Frenzied SLPs: Baselines and Progress Monitoring

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The Frenzied SLPs have a plethora of ideas for establishing baselines and progress monitoring.

Data. It's a necessary evil in our field. It can tell us so much useful information and really guide therapy decisions, but it can also be such a dizzying headache to collect and analyze frequently. Some jobs I've had required progress monitoring a certain number of times each month, and for others I've been on my own to monitor as needed. Either way, it can be a messy and overwhelming process if you're not organized.

Many SLPs have 50+ students on their caseloads and progress monitoring needs to be quick and efficient. That's why I tend to use data from regular therapy activities to collect my progress monitoring data. Since I am writing all those lines and circles every session anyway, I just look back at my data from a certain time frame and average it all out when it comes time to write progress reports. You can download the data sheet I use for FREE here.

Bonus quick tip: collect data in groups of 10 or 20 in order to make mental calculation of percentages quick and easy.

I frequently use my Ready, Set, Communicate booklets for quick data check-ins. Each page contains 10 trials making data collection quick and effortless.

What about those students who have goals with multiple objectives? I'm talking multiple speech sound errors, including various story grammar elements in a story retell task, or using language functionally in different ways such as asking/answering questions and using greetings appropriately.

Tracking data on so many different aspects of communication can get messy. None of us have the time to constantly round up several data sheets or log notes for every student every time we update their progress. In those cases, I prefer to use rubrics to track their progress.

Rubrics are an efficient way to track and score goals which contain many components, and also measure student progress over time.

Create your own rubrics in three easy steps:

1)   Determine the elements of your goal that need to be measured. This might be something like the steps to mastering a speech sound in conversation, or your short-term objectives.

2)   Set performance levels and assign points to each level. I like to set 3-5 criterion levels. Generally speaking, they range from "not yet demonstrating" to "proficient".

3)   Include descriptions/examples in your rubric cells of what would qualify for that score rating. Keep it simple! Your criterion must be clear and easy for others to interpret. If your student moves away and a new SLP inherits his goal/rubric, you want them to be able to continue using it with the same reliability.

If you'd like to start using rubrics to make progress monitoring easier, I've already done the work for you! Here is a collection of over 40 rubrics all bundled together. The download includes instructions, scoring examples, and editable rubric options!

How do you keep data collection a smooth process? Leave your tips in the comments! Be sure to read through all the posts below for a ton of tips from The Frenzied SLPs!

An InLinkz Link-up

Sticky Note Command Center {free download}

use this free download to help keep your to-do lists organized

Hello friends! By now I'm sure you are all getting into the swing of the new school year, but if you're anything like me you have a million things on your list of things to get done, and random sticky notes posted everywhere! I had so many notes and reminders jotted down that I was actually forgetting things, so I decided to do something about it.

I created a sticky note command center for my desk! Now all my notes are in one spot for each building I work in and hopefully I won't be forgetting any more important things.

You can download your own sticky note command center here. The pages are editable so you can label the boxes to suit your own needs. There are two colorful versions, a grayscale version, and a blank version so you can add your own background to match your room decor. Enjoy!

(Please leave feedback if you download - it helps me know what to keep or change about the materials I create. Thanks!)

Using Google Forms to Get Started with Scheduling Therapy

use google forms to get started with the scheduling process

When trying to attack the daunting task of scheduling therapy in the past, I have handed out scheduling forms for teachers to attach their schedule or to write down the times that will absolutely NOT work for me to meet with students from their classroom. This has worked fine, but still resulted in me shuffling through a dozen different teacher responses to figure out how to fit my students into the times available. And you know there are never enough times available.

This year I decided to approach this in a different way at one of my buildings. I created a Google Form for teachers to fill out in which they can select all the times that WILL and WILL NOT work for me to meet with their students. Here's how:

Step 1: Sign into your Google account and go to Google Drive.

Step 2: On the left-hand side of the screen, click "new", then "more", then "Google Forms".

Step 3: Make sure to name your Form at the top, and then you can start adding questions. The "Question Title" is where you type what you want your question to say. This is what will show up on the response spreadsheet (more on that later). I made my first question "Name" so that I would be able to see who each response belonged to.

Step 4: Select the Question Type. Google Forms has a lot of different question types, but for this scheduling form's purpose I chose "Checkboxes" because I wanted teachers to be able to select more than one answer. You can also choose whether or not you want your questions to be required. I used the "Help Text" to provide further instructions ("Please select all times that would work for students to go to therapy.")

Step 5: To add another question, click "Add item". You will go through the same steps as you did to create previous questions. In this case, I created another question that allows teachers to select all times that do NOT work on a specific day of the week.

Step 6: This is optional, but at the bottom of my form I added an additional question using the "Paragraph text" option. This is a space where teachers can type in any other information that might be helpful for me to know.

Step 7: When you've added all the questions you need, you can change the look of the form by clicking "Change theme".

Step 8: When you are ready to send your beautiful form out to all your teachers, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click "Send form". A pop-up box will allow you to copy a link to the form or type in email addresses to send invitations to.

Once people respond to your survey, their answers are automatically compiled into a handy spreadsheet for you to see their responses all in the same place! Now you will be able to have just one form to refer to when attempting to schedule students. (cue heavenly music)

Unfortunately, you're still on your own to put it all into an actual therapy schedule...but at least this is a great starting point! I liked that I wasn't shuffling through a stack of notes and teacher schedules to figure out where to put students on my schedule. So will you try this out? Let me know how it works for you!

If you'd like to watch a more detailed video tutorial, this is a great one on YouTube.

P.S. I also see this being a great tool for creating progress monitoring "quizzes" for students working on vocabulary skills!

Kahoot!

