SENSwitcher

Assessment and Recording

The progressive design of SENSwitcher automatically lends itself to the assessment and recording of pupil's progress and attainment. Two sets of checklists are available from the download area together with a copy of the developmental skills progression framework to enable you to chart pupil progress through the program's various levels and link attainment to the QCA P levels for ICT.

Recording Experiential responses

As already stated, when working at an experiential level, it is critical to keep records of responses pupils make to the various animations and sounds presented by the program. These records aid the process of identifying recurring behaviour patterns to specific animation / colour combinations. This information can then inform future planning and target setting.

The record sheets are used as follows:

LEVEL	COLOUR		SOUND	RESPONSES	DATE
	BK	Yl	Yes	Animation held attention for brief moments (20 seconds max). Vocalising to music.	1/7/01

Information is recorded for each level, foreground and background colours, sound effects on or off, the date and a brief description of the child's responses to the experience.

Recording Progression

The checklist document that accompanies the program enables teachers to record progress through a series of small steps as described earlier. These small steps aid the assessment process and break down each skill level into a series of attainable targets.

The checklists are used as follows:

CAUSE AND EFFECT	WT	ACH	DATE
Pupils participate in switching activities with full verbal and physical (hand over hand) support.		Y	1/7/01
Pupils activate the switch in response to a minimal physical or verbal prompt.	Y

Here the child is engaged in the activity and can activate the switch with hand over hand support. The child is now working towards operating the switch in response to a minimal verbal prompt, "Press!" Information is recorded relating to skills achieved (ACH) and those the child is still working towards (WT).

SENSwitcher and the QCA P Levels for ICT

In March 2001, the Qualifications and Curriculum Agency (QCA) published a series of subject specific curriculum guidelines entitled 'Planning, teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties. These documents provide a wealth of useful information relating to the differentiation of the DFEE/QCA scheme of work for ICT key stages 1 and 2 for pupils with a range of learning difficulties.

The documents also introduced a new set of performance descriptors known as 'P Levels'. These descriptors outline learning and attainment in ICT before level one National Curriculum in eight progressive levels from P1 to P8. These new descriptors are a useful tool for teachers, enabling easier assessment, informing planning and a standardised system for tracking both linear and lateral progress.

SENSwitcher was designed around a developmental model of skills progression which can be linked to the QCA P levels in the following way.

SENSwitcher Performance Descriptor	QCA P Level
Pupils encounter ICT generated activities and experiences.	P1 (i)
Pupils show emerging awareness of ICT generated activities and experiences.	P1 (ii)
Pupils begin to respond more consistently to ICT generated activities and experiences.	P2 (i)
Pupils begin to be more proactive in their intentions.	P2 (ii) - P3(i)
Pupils use a switch to produce a desired effect.	P3(i) - P4
Pupils use a switch to build or sequence events on a computer	P4
Pupils will activate a switch in response to program generated cues.	P4
Pupils will activate a switch in response to a specific program generated event.	P4
Pupils will use a switch to select an object using row scanning.	P5

You can download the QCA Curriculum Guidance documents from the National Curriculum web site.

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	© 2001 Northern Grid for Learning