Collecting Data Carol Ann Davis, Ed. D. University of Washington

Did you know? Students whose teachers monitor progress regularly and frequently have higher rates of learning as compared to students whose teachers do not collect data.

What are the purposes of measurement? Why should I collect data? To communicate the child’s progress to others To provide feedback to the student To determine the effectiveness of the instruction To determine if it is necessary to change our instruction

Why collect data? Monitoring the effects of instruction requires some form of systematic documentation or feedback. Collecting data helps teachers accurately gauge children’s progress decide how to change instruction

Where do I begin? It all starts with the student’s written objectives Who Behavior – observable description of the behavior Condition – describes under what condition you expect the behavior to occur Criteria – the level of performance expected

Given a 5 th grade reading passage, Joseph will read 80 words per minute across three reading passages. Given three different reading materials (e.g, flashcards, books, signs in the community), Gitit will read 50 functional sight words (see list) with 100% accuracy. When given a task that is new and difficult, Neil will request assistance/help at least once during the activity without engaging in challenging behavior.

Heart rate can be monitored 24 hours a day with a machine but this is not efficient More efficient to take a resting heart rate What are other ways to make data collection efficient?

Types of data collection Anecdotal Recording Permanent product Observation

How do I know when to use observation system? You want specific information about a behavior and you cannot obtain a written product You can count the behavior (has a beginning and end) OR The behavior is well defined

How do I know which measurement system to use? It should be matched to the target behavior/objective It represents the behavior and progress or lack of progress It needs to be simple and linked to instruction

Data Collection Systems Event Recording – number of times a behavior occurs Time sampling – estimate of the number of times/length of a behavior Rate – number of times a behavior occur within a time period Duration – how long behaviors last Latency – time between instruction and the student beginning the response

Event Recording Number of times behavior occur How many hits How many correct How many turn-takes Used with discrete behaviors Good if behaviors occur during a specific time StrengthWeakness minimal material needed (pencil/paper)if behavior occurs at high rate it is difficult to count Easy to collect Can be used in conjunction with time and opportunities if behavior occurs for extended periods (out of seat behavior) can be misleading if number of opportunities varies across data sessions

//// //// //// /// //// //// //// //// /// Basic Data Sheet for Event Recording Student: ________________________________ Observer: _______________________________ Behavior: _______________________________ 18 10:00 – 10:15 3/ :00 – 10:15 3/15 Total Occurrences Notations of OccurrenceTime Start Stop Date Alberto & Troutman Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers, 7e Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.

Student: JackDate:9/30/02 Behavior: Striking head with hand or fist. InitialsActivityCountTotal D.J.Arrival/ / 4 D.J.Small Group/1 D.J.Transition 2/ / / / / / / / /9 F.W.Playcourt0 F.W.Transition 3/ / / / /5 J.D.Circle0 J.D.Transition 40 J.D.Snack0 D.J.Transition 5/ / / / / / / 14 D.J.Bathroom/ / / / / / / / /9 D.J.Transition 60 F.W.Free Choice/ / / / / / /7 F.W.Transition 7/ / / / / / / 14 J.D.Closing Circle/ / / / /5 J.D.Departure/ / /3

Event Recording with Controlled Presentations 14Place spoon in mouth√√√√√√ 13Bring spoon to mouthØØØØ√√ 12Lift spoon√√√√√√ 11Scoop√√√√√√ 10Place spoon in bowlØ√√√Ø√ 9Lift spoonØØØØ√√ 8Place carton on tableØØØ√ØØ 7Pour milk in bowl√√√√√√ 6Lift cartonØØØØØ√ 5Open milk cartonØØØ√√√ 4Place box on tableØØ√√√√ 3Pour cereal in bowlØØØØØØ 2Lift box√√√√√√ 1Open cereal boxØØØØ√√ Alberto & Troutman Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers, 7e Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.

