosen for netball teams. When this happened before, you were the very last person to be picked. You start to get scared that this might happen again. How do you cope in this situation?

The bell goes for morning interval in your new school. You are wondering if anyone will ask you to play with them. You begin to feel scared that you will be left standing alone. How do you cope in this situation?

The teacher calls your reading group to the front of the class. You are finding the book difficult to read. You begin to feel scared because you know the teacher will ask you to read out loud. How do you cope in this situation?

It’s Friday afternoon and the teacher is about to start the weekly spelling test. Last week you got the lowest mark in the class. You are worried this will happen again and your friends will laugh at you. How do you cope in this situation?

For the past two weeks you have been working on a class project. Tomorrow you will be asked to speak about it in front of the whole class. Each time you think about it you begin to get scared. How do you cope in this situation?

During a gymnastics class you are asked to take part in an activity on the trampoline. Everyone else is doing somersaults without a problem. It’s your turn next and you know you are not good at somersaults. You start to feel scared. How do you cope in this situation?

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Presentation Resource 2 Scary Situations Name: _____________________________________________________________

What is the scary situation? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ How scary is this situation for you? (0 is not scary at all and 10 is completely scary) 0 _____1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7_____8_____9_____10 Why did you give this number? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ How could you cope with this scary situation better? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

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Presentation Resource 3 Safe Place The instructions of the Safe Place are written in italics as they can be read aloud to the child by the teacher or member of staff working with the child. Alternatively, this resource sheet can be used as an aid by the child to read the instructions on their own.

1. Close your eyes (or you don’t have to) and think of a place where you feel safe and relaxed – it could be somewhere from your past, present or could be an imaginary place but somewhere you feel at ease. 2. Now just focus on that picture and notice how you feel. Notice also how your body feels. 3. Keep focusing on that picture and notice what you see around you. Look to your left, then to your right and notice what you see. Look up and down and notice what things you see. Now notice if there are any smells in your safe place. Notice now what you hear as you are there. 4. Now open your eyes. Bring up the picture of the safe place and concentrate on where you feel nice in your body and enjoy these feelings. Now concentrate on these feelings. 5. Think of one word that describes your picture of the safe place (e.g. relax, safe, beach). Now connect this word together with positive feelings about your place and pleasant sensations you have. 6. Try to repeat this procedure on your own by bringing up the picture of the safe place and the word you have associated with it and also by experiencing the positive feelings (emotions and physical sensations).

Exercise taken from Lessons for Living by Frank Waters

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

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Dynamic assessment is an assessment based on interaction between the assessor and the child, where the assessor attempts to influence positively the child’s level of performance. The objective of the assessment is to explore to what extent the child can respond to assistance, and more importantly, to explore how the child responded, how the child was learning, and to identify the nature of

To summarise

During dynamic assessment help is provided by the assessor in the form of clues, prompts and hints (known as ‘mediation’) to see if this can produce a higher level of performance by the child being assessed. Sometimes the help can involve general discussion of problem-solving strategies to see if the child can pick up these strategies and adopt them further on in the assessment. These materials have been developed for dynamic assessment because children usually find them engaging and they tackle the tasks with vigour and energy. Furthermore, children can approach these tasks without preconceived feelings of failure, which frequently happens if they are assessed using a reading, writing or maths task.A further reason for using these kinds of materials is that the skills used by the children (called Learning Principles) can be applied in all areas of the curriculum. It is, therefore, valuable to explore children’s strengths and weaknesses according to these Learning Principles. There are other dynamic assessment materials that have been designed as well as other kinds of tasks and problems that may be used by the psychologist when undertaking a dynamic assessment. The psychologist will usually explain during feedback the kind of materials that have been used during the assessment.

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

Dynamic assessment is a fairly new method of assessment increasingly used by educational psychologists and other professionals. It is based on the principle that it is possible to learn more about a child’s learning ability and learning style by interacting with the child during the assessment. This is in sharp contrast to more traditional methods of assessment that do not allow interaction with the child in a way that would influence performance. These more traditional methods are often referred to as psychometric tests or IQ tests and they are standardised. This means that the test is conducted in a very restricted and prescribed environment where the assessor cannot help a child who is having difficulties. This can appear unnatural to the child who will be used to adult support in such a situation. The reason that help is not permitted in standardised, psychometric tests is that the child’s performance is compared with the average for the age group to provide a score, indicating above average, average or below average ability.

What is Dynamic Assessment?

This leaflet has been reproduced with kind permission from Jessica Kingsley Publishers from a text by Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan (2013), Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment.

