Teaching · Special Education

Twelve looks at one lesson, set beside a classmate.

Code what the student and a typical classmate are doing at each check, note what the teacher did and what the work showed. The summary turns the grid into time on task for both, the kind of off-task behavior and an honest note on what one lesson can show.

Start an observationWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
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Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the New special education teacher kit, $39 for 31 items.

The observation

One record per student and lesson. Use initials or a code, never a name. The example is made up.

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What you get

Teaching · Special Education$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
For each observation, the lesson context, a coded interval grid for the student and a peer, teaching moves and supports seen, work and accuracy, timed notes, and a summary of time on task with the off-task pattern.
Who it is for
School psychologists, special education teachers and behavior specialists observing for an evaluation, a behavior assessment or a support plan; general education teachers reading the result.
Format
Browser form used during the lesson on a laptop or tablet, keyboard coding in the grid. Several saved records; printed with the summary or as a blank form for paper coding; CSV with one row per record; export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the New special education teacher kit ($39) and the Special Education toolkit ($99), and 2 more bundles. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Special Education space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about an order, access or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.
watch, then code the moment
Drawn for this page. At each check the observer looks at the student and at one classmate and codes what each is doing at that moment.

How to use it

  1. Start a record with the student’s initials or a code and the date.
  2. Ask the teacher to name a classmate who is typical for this lesson, and note the setting.
  3. Set a timer for the interval. At each beep, glance at the student, then the peer, and press one key for each.
  4. Between checks, write timed notes on what you see and hear.
  5. Finish the teaching, supports and work questions, then read the summary with the teacher.

Start an observation

What the observation is for

Why observe in the classroom

Federal rules ask that a student suspected of a specific learning disability be observed in the regular classroom, or the learning environment for a young child, to document academic performance and behavior in the skills of concern. Observation is also a core part of any functional behavior assessment and of checking whether supports are in place.

How momentary time sampling works

At the instant of each check you code what the student is doing right then, not across the whole interval. Coding a typical classmate at the same checks shows what is expected in that room, in that lesson. Ten or more scored checks make a percentage worth reading; a short lesson gives a rough one.

What this form is not

It is not a rating scale and gives no norms or scores beyond the counts you make. It does not diagnose attention, behavior or learning problems. A single lesson is a sample; plan more than one observation.

Sources

  1. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations, 34 CFR 300.310 (observation of the child in the regular classroom for a suspected specific learning disability) and 300.304(b) (a variety of assessment tools and strategies).
  2. Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., and Heward, W. L. Applied Behavior Analysis, 3rd edition (2020), chapter on measuring behavior: momentary time sampling and interval recording.
  3. Volpe, R. J., DiPerna, J. C., Hintze, J. M., and Shapiro, E. S. (2005). Observing students in classroom settings: a review of seven coding schemes. School Psychology Review, 34(4), 454 to 474.
  4. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 34 CFR Part 99 (observation records are education records).

The example student and lesson are made up. The observation records what was seen in one lesson; it does not diagnose or decide eligibility. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.