My son is fully included in a first grade class, and has a full-time aide provided by the school district. The teacher and aide always say things are going fine, and they send home a notebook every day that is supposed to let me know what is going on. When I have asked for some kind of data at our IEP, I was told that it is not possible for the teacher or aide to take any ongoing data on a regular basis. I really want to know what is going on. What should I ask for?
Momentary time sampling is any easy way for classroom aides or teachers to take data on whether or not a student is independently on task. With momentary time sampling, aides can even collect data while they are working directly with other students.
For example, an aide might collect data on a particular student for one hour per day, at five minute intervals. Ideally, the data collector carries a vibrating timer (http://www.bindependent.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=gct100). When the timer vibrates, the collector records whether or not the child is on task, at that moment. The aide then records the behavior on either a counter (http://www.tallycounterstore.com/ ) or a data sheet. At the end of the hour, you have 12 data points, that took less than 30 seconds to collect.
This data is not terribly detailed, but it is significant, and it allows you to track growth or deterioration. Knowing that a child is independently on task 90% to 100% of the time tells you a lot. Alternatively, if you see your child’s percentages decreasing, you know additional help may be required.
Data should be collected during the times of day when your child faces his/her greatest academic or social challenges. In addition to tracking on-task behavior, you may take data on appropriate play or social engagement during recess. Which observation interval you choose (e.g., once every five minutes vs. once every two minutes) will vary based on activities. For example, a two-minute interval between observations would be more appropriate than a five-minute interval for tracking engagement in appropriate play during a 10-minute recess.
