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• Papillion-LaVista Public School District, Omaha, NE• Especially Kristy Feden!

• Sarpy County Head Start, NE• School Psychology Graduate Students• Many, many children and their families• University Committee on Research• Artwork by Julie K. Hart

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• An observation of a child’s skills in the context of play • Cognitive (thinking and problem-solving)• Social• Behavioral

• A system that results in a description of a child’s competencies and areas of need

• A method of monitoring a child’s progress in curriculum and intervention

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• Individual assessments to determine performance levels in developmental domains

• Screening classes or groups to determine group performance

• Progress monitoring of individuals, groups, and/or classrooms

• Program evaluation to determine program effectiveness

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• An intervention process in which the areas of need that are identified in play assessment are addressed in the context of play

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• Teachers easily understand the intervention

• Children are in their natural environment

• Parents can learn how to conduct interventions

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Observational Approach

“how to”

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• Determine setting• Laboratory• Classroom• Home

• Select time of day (free play is ideal in classrooms)

• Make sure that the toys can elicit a wide range of skills

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• Observe at least 30 minutes to determine level of exploratory/pretend play• Document the amount of time for play

behaviors (explained later)

• For supplementary subdomains, observe until child reaches age appropriate levels of play or until you determine that the results are accurate• Validate from the teacher

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• Do not guide the child’s play• Do not let others guide the child’s play• For categories that were not observed,

you can set up an opportunity – may need to ask teacher

• If category never observed and no opportunities are available, ask teacher for input

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• Also note any social and/or behavioral strengths and possible areas of need• Initiation of play• Receptivity of play when others initiate• Variety of playmates• Adult vs. child play

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• Can also note on the following• Language• Motor• Interests

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Forms and coding guidelines

How to analyze the observations

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• Observation and Coding• Summary and Progress• PIECES• Developmental Progression of Play

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• Core Play Skills – measures cognitive development• Exploratory Play• Simple Pretend Play• Complex Pretend Play

• Social Skills• Behavior• Language can be

noted

• Supplemental Play Skills – • Problem Solving Skills

and Planning - measures cognitive development

• Discrimination/ Classification Skills

• Quantification Skills• Drawing Skills• Sequencing Abilities

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• Number• Child(ren)/Adults

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• Initiator – child initiates play with another child or adult

• Follower – child follows play of another child or adult

• Cooperative – child has cooperative play interchanges with another child or adult

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• Language heard during play – document

• This can be a conversation with an adult or another child or the target child could be talking to him/herself

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• Strategic Behavior and Problem Solving Skills

• Discrimination/Classification Skills• Quantification Skills• Drawing Skills• Sequencing Abilities

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• Highest level of play coded for each subdomain (i.e., core and supplemental)

• Percent of time in pretend vs. exploratory play• Number of steps in pretend play (when

applicable)• Description of the variety of play acts, toys

used, and level of facilitation• Social dimensions of play• Behaviors that may facilitate or interfere with

play

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• Competencies • Student observed an age appropriate skill in the

play subdomain

• Reported skills • Teacher reported an age appropriate skill in the

play subdomain but the skill was not observed

• Emerging skills • Skill was observed rarely or only with facilitation

• Areas of need• Skill was not observed or reported

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Using the assessment data

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• Screening of all children using the PIECES observation and coding system

• Can be conducted 3-4 times per year • Purpose:

• To determine group progress and program effectiveness

• To determine which children need additional interventions

• Must have a criteria for moving to Level 2

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• Small group or individual interventions• Interventions are 1-2 times per week• Progress is monitored 1-2 times per week• Evaluate progress every 4-6 weeks

• Establish a criteria for moving from Level 2 to Level 3 and from Level 2 to Level 1

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• Level 3 – Individual or small group interventions• Progress is monitored 2-3 times per week• Interventions are 3-5 times per week• Evaluate progress every 4-6 weeks

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• Determine from assessment results• Intensity depends on need• Small group or individual interventions can

be used• Frequent progress monitoring is required

because young children change very quickly• Peer comparisons are helpful in determining

if improvement is due to development or the intervention

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• Parents*• Teachers• Peers• Siblings• Older children in a school – if applicable

*Hart found that parents are knowledgeable about play and believe it is important to development but their child’s play level did not reflect the belief

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• Individual and group intervention strategies• Teach new skills• Model• Add ons

• Increase emerging skills• Verbal prompts• Play partners

Use verbal praise and encouragement throughout intervention

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• Cherney, I. C., Kelly-Vance, L., Gill, K., Ruane, A., & Ryalls, B. O. (2003). The effects of stereotyped toys and gender on play assessment in 18-47 month old children. Educational Psychology, 22, 95-106.

• Kelly-Vance, L., Needelman, H., Troia, K., & Ryalls, B. O. (1999). Early childhood assessment: A comparison of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and a Play-Based Technique. Developmental Disabilities Bulletin, 27, 1-15.

• Kelly-Vance, L., & Ryalls, B. O. (2008). Best practices in play assessment and intervention. In J. Grimes & A. Thomas, (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V, vol. 2, 549-559.

• Kelly-Vance, L., & Ryalls, B. O. (2005). A systematic, reliable approach to play assessment in preschoolers. School Psychology International, 26, 398-412.

• Kelly-Vance, L., Ryalls, B. O., & Glover, K. G. (2002). The use of play assessment to evaluate the cognitive skills of two- and three-year old children. School Psychology International, 23, 169-185.

• Mallory, J., Kelly-Vance, L, & Ryalls, B. O. (2010). Incorporating divergent thinking into play interventions for preschool children with developmental risk factors. The International Journal of Creativity and Problem Solving, 20, 57-71.

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Lisa Kelly-Vance› lkelly-vance@unomaha.edu

Brigette Ryalls› bryalls@unomaha.edu

Jessica Dempsey› jessicadempsey@unomaha.edu

www.unomaha.edu/schoolpsych/playresources.php

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