More Than Just Some Tallies...

This most common form of data collection is the Tally Mark data sheet. This type of behavior sheet is not wrong to use. It can give the teacher many different ideas to improve the instruction for their students. However, simply including the tally marks can cause teachers to run in circles when  determining what instructional strategies students need to improve acquisition. Take a look at the data sheet below:

(To get your copy of this free data sheet, please click on the initials: ESM

Concept: Concept is the blank for the teacher to determine the overall goal of the intervention. The goal should be descriptive of the individual type of instruction task. For example, 'Language Arts' is not descriptive, it should breakdown the skill into individual instructional tasks. A descriptive Concept would look like, 'Develop 3-Word Sentences'.
Description of Task Being Measured: The task description must be very specific to when, where, and how the Description of Task Being Measured. An example of a descriptive task is, 'Student will create and compose a three word sentence in during small group instruction with no more than 2 prompts.
Baseline: Give the students a 5 trial of the instructional task. Then complete the average of that task trial, and use that information as your baseline information .
Rec. & Exp. - Teachers will circle whether they are instructing the task receptively (by having the student point or show the teacher the correct answer) or expressively (by having the student orally give the answers.)
Date - The date will be use to determine, not only how long it takes the student to complete the task, but it will also give the teacher the idea of who the student is being successful or not successful with certain locations and/or staff members. (paraprofessionals, teacher assistants, teachers, parent volunteers, etc.)
Correct: This section is for the number of correct times the student completes the task. In this example a tally would be made for every independent 3-word sentence the student completes.
Incorrect: This section is for the number of correct times the student completes the task incorrectly. In this example a tally would be made for every independent 3-word sentence the student completes incorrectly. 
-Suggestion - When using the data sheet, 5 trials per seating shows the students true understanding of the concept. 
Average: The average will be determined each time the trials are completed by taking the correct number of the trials and dividing that number by five. 
Behavior Observation: This is one of the most important parts of this instructional data sheet. Teachers can use the blank to describe students behaviors, strategies that did or did not work, etc. This information will allow anyone who is working with the students to have upfront information about what instructional tips work for that student.  
Maintenance: At this point the teacher has either filled the data sheet or the student has met the goal for consecutive trails on three different data days. If they students had completed this goal, then the task will go into maintenance. (Please see the  post on maintenance data collection.) 
If not, students will continue the same goal on an additional tally sheet. 

The data tally sheet works well with any academic instructional task. The importance of using data collection sheets, such as the one above, is key to understanding the instructional needs of your students and how to academically  move them forward.

Don't forget - Comments and questions are always welcome! We need to move our students forward academically together. 

Thanks for stopping by, 
Emily 

Creating a Data-Based Essential Skills Classroom

The definition of an Essential Skills classroom is a classroom based on a student focused curriculum in the areas pf functional life skills. The Essential Skills classroom is one that identifies the needs for students with severe disabilities that impact their daily life and education. Data collection is the single most important form of information gathered during instruction. 

When I started in the Essential Skills classroom, my experience was from the ground up. I was a single teacher in a classroom of 13 students with significant disabilities, and I had 9 capable Para-Educators in my classroom. I was lucky to have the capable and experience Para-Educators on my side, but building a data based classroom where data was not previously used, is a large project. Deciding how to create your data protocol takes time, and it is also beneficial to have baseline completed when beginning the structure.  

Take a look at some of the tips below:

Setting Up Data Binders - Essential Skills 

                Data Collection is a teacher’s best tool when monitoring student progress, concept mastery, and retention.  To create a fluid system in the classroom, teachers need to think about their population, environment, and structure.  Teachers in an Essential Skills (Low Incidence, Cross-Catagorical) classroom have an enormous about of data to keep track of and continually monitor. The following system of creating a Data Binder will encourage an organizational system for all areas addressed in the Essential Skills classroom. 

Take a look at the teacher’s pre-work to create skills concepts:

1.       Identify all student goals. Breakdown the goals into individual concepts and order them according to their foundational skills. (i.e. single digit addition before double digit addition)

2.       Create data sheets that will address the concepts you have identified. 

a.       Note: As you are completing diagnostics and learning the student’s skills, you may discover additional concepts. Create a data sheet for those concepts as well. 