Dynamic Assessment A General Guide

5.8 General Guide to Dynamic Assessment

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yy Encourage the child to provide explanations for answers rather than merely being satisfied with the provision of a correct answer. This helps the child to think through each

yy Encourage the child to plan (e.g. What do I have to do here? Where will I start? What will I do next?).

yy Encourage verbalisation, i.e. talking through problems, which may highlight for the child where things are going wrong.

yy Encourage self-monitoring strategies in the child, even as simple as checking answers rather than relying on adult feedback alone.

yy Encourage the child to slow down and be more reflective (and, if possible, the assessor may be able to transfer the responsibility for being more reflective to the child, where there is no need for the adult to remind the child to slow down).

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

Figure 1: Example of an analogical reasoning problem: what goes next to the big blue square?

?

Dynamic assessment can be carried out with any materials and tasks (e.g. with reading and maths books currently being used by the child in the classroom). However, there are some materials that have been specifically developed for use in dynamic assessment. These usually involve non-verbal reasoning skills, and in particular analogical reasoning. For example, some materials developed by an Israeli psychologist Professor David Tzuriel (the Cognitive Modifiability Battery) involve problem-solving activities using 3-dimensional coloured blocks and a wooden board. Analogical reasoning involves the comparison of blocks or objects and establishing the relationship between them, and then applying this same relationship to other blocks or objects. See Figure 1 or an example of an analogical reasoning problem.

What are the aims of a dynamic assessment?

What kind of questions or tasks does the assessment involve?

The principal aim during dynamic assessment is to obtain change: change in the child’s level of performance and in their learning style. By providing specific strategies and intervening in the assessment, the assessor can change the way the child is learning. For example, the assessor may do the following:

The child has to ensure that they have the correct colour of block, size of block and shape of block. In some more complicated problems, the position of the block is also important.

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the assistance that produced the higher level of performance. In his way, specific strategies and ideas can be suggested that will help improve the child’s learning in the classroom and at home.

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In dynamic assessment, the assessor can explore these emotional factors and others, e.g. if they are ‘accessible to assistance’, to a much greater extent than in standardised assessment.

yy frustration tolerance (if the child fails to attempt certain problems because of their difficulty, feeling it is futile to even try).

yy confidence (does the child answer with conviction or more timidly)

yy motivation

yy fear of failure (if the child is frightened to try out responses for fear of being wrong)

yy anxiety

Dynamic assessment also looks at the extent to which emotional factors affect a child’s learning. These factors are often observed by psychologists during traditional, standardised assessment. However, in dynamic assessment, it is possible to explore the extent of these emotional factors, and explore if it is possible to change their impact on the child’s learning. For example, some of the emotional factors commonly observed in children during assessment are as follows:

Emotional factors

(Quotes from Lidz, 1991 – Practitioner’s Guide to Dynamic Assessment)

‘It is more important to find out how responsive a child is to intervention than to focus on what she already knows.’

Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

‘If you want to find out how a child learns, then teach him.’

Some quotes made by teachers have supported the use of dynamic assessment and its interactive nature:

yy What is the nature of the assessor’s interaction that is helpful to understanding how the child learns?

yy What is the assessor doing that brings about the higher level of performance?

A key question that is asked during dynamic assessment is: to what extent does the child respond to the assessor’s assistance? Does the child perform much better with help? Is their learning style very resistant (or very amenable) to change? Do they improve on how they were performing on their own? If the child does respond positively to the help provided and reach a significantly higher level of performance as a result, then it can provide an indication of their potential as a learner. Moreover, in dynamic assessment, the assessor is attempting to explore the following:

yy Break tasks down for the child in a way that makes them easier to solve.

yy Encourage the child to make links with tasks (or experiences) from the past and to consider how new skills learned (or new experiences) might be applied in the future.

yy Encourage the child to consider all possible solutions rather than the first one that comes to mind.

task and be aware of the process in obtaining correct answers.

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Copyright © Fraser Lauchlan and Donna Carrigan 2013

Moreover the assessor can attempt to reduce the impact of some of these emotional factors during the assessment by interacting with the child in a more active way than standardised assessment will allow. For example, if the child is anxious, then the assessor can make him/her less anxious. If the child has little confidence, then the assessor can provide praise, encouragement and feedback of what they are doing well (which is not permitted in standardised tests) in order to build up their confidence. The assessor can attempt to make a poorly motivated child much more motivated by engaging them in ways that would not be permitted in standardised tests (for example, in dynamic assessment you do not have to stick rigidly to tasks that clearly do not appeal to a child – it is possible to use varied creative approaches). By attempting to counteract the impact of these emotional factors, the assessor can then explore if the child’s level of performance is changed significantly as a result. Again, similar questions to those above can be asked: what is the assessor doing, when trying to change these emotional factors, that is having a positive effect on how the child learns.

