Rasch Analysis of Authentic Evaluation of Young Children's Functioning in Classroom Routines

This study evaluated the functioning of children in early childhood education classroom routines, using the 3M Functioning in Preschool Routines Scale. A total of 366 children aged 36 to 70 months and 22 teachers from six early childhood education centers in Spain participated in the study. The authors used the Rasch model to determine the item fit and the difficulty of the items in relation to children's ability levels in this age range. The Rasch Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis by child age groups showed that the item difficulty differed according to the children's age and according to their levels of competence. The results of this study supported the reliability and validity of the 3M scale for assessing children's functioning in preschool classroom routines. A few items, however, were identified as needing to be reworded and more difficult items needed to be added to increase the scale difficulty level to match the performance of children with higher ability levels. The authors introduced the new and reworded items based on the results of this study and the corresponding ICF codes per item. Moreover, the authors indicate how to use the ICF Performance Qualifiers in relation to the 3M scale response categories for developing a functioning profile for the child.

SIGNIFICANCE OF COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT IN RELATION TO OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PRACTICE, AN EXPLORATORY STUDY FOR PAKISTAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY GUIDELINES

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Cognition is defined as the ability to perceive process and comprehend the information from the surrounding. Impairment in cognitive skills can significantly affect individual’s performance. The objective of the study is to identify the commonly used cognitive assessment tools by occupational therapist and determine its significance in occupational therapy practice. METHODOLOGY A total of 150 participants were enrolled in the cross-sectional survey that was responded by occupational therapist working in pediatric domain specifically in outpatient rehabilitation setting. The self-structured questionnaire was validated by factor analysis through SPSS. RESULTS: The findings of this study revealed that 96% of occupational therapists performed cognitive assessment out of which only 9.6% occupational therapist administer standardized assessments due to incompetency and lack of resources the rest use informal mode of assessments. Mini mental state examination (MMSE) is found to be most common cognitive assessment tool while tools like Loewenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) is rarely used though it is very significant for Activities of daily living (ADL) cognition CONCLUSION It was concluded that the need of cognitive assessment in pediatric setting is an integral component in occupational therapy process for authentic evaluation and effective intervention plan. The curriculum must promote efficient training of standardize assessment and resources should be provided for better outcome and prognosis.

Evaluative analysis of authentic thematic learning assessment at Indonesian Islamic primary school

While several research papers on authentic assessment have been extensively explored, few have addressed the evaluation of authentic assessments starting from the stages of planning, process/implementation, and outcome. To fill the research gap, the purpose of the present case study is to investigate the authentic evaluation of thematic learning enactment. To collect the data, observations, in-depth interviews, and documentation were conducted. The results of this study indicate that the teacher's comprehension of authentic assessment is generally good. However, several assessment techniques did not work as planned. Based on this, the enactment of authentic assessment is still in the poor category. Processing and reporting resulting from the type of assessment are executed according to procedures. However, some did not follow the assessment guidelines of the elementary school level's learning outcome assessment, especially the effective one.

Mathematics Teachers’ Practice Level of Alternative Evaluation Strategies and Tools in Basic Education in Sultanate of Oman: درجة ممارسة معلمات الرياضيات لاستراتيجيات التقويم البديل وأدواته في مرحلة التعليم الأساسي في سلطنة عُمان

The aim of this study was to investigate the degree of mathematics teachers’ practice of authentic evaluation strategies and tools in the basic education stage in the Sultanate of Oman. The researcher prepared a questionnaire to measure the degree of use of the authentic evaluation strategies and tools. The sample consisted of (266) teachers where (211) teachers from the first cycle and (55) teachers from the second cycle of basic education schools in the province of Muscat. After statistical processing using averages, frequencies and tests, the results of the study showed that the teachers’ use of authentic evaluation strategies and tools in both the first and second cycles in the basic education schools was high. The results showed that the strategies of self-evaluation and peer evaluation are the most widely used by the teachers. The strategy of evaluating the performance by the concept's maps obtained the least degree of use although it has a high level. The results also showed that there are statistically significant differences in the degree of practice the authentic evaluation strategies and these differences are in favor of the teachers who have an experience of more than ten years. The results showed no statistically significant differences among the teachers of both the first and second cycles in the practice of authentic evaluation strategies and tools. Consequently, the researcher recommended directing the institutions that are responsible for the preparation of new teachers to add training programs on authentic evaluation strategies and tools. The researcher also recommended conducting studies on the difficulties faced by teachers on the practice of all authentic evaluation strategies and tools in a balanced manner.