Data Collection for Off-Task Behavior and Agitation Mira...

Running head: DATA COLLECTION

1

Data Collection for Off-Task Behavior and Agitation

Mira Jones

University of Utah

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Running head: DATA COLLECTION 2

Data Collection for Off-Task Behavior and Agitation

This report focuses on the off-task and agitated behaviors of a teen in a residential

treatment facility for behavioral, emotional, and learning disabilities. She attends class on

campus and, in addition, is being taught skills in independent living such as proper hygiene,

chore routines, etc. Her treatment is specific to her involvement with substance abuse and gang

behavior. She has also been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. She engages in off-task behavior in

every facet of her treatment, including the following which are observed in this report: morning

preparation time, class, and structured leisure. In addition she exhibits frequent intervals of

agitation in which she becomes immediately angry and sometimes aggressive, posturing peers

and staff, yelling, throwing things, and threatening to do harm to others or to herself. This report

will take these two main aspects of her conduct, off-task and agitated behavior, into account in

order to explore fully the main challenges present in working with this student.

Operational Definitions

The following definitions of behavior are given to pinpoint the exact behaviors that are

observed in the student for this report.

Operational Definition One

The student, Susan, engages in off-task behavior in all phases and settings of treatment in

a residential care facility. Off-task behavior is defined as any behavior other than what is being

asked of her. This includes horse playing, talking out or engaging conversations at inappropriate

times, playing with objects, arguing, agitated or aggressive behaviors, and walking away. Non-

examples are talking during class discussions, sitting quietly in class but not participating, or

making social conversation during independent times such as leisure or morning preparation.


Operational Definition Two

Susan displays agitation at odd and unexpected times during all phases of treatment in a

residential care facility. Her agitation is defined as being incongruously angry in an otherwise

calm setting. Examples include yelling out during class or other inappropriate times, tantruming,

threatening, throwing things, arguing, posturing, and hitting. Non-examples are taking an

appropriate time-out and "venting" to teachers or staff, going into the time-out room to yell,

curse, or hit pillows, and being hyper, i.e. jumping about, singing at inappropriate times or telling

inappropriate jokes.

Relevant Dimensions of the Behavior

The two important dimensions of this behavior are the frequency and duration. The

behavior of this student is so severe at this point that monitoring latency is an ineffective

measurement of the behavior. She reacts, in general, with hostility or indifference to limits set by

authority figures and so does not yet respond well to prompting or suggestions for redirection.

The rate of behavior, while important is not yet necessary in this initial, diagnostic report. The

topography and force of the behavior are, likewise, important but as this report is meant to give

an overview of the two behaviors in general, these dimensions are too specific at this point in the

research. Finally, the dimension of locus is important but, again, too specific for the purposes of

this report.

The Measurement Procedure

The measurement procedures to be used in collecting information about the frequency

and duration of the behaviors are Event Recording and Duration Recording. The method of

Event Recording will be used to measure the frequency of her off-task behaviors and Duration


Recording will be used for the measurement of aggression. I am interested to know the number

of times she engages in off-task behavior over the course of one hour and if she shows agitation

during this time, I am interested to know its duration. Using the method of Interval Recording

would not show clearly enough the frequency of her off task behavior and so would limit the

precision of the data, while Latency Recording, as previously mentioned, is not yet a relevant

method in this research.

In choosing the method of Event Recording to observe the frequency of off-task

behavior, the overall intent of the project was considered as Event Recording is most often used

when the objective is to increase or decrease the number of times a student engages in a behavior

(Alberto & Troutman, 2009). Off-task behavior is also a discreet behavior, a requirement in the

use of Event Recording. Being off-task has an obvious beginning and ending. In addition, in this

case specifically, the behavior is not too frequent so as to miss occurrences and disrupt the

accuracy of the data.

It was, further, an important consideration in this research to not be noticed by the student

which was a difficulty overcome only by hiding the recording sheets among a pile of other

paperwork and flipping to it when a new tally was needed. This was the simplest way for this

record keeping to go un-noticed through the variety of activities in which it took place. A record

of the frequency of off-task behavior will be an important tool in determining appropriate

interventions for this student.

The method of Duration Recording was chosen to record the student's lengths of

agitation. It is important to know how much time is spent in an agitated state in order to make

further progress in the treatment of this student. It may be determined that she would benefit


from a new type of medication or other therapeutic treatment. The observation of this behavior

was chosen because it frequently accompanies the off-task behavior but could probably be

addressed relatively easily if any patterns were discovered in its occurrence. It also has and easily

identifiable beginning and end. The total duration of each session was recorded as opposed to the

average duration in order to obtain a more accurate picture of the total length of time spent in an

agitated state.

Data Collection Process

The data was collected at the treatment facility on three different days, chosen randomly.