Rate The number of times a behavior occurs divided by the amount of time. Words read per minute Math problems worked per minute Words typed per minute Use when the opportunity to respond varies in time StrengthWeakness Has no floor or ceilingNot familiar to most people

Percentage The number of times a behavior occurred given a total number of opportunities AdvantagesDisadvantages Easy to calculateDoes not take much to skew if small n Convert to common measurement Does not tell us about fluency

Interval and Time Sampling Recording Provides estimate of actual number of times or how long a behavior occurs Needs time to teach and collect data Can be used for discrete or continuous (talking with peers) behaviors Measurement of duration can be estimated Strength:Weakness: EASY - record once regardless of number of occurrences Easy to teach and collect data May underestimate the behavior

Interval and Time Sampling Recording How: 1. Identify a sample amount of time that is representative of the behavior you are trying to collect. 2. Divide the total amount of time spent in the observation into short intervals (typically 1 minute) 3. Record (+/-) if behavior occurred during the interval

Interval Recording Partial-interval – the behavior does not consume the whole interval You are going to miss something Less accurate when behavior is ______ occurring Whole interval – the behavior is continuous and occurs across intervals Does not give recorder a break

Time Sampling (Momentary time sampling) Usually in minutes rather than seconds Behavior is observed at the end of the interval A mark is noted only if the behavior is observed at the moment the behavior is observed Intervals might be averaged to make sure the student does not figure out observation schedule More practical for teaching and data collection Accurate for behaviors which are frequent or longer in duration

5 Minute Intervals (8/12) x 100 = 66.66% Behavior occurred at the end of 67% of the intervals during a 60-minute time period

Coding Form for Multiple Students Tony Al Ellen Austin Mary Alberto & Troutman Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers, 7e Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.

Coding Form For Multiple Behaviors Sessions H √√√√√ F √ C √√√ V √√√√ H = Head Rolling F = Hand Flapping C = Finger Contortions V = High-Pitched Vocalizations Alberto & Troutman Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers, 7e Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.

Duration Recording Use when behavior of concern varies in length of time How: a. Record when behavior begins b. Record when behavior ends Summarize: Average or total Strength:Weakness: tells how many times and how long behaviors must have clear beginning and end

Latency Recording Time between the end of the instruction and when the student begins to perform the response. Use when interested in how long it takes a student to begin performing a requested behavior How: 1. Record the time after the end of the instruction 2. Record the time when the student begins to perform the response

What type of data would you need to collect if you were interested in: How long a student engaged in social interaction How many times a student initiated communication (e.g., requests for objects) How many words a student read per minute How many words spelled correctly

Levels of Assistance Variation of event recording Used instead of binary scoring system Records multiple levels of performance

Task Analytic Recording The process of breaking a given task down into specific steps Collecting data on which steps are completed

What data collection system should be used? When given a request to “do this…”, J will imitate 8 motor actions using objects/materials with 80% accuracy on 3 out of 4 opportunities Before leaving the bathroom, J will independently follow all the steps in washing hands routine 4 out of 5 opportunities with 100% accuracy During group lab time, J will increase engagement with structured activities from 30 seconds to 3 minutes 4 out of 5 opportunities When given a reading passage at the 3 grade level, L will read 100 words per minute with 100% accuracy over 3 data sessions.

Measurement must be Objective (replicable) Valid (measure what is supposed to be measured) Reliable (measured the same way each time)

What are threats to validity? Reactivity The effects on the individual’s behavior produced by the assessment procedures themselves

Remedies to threats of validity Involve participant observers Observe covertly Minimize interactions Become part of the environment Use a second observer Observer drift

Measures may be reliable but not valid Using a ruler to measure our foot is not a valid measure of shoe size BUT you will get a reliable (the same) measure every time Measures cannot be valid if there are not reliable Using a shoe guide that gives us different measurements every time may not be measuring what it is says it is measuring.

Reliability The insurance that the data collector is colleting data on what he or she intended to collect

Gross Calculation Smaller # of occurrences of the behavior Larger # of occurrences of the behavior X 100

Gross Calculation Smaller # of minutes Larger # of minutes X 100

Gross Calculation Agreements Agreements + Disagreements X 100

What should be on the data sheet? Place for student’s name, date, teacher’s name Place to list the skill to which you are working Target behavior Place to record the counts Place to summarize the information

How will I manage all of the data sheets? Use one data form to collect information on many different target behaviors Mom++ Dad++ In++ Out-- stop+- nickel-- penny+- dime++ quarter++ $1++

StimulusPromptTest 1.00 Nickel Penny Dime Quarter StimulusPromptTest Sequence 1 Sequence 3 Sequence 2 Sequence 1 Sequence 3 StimulusPromptTest StimulusCriteria Small group1:00 Computer4:00 Leisure2:00 Computer4:00 Gym3:00 StimulusPromptTest Connect 4 Jinga Kerplunk Uno puzzle StimulusPromptTest Turn takes StimulusPromptTest 1:00 4:00 7:00 10:00 5:00 StimulusPromptTest Mom Dad In Stop Out Picture ofPromptTest Jumping Running Kicking Sitting Pointing

