Najbolje prakse u sustavnom izravnom promatranju

Studentskog ponaanja




PREGLED
Izravno promatranje je jedan od najee koritenih postupaka za ocjenu od strane kolskih psihologa. U istraivanju koje je vie od 1.000
kolskih psihologa, Wilson i Reschly (1996) su utvrdili da je od 26 razliitih vrsta instrumenata procjene navedenih u sedam razliitih
kategorija ocjenjivanja (npr. sposobnost/inteligencije, socijalne/emocionalna, vizualni/motoriki) , strukturirani na promatranju metode
su visoko rangirane u smislu uestalosti koritenja. Sve u svemu, prakticiraju izvjee koje provode vie od 15 opaanja ponaanja
studenata tijekom tipinog mjeseca.
Sustavno neposredno opaanje se odnosi na promatranje ponaanja, osim ponaanja koj e je eksplicitno izazvano s unaprijed odreenim i
standardiziranim skupom podraaja (tj. testa ponaanje (Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2001)). kolski psiholozi najee koriste i naturalistiki i
sustav izravnog pristupa promatranja ponaanja uenika. Ukratko, naturalistiko promatranje pribliava se odnosu na one promatranja
postupaka gdje promatra ulazi specifine situacij e (primjerice, u uionici) i promatra sve to se dogaa, bez unaprijed odreenih
ponaanja u umu. Ovdje, najei nain snimanja promatranja je drati zapis ponaanja koje se ini vano promatrau. U saimajui
informativni status, promatra prua potpuni opis mnogih ponaanja i kontekst u kojem su nastali.
Nasuprot tome, sustavno izravnih pristupi promatranja ponaanja odlikuju pet kteristika (Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2001). Prvo, cilj
promatranja je mjerenje specifinog ponaanja. Drugo, uoena ponaanja se operativno definiraju na a priori precizan nain. Tree,
opaanja se provode pod standardnim procedurama te su vrlo objektivna u prirodi. etvrto, vremena i mjesta za promatranje su paljivo
odabrana i navedena. Peto, bodovanje i sumiranje podataka su standardizirani i ne razlikuju se od jednog do drugog promatraa.
Naturalistiki i sustav izravnog pristupa praenju ponaanja pokazale su korisne u razvijanju teorije i prakse vezane za procjenu i
intervenciju disciplini. Ovo poglavlje daje pregled (a) naturalistikih promatranja postupaka, (b) sustavni izravni promatranju
procedurama, i (c) promatranja instrumente kao to se odnose na promatranje ponaanja uenika u razredu.

OSNOVNA RAZMATRANJA
Obrazloenje sustavnog izravnog opaanja ponaanja
Uz reautorizaciju sa Zakonom o obrazovanju osoba sa invaliditetom ( IDEA , 1997 ), sada vie nego ikada da je apsolutno aktualno da
kolski psiholozi usvoje proraun i ocjene prakse koji omoguuju prikupljanje relevantnih funkcionalnih informacije o d isciplini i uzoraka
performansi. Naime, dijelovi 300, 532 (b) i (c) u postupcima za ocjenu i utvrivanje prihvatljivosti IDEA pokazuju da niz alata za procjenu
i strategija se koristi za prikupljanje relevantnih zabava i razvojni h informacije o djetetu, te da im se validiraju za specifine namjene za
koje su koristili. tovie, poglavlje 300, 532 (d) zahtijeva koritenje testova i drugih materijala procjene koje ukljuuju one po mjeri za
procjenu specifinih podruja obrazovne potrebe, a ne samo one koji su dizajnirani da pruaju jedinstven kvocijent inteligencije. Isto
tako, dijelovi 300,533 (a) (1) (ii) i (iii) upuuju na to da u sklopu poetne procjene za specijalnih obrazovanja, podaci za vrednovanje
trenutne procjene i zapaanja uionici provode uitelji i povezani priaoci usluga. Jednom podobno za specijalno obrazovanje, poglavlje
300,347 (2) (ii) zahtijeva specifikaciju mjerljive godinje ciljeve u razvoju indivi dualiziranja obrazovnog programa koji zadovoljavaju svaki
od djetetovih potreba, kao to se odnose na klasifikaciju invaliditeta. Duh IDEA takoer vidi mo u naelima profesionalne etike i
standardima za uvoenje kolskih psiholoke usluge u prirunik STRUNOG ponaanja (Nacionalno udruenje kolskih psihologa, 2000).
Ovdje, kolski psiholozi su duni koristiti tehnike procjene i instrumente koje su uspostavljene valjanost i pouzdanost te usvajanje prakse
ocjenjivanja koje poveavaju vjerojatnost razvoja uinkovite obrazovne intervencije.
Poziv za poveano koritenje sustavnih izravnih promatranja postupaka i kretanja prema vie ekoloki osjetljivog funkcionalne procjene
prakticira kontrast izravno s onima od vie tradicionalnih pristupa koji su odavnostandard u kolskim psiholoke prakse ocjenjivanja.
Tablica 1. daje usporedbu izmeu tradicionalne i bihevioralne procjene veem broju temeljnih naela. Sredinja razlika izmeu ta dva je
kako su vidjeli ulogu i uzroke ponaanja i vrsti zakljuaka koji se mogu dobiti iz promatranja ponaanja. Iz ponaanja perspektive, sve je
ponaanje rezultat dinamine meuigre izmeu pojedinca i okoline. Dakle, promatrajui ponaanje osobe je koristan samo do te mjere da
ga se moe koristiti za rezimiranje osobu pod odreeni skup okolnosti. Ponaanje se smatra da je specifino na situaciju. Iz tog razloga,
ocjena treba biti u tijeku i izravna do odreene razine stabilnosti ili poopivosti promatranja. To je u suprotnosti s vie t radicionalnih
pristupa kojim se promatranje ponaanje pretpostavlja da je trajno i stabilno u svim situacijama i intrapsihiki ili borave u tom pojedincu.
Iz tog razloga, procjena moe biti globalna i statina, odnosno, javlja se samo jednom ili dovoljno za mjerenje unutarnje konstrukt.

