6N1957: You need to provide evidence of having carried out the activity, e.g., a sample of a child’s work, pictures: Special Needs Assisting Assignment, OC, Ireland

The Activity 20 Marks (2×10)

You need to provide evidence of having carried out the activity, e.g., a sample of a child’s work, pictures of the key stages of the activity. This will need to be accompanied with a write up for each activity as described below.

Activity 1 and 2 report: (1 mark per section activity plans)

1. Aim of the activity: State the general aim of the activity, e.g. ‘to organise and implement a board game activity to encourage Child P’s social skills’. Etc.

2. Rationale: Describe why you have chosen the activity, e.g. ‘I have chosen to carry out a board game activity with a group of four children including Child P because it is a fun activity for all the children and may help Child P with his concentration, turn taking and impulse control’. Etc. This also needs to be backed up with the information gathered at the observation stage- there needs to be linkage and structure to each stage of implementation.

3. Expected learning outcomes: List everything you believe the child will learn from the activity. Consider their physical, intellectual, language, social and emotional development. Place emphasis on the area/s of development most important for the child/children you are carrying out the activity with. For example, in the case of Child P, emphasis would be placed on social skills (turn taking and impulse control) and cognitive skills (concentration). How does the activity fit in with the outcome of the need’s analysis?

4. Details of planning: Offer a step-by-step account of how you planned for the activity. Include information on how you collaborated with others (multi-disciplinary team), particularly your supervisor. IEP which is the basis of leading you into the chosen activity i.e. planning;

5. Details of implementation: Here you offer a step-by-step account of how you carried out the activity. You could include anything the child said or did. Pictures must be included to emphasis each stage.

6. Evaluation of expected learning outcomes: Evaluate how well you feel the activity achieved the learning outcomes for the child/children with special needs you stated earlier. You should state why you feel a particular learning outcome was/was not achieved. Link back to the outcomes of your analysis – did you get the expected results etc.

7. Reflection and personal learning: Think about and critically reflect on the activity. How suitable was the activity? How well did you plan it- was the needs analysis effective- did it guide you in the right direction? What are your thoughts on the analysis – did you do enough observations to guide you through this activity? How well was it implemented? Record your reflections, stating what you learned from carrying it out. Be as specific as you can.

8. Conclusion: Restate the aim of your activity and summarise your activity report.

9. Recommendations: Make a list of recommendations as to (a) how you could improve upon this activity if you were to carry it out again and (b) how the activity could be extended in the future, e.g. suitable follow-on activities like the next activity you are about to do with the child.
10. Reflection on own attitudes, values, beliefs and assumptions: How have your ideas around disability changed? Had you any assumptions or beliefs that were proven to be incorrect? Has your attitude or values changed?