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This method documents the length of a behavior by recording the time the behavior begins and ends
When to Use It
When to Use It
When your primary concern is the length of time the student engages in the behavior
When the behavior has a clear beginning and an end
When you have a clear definition of the behavior
Duration recording tells us how long the student engages in behavior
Automatically provides us with how many times behavior occurs
Useful for low frