|
| Ecological Assessment: The Missing Link in Successful Inclusion |
| Friday, May 26, 2017 |
| 4:00 PM–7:00 PM |
| Hyatt Regency, Centennial Ballroom E |
| Area: AUT/EDC; Domain: Service Delivery |
| CE Instructor: Tyler Fovel, M.A. |
| TYLER FOVEL (Strategic Alternatives) |
| Description: Educational programs based on Applied Behavior Analysis are known for their ability to successfully structure individualized educational environments for students with a wide variety of learning difficulties. Yet, as these and other students enter school inclusion environments, carefully administered corresponding structures may be largely absent, leading to reduced or stalled progress. This presentation will assert that lack of necessary structure in complex environments like regular classrooms stems, in part, from a failure to formally analyze the skills required and the natural contingencies in place. Student success requires matching a student's abilities with appropriate settings, preparing them to exhibit the skills necessary in the target environment, and providing support protocols to nurture and grow engagement. Ecological assessment of school-based inclusion environments is a crucial process that leads to data that is fundamental to planning and effecting the successful incorporation of students into typical settings. In contrast to assessment processes like functional assessment, relatively little commonly recognized structure currently exists for ecological assessment. The workshop will review ecological assessment literature and present a comprehensive, structured protocol of specific data-based methodologies to conduct an ecological assessment in school-based target settings which includes data collection methodology, a structured interview, summary procedures, and visualization/reporting of results. |
| Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to: (1) Describe the recommendations of published literature concerning the ecological assessment process; (2) Describe and follow a structured process for the observation and collection of data related to defined classroom-based behaviors of students and teachers; (3) Summarize data collection to answer specific questions about the target environment using a supplied form; (4) Follow a structured interview form to gather information on school-based target environments; (5) Display the results of the data-gathering process on a visual display supplied in the presentation; (6)F ollow a recommended format to create a written ecological assessment report based on the supplied protocol. |
| Activities: Core principles will be presented and discussed with clinical examples and sample assessment products. Students will complete a practice assessment with materials provided in a small group. |
| Audience: Material is suitable for practitioners responsible for assessment and planning instruction for school-age students in school settings. |
| Content Area: Methodology |
| Instruction Level: Intermediate |
| Keyword(s): Classroom Assessment, Ecological Assessment, School Inclusion |