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Appendix Case study

Acknowledgements This case study was published in a slightly different format in 2007 in Educational Psychology in Scotland (Vol. 9(1), 12–18), in an article by the authors in collaboration with Clare Daly, an educational psychologist now working for North Lanarkshire Council (Lauchlan et al. 2007). We are grateful that Clare has given us permission to use the content of the article for the purpose of presenting this case study.

Introduction This case study aims to describe the process involved when working with the DA approach from the initial stage of referral of a young person attending a primary school to the assessment itself and the creation of an intervention plan. The case study is a real-life account reflecting current practice of the educational psychologists who have developed the Improving Learning Through Dynamic Assessment resource, and who use DA regularly as a basis of their assessment work. In presenting a case study, we consider some of the practical implications encountered when using the DA approach, and which are described in more detail above.

Background to referral Daniel (not his real name) is an eight-year-old primary four pupil who was referred to the educational psychologist (EP) by his primary school. The referral was prompted by a request by his parents, who were concerned that Daniel had particular difficulties with language work. In the referral form to the EP, the school acknowledged that Daniel was experiencing difficulties with language work, in particular, reading and spelling, and he was targeted for within-school support for learning. The school’s view was that the general level of Daniel’s work was fine but that his language and communication difficulties were affecting his progress in reading and spelling. The request from both the school and the parents was for an educational psychology assessment to explore the extent of Daniel’s difficulties, and to provide suggestions for intervention in order to help ameliorate his current difficulties.

Dynamic assessment/intervention process Dynamic assessment was undertaken using the Analogies subtest of the Cognitive Modifiability

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Battery (Tzuriel 1995). The task involves non-verbal reasoning using a wooden board and coloured blocks of varying colours (red, green, blue, yellow) and heights (5cm, 4cm, 3cm, 2cm). An example of the kind of tasks used in the assessment would be: if a tall (5cm) red block goes together with a small (2cm) red block, what would go together with a tall yellow block? (Answer: a small yellow block.) After requesting permission from Daniel and his mother, the DA session was video-recorded. The motivation behind such a request was twofold. First, one of the main difficulties when doing DA is trying to mediate to the child while simultaneously carrying out the role of assessor (i.e. observing and recording pertinent observations about the child’s performance). Video-recording the assessment would ease the demands on the assessment role while enabling the assessor to concentrate on providing high quality mediation. Second, the video would be used to show the child how he performed, which would then form the basis for discussion about his learning style and the formation of an intervention plan. A principal aim during dynamic assessment is to obtain change: change in the child’s level of performance and in learning style. By providing specific strategies and intervening in the assessment, the assessor can change the way the child is learning. Specifically, the assessor is aiming to change either the cognitive skills or affective (emotional) factors that are observed in the child’s learning during the assessment. The psychologist used the checklists of cognitive skills and affective factors, based on a list of deficient cognitive functions (Feuerstein et al. 2002) and a list of non-intellective factors (Tzuriel et al. 1988), which the EP considered most useful when using dynamic assessment (see Sections 5.1 and 5.2). When discussing the child’s performance with the child himself, as was done with Daniel, the Learning Principles can still be used to guide the discussion, using the child-friendly Learning Principles (see Sections 5.4 and 5.5). The following example will illustrate the use of the lists of Learning Principles. During the DA work with Daniel, the following information was noted by the assessor:

Daniel was very confident when he could get the answer without trying. However, when faced with a more difficult problem where the answer did not come naturally, he would give up without trying. He did not seem to realise that sometimes you have to work at the task if you do not get the answer immediately. Even during the assessment he would often look defeated without trying even a little to solve the task. At these points he needed encouragement to ‘stick with it’. In this example, the Learning Principles highlighted were ‘Frustration tolerance’ and ‘Task perseverance’, with possible links to ‘Motivation’.

Next steps following assessment session The EP met with Daniel a week after the DA session to look at the video together. The aim of this meeting was to facilitate discussion with Daniel about how he performed in the assessment, but specifically the aspects of his learning that would be deemed positive Learning Principles (‘things you did well’), and those aspects of his learning that Feuerstein et al. (2002) would refer to as ‘deficient cognitive functions (‘things you need to work harder at’). The approach is based on the notion that it is more effective for the child to take ownership of the problem: including

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the child fully in the assessment and feedback process is more likely to lead to a positive effect of the consequent intervention plan (Hobbs, Todd and Taylor 2000). The discussion between Daniel and the EP while watching the video of the assessment produced the following information about Daniel’s learning style:

Things I did well: i. I can choose my answers carefully. ii. I can explain how I get my answers. iii. I can plan how I will solve problems.