Tablica 1. Usporedba izmeu behavioralnog i tradicionalnog ocjenjivanja

Behavioralno Tradicionalno
Uzroci
ponaanja
Interakcija izmeu pojedinca i
okoline
Izdravanje temeljnog stanja ili osobina
Uloga
ponaanja
Vano kao uzorak
ponaanja pojedinca u
odreenoj situaciji
Ponaanje je vano samo u mjeri u kojoj
to predstavlja temeljnu osobinu.
Konzistentnost
ponaanja
Za ponaanje se mislili da
je specifino za odreenu
situaciju
Za ponaanje se pretpostavlja da je
dosljedno u vremenu i postavkama.
Koritenje
podataka
Opisati i kvantificirati
ponaanje pod odreenim
uvjetima. Za odabir
odgovarajue intervencije.
Za praenje uinkovitosti
intervencija.
Da biste opisali osobnost
Funkcioniranje i etiologija.
Dijagnosticirati i klasificirati. Da bi
prognozu ili prognozu.
Nivo mjeanja Nizak. Visok.
Usporedbe
Kako unutar tako i
izmeu pojedininaca.
Izmeu pojedinaca
Tajming
procjenje
U tijeku. Prije, za vrijeme i
nakon intervencije.

Before and occasionally after intervention.
Note. Adapted from Goldfried and Kent (1972) and Hartmann, Roper, and Bradford (1979).
Najbolje prakse u sustavno izravnom promatranju
Metode sustavnog izravnog promatranja

Naturalistiko promatranje
Naturalistiko promatranje odnosi se na snimanje dogaaja u ponaanju svojih prirodnih vrijednosti u vrijeme u kojem su nastali,
koristei obuene ili nepristrane promatrae, gdje su opisi ponaanja zahtijevaju malo ili nimalo zakljuaka izvan onoga to je primijetio i
zabiljeio (Jones, Reid, i Patterson, 1979). Slino opisnim, pripovijesnim, ili anegdotalnim opservacijama, naturalistiko promatranje
zapoljava snimanje istaknutog ponaanja i razlikovnih podraaje kao to su oni promatraju kronoloki u vremenu. Na primjer, kolski
psiholog moe promatrati studenta u razredu i na umu slijed ponaanja ili aktivnosti koje su osumnjieni da su vani ili slue za ojaavanje
funkcije u odravanju obrasce ponaanja. Ako uenik je primijeen da odbije zahtjev nastavnika, onda je to podatak koji e biti naveden i
snimljen kao promatranje ili dogaaj.
Prema Wilson i Reschly (1996), naturalistiko promatranje je najee koritena vrsta izravnog promatranja, koristi se gotovo dvostruko ee od
drugih vie sustavnog pristupa promatranju. Razlog za to najvjerojatnije lei u njegovoj jednostavnosti u uporabi i minimalnim zahtjevima za obuku.
U praksi, natturalistic promatranje obino ima oblik i omoguuje koritenje jedne od dviju metoda snimanja. Najjednostavniji oblik ukljuuje
jednostavno promatranje i istiui ponaanja i dogaaja opisno ili anegdotalno kako se javljaju u prirodnom ambijentu. Tipino, takva ponaanja i
dogaaji e se snimati u pisanom obliku, navedene kronoloki kako su prikazane u realnom vremenu. Tumaenje je ograniena na opisnom raun
vrstama ponaanja i promatranice i njihove vremenske naruivanja u vremenu. Budui da tumaenje je ogranien, takva anegdota i opisnih rauni
ne mogu se koristiti za izradu visokih uloga odluke. U stvari, jedna od ogranienja koja postavlja naturalistiko promatranje je sklonost da se "preko
tumae" podatke, ili naprave zakljuci u vezi studentskih ponaanja uzoraka iz ogranienog i standardizirani uzorku prema IOR. Isto tako,
promatrai su skloni koristiti potvrdne strategije pretraivanja, pri emu poveana panja je usmjerena prema onim ponaanjima koja potvruju
promatraa izvorne hipoteze. U oba sluaja, pristranost u odabiru i interpretaciji proma-ranje je prisutan.
Druga i jednako popularna metoda naturalistikog promatranje ukljuuje koritenje PPP promatranja i snimanja (prolost - ponaanje - posljedica).
Slino anegdotnim ili opisnim opservacijskim tehnikama, ovdje praktikant ini oprezni znanje od onih dogovora za zatitu okolia, ponaanja, ili
dogaajima neposredno prije ponaanju zabrinutost promatra (tj. prolost) i ono ponaanje ili dogaaji se promatraju kao rezultat ponaanje (tj.
posljedica). Koritenjem primjera odbijanja zahtjeva nastavnika gore, pretea e najvjerojatnije biti neka vrsta zahtjevu nastavnika ili direktivi
,ponaanje e biti in odbijanja, aposljedica e najvjerojatnije biti kratak opis kako uitelj reaguje na studentsko odbijanje. Slika 1 predstavlja primjer
vrsti raspored snimanja koji se inae koristi u PPP promatranju. Ova vrsta raspored snimanja moe lako biti izgraen tako da se podijeli list papira u
tri stupca, od kojih svaki odgovara jednom od tri stanja (tj. prolost, ponaanja i posljedice). Jednom izgraena ,promatra daje kratak narativ svakom
stanju jer su promatrane u prirodnom ambijentu . Iako navedena kao PPP, stupac ponaanje openito zavrena , a zatim slijede prethodnicima i
posljedicama. Obrazloenje poiva na shvaanju da bez prisutnosti nekog istaknutom snimanje ponaanja, postoji malo koristi u tonskim
prethodnicima i posljedicama. Dok brojni ponaanja oito e se dogoditi, samo one od klinikog znaaja su zabiljeili. S obzirom na to, esto je
korisno odrediti unaprijed onih ponaanja koje e biti snimljene tijekom promatranog razdoblja.