Incorporate your data collection form with the classroom schedule ActivitySkillData collection 8:30 – 9:15 1. Number of minutes engaged 2. Number recognition 3. Sight word recognition ____ mins. engaged

Data Collection for a group of students Child Program:  prompt__________ Program:  prompt__________ Program:  prompt__________ Program:  prompt__________ Program:  prompt__________ Program:  prompt__________ Program:  prompt__________ Program:  prompt__________ Program:  prompt__________ Program:  prompt__________

During lunch, before or after school, Joseph will initiate to a peer at least 5 times for 3 data sessions. What are the considerations? What type of data should be collected?

How often should I collect data? Often enough to use it to guide your instruction. If you collect data 1X per month, then you would not be ready to make a decision about changing instruction before 3 months You do not have to collect data on every occurrence of the target behavior, data simply must be representative of the target behavior.

Collect data more frequently for: High-priority target behaviors Target behaviors that require ongoing decisions (e.g., reading sets of words)

How do I collect data for objectives that are written too big? Break the larger goal into smaller steps focusing on the target behavior. Example: Given three different reading materials (e.g, flashcards, books, signs in the community), Gitit will read 50 functional sight words (see list) with 100% accuracy.

Given three different reading materials (e.g, flashcards, books, signs in the community), Gitit will read 5 functional sight words (see list) with 100% accuracy. Mom++ Dad++ In-+ Out++ stop+- 8 out of 10 words read correctly = 80% (for this set of words) Program: Functional sight words = 80%

Group Activity Go back to your defined behavior and written objective and decide on a measurement system that is most appropriate for that behavior Describe why you choose that system

Conversion of Data Need to convert raw data into a more representative number Frequency data that is collected with different number of opportunities -- percentage Frequency data when varying amounts of time were available – rate

Interval or Time Sampling is reported in terms of number of intervals the behavior occurred or percent intervals the behavior occurred Duration or Latency is reported in terms of number of seconds, minutes, etc…

Graphing Summary of raw data into a readable format A picture says a thousand words Clear, easy to interpret and everyone on same page

Line graphs Data are graphed at the appropriate intersections

Cumulative graphs The number of occurrences are added to the previous session This approach provides the total number of responses Graphs must always trend upward

Bar graphs or Histograms Data is plotted using a bar to represent the occurrences of the behavior

Summary of Data Conversion Process Type of Recording Data Conversion Permanent Product* Report number of occurrences if both time and opportunities to respond are constant Event* Report percentageif time is constant (or not of concern) and opportunities vary. * Report rateif both time (which is of concern) and opportunities vary, OR if time varies and opportunities are constant. Interval* Report number of intervalsif constant Time Sampling* Report percentage of intervals during or at the end of which behavior occurred. Duration* Report number of seconds/minutes/hours for which the behavior occurred. Latency* Report number of seconds/minutes/hours between antecedent stimulus and onset of behavior. Alberto & Troutman Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers, 7e Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.

Basic Components of a Line Graph a. Ordinate label e. Continuity break b. Ordinate f. Data point c. Abscissa label g. Abscissa d. Data path Sessions LABELLABEL A B C D E F G Alberto & Troutman Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers, 7e Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.

Permanent Product- Data to Graph Graphed as a number of items If the number of opportunities is constant or percentage of items If the number of opportunities varies

Calculate the percentage Divide the number of correct responses by the total number of responses and multiply the result by 100 Number of correct responses X 100= % Total number of responses

Computing Rate A rate of correct responding is computed by dividing the correct responses by the time taken for responding: # correct Correct Time = Time Computing a rate of error may be done by dividing the number of errors by the time: Errors Rate of Error = Time Alberto & Troutman Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers, 7e Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.

Graphing Rate Data Student: Steven Behavior: Packet Assembly Observation Period: Vocational training at Red Cross DayNumber Completed Amount of Time Rate per Minute Monday4530’1.5 Wednesday4025’1.6 Friday4525’1.8 Tuesday4020’2.0 Thursday5025’2.0 Monday4820’2.4 Wednesday Alberto & Troutman Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers, 7e Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved.