Teaching · Special Education

Watch the student,
not the clock.

Set the behaviors, the method and the interval. The page keeps time, cues each look and takes one tap per behavior, then turns the record into percent of intervals for the student and a comparison peer.

Open the collectorWhat you get
$19one-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 interval collector

The worked example is made up: an observation of student R-12 during independent math, a look every 15 seconds, with a peer on every fifth. Its results are showing; choose Start blank to set up and run your own.

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What you get

Teaching · Special Education$19 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A timed observation with a ring countdown, a cue at each look and one tap or key per behavior; then the percent of intervals for each behavior, for the student and for a comparison peer; the interval-by-interval grid, which you can correct or fill from a paper form; a sentence worded for the method you used; a record of sessions by student code with a chart across them; a printed report, a blank paper form and a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Special education teachers, school psychologists, behavior specialists, counselors and trained paraprofessionals collecting observation data for a functional behavior assessment, an evaluation, a behavior plan or progress monitoring. Student codes or initials only; the page refuses a name.
Format
Browser tool with an on-screen timer; works on a phone, tablet or laptop held in a classroom. Optional tone and vibration. Prints a report and a blank recording form; downloads spreadsheets (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
$19 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, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Define each behavior in words anyone could score the same way, then type a short label for it. One to three behaviors is plenty.
  2. Pick the method. Momentary time sampling suits on-task and other behaviors that last; partial interval suits brief behaviors; whole interval suits behaviors you want to see sustained.
  3. Set the interval, the time to record and the number of intervals. Add a comparison peer on every third, fourth or fifth interval to see what is typical in the room.
  4. Press Start. Watch the student; the page cues each look. Tap a behavior or press its number, and mark an interval not observed if your view was blocked.
  5. Open Results to read the percentages, correct any square and save the session. Observe again on other days and in other settings before drawing a conclusion.

Open the collector

Three methods, three different numbers

What each method counts, and what it over- or understates.

One minute of a behavior, twelve 5-second intervals0 s15 s30 s45 s60 sThe behavior lasted 35 of 60 seconds: 58% of the time.Partial interval11 of 12 · 92%any part of the interval countsWhole interval3 of 12 · 25%only intervals filled end to end countMomentary time sampling8 of 12 · 67%only the instant each interval ends countsOne minute, twelve 5-second intervals0 s15 s30 s45 s60 sThe behavior lasted 35 of 60 seconds: 58% of the time.Partial interval11 of 12 · 92%any part of the interval countsWhole interval3 of 12 · 25%only intervals filled end to end countMomentary time sampling8 of 12 · 67%only the instant each interval ends counts
The same minute scored three ways. The behavior filled 58% of the time; partial interval reports 92%, whole interval 25% and momentary time sampling 67%.

What each method counts

Momentary time sampling scores an interval by what is happening at the instant it ends. It does not need continuous watching, which is why it suits a teacher who is also teaching, and it gives a fair estimate of the share of time a behavior fills when intervals are short. It can miss brief, infrequent behaviors entirely.

Partial interval scores an interval if the behavior occurs at any point in it. It tends to overstate how much of the time a behavior fills and to understate the count of a fast behavior. Whole interval scores an interval only if the behavior lasts all the way through, and tends to understate the time.

Reading the result

Each method yields percent of intervals, not percent of time and not a count. The figure shows why: over the same made-up minute the three methods give three different numbers. Pick one method for a behavior and keep it, so sessions can be compared.

Studies comparing time sampling with continuous recording found momentary time sampling closest to the real duration, with error growing as intervals lengthen; intervals of a minute or less are a sound choice.

The comparison peer

Watching a peer on a fixed share of intervals, commonly every fifth, shows what the same behavior looks like for a typical student in the same room at the same moment. Choose a peer of the same sex who the teacher considers typical, or rotate through several. The peer’s percentage rests on few intervals, so read it as a rough yardstick.

Intervals marked not observed are left out of every percentage.

Sources

  1. Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson. Chapter 4, on whole-interval recording, partial-interval recording and momentary time sampling and what each over- or underestimates.
  2. Powell, J., Martindale, A., & Kulp, S. (1975). An evaluation of time-sample measures of behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 8(4), 463–469.
  3. Powell, J., Martindale, B., Kulp, S., Martindale, A., & Bauman, R. (1977). Taking a closer look: Time sampling and measurement error. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10(2), 325–332.
  4. Hintze, J. M., Volpe, R. J., & Shapiro, E. S. (2002). Best practices in the systematic direct observation of student behavior. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best Practices in School Psychology IV. National Association of School Psychologists.
  5. Shapiro, E. S. (2011). Academic Skills Problems: Direct Assessment and Intervention (4th ed.). Guilford Press. On observing a comparison peer at fixed intervals.

The worked example is made up, including the student code and every mark. An observation is a sample of behavior at one time in one place; it supports a team’s judgment and is not a diagnosis or an evaluation by itself. Follow your school’s rules on consent and records. Observations stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.