Naturalistike tehnike promatranja postaju sve popularnije zahvaljujui dijelom i njihovoj korisnosti kao dio ukupnog
funkcionalne strategije procjene. Ovdje opisna ili anegdota i PPP analize koriste se kao preliminarni korak u prikupljanju
Prolost Ponaanje Posljedice
Nastavnik kae uenicima da
izvade papir i olovku
Ciljani uenik ne vadi papir i
olovku. Umjesto toga se igra sa
autiem.
Nastavnik kori ciljanog
uenika
Nastavnik vadi papir i olovku
iz stola ciljanog uenika
Ciljani uenik gura papir i
olovku sa stola na pod.
Ciljani uenik stavlja glavu
na stol s rukama sklopljenim
oko glave.
Nastavnik otkazuje
zahtjev. Nastavnik uzima
olovku i papir i stavlja na
sto. Kae ciljanom
ueniku da moe poeti sa
radom kada se smiri.
Nastavnik nastavlja as sa
ostatkom razreda.
Ciljani uenik se ponovo
poinje igrati autiem.
Nastavnik prekida as i
uzima auti od uenika.
Nastavnik upuuje ciljanog
uenika da napie svoje ime na
papir.
Ciljani uenik uta sto. Sjedi u
stolici sa rukama prekrienim
na grudima
Nastavnik ignorie
ciljanog uenika.
Slika 1. Primjer naturalistikog promatranja koristei PPP tehniku
PPP promatranje i snimanje stanja
podataka i slue u svrhu razvijanja provjerljive hipoteze u vezi s motivacijom i odravanje discipline. Na primjer, O'Neill et
al. (1997) koriste naturalistike strategije promatranja kao prvi korak u cjelovitom funkcionalnom postupku procjene koja
omoguava medicinari operativno definirati ciljane ponaanja i formulirati preliminarne hipoteze o funkciji ponaanja.
Nakon to su istaknute ponaanja i dogaaja na okoli promatrao naturalistiki, oni se promatraju sustavno pomou postupaka
vremena uzorkovanja.
Prednosti koritenja naturalistikih postupaka promatranja identificirati ciljne ponaanja na ovaj nain su: (a) njihov znaaj ili
socijalnog valjanost ponaanja moe se procijeniti napomenuti uestalost njihovog pojavljivanja u prirodnom ambijentu , (b) njihov
odnos prema vanim prethodnicima na okoli a posljedice mogu biti ispitan sustavno, (c) podaci se mogu koristiti za razvoj
provjerljive hipoteze o funkciji ponaanja, i (d) prikupljeni podaci slue vaan korak u doputajui medicinari se odluivati o funkciji
ponaanja umjesto da se fokusiraju na topografskim i deskriptivnim raune to je promatrana. Kao to je ranije navedeno, jedan od
ogranienja prirodnih opisne raune ponaanje je njihov ogranien program u odluivanju. Budui da su podaci prikupljeni su
iskljuivo opisno u prirodi, odluke se ograniiti na skraenom izjavama to je primijetio i malo to drugo. Za vei dio, takvi podaci
dokazuju ogranieno na vie rjeavanju problema orijentacije procjene. Ipak, naturalistiki deskriptivna rauni mogu biti vrlo korisno
kada se koristi kao preliminarni korak u rjeavanja problema funkcionalne procjene paradigmi. Ovdje su prikupljeni podaci ine
temelj za razvijanje poetne hipoteze koje se mogu naknadno uoenih na sustavniji nain. Idue dvije sekcije opisuju takva sustavna
promatranja metode i nain na koji lijenici mogu koristiti takve metode kvantificirati ponaanje iz ekoloke perspektive.

Postupci obrezvacije
Opservacijski postupci odnose se na skup tehnika koje kolski psiholozi mogu koristiti kvantificirati ponaanje du jedne ili vie
dimenzija ( Kratochwill , Alper , i cancelluma , 1980) . Na primjer ,kolski psiholog mogao biti zainteresiran za procjenu frekvencije u
kojima se opominju student iz njegova mjesta. Nakon definiranja operativno ponaanje interesa, ciljna dijete bi se izravno promatrati
za odreeno vremensko razdoblje s brojem puta je izaao iz svog sjedita primijetio. Osim toga, duina vremena provedenog van svog
sjedita za svaki sluaj treba posebno istaknuti. Ako van sjedala ponaanje ne ini se da je glavni problem za zabrinutost, a zatim jo
jedan ponaanje moe se navesti i promatrati na slian nain. Isto tako, vie ponaanja se mogu identificirati i promatrati istodobno.
Iako je primjer preko pojednostavljen, ovdje su prednosti koritenja promatranja postupaka da su fleksibilni i mogu se prilagoditi
specifinim potrebama situacije procjenjivanja.

Sistemsko mjerenje i biljeenje ponaanja
Postoje razliite vrste podataka koji se mogu prikupljeni tijekom sustavnog izravnog promatranja. Definicija ciljnog ponaanja je ono koje
daje toan opis ponaanja koji jasno definira parametre svog postojanja i nepostojanja (Heward, 1987). Na primjer, podizanje ruke da se
prozove je vidljivo i mjerljivo ponaanje. Ponaanje "izvan zida" nije neto to se moe izravno promatrati. U razvoju eksplicitne definicije
ponaanja Hawkins i Dobes (1977) nude sljedee sugestije:
1. Definicija treba biti objektivna, odnosi se samo na vidljive karakteristike ponaanja i okoline.
2. Definicija ponaanja mora biti itatka i nedvosmislena da bi je iskusni promatra mogao proitati i lako parafrazirati tono.
3. Definicija bi trebala biti kompletna, sa prikazom granice onoga to se treba ukljuiti kao primjer ponaanja, a to treba uzeti u obzir
noninstance ponaanja.
Kao takve, operativne definicije moraju biti objektivne, osiguravajui da se konkretni primjeri definiranog ciljnog ponaanja mogu
odmah uoiti i zabiljeiti. Osim toga, operativna definicija je tehnoloka definicija koja omoguuje drugima da se koriste i ponavljaju je.
Kompletna operativna definicija identificira to nije ciljano ponaanje i pomae promatrau u diskriminiranju ciljnog ponaanja od
slinih.
Jednom kad se definira ponaanje, kalibraciju operativne definicije odreuje priroda podataka; to jest, uestalost njegove pojave i
posebnih interesa promatraa (Hintze & Shapiro, 1995). Osim toga, praktini aspekti, poput dostupnosti promatraa, iznos vremena kad je
student dostupan, ili bilo koju kombinaciju tih imbenika, sve diktiraju vrstu prikupljenih podataka.
Budui da svaki od tih podataka moe dati razliite rezultate, metoda prikupljanja podataka moraju biti jasno razumiva.
Frekvencija ili Event Recording: vrsta podataka poznata kao frekvencija ili snimanje dogaaja ukljuuje brojanje pojava ponaanja
promatranih tijekom odreenog vremenskog razdoblja. Kad vrijeme razdoblja u kojem ponaanje se broji varira, frekvencija se pretvaraju
u stope ponaanja po jedinici vremena. Na primjer, promatra moe izvijestiti da je ciljano dijete podiglo ruku po prosjenoj stopi od jedan
put po minuti tijekom tri zasebna promatranja provedena tijekom tri dana, iako je stvarno trajanje svakog razdoblja promatranja variralo.
Pomou brzine ponaanja omoguuje lijeniku da usporediti pojavu ponaanja preko promatranog razdoblja (Shapiro, 1987).
Frekvencija ili dogaaja snimanje je vrlo korisno pri promatranju ponaanja koja imaju diskretni poetak i kraj. Bacanje papirnatih
avione, udaranje, i podizanje ruke su primjeri takvih ponaanja. Ponaanja koja su kontinuirana ili traju due ponekad je te ko promatrati
pomou snimanja dogaaja. Na primjer, lupkanje olovkom, prianje, ili ponaanje na zadatku e biti teko promatrati pomou takvog
promatrakog sustava. Kao i sa svim snimanja rasporedi, vrlo jasna operativna definicija ciljnog ponaanja nam pomae da prikupimo
tone podatke frekvencija. U sluajevima kao to su lupkanje olovke i prianje, dogaaji o ponaanju moe se definirati pomou
vremenske dimenzije kao i topografski opis ponaanja. Na primjer, lupkanje olovkom moe se definirati kao kontinuirano prislukivanje
olovke na tvrdu povrinu koja proizvodi ujnu buku za barem pet uzastopnih sekundi. Na taj nain, broj frekvencija za lupkanje olovkom
lake je zabiljeiti nego stvarni broj puta koliko olovka udari od vrstu povrinu.
Drugi obzir prilikom koritenja snimanje dogaaja ima veze sa stvarnim duljinu vremena svaka epizoda se dogaa. Openito govorei,
svaka epizoda ponaanja treba uzeti otprilike istu koliinu vremena za svaki primjer ponaanja (Barton & Ascione, 1984). Na primjer, ako
promatra promatra pojave "neuskladivih", duina vremena moe znatno varirati od jednostavnog odbijanja da slijede smjer u povuci
potegni gnjev koji traje 20 minuta. Budui da e svaka epizoda biti kodirana kao pojavljivanje jedne in nepotivanja, svaki bi se jednako
vrednovane u smislu naina na koji ga je kvantificirati. Oito, varijabilnost u trajanju od svake epizode je izgubljena. Iz tog razloga, kada
je vana duina vremena koje se dogaa, snimanje dogaaja moda nije najprikladniji raspored snimanja. Moe, meutim, biti u
kombinaciji s drugim opcijama snimanja (npr. trajanje) za hvatanje i uestalost i vrijeme dimenzije odreenog ponaanja.

Jo jedan primjer u kojem frekvencija ili dogaaj snimanja osobito je korisna je kada se dogaa na relativno niskoj stopi. Takva ponaanja
esto se javljaju rijetko, ali su od interesa zbog svog intenziteta ili ozbiljnosti. Na primjer, ponestaje uionica moe se dogoditi jednom ili
dva puta dnevno, ali moe predstavljati znaajne potekoe za studenta. Prednost je u tome da s niskim frekvencijama ponaanja,
razdoblje promatranja moe biti kontinuirano i dizajnirano na nain da je relativno nenametljiv i zahtjeva malo vremena i trokova za
promatraa. Nedostatak, meutim, je da ako bilo instanca ponaanje nije primijetio i zabiljeio, pouzdanost promatranog podataka se
rtvuje.
Kao to se moe vidjeti, metode za frekvenciju ili snimanje dogaaja vrlo su razliite. Obino, frekvencija na kojoj se javlja ponaanje je
zabiljeena u pisanom obliku (npr. na komadu papira) s istaknutim poetkom i zavretkom vremena promatranja. Osim jednostavnog
snimanja papira i olovke, runi mehanikih snimai poput onih koje se koriste za praenje prisutnosti na drutvenoj funkciji, runa
brojila, ili drugo. Na kraju, bilo koji ureaj sposoban za dranje kumulativnog raunanja frekvencije moe se koristiti za obavljanje
snimanja dogaaja. Slika 2 predstavlja raspored snimanja frekfencije primjera papira i olovke.
Snimanje trajanja: Druga vrsta odgovora ponaanja koja se moe zabiljeiti je trajanje ponaanja. Mjerenje trajanja moe biti vrlo korisno
s odreenim vrstama kolskih vezanih ponaanja. Studiranje, drutvena izolacija i agresivni ispadi su dobri primjeri ponaanja u kojem je
trajanje openito vano. Trajanje je prikladno u sluajevima gdje promjene trajanja ponaanja je vaan cilj za intervenciju. Kao u sluaju
snimanja dogaaja, ponaanja koja su diskretne poeci i zavreci mogu se ocijeniti u duljinu vremena ponaanje traje.
Trajanje ponaanja obino je standardizirano na dva naina (Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2001). Prvo, prosjeno trajanje svakog puta se moe
izraunati. Na primjer, Gary je ustao i izvan svog sjedita pet puta tijekom promatranja 20-ak minuta. Trajanje svakog epizode je 2, 3, 4, 5,
i 6 min, respektivno. U tom sluaju je prosjeno trajanje 4 minute (tj., [2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6] / 5). Drugo, ukupno trajanje moe se izraunati. U
tom istom primjeru, Gary je bio izvan svog sjedita ukupno 20 minuta.



