Data Collection

I despise collecting data, it actually frightens me a little. It's not that I don't love seeing my kids' progress in measurable terms, it's just...really, another piece of paperwork? That was until I realized I could combine my weekly behavior log with taking data! Yes, yet another way to organize my life.
I started out my teaching career by writing in kids' individual composition books each day, but I a) I always worried I was writing in one more than another and b) wow, those take a lot of time. I'm also constantly on the search for ways of making everything I send home to parents as objective as possible. So, I made the switch to a weekly behavior log where I checked if they had "followed the rules" for each activity across the day. Even that log left little to be desired in terms of describing behaviors. So! I am now trying out a daily behavior note. I like it for the flexibility, some of the items have already changed 3 times since I implemented it, and for the DATA COLLECTION it provides, woohoo!
This particular version isn't my most current, but it's a good starting point for anyone who wants to try something new in the way of parent communication or data collection. I looked through my IEPs and found common goals as a starting point for what to include on the form. Most of my kiddos have goals on group participation (verbal or non verbal), expressing wants/needs at snack time, initiating play interactions with peers, etc. I have to thank T-TAC, once again, for saving the day with this idea/template.

Download the file here.
(techie note: this is a Boardmaker file, if you don't have Boardmaker on the computer you are using, download it to your jump/flash drive or email it to yourself and open it on a computer with the Boardmaker software installed)

I also send a log home with my reverse mainstream students, much less detailed. You can download it here (as a Word document).