The Importance Of A Learner, An Accurate Assessment

2.2 The strengths and limitations of a range of assessment methods in relation to the individual learner needs:

Before any actual classroom teaching can take place, initial and diagnostic assessments must be carried out. These are paramount in agreeing individual learning goals, and planning the progression of the learner with the teacher.

There is a large variety of assessment methods available for assessing learners’ achievements. These include observation; questioning the learner; examining product evidence; discussion; witness testimony; looking at learner statements; recognising prior learning; simulated environment; skills tests; oral and written examinations; assignments; case studies and projects. Choosing the most appropriate assessment methods is vitally important, to help and support the learner and to ensure the job of the assessor is as straightforward, reliable and problem-free as possible.

“Assessments should be a regular process; it might not always be formalised, but you should be observing what your learners are doing, asking questions and reviewing their progress throughout their time with you”.

Ogletree, B. T., Morrow-Odom, K. L., & Westling, D. (2015). Understanding the brain–behavior relationship in persons with ASD: Implications for PECS as a treatment choice. Developmental neuro-rehabilitation, 18(2),

There are many reasons why we assess learners. Assessments enable tutors to measure learner’s progress towards their goal. And feedback can be given to help them such as outlining their strengths and weaknesses. Feedback is used to help learners learn and improve, and is the most important aspect of formative assessment. This can be given in various ways such as written, oral, in the form of graded/marked assignment etc. When giving feedback it is good practice to bear in mind the following points. It is important to give immediate feedback if possible; turn negative comment into constructive comments such as what to improve on before the next assessment; make assessment criteria clear, accurate and available; feedback to be clear, accurate and recorded; praise learner on achievement; encourage positive attitudes and make further suggestions. Learners can be encouraged through communication of how well they are doing and what skills and knowledge they are developing.

Secondly, during the basic skills assessment I test the learners’ Literacy and Numeracy skills and feedback goes hand in hand with this assessment because this is where I tell them about their potential as well as their weaknesses and how I can cater for their needs. The effectiveness of this form of assessment is also affected by the applicant’s state of mind at the time. A lot of them may fairly be intimidated by the whole process of assessment this is where positive feedback comes in, to raise the learner’s self esteem.

The assessment process may have to be adapted to be suitable to the individual learner’s needs such as learning support for those with learning difficulties needs to eventually lead to the same outcome.

Before I organise trips, rewards, and incentives I will need to consider everybody’s individual needs and plan things that everybody can be included in as this will promote equality too. A good example of this is (Gravells A, 2008). A group of leaners wish to go out for dinner. One is vegetarian, another is dairy intolerant and a third does not eat fish. They all want to eat at the same restaurant and choose from the same menu and be treated equally, enabling them to choose a different option from the menu.

Recommended preference assessments will be conducted to identify potential reinfrocers. Initially, an indirect preference assessment of an unstructured interview with care giver will be conducted to identify the items Elisse is typically interested in. After gathering enough information, a direct preference assessment in the form of free operant assessment/brief stimulus preference assessment to identify most preferred reinforcers. This assessment is brief and is known to be effective when working with young

The authors chose three 3 to 7 years olds children with autism and 1 child with developmental delays whom attended a public preschool with an ASD program for at least 80% of the research days over 4 months. The children had the ability of imitate a single work, identifiable reinforces and had not been exposed formerly to IF procedures. The school program served students 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. All trial session were conduct one-to-one in an separate work area of the classroom. The research began with initial assessments of each student, followed by instruction. The first experiment was conducted with PPDs and not IF;

Although this project included a variety of assessment methods, there were some potential limitations. First, there were no ongoing preference assessments before conducting the reinforcement assessment in different days. Kennedy and Haring (1993) indicated that individuals with profound intellectual disabilities could change not over time, even within the course of one day. In addition, these individuals also demonstrated habituations and novelty effects which may influence the validity of further reinforcing testing or assessments (Logan et al., 2001). Therefore, it is important to reassess participant’s preferences frequently to ensure the experimenter is always using the preferred items. However, it is relatively time-consuming to conduct

Reinforcer is defined in our notes as, “any event that: (1) follows a behaviour and (2) increases the probability or likelihood of that behaviour occurring more frequently in the future” (Algonquin, 2017). We can change behaviour using this powerful tool, individualizing it to suit the learner. Anticipation is a great motivator so we need to ensure reinforcement is immediate and predictable. Preference assessments should be revalued on a regular basis as preferences change, Alex may in time be motivated by Superman instead of Pokémon. As reinforcement is dependent on the response quality of the learner, the teaching environment needs to be controlled by the therapist.

-What skills do they excel at, what skills do they need more help with? This helps me to better tailor my instruction to specific needs; is it a refresher for them or a brand new skill?

From a very early age, children begin to learn about the association between behaviors and consequences. They realize that there is always going to be a consequence whether it’d be positive or negative, that would follow the behavior. Sometimes children behave very well and most of the time, children tend to give parents and others around them a hard time. When it comes to behavior modification, some basic steps include identifying the behavior, setting expectations, monitoring progress, and reinforcing correct behaviors. Positive reinforcement has a lot of effect on children when it comes to modifying a targeted behavior. A reinforcer,