Figure 2. Primjeri snimanja frekfencije. Ciljana ponaanja ukljuuju ustajanja iz sjedala (IS), Zvanje (ZV), i naredbe
nastavnika (NN)
Promatranje frekfencije i biljeke
Datum: May 13, 2000
Promatra: A. VanDelay
Vrijeme IS ZV NN
9:00 a.m.-10:00
a.m.
X X
X
XXXXX XXXXXXX
10:00 a.m.-11:00
a.m.
X XXX XXXX
11:00 a.m.-12.00
p.m.
XX X XXXXXX

















































Najprecizniji neautomarski instrument za prikupljanje podataka o trajanju je toperica. Ukupno vrijeme trajanja
topericom se mjeri tako to se pone pri poetku ponaanja, a prekine na kraju
Bez resetiranja toperice, posmatra ponovo starta topericu na poetku druge epizode ponaanja i prekine na
kraju. Posmatra ovako skuplja vremena trajanja i ukuono vrijeme trajanja zapie na papir. Slika 3 predstavlja
primjer snimanja trajanja za sisanje prsta.


Kad su sesije promatranja dosljedne u duine (npr. 20 minuta), ukupno trajanje moe se usporediti preko
sesija. Meutim, kada sesije promatranja variraju u duljini, omjer ukupnog trajanja do duljine promatranja
moraju biti izraunati u postotke prije usporedbe meu opservacijske sesije. Na primjer, ako je ukupno
trajanje Garya van sjedala bilo 10 minuta u svakoj od tri promatrane sesije, ali su na promatranju sesije
varirale od 20, 30, i 40 minute, a zatim ukupno trajanje posto koji je bio izvan svoje mjesto e biti navedeno
kao 50, 33 i 25%, pojedinano.
Postupak traje snimanje po nastanku sa topericom je pokrenuti topericu kao ponaanje poinje i zaustaviti
vrijeme na kraju epizode.Promatra prenosi trajanje vremena prikazuje na topericu u listu s podacima i
resetira sat.toperica je ponovno zapoeo poetkom druge pojave ponaanja i zaustavio na kraju.Trajanje
vremena za svaku epizodu onda se zbrajaju i podijeljen s brojem pojavljivanja, ime je nastalo prosj eno
trajanje po epizodi.
The procedure for recording duration per occur- rence with a stopwatch is to start the stopwatch as the
behavior begins and stop the timing at the end of the episode. The observer transfers the duration of time
showing on the stopwatch to a data sheet and resets the watch. The stopwatch is started again at the
beginning of the second occurrence of the behavior and is stopped at the end. The duration of time for
each episode is then summed and divided by the num- ber of occurrences yielding an average duration
per episode.
Latency Recording: Latency recording is the mea- surement of elapsed time between the onset of a
stim- ulus or signal (e.g., a verbal directive) and the initiation of a specified behavior (Cooper, 1987).
Latency recording should be used when the major concern is the length of time between an opportunity
to elicit a behavior (e.g., after the presentation of the verbal directive) and the actual time it takes to
begin performing the behavior. In this case, the response latency would be the length of time between
the end of the teachers directive and initiation of the students compliance with the directive. As with
event and duration recording, when latency is assessed, both the signal and the behavior of interest must
have discrete beginnings. The procedure for latency recording is similar to that for duration recording.
The observer uses a stopwatch and begins timing immediately after the signal or stimulus is delivered
and stops timing at the instant the target behavior is initiated. For each






























































































































































Figure 3. Example of duration recording for thumb sucking
Duration Observation and Recording Sheet
Student: Alex Observer: B. Matthews
Behavior: Thumb Sucking Date:August5, 2000
Time stop: 10:30





