Golden excerpt.pdf

The Data Collection Toolkit

Everything You Need to Organize, Manage, and Monitor Classroom Data

by

Cindy Golden, Ed.D. University of West Florida

Introduction

Becoming a Classroom Detective

In many respects, the world of the detective is parallel to the world of the educator. They both hypothesize, gather documentation, test their theories, map out timelines, look for evidence, persevere when there seems to be no clear answer, reinvestigate if necessary, and gather information by interviewing those involved. Their problems or cases are different, but they both require the "cold, hard facts," called data, in order to solve the case or find the answer to the issue affecting the student. Data are evidence.

Detective Skills 101

  1. Determine the problem. What is the specific issue or problem to be solved? What objective, observable details are most relevant to the case?
  2. Understand the terms. The detective investigating the issues of a case must have a complete understanding of all that is involved in the case and be able to describe precisely what happened.
  3. Nail down the timeline of events. One of the first things a detective will do is to map out a timeline of events, which can uncover new leads and offer clues that can help solve the case.
  4. Remain alert. A detective must take in information gained from all five senses.
  5. Interview people, and request information from those in the environment. A detective must continue to investigate by interviewing those involved in the case and gathering information.
  6. Treat everything as evidence, and follow every lead. Detectives comb through the strangest things looking for clues that will help to answer questions and solve the case.
  7. Document and take note of the facts. Detectives deal in facts—not opinions.
  8. Persevere, and do not give up too soon. There are some cold cases in criminal investigations that were solved years after the crime was committed.
  9. Search the scene thoroughly, and do not be afraid to revisit the scene several times. Detectives frequently must go back to the scene of the crime more than once.
  10. Formulate a hypothesis, and test out theories. Detectives always formulate a theory or a hypothesis.

The Data Collection Process

This book will help you to become a detective in the classroom in order to help your students learn and to solve challenging behaviors; it breaks down the overwhelming task of collecting data into manageable steps. Data collection can seem intimidating, particularly on top of numerous classroom responsibilities. This book provides practical tips and helpful tools that will assist you in creating an effective and efficient data collection system in your classroom.

SECTION I

Preparing for Data Collection

What does data collection involve? Why do educators collect data, and what steps need to be followed to ensure these data are meaningful and can be used effectively? Section I introduces you to the basics of classroom data collection. It takes you step by step through the process of collecting data and explains in depth how to prepare for data collection.

CHAPTER 1

The Step-by-Step Process of Data Collection

What You Need to Know

MISSION: To learn the facts about classroom data collection, investigate why data are important, and introduce the basic steps of the data collection process

QUESTIONS TO INVESTIGATE

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Analysis The examination and interpretation of data.

BCBA Board Certified Behavior Analyst; a person who has extensive training in the field of behavior analysis.

BIP Behavior intervention plan; an individual plan of interventions used to target specific behavioral challenges.

Data Systematically collected information about a student’s academic and/or behavioral performance.

FBA Functional behavioral assessment; a problem-solving process in which a behavior is measured and examined in a methodical manner.

Why Collect Data?

Data are collected for a variety of reasons:

  1. To answer a question
  2. To provide evidence to support or refute a theory
  3. To measure progress

Basic Steps to Data Collection

The best way to make a complicated and overwhelming task such as data collection easier is to create a task analysis of it. Each of the steps is discussed in more detail:

  1. Define Target
  2. Select Method
  3. Implement Collection
  4. Analyze and Graph
  5. Make Decisions

After Collecting Data, What Should I Do Next?

The answer is analyze! Collecting raw data is not useful without conducting an analysis and presenting the results in a visual format.

Quick Quiz

Use this short five-question quiz to review the chapter material:

  1. What is the first step in data collection?
  2. Systematically breaking down a complicated task is called what?
  3. After analyzing the data, what is the next step?
  4. Is it ever appropriate to collect data in a homeschool environment?
  5. What does BCBA stand for?

References