Each day consists of an observation of three different activities occurring during the same period

of time each day: morning preparation, one class period, and a structured leisure activity. The

data sheets used to note and tally the data are included in the following pages. The first set is a

blank copy of the data sheet used for recording and the second set are the completed data sheets.

Morning Preparation

This is an independently structured hour in which residents are responsible for

completing their assigned chores, doing their personal hygiene, and cleaning their rooms and

personal areas. This time was chosen to observe specifically because of its independent structure.

To get a picture of whether this student has the capability of performing well when she has the

opportunity to work independently since she has such a history of struggle against authority.

Class Period

This is a highly structured hour in which the student receives constant direction from the

teacher. In observation of this period, it will be determined whether the structure may have some


effect ofthis student's agitation. The class period chosen was in the middle of the day, placed

evenly between the morning preparation and the structured leisure activity.

Leisure Activity

The leisure time is a structured hour in which the student has a choice of activities to

engage including a quiet game with peers, writing, journaling, listening to music, reading, or

drawing. Engaging in any activities other than these during this time is considered off-task

behavior.

Collected Data

The following charts graph the data observed in the data sheets to show the results in an

easily understandable format. Charting this data allows for easy communication from

professionals to teachers to parents or in this case, frequently, insurance companies who are

paying for a resident to be in treatment here and want to see if whether or not they are making

any progress.


-----_._----_._-------_ ..._---------------_._-------_.------,

Off-Task Behavior During Morning Prep40

III 35QI

~ 30III•..a 25uo 20'0Iii 15.cElO::JZ 5

o +-------,-----------,----------,Day 1 Day 2

Day Number

Day 3

r---------------------------------------------- ...-

Off-Task Behavior During Class40

III 35QI

~ 30QIa 25u~ 20o:u 15.cE 10::JZ 5 • • •

o +-------------_r-------------.---------~Day 2 Day 3Day 1

Day Number

Off-Task Behavior During Structured leisure40

~ 35us 30•..a 25uo 20'0Iii 15E 10::IZ 5

o +---~~----_r-------------.----------_.Day 1 Day 2

Day Number

Day 3

7


Duration of Agitation During Morning Prep7

6

5\I)

~ 4::::IC.- 3:2:

2

1

0Day 1 Day 2

Day Number

Day 3

Duration of Agitation During Class7

6

5\I)

~ 4::::I.~ 3s

2

1

0Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Day Number

Duration of Agitation During Structured Leisure

7

6

511\

.l!! 4::::Ir:::~ 3

2

1

0Day 1 Day 2

Day Number

Day 3

8


Interpreting the Data

Based on the data collected here, Susan's off-task behavior, except for her morning prep

and leisure time on the first day, averages about six events per period. The extremely high

number of events during the first period on Day 1, and the occurrence of zero events in the last

period, show that her behavior can fluctuate to extremes. Also, knowing that in general, she has

around six occurrences of off-task behavior, a treatment plan could include new and creative

ways to remedy this behavior by scaffolding the approach. Knowing that she does have periods

of extreme defiance and, similarly, periods of extreme compliance, you could know when would

be the appropriate times to be working on teaching the new skills of on-task behavior. During the

times of extreme defiance, you would probably need to come up with a back-up plan used as a

means of "surviving the storm" until she was back to a calmer mindset and more apt to be able to

accept and process new information.

The data charts showing her periods of agitation vary from zero to six minutes over the

course of an hour. There are no patterns in this data, which shows how random her mood swings

are. Knowing that she tends to have at least one occurrence of agitation per day, you could help

her learn more skills in how to deal appropriately with her strong emotions before they escalate

into aggressive behaviors. This student has been in treatment for up to nine months now and is

making little progress. The graphs of agitation probably would have looked about the same as

when she was first admitted to treatment. I would use this data to make a case to send this

student to another facility or determine how to make some drastic changes in her treatment, i.e.,

more frequent therapy, a change in medications, or some focused treatment for handling extreme

mood swings. There seems to be no pattern in her occurrence of agitation and so it would be

difficult, if not impossible to start making treatment improvements.


References

Alberto, Paul A., & Troutman, Anne C. (2009) Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers, 65.

Event Recording Data Sheet

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-t;kh ~ .iF be~ba~~b - E)<c1ft:J9!es'; awbu:-m.':J,.U " '. , l

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'1&, 3 (I--~L.=L&-I' J..-' ----+-~-'--'-=-----,-----+--3·...:...-7---i.i-:>: () \ _e{s?H TtAe

This data sheet is used to record the frequ.ency of abehavior in a given time period. Put a hash mark in thesecond column each time the behavior occurs during thetime period observed. Total the marks to get the total forthe time period.

Duration Recording Data Sheet

Pf}--I Z

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This data sheet is used to record the duration of a behavior in a giventime period. Put the start time of the behavior in the start column andmonitor the behavior. When the behavior ends, put the ending time inthe end column. If the behavior happens more than 3 times in a givenperiod, continue on the next line. Total the time to get the totalduration for the time period.

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