Back to school is upon many school based therapists! With data collection being a backbone for intervention. The beginning of the school year is an integral time for therapists to gather data to see where a student is at following the long break that is summer. In this blog post I will be highlighting the ways that I collect my data.
1. Creating Student Files
At the beginning of the school year I utilize an IEP at a glance form that I’ve created. This will be stapled to the inside cover of my students files. On this page it highlights Name, teachers, IEP due date. It also has an area for summarization of IEP goals. This is a game changer for when you are still learning students goals or when goals are changed due to new IEP.
Inside the student file I will also put any of their work samples, this way when I have an upcoming IEP I can grab there folder and everything for writing up present levels of progress is in the same place. Another great reason to have everything in one place is for the meeting itself, you will be able to show progress with tangible data for parents and team to see.
Check out the Data Collection Bundle for IEP Cheat Sheet as well as other documents that eases data collection organization.
IEP at a glance
2. Setting Up Therapist Planner
Now this sounds like something that has nothing to do with data collection, but hear me out, Using a planner that is solely based for therapist with pages that will keep you on track in regards to data collection. This planner includes pages for Caseload, Consultations, IEP Tracker, Schedule at a Glance, and Daily pages to track notes.
3. Data Collection Worksheets
Once you have set up your organization process for the year, it is important to take data all the time. In previous years I would use work samples throughout the year to gauge progress. This worked but I tend to get a bit disorganized and was not always able to keep track of all the papers.
To help keep myself on top of data collection, I developed a data collection bundle that I am able to print off and have the same format at each point of the year. With the nature of my elementary students IEP goals I have a pre-writing / handwriting 5 page data worksheets which are broken down into coloring, pre-writing, handwriting with visual, handwriting from memory, and pencil grasp. It has helped me with adding a checklist at the bottom of each page to ensure I recall some of the important minute details that impact handwriting.
I also have a back to school data collection packet that I developed that addresses handwriting, cutting, executive function, and visual perceptual skills. This has allowed me keep better data in regards to my students other goals. Plus its themed which helps the students engagement be higher!
Another pain point has been tracking accommodations for students, I developed a Google form. This form is to track how effective the accommodation is, is the student requesting it, is it a disruption to the student or classroom, This has been awesome for teacher feedback of what is working and what is not.
Back to school data collection is such an integral part of a school based occupational therapists practice. It allows us to be data driven when we are setting up interventions, set achievable goals, monitor students progress, and measure effectiveness of interventions. Let us embrace data collection as the powerful tool that it is to ensure our students are receiving the supports that they need in their school environment. Lets also save ourselves so time by using data collection worksheets that allows us to monitor progress across the year!