3.       Identify how you will address and teach those concepts. 

a.       Utilizing Task Boxes, computer programs, and direction instruction. 

4.       Create your binder!

This process builds as you work with your students. The binder is a working document through the time of instruction.  It is important for the teacher to organize a system of implementation for the concepts as well. Due to the fact that the Essential Skills classroom engages students of multiple disabilities and learning levels, it is important to have a systematic, organized instruction structure in place. This structure should include practice of the routines with prompting and needed and quickly faded.  The sample structure below gives teachers an organized plan for instruction of multiple levels of learning at one time, while also giving students as much independence as possible when working on the concept isolated for them. 

The first piece includes determining when and how you will instruction on the concepts. For the ParaEducators, it is important to give them an idea of the concepts for the student as well; especially since there implementation of the instruction is usually consistent with the students in which they are assigned.  

Example of student’s instruction breakdowns for the week would go in the front of the student binder for easy access for staff members working with that student. The concepts listed in the boxes above are those identified by the teacher through IEP goals and diagnostic tools. In the Essential Skills classrooms the concepts are foundational building blocks that build upon one another, therefore the skills will not often change. 

 Bell Ringers – A Bell Ringer is an activity that the students will participate in at they enter the classroom. (as the bell is ringing and time to change activities is approaching) This is an activity that can give the students some independence in their learning. However, completing a Bell Ringer and the routine of doing so must be taught. For more information on Bell Ringers in the Essential Skills Classroom, click the link. 

Behind the Bell Ringers are where the data sheets are stored. It is important to share your organization structure of the data binders with all staff who will be working with them for fluidity. 

Mathematics (red)

Addition Single Digit 

Double Digit

(Multi-Digit – re-grouping/decimal)

Subtraction (Multi-Digit – re-grouping/decimal

  SAME

Money (add./sub., like/unlike, $/coins)

                Rounding to the next dollar 

Time – Time to the hour

                Time to the half hour

                Time to the 15 minute intervals

                Time to the minute

Elapsed -to the hour

                  To the half hour

                  To the 15 minute intervals

Measurement - inch and half inch

            Measuring Cups

         Thermometer

Calculator (+/-/x/÷)

Multiplication – single digit 

Word Problems (one-step, two-step)

Communication Arts (green)

Reading Fluency

Reading Comprehension

Capitalization 

Ending Punctuation

Independent Writing Skills

Edmark Packet – if used 

*Dolch Words should be paper clipped and put into the Old Data Form 

Benchmarks (purple)

Reading A-Z Benchmark Sheets – used to move student to the next reading level

Social/Life Skills (blue)

Nutritional Facts 

Environmental Sight Words 

Fire Drill Completion

Following Directions

Maintenance pages (orange)

These pages list concepts that have been mastered by the student. The concepts are checked weekly for retention. 

Old Data Pages (yellow)

  The Data Binder – Essential Skills Table of Contents

The sample Data Binder Table of Contents includes some of the concepts that may identified for students in the Essential Skills classroom. Not all students would have the same concepts on data sheets in their binders.  Additionally the concepts themselves would be specific to the needs of that particular student. For example, while one student may have writing a simple sentence as his independent writing data sheet concept, another in the same class may have writing his name as his independent writing data sheet concept. This is an example of how the process truly is individualized. 

As you thinking about your students, their needs, and beginning to set up your binders, take a look at the pictures below as examples for creating a classroom environment conducive for the individualized, data-driven classroom.

The Boxes included the student’s Data Binder and manipulatives they may need to complete the data-driven concepts. The students take these binders with them to each location in which they would work. 

The Station Cards tell the students exactly what their tasks are for that class period. This serves as a reminder for routine, while giving the students monitored independence in their schedule. The cards include Bell Ringer (which all students complete with in the first 5-7 minutes of the class period), teacher and Paras names, computer program names, etc. 

The front end work of setting up this systematic approach for both the Data Binders and the classroom routine and organization will not only save the teacher time, but will also provide appropriate and on target reports for students skills and levels of mastery. 

Please comment below with additional questions and ideas! Let us know what works best for you in the Essential Skills setting.

Emily 

Follow this link to Essential Edification's TpT store to download data sheets!

Essential Edification TpT