Things I need to work harder at: i. When I don’t get it the first time, I will keep trying. I will get there in the end. ii. I will give my work a try, even when it looks difficult. iii. I am a good learner and I should believe in myself.

Plan of intervention The formation of the intervention plan emerged from the discussion between Daniel and the EP about how he performed in the assessment. Thus, through discussion and reflection on his performance in the assessment, Daniel played a significant role in the decisions made regarding his intervention plan. A feedback sheet, entitled ‘My Learning Profile’ (see Figure CS1), and Prompt Cards were created. Prompt Cards were created for each of the Learning Principles delineated in the ‘My Learning Profile’ sheet, both strengths (‘Things I did well’) and areas of need (‘Things I need to work harder at’). The main aim of the Prompt Cards was to provide Daniel with reminders of what was discovered about his learning style. The intention was that these aspects of his learning could be reinforced in the classroom, and at home. The potential success of the Prompt Cards was enhanced by Daniel’s active involvement in their production. Each card has a Learning Principle written in child-friendly language (as detailed in Sections 5.4 and 5.5) and an accompanying graphic representation designed to trigger the child’s memory. The graphic representations are particularly pertinent for those children whose reading is poor. This was indeed the case for Daniel, whose reading was at such a level that the text alone on the Prompt Cards would not have been adequate to trigger his memory, as he did not have the necessary reading skills to use them. A copy of the Learning Profile was sent to Daniel’s parents to be used at home, and to the school, to be used in class. It was agreed that the Prompt Cards would be used one at a time, with each card being promoted for up to one week each time.

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Evaluation Evaluation involved classroom observations and discussions with the class teacher, Daniel, and his parents, six weeks after the commencement of the intervention plan. It was noted that there were already some positive changes in Daniel’s confidence. He was much more willing to speak out in class and provide answers. The class teacher noticed an increased level of independence in Daniel: he was taking more time over his work, trying to do as much as he could on his own before asking the teacher for help. This was a change in his approach prior to the intervention, where he would often just give up on a task and become restless. The Prompt Cards were placed at Daniel’s desk. Daniel had taken the responsibility of deciding which of the cards he would be using each week. Consequently, there was increased motivation and interest from Daniel in his own learning. The class teacher commented that this was beginning to lead to progress in his language work in class and at home. Daniel reported to the EP that he was enjoying school now, and he had requested doing further work with the coloured blocks (i.e., the DA). It was agreed with Daniel that further work would be undertaken later on in the school year, in order to explore any noticeable differences in his learning style. Daniel had the opportunity to take ownership of his learning throughout, which added to his commitment and enthusiasm. Using the DA materials was instrumental in developing the relationship between Daniel and the assessor. It provided a relaxed atmosphere where Daniel could succeed and develop his confidence in his own abilities. As the assessment was videorecorded it provided an excellent opportunity to provide feedback to Daniel in a way he could understand and relate to (see Landor et al. (2007) for further details on the use of video in DA).

Conclusion This case study has attempted to provide an example of how dynamic assessment can be used in practice as a means of helping children with their difficulties in learning. A real-life situation was presented, highlighting the stages involved in moving from initial referral to the creation of an intervention plan, and the evaluation of outcomes. The intention was to demonstrate the process involved in making dynamic assessment meaningful, that is how practitioners, working daily with children and young people, can bridge the gap between theory and practice. This case study demonstrates how one can use the practical materials presented in this resource, with the aim of helping practitioners adopt the DA approach. For example, the lists of Learning Principles (cognitive and affective) can be used when recording information during assessment. The child-friendly Learning Principles can be used to guide discussion with the child about their learning style and the formation of their intervention plan. The use of a Learning Profile is suggested as a helpful way in which the information gathered during DA is translated into a specific plan of action. These practical ideas emerged from the authors’ use of the DA approach, in an attempt to make dynamic assessment more meaningful in the classroom. While initial evaluations of these practical ideas have been positive, further research is required to investigate their effectiveness across a variety of settings with different populations of children and young people.

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APPENDIX: CASE STUDY

My learning profile THINGS I DID WELL

THINGS I NEED TO WORK HARDER AT

yy I can choose my answers carefully.

yy When I don’t get it the first time, I will keep trying. I will get there in the end.

yy I can explain how I get my answers.

yy I will give my work a try, even when it looks difficult.

yy I can plan how I will solve problems.

yy I am a good learner and I should believe in myself.

Signed: _________________________________________________ Date: ____________________ Daniel Educational Psychologist

Figure CS1: ‘My Learning Profile’ feedback sheet

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