Assessment of Learning Process and Facilitating Understanding of How to Use an AT: Guidance for Applying the ALP-tool

Presenter

Lisbeth Nilsson, Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Sweden

Thematic area

AT education

Abstract

Provision of assistive technologies (AT) is strongly connected to applying a person-centred approach, with focus on exploring the person’s individual abilities, needs and desires, to enable provision of matching AT. In the process of provision, it is also important to assess and facilitate the person’s understanding of how to use the AT, to enhance optimal usage and enable AT integration in everyday life. 

The universal Assessment of Learning Process (ALP), is a process-based tool for assessment and intervention. It includes the ALP-instrument for assessment of stage of exploration and phase of learning, as well as the ALP-facilitating strategies guiding the approach for intervention at each stage and phase in the process. Focus for observation is tool-use behaviours and finding indicators for actual stage of exploration and phase of learning. The assessment enables tailoring of the facilitating approach to give the person a just right challenge in a learning situation of their choice. With the instruments focus on indicators in tool-use behaviours the universal ALP can be applied with any person, age, abilities or AT. More information and material for download can be found at https://www.lisbethnilsson.se/en/alp-tool/ 

The session will begin with an instructional part for presentation of the ALP-tool and its application. Then it turns into an interactive workshop where the attendees use a short-version of the ALP-instrument to assess video-clips illustrating a variety of AT-use, from simple to more complicated. Towards the end, discussion is opened for reflections on how to apply the ALP-tool in attendees’ own fields of AT expertise.

Target audience

Professionals engaged in AT education and intervention

Learning outcomes of the session

At the end of the session the participants will:

  1. Have a deeper insight of the ALP-tool, its structure and process-based nature.
  2. Have a better understanding of how to apply the ALP-tool with different assistive technologies. 
  3. Have experienced trials to do assessment using the ALP-instrument for different AT.
  4. Have reflected on application for a specific AT in own field of expertise.

Special requirements

None