Assessment and Intervention/Use of Data Strategies are:

Holistic and Developmental

• Following a needs analysis, two kindergarten teachers and two consultants in Halton District School Board co-planned purposeful, play-based classroom experiences to increase oral language skills. During a four-week cycle of engaging the students in play-based centres, the teachers used strategies such as wait time, labeling, and extending thinking through questioning. Data was collected through observations, conversations, and videotaping. Through teacher moderation, using success criteria they developed, the teachers found that "overall the play- based centres increased the use of oral language, and the vocabulary used in focus lessons was observed to be transferred to the centre conversations". Student exit passes indicated that students enjoyed the play-based centres more than the traditional ones. [Halton District School Board Final Report]
• Boards in the Toronto and Area Region provide a variety of supports for the development of the whole child. The supports include contained classrooms for at-risk or identified students (e.g., kindergarten transition language classes). There are programs and/or services for students that require additional support–e.g. the Kindergarten and Intervention Needs Development Program (KIND); kindergarten support programs for students with behavioural disorders; and Young Minds at Play (YMAP) for Grades 1-3 students experiencing social, emotional and/or school adjustment difficulties. [Toronto and Area Region Final Report]
• The Alternative Curriculum Expectations (ACE) resource developed in the Barrie Region provides a set of curriculum expectations that outline the development of oral language from birth to age 4. ACE explores ways to develop programs for children of any age based on this developmental continuum, with a focus on oral communication as the foundation for all learning. This resource supports students with language skills below typical entry level. The ACE project involved speech language pathologists in an important way. [Final CODE Report, p. 4]
• The Assessment Companion Tool (ACT) helps teachers to measure and monitor the continuum of development in oral language from birth to age 4. The tool was piloted in the Barrie Region in 2009-2010. [Final CODE Report, p. 10]
• Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board extended board-wide implementation of its existing multi-sensory program, which targets fine motor development in primary classrooms, to include an assessment component. This assessment was implemented to assist teachers to evaluate fine motor skills, monitor progress, and provide appropriate remediation strategies. The project included implementation of "The Print Tool" and the "Handwriting without Tears" program. The results from the assessment tool provided teachers with target goals and strategies to support the student in the early years with fine motor development–and provided the connector between assessment and instruction. [Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board Final Report]
• The London Region collects data about the connection between academic achievement and mental health and well-being. The region uses the Brief Child and Family Phone Interview (BCFPI) instrument as a mental health screening tool for students at risk. [London Region Final Report]