Total: 18' 28" Average
duration per episode, 3' 42"
Time start: 10:10
Thumb
sucking
(separate
incidents)
1
2
3
4
5
Elapsed time per
episode (in
minutes and
seconds)
1' 17"
6' 42"
2' 11"
7' 26"
52"
episode, the summary datum is the time lapse between the signal and the behavior. The actual time that
it takes to complete the target behavior does not figure into latency recording. This is because behav- iors
can vary widely in the time it takes to complete them. For example, the directive of pick up your pencil
and put your name on the top of the paper and pick up your pencil and complete the New York Times
Sunday crossword puzzle would each be expected to have similar latencies. Obviously, the duration of
these two behaviors would vary signifi- cantly. If completion times of these two behaviors were of
primary interest, then duration would be an appropriate recording schedule. Moreover, like duration,
both average and total latency can be used to summarize observed behaviors.
Time-Sampling Interval Recording: Whereas fre- quency, duration, and latency recording are able to
accurately capture the dimensions of behavior each represents, oftentimes it is difficult to use any one of
the recording schedules because of practical or mea- surement concerns. Issues dealing with availability
of observers, lack of time, or operational issues (e.g., complications in determining exact beginning and
ending of behavior) all contribute to the difficulty in observing behavior continuously. The essential
char- acteristics of time sampling interval recording involve selecting a time period for observation,
dividing the observational period into a number of equal inter- vals, and recording whether or not a
specified target behavior has occurred during each interval (Merrell, 1999). For example, a 30-minute
observation period might be broken down into 120 15-second intervals. Within each interval, the
presence or absence of one or multiple behaviors might be assessed. Presence or absence of the behavior
will be determined by one of three, or any combination, of three recording sched- ules discussed below
(i.e., whole, partial, or momen- tary time sampling recording).
Also, unlike event, duration, and latency recording that provide exact frequency or time dimensions of
observed behavior, time sampling interval recording provides only approximates for the behavior as it
occurs. That being so, for situations where the exact number of occurrences or time spent engaged in the
behavior, or latency of the behavior is of concern, time sampling interval recording might not be the best
option. Nonetheless, time sampling interval recording provides an excellent alternative when conditions
warrant observing a number of behaviors simultane- ously, or for behaviors that occur at a moderate to
high rate or steady state.
Whole-Interval Recording: In whole interval record- ing, the target behavior is scored as having
occurred only when it is present throughout the entire interval (intervals are scored usually with a plus
sign or other mark to indicate the presence of the behavior, and empty intervals generally denote the
absence of the behavior). Since the behavior must be present for the entire interval, whole-interval
recording lends itself quite well to behaviors that are continuous or inter- vals that are of a short duration
(Shapiro & Skinner,
1990) . One of the drawbacks of whole-interval recording, however, is that has a tendency to
under- estimate the presence of the behavior in real time. Consider for example, a whole-interval
recording schedule where each interval is 15 seconds long. If, for example, off-task behavior were our
target behav- ior and it was observed for 13 of the 15 seconds dur- ing the interval, then the interval
would not be scored for the presence of off-task behavior since it did not occur for the entire 15-second
interval. In essence, it would appear as if the target student was on-task for the entire 15 seconds.
Because of this, whole-interval recording is well suited for behaviors targeted for increase through
intervention efforts (Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1991).
Partial-Interval Recording: In contrast to whole-inter- val recording, with partial-interval recording an
occurrence of the behavior is scored if it occurs dur- ing any part of the interval. Thus, if a behavior
begins before the interval begins and ends within the interval, then an occurrence is scored. Similarly, if
the behavior starts after the beginning of the interval, then an occurrence is scored. Finally, if multiple
occur- rences of the behavior are observed within the same interval, then the interval is simply scored as
if the behavior occurred once. Again, in comparison to whole-interval recording, partial-interval
recording is a good choice for behaviors that occur at a relatively low rate or behaviors of somewhat
inconsistent dura- tion. Also, partial-interval recording tends to overes- timate the actual occurrence of
the behavior. By using the example above, if the target student were observed to be off-task for only 2
seconds of the 15-second interval, then the interval would be scored for the presence of the behavior as if
it occurred for the entire 15-second interval. Because of this, partial-interval recording is well suited for
behaviors targeted for decrease through intervention efforts (Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1991).
Momentary Time-Sampling: Finally, with momen- tary time-sampling, a behavior is scored as present
or absent only during the moment that a timed interval begins. With this technique, the observer notes
either the presence or absence of the behavior at a brief instant during the interval. By using the above
exam- ple, the target student would be considered off-task if at the moment of observation (e.g., very
beginning of a 15-second interval) he was observed to be off- task, irrespective of any behavior observed
during the rest of the interval. Salvia and Hughes (1990) have summarized a number of studies
investigating the accuracy of these time-sampling procedures. As was previously noted, both whole-
interval and partial- interval sampling procedures provide inaccurate esti- mates of the behavior in real
time. Momentary time-sampling, although based on the smallest sam- ple of behavior, provides the least
biased estimate of behavior as it actually occurs (Suen & Ary, 1989).
Observational Instruments
In contrast to observational procedures, observa- tional instruments have been developed to assess a
specific range of behaviors. For example, a school psychologist might choose to use an observational
instrument designed specifically to quantify the per- centage of time a student is academically engaged or
off-task or the frequency with which a teacher pro- vides directives, provides opportunities to respond,
or positively reinforces student efforts. Unlike more generic observational procedures, however, the
flexi- bility of observational instruments is typically lim- ited. With standardized administration and
scoring procedures, practitioners cannot alter the operational definitions to suit their individual needs.
However, because they have been developed with a specific pur- pose in mind, observational instruments
tend to provide a more detailed account of a students behavioral pattern across a variety of behaviors of
common interest to the observer. What is lost in flexibility is gained in breadth of behaviors observed.
While school psychologists could certainly develop their own observational instruments individually
tailored to particular behavioral constructs, the time spent in development may be cost and labor
prohibitive.
Nonetheless, the use of observational instruments continues to gain in popularity. The increased interest
in such techniques is due in part to the optimization of laptop computers and hand-held data recording
devices. What follows are two examples of published systematic observation codes. The Behavior
Observa- tion of Students in Schools (BOSS) (Shapiro, 1996) can be a useful part of an academic
assessment in classroom settings. It may also be used in assessments of disruptive behavior, if aggressive
behavior is not of principal concern. The Attention Deficit Hyperactiv- ity Disorder School Observation
Code (ADHDSOC) (Gadow, Sprafkin, & Nolan, 1996) was specifically designed to assess disruptive child
behavior across a number of school settings and includes various mea- sures of aggressive child behavior.
These specific codes were selected for review owing to their ease of use, and their differential purposes.
Behavior Observation of Students in Schools. The
BOSS is a useful observation code for assessing child academic behavior in the classroom environment.
It is a relatively easy code to learn and use. In simple terms, the BOSS assesses levels of on-task and
off- task behavior. The amount of time children are engaged in academic tasks appears to be an impor-
tant instructional variable (see Gettinger, 1986, for a review). Although several existing observation codes
include behaviors that represent academic engage- ment, the BOSS is unique in that it divides engage-
ment into two categories: (a) active engagement (e.g., writing, raising hand, answering a question) and
(b) passive engagement (e.g., looking at a worksheet, lis- tening to teacher directions). Furthermore, off-
task behaviors are assorted into three categories: (a) off- task motor (e.g., out-of-seat, fidgeting, playing
with pencil), (b) off-task verbal (e.g., calling out, talking to a peer when prohibited), and (c) off-task
passive (e.g., looking around, looking out the window). Finally, the BOSS also includes a measure of
teacher directed instruction (TDI), which provides an estimate of the amount of time the teacher is
engaged in direct instruction. For example, the TDI category would be scored as present if the teacher
were lecturing to the class and absent if the teacher were sitting at the desk correcting papers.
The BOSS is administered in 15-second intervals for a period of at least 15 minutes. The on-task
behaviors (i.e., active and passive engagement) are scored at the beginning of each interval by using
momentary time-sampling. For the remainder of each interval, the off-task behaviors (i.e., motor, verbal,
and passive) are noted by using partial interval scor- ing. In addition, during every fifth interval, rather
than observing the target student, the behavior of a randomly selected peer is observed and noted. In
doing so, comparisons can be made between the tar- get student and a peer composite that represents
typ- ical behavior during the observational period. Once the observation is completed, scoring
summaries are computed for on- and off-task behaviors of both the target student and the peer
composite, as well as an overall estimate of how much time the teacher was engaged in direct instruction.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder School Observation Code. According to its authors, the
ADHDSOC was developed as both a screening mea- sure and as a tool for evaluating the effects of inter-
ventions for children diagnosed with attention- deficit/hyperactivity and related disorders (e.g., oppo-
sitional defiant disorder). The ADHDSOC can be used across a number of school settings (e.g., classroom,
lunchroom, playground). For example, the following seven behavior categories are scored in classroom
sit- uations: (a) interference (e.g., target student calls out when it is inappropriate to do so), (b) motor
move- ment (e.g., target student gets out of seat without per- mission, (c) noncompliance (e.g., target
student ignores verbal direction from teacher or aide), (d) ver- bal aggression (e.g., target student curses),
(e) sym- bolic aggression (e.g., target student takes another students pencil), (f) object aggression (e.g.,
target student kicks chair or desk), and (g) off-task (e.g., target student stops working on assignment and
stares out the window). Though the various aggression scores (i.e., verbal, symbolic, object) may be coded
individu- ally, the authors suggest collapsing them into a single category termed nonphysical
aggression. For obser- vations conducted in the lunchroom or on the play- ground the following
categories are coded: (a) appropriate social behavior (e.g., target student is observed talking to another
child appropriately), (b) noncompliance, (c) nonphysical aggression (this includes both object and
symbolic aggression), (d) ver- bal aggression, and (e) physical aggression (e.g., tar- get student trips
another child). Across all settings, tar- get behaviors are scored on a partial interval every 15 seconds.
For diagnostic purposes, the authors recommend selecting three or four average peers to observe for
comparison. Selected peers and the target student are then observed in alternating 1-minute intervals.
The observer rotates through each peer until all have been observed, and then returns to the initial peer.
Specific guidelines for collecting observation data as well as statistical guidelines for comparing the scores
of the target student to the peer composite are provided. In addition, guidelines for incorporating the
ADHD- SOC into treatment evaluation procedures are also presented. Validation of the ADHDSOC is
presented in several studies of school-based medication evalua- tion studies (see Gadow, 1993; Gadow,
Nolan, Poal- icelli, & Sprafkin, 1991).
Both the BOSS and the ADHDSOC are relatively simple school-based observation codes to learn and
use. They offer the opportunity to assess both within- student features of behavior (e.g., across various
set- tings that vary with respect to task demands), and between-student features of behavior (e.g., target
student as compared to peer composite). These are only two of the many coding systems available to
school psychologists. Other available instruments are listed in Table 2.
General Issues in Systematic Direct Observation
Considerations in Selection of Target Behaviors
Considering the Social Significance of the Behavior.
In daily practice, it is not uncommon for teachers and other school personnel to describe a litany of
target behaviors that present as possible candidates for change. As most school psychologists are all too
well aware, to target each for observation and interven- tion is likely to prove time and cost inefficient in
the long run. As such, assessment information gathered before systematically observing behavior (e.g.,
inter- views) is absolutely crucial to designing a sound observation strategy. In doing so, the school
psychol- ogist must determine which elements of a students behavioral repertoire might serve as socially
signifi- cant and ecologically valid target behaviors (Hintze & Shapiro, 1995).


