Observing and Recording Student Performance

Teachers are required to make frequent decisions about how to best teach and motivate students. The quality of these decisions depends on the information teachers have about the student and their performance. Observation and recording of students' performance and behavior is an important role of the paraeducator and an important tool for teachers. Accurate behavior observation is essential in identifying students' needs and developing effective instruction. This unit discusses issues and techniques involved in gathering and reporting student performance data.

The purposes of this instructional module are to:

Improve the accuracy of observation skills of paraeducators,
Increase the amount of information collected for the purpose of improving instructional programs, and
Contribute to instruction that is both efficient and provides sufficient information for accurate educational decisions.

Objectives

After completing this unit and its activities the paraeducator should expect to be able to:

Identifying the purposes and problems inherent with using behavior observation as an information source.
Defining behavior in observable, measurable terms
Using systematic procedures for observing and recording behavior including:
1. Frequency
2. Duration
3. Rate
4. Percentage
5. Time sampling
6. Anecdotal records
Charting results of behavior observation using graphs.