Documentation

toc =Introduction= One of the most challenging aspects of teaching is to be able to communicate with others about student behavior (or anyone else's behavior, for that matter). Being able to describe behavior in objective terms creates the foundation for then being able to do something about the behavior. This unit teaches you the skills needed to document behavior.

=Why Document Behavior?= Documentation of behavior can help with making decisions about the services a student needs to have. Complaining about a student does not go very far. An objective record of that student's behavior on a daily basis helps make your case that a student needs more help.

When an adverse event happens (a student gets sick or injured or some kind of major problem happens in your classroom), documentation of the event is critical and should be done as soon as possible, after you have made sure everyone is safe. This kind of documentation will help you when you report the event to your administrator.

Parents may respond better to objective documentation of their children's behavior than to subjective statements that imply judgment.

We live in a litiginous culture. Documentation of exactly what happens may be critical to the outcome of a court case on the matter. This is why complete, objective documentation is so important.

=Objectivity= The most important skill in documentation is to understand the difference between subjective and objective description. Let's try an example:

X. was disrespectful. vs. X. said to Y. "You are an idiot."

"Disrespectful" is an opinion about a behavior and it is not specific about what actually happened. The problem with this is that the behavior may not have been intended or even received as disrespect.

When you document, remember NORMS:

Not an interpretation – The behavior is objective and demonstrative (not subjective)

//Observable – The behavior involves actions you can observe directly through your senses// //Reliable – Two or more people agree that they have observed the same behavior// //Measurable – An objective description of the behavior must include a way to measure it// //Specific – The behavior must be described in detailed terms (who, what, when, where, why, how)// (from [])

=Practice= Below are videos of classroom events. Choose a video and document what is happening, using NORMS.

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