Procedures that affect behavior of one or more per- sons in ways that increase the probability or magni-
tude of benefits for any one or all of the persons involved are considered to be socially valid targets for
behavior change (Hawkins, 1986). Teaching children to read, pay attention, or make friends with peers
are likely to be socially valid, because these efforts gen- erally increase benefits and decrease costs for
both the targeted individual and the rest of society (Hawkins,
1991) . As such, a goal, outcome, or procedure is valid only to the extent that choosing it as a target
for change improves the benefit-to-cost ratio for the individual, for others, or both. A consumers or
profes- sionals opinion about a targeted behavior for change is only valid to the extent that it is
consistent with such improved benefit-to-cost ratio (Hawkins, 1991).
Although conceptually the notion of social validity makes sense, in practice it may be difficult to opera-
tionalize. At least one objective validation strategy is to use normative data from same age peers as the
tar- get student to identify which behaviors are likely to be adaptive, and the extent to which such
behaviors are expected to be mastered. For example, observing the rates of academic engaged time of
peers of the target child can help establish whether or not a discrepancy is present, in addition to the
magnitude of the dis- crepancy and goals for change (Hawkins, 1991). Sim- ilarly, observing those
behaviors considered to be associated with targeted behaviors (e.g., escape or avoidance) from a
normative reference group may assist in determining which behaviors are of critical importance for
success (Hawkins, 1991). Finally, the best validation of which behavior is most adaptive is to test
experimentally the outcomes produced by dif- ferent behaviors and different levels of their perfor-
mance (Hintze & Eckert, 2000). By definition, those strategies that yield the greatest benefit at the least
cost are the most adaptive (Hawkins, 1986).
Prioritizing Possible Target Behaviors. In many assessment situations, decisions must be made regard-
ing the relative priority of possible target behaviors (Hintze & Shapiro, 1995). In a review of the research,
Nelson and Hayes (1979) offer four suggestions that can help guide the practitioner faced with a
multitude of potential target behaviors:
1. Alter the behavior that is most irritating to the per- son who has identified the problem (Tharp &
Table 2. other examples of school-based observation protocols
Code
Publ
ished
Age
group Setting
Recording
schedule
L
e
n
gt
h
o
f
i
n
te
r
v
al
s,
se
c
o
n
d
s
Systematic
Screening of
Behavior
Disorders: Peer
Social Behavior
Code
Sopr
is
West
(pre-
schoo
l
adapt
ation