Hey everyone! This week was my first week back on the job after summer vacation. Two days of meetings, cleaning out new classrooms, and organizing my caseloads, followed by two days of sitting in district-wide professional development (BLERG). Now you know a lot of times those PD topics unfortunately don't really apply to us specialists very much. However, there was something I heard about that really stood out to me as a great resource to use in therapy: Kahoot!

Kahoot! is an interactive and motivating website which serves as a great tool for engaging students via online quizzes, discussions, and surveys. It's free to join and start creating your own Kahoots, and there are also publicly shared Kahoots which you can choose to use or customize for your own needs.

Kahoot! has three different kinds of interactive formats: quizzes, discussions, and surveys. No matter which format you are using, the concept is the same. Teachers start a Kahoot on their computer, and students join by using any device with an internet connection (computers, laptops, tablets, phones). Students don't need an account or to log in, they just need the Kahoot game pin to play.

Once everyone has joined the Kahoot, the first question will display on the teacher's screen, then the answers will show up. The thing is, though, that on the student screens the answers are not displayed. They only see the colors and symbols that correspond with each answer. This forces students to look up from their devices and be more interactive in the classroom.

Quizzes are probably the most popular use. Students get points for choosing the correct answer, and get more points for answering quickly.

Kids (and staff using Kahoot! in professional development sessions!) get really competitive to try and improve their score after each question and move up the rankings!

Surveys work like quizzes, except there are no points involved, and typically there is no right or wrong answer. Surveys would be great for getting feedback from students, or to use if you don't want to have the competitiveness that comes with scoring points, or if comparing scores might be bothersome to a student. I created a Kahoot! to help me get to know my students better during the first week of therapy next week, so hopefully that will be a fun way to learn about some of their favorites and set some good expectations for their year.

The third mode is discussions. A discussion Kahoot! only has one single question. A graph of student answers which display on the instructor's screen could be a great way to get a persuasive discussion or writing assignment started.

No matter which mode you are using, you can download a summary of student answers after each Kahoot! is completed. That's right, your data tracking is incorporated right into the game!

Ideas for Use:

- I am absolutely going to use Kahoot! quizzes for progress monitoring. Have students retake a Kahoot every few weeks and track their progress!

- Quiz mode would be great for reviewing classroom vocabulary with our students. SLPs could give a pretest/posttest Kahoot! to see how students are improving in their vocabulary understanding and acquisition.

- A Kahoot! quiz or survey could be a great way to expose students to stuttering myths and facts.

- Create a Kahoot for staff development to help bring awareness to the role of SLPs in school!

- When you create a Kahoot! you can choose for it to be public or private, and all the Kahoots you create will be saved in your account.

- There is also a Ghost Mode which allows students to play against their previous scores or compete against other classes.

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How will you use Kahoot! in your therapy room?

It's Back to School Time!

get ready for the new school year with mega-savings

As hard as I might try to deny it, the back to school season is here. I'll pause while you scream into a nearby pillow...

Some of you are going back to work very soon (or are already there!), and some aren't starting again until September. Personally, I report back August 24th. No matter what your timeline is, there's always time for some shopping! Mark your calendars because there's a site-wide Teachers Pay Teachers sale happening August 3-4 :)

These site-wide sales only happen a few times each year, so now is the best time to stock up on everything you'll need to get the school year started off right. Everything in my Schoolhouse Talk shop will be 20% off, plus you can treat yo'self to an extra 10% off on top of that with promo code:

I'm going to share some of the things I can't wait to pick up during the sale, but first let me highlight some must-haves of my own:

Triangles of Meaning includes activities which target word relationships through visual sets of antonyms and synonyms to help students make connection between vocabulary words. Buyer feedback: "SO wonderful for my older elementary aged students who struggle with vocab and seeing the relationships between words. Engaging and user-friendly."

Articulation Puzzles: Your students will have fun putting these puzzles together as they practice their speech sounds. Bonus: six new puzzles were recently added targeting early developing phonemes (P, B, T, D, N, M)! Buyer feedback: "So cute! I love that it is different, interactive, and provides visuals for support."

Phonological Awareness Wizards: This packet has everything you need to work on phonological awareness skills while playing a fun and colorful board game. Buyer feedback: "I'll be using this with my English Language Learners as a fun alternative to our phonological awareness routines. SO CUTE!!"

Also, don't forget about Speech Therapy Rubrics for all your data keeping and progress monitoring needs! You'll also need {FREE} Speech Therapy Session Notes to help you keep parents updated about the activities in your therapy room. There are many other helpful (and free!) documents available in my store as well to get your school year started right.

The entire Schoolhouse Talk shop will be 20% off during the sale.

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I'm *for sure* taking advantage of big savings by snatching up these items on my wish list:

1. Build-a-Monster: Following Directions - by The Speech Bubble SLP

I am moving back down to preschool and elementary ages this year, so I know interactive and creative activities like this will come in really handy. Besides, I haven't met an activity yet from The Speech Bubble that has not been 150% amazing.

2. Hink Pink Word Riddles - by Speech2U

These word riddles are so creative, and they will be a fun way to practice vocabulary, synonyms, and rhyming. I love that there are differentiated levels of support.

3. Common Core Speaking & Listening Rating Scales {K-5} by Jenn Alcorn

I used and loved the 6th-8th grade edition of these scales last year, so I know the version for younger grades will be just as useful.

4. Multisyllabic Words Fingerprint Prompts - by Cat Says Meow

Eye-catching? Check! Great practice for multiple goals? Check! Hands-on practice? Check! This packet looks great and will be so useful!

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If you need additional assistance in figuring out what to stock up on, be sure to check out the 2015 Back to School SLP ebook. It's jam-packed with free downloads and must-have items from over 80 SLPs!

Also, be sure to click through the link-up over at Speech Room News to see what others are eager to buy. Happy shopping!