Cognitive Abilities Profile (CAP) course

‘This essential course enables you to apply psychology in the classroom and facilitate more effective multi-agency working.’

Many education professionals need to be able to assess student progress effectively. This Cognitive Abilities Profile (CAP) course will bring the unique benefits of dynamic assessment (DA) and cognitive education into the mainstream work of practitioner psychologists and specialist teachers. This will not only teach you how to use CAP to structure an in-depth individualised assessment but will also show you how to use CAP for systematic consultation and observation – which may mitigate the need to carry out individual direct work with a particular student.

This course is designed to train professionals in the comprehensive use of CAP. As a detailed evidence-based tool for consultation and structured data collection, it can be used by a range of professionals, including:

Educational and clinical psychologists.
Therapists.
SENCOs and specialist teachers.

CAP’s advantage is that it is not a psychometric test with age-specific norms. This makes the use of CAP particularly appropriate for a wide variety of students and is not limited to school/academic settings. Within the new SEN legislative framework, CAP can be used for students from early years into adulthood, providing a flexible tool for work in the new extended age range for education, health and care plans (EHCPs) up to the age of 25 years.

CAP is grounded in developmental psychology and underpinned by DA and cognitive approaches to teaching and learning. For example, it emphasises the importance of metacognition in teaching and learning, which has been widely shown in modern education research to be a key factor in the understanding of what works most effectively in the classroom.

Read more about DA and the CAP here

Please note

We advise everyone attending a CAP training course to access the CAP toolkit (consisting of the CAP guidance manual, summary forms, and record forms) (£245 + VAT) in advance.

Find out more about the CAP toolkit.

Module Leader – Dr Ruth Deutsch

Dr Ruth Deutsch is the author of the Cognitive Abilities Profile (CAP) and is recognised as the leading UK trainer in dynamic assessment and cognitive education programmes. Having trained and worked as a child psychologist in the USA and Canada, before returning to the UK, Ruth has worked in an SEN Support Unit and a residential school for youngsters with severe learning difficulties. She has since been teaching on the Educational Psychology Doctorate Programme at the University of East London and at Queen’s University, Belfast and providing CPD and CAP training to many local authorities. As a Chartered Educational and Child Psychologist, Ruth combines the training of psychologists, therapists and teachers with active clinical practice. To find out more please see here.

Why take this course?

The CAP course will enable you to:

Understand the theoretical basis and goals of CAP.
Get to grips with the contents of CAP.
Utilise CAP record forms and manual effectively.
Use CAP to plan interventions and review progress.

This will strengthen your confidence in the:

Gathering of information.
Summary and analysis of data.
Generation of hypotheses regarding student progress.
Identification of the next learning steps.
Development of specific measurable targets.
Monitoring of progress.

Course dates

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the next CAP course will now be delivered as a series of four webinars.

Session one – 27 October, 10am – 12.30pm
Session two – 29 October, 10am – 12.30pm
Session three – 3 November, 10am – 12.30pm
Session four – 5 November, 10am – 12.30pm

This course has restricted spaces and is now SOLD OUT. Please contact info@realgroup.co.uk to be placed on the waiting list and/or be contacted for future course dates. New dates will be added to this page once confirmed.

How is the course delivered?

The next course will be delivered via four webinars on 27 & 29 October, and 3 & 5 November. As you will be aware, many activities and all kinds of communication have been turning increasingly to online media not only as forms of social communication but as important channels for learning, sharing and working.

People undertaking the forthcoming CAP online course will be able to:

Join from anywhere in the world, without encountering the costs – and current risks – of travelling
Take the course at a more measured pace, with a blend of pre-recorded videos which can be viewed and reviewed at times convenient to you.
Each pre-recorded video will be followed by a live session, giving you time to reflect, digest and prepare your questions ahead of the next live session.
Even more flexibility. Missed a live session? You can go over it yourself. Want to watch a case study again? All live sessions will be recorded and made available for participants to view and review for a limited period of time following the course.
Network more effectively with other participants, to share experiences and ideas without the worry of catching the train at the end of the day.
Benefit with more one-to-one Q&A time with Dr Ruth Deutsch who will deliver the CAP online training.

We also organise bespoke national/international courses for those organisations wishing to train up a cohort of staff.

See ‘How much does it cost?’ below for more detail.

How will you benefit?

By the end of the course you will be able to:

Use CAP to help teachers, parents and others understand the learner’s needs.
Develop recommendations that lead to an intervention plan (IP).
Understand how to use the profile systemically to review progress.

The course content

PLEASE NOTE – For the 2020 course being delivered via webinars, the distribution of content through the course will differ from that below. However, the same content will be covered and learning outcomes will remain the same.

Day one

An introduction to the aims and objectives

You will find out:

The principles of dynamic assessment (DA).
The key questions that DA addresses and how DA concepts apply to CAP.
The tripartite learning partnership model – the learner, the mediator and the task.

Investigating CAP’s landscape – from cognitive dysfunctions to cognitive abilities

Examine the different models of cognitive processes – particularly phases of thinking and functional domains.
Get an overview of the CAP manual’s contents – including records and summary forms, general scoring guidelines and considerations.

Section A of CAP in practice

Rate the seven functional domains of cognitive abilities.
Record profile information and construct the summary graph – including video analysis and discussion.
Undertake optional further analysis.

Day two

Section B of CAP in practice

Exploring the differences between direct instruction and mediated learning – while understanding the impact on the learner.
Using techniques and video analysis in consulting and rating section B.

Section C of CAP in practice

Analyse how observation and analysis actually work in the classroom.
Practice in task analysis in and out of the classroom using video.

Review, reflect and follow up

Summarise the profile: A + B + C.
Evaluate how CAP interpretation leads to intervention targets.
Develop an intervention plan (IP).
Learn how to customise your IP.
Examine CAP’s review cycle.
Tackle questions, take part in the discussion, look at the next steps and support for practice.

How will you be assessed?

This course isn’t formally assessed. However, clear staging posts over the two days will ensure that your learning and practice are embedded every step of the way.

Are you eligible?

Access to the course will be highly relevant to psychologists, therapists, and teachers.

Those who do not work in one of these professions are also welcome – as long as they work in the learning and development of children, adolescents, and adults.

How much does it cost?

Please check back as prices for future CAP events will be released soon.

Bespoke courses

If you, or your organisation, would like to book a bespoke CAP training course for up to 20 participants, then please contact dana.kennedy@realgroup.co.uk to discuss available dates and prices.

CAP International Online

Are you based in an international setting and would like a bespoke CAP course for you and your colleagues in your own time-zone? Please contact dana.kennedy@realgroup.co.uk to discuss an online international CAP training course. Whether you’re in Australia, the USA or Madagascar, we can discuss a course with dates and times that suit you.

We advise you to purchase a CAP toolkit in advance of the event.

You can procure the CAP Toolkit from the Dyslexia Action Shop.