(Walker &
Severson, 1990)
avail
able
a
)
Ele
menta
ry
Playgro
und
Partial
interval
1
0
The Preschool
Observation
Code (Bramlett,
1993; Bramlett
& Barnett,
1993)
See
refer
ences
Pres
chool
Classro
om
States
(momentar
y time-
sample)
Events
(frequency
of response)
3
0
State-Event
Classroom
Observation
System
(Saudargas,
1997)
Avai
lable
from
autho
r
Ele
menta
ry
Classro
om
States
(momentar
y time-
sample)
Events
(frequency
of response)
1
5
a
Sinclair, DelHomme, and Gonzalez (1993).
Wet- zel, 1969).
2. Alter a behavior that may be relatively easy to change (OLeary, 1972).
3. Alter behaviors that will produce beneficial response generalization (Stokes & Baer, 1977).
4. When behaviors exist as part of a longer response chain, alter the behaviors at the beginning of the
chain (Angle, Hay, Hay, & Ellinwood, 1977).
In addition, Hawkins (1986) suggests that:
1. Targeted behaviors should be those that represent keystone or pivotal behaviors within a behav-
ioral response hierarchy.
2. Behaviors that have a general utility should be considered prior to those with highly specific func-
tions.
3. The construction or acquisition of behavioral response repertoires should take precedence over the
pure elimination of specific behaviors.
4. Behaviors that gain a student access to reinforce- ment in the natural environment should be given
high priority.
5. Student choice should be considered when select- ing possible target behaviors.
Antecedents and Consequences of Behavior. Both nat- uralistic observation and systematic direct
observation strategies allow the observer to examine interdepen- dencies among functional antecedents,
behaviors, and consequences (Alessi, 1988). Careful examination of such functional response chains allow
practitioners to develop hypotheses such as:
1. Are there avoidance, escape, or termination behav- iors evident, contingent upon requests or
demands made by the teacher?
2. Does the magnitude of the behavior change as a function of varying task demands?
3. Does the target behavior lead to accessing social attention or preferred tangibles or activities?
4. Are there particular setting or temporal character- istics associated with the target behavior?
Once developed, such hypotheses can be tested experimentally in a more controlled experimental
analysis of the behavior (Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bau- man, & Richman, 1982). By using a brief func- tional
analysis (Wacker et al., 1990), hypothesized behavioral functions can be assessed using prede- termined
analogue assessment strategies. Most assessments include alone, escape, and attention conditions. During
the first phase of the analysis, reinforcement (e.g., social attention, withdrawal of a demand) is provided
contingent on the occurrence of the target behavior. During the second phase of the brief functional
analysis each condition is repli- cated; however, the reinforcement contingency (i.e., escape, attention) is
provided for appropriate behavior rather than inappropriate behavior. By using such a methodology
allows the practitioner to validate specific A-B-C chains and target specific environmental contingencies
for ongoing assessment and intervention.
SUMMARY
Significant effort has been made over the past decade to shift the role of the school psychologist from
one of problem identifier to one of problem solver (Deno, 1995). With a focus on hypothesis testing and
scientific accountability, the school psy- chologist as problem solver seeks to use assessment instruments
that provide clear links between assess- ment and intervention. Systematic direct observa- tion provides
one of the most useful strategies for accomplishing this goal. With a focus on socially significant and
meaningful behavior change, sys- tematic direct observation changes the approach of the observer from
passive to active and reflects tech- nological advances in both the study of human behavior and how
behavior is recorded and sum- marized. Moreover, systematic direct observation procedures are in line
with the reauthorization of IDEA and current standards for test use among school psychologists.
As with any new skill, it takes time to become flu- ent in the use of systematic observations. School psy-
chologists should not be fooled by its apparent simplicity and should expect to devote as much time in
training to use such procedures as they typically would in learning any standardized assessment
instrument. With continued use, however, school psy- chologists will find systematic direct observation
to be a crucial component of just about any of the ser- vices they offer.