Activity

Observe and interact with a child in order to assess cognitive skills.

Children’s cognitive skills are centered on their interactions with their environments and are increasingly seen as important by society. The skills in question include the ability to understand, solve problems, reason, attend to basic tasks, and memorize information. Because young children develop cognitive skills by taking part in everyday activities, it is important that they be assessed through the observation of those activities.

Use the steps outlined below to complete this activity. To avoid issues with confidentiality, use a pseudonym or the child’s initials on the forms you complete.

1. Identification
   1. Identify a child with a disability to observe.
   2. Identify times of day when it is appropriate to observe that child engaging in a variety of different activities.
2. Assessment
   1. Use a curriculum- or criterion-referenced measure (e.g., AEPS, Carolina Curriculum, HELP, Battelle, Brigance) to assess the child.
   2. Use an informal test of skills not addressed by that measure to assess the child. You can use a performance assessment or an authentic assessment to measure skills relevant to and developmentally appropriate for the child. 
3. Data Analysis
   1. Analyze the data to identify objectives for prompting the child’s cognitive skills.
4. Report
   1. Write your report using the headings identified in the table below. Keep in mind that the report should:
      • Include all of the required information outlined in the table.
      • Be written in a professional style that can be understood by individuals without advanced training.
   2. Attach the completed data sheets and other notes (raw data). These do not have to be typed.
   3. List some recommendations that teachers and administrators might implement to increase the quality of student participation and functioning (i.e., using the data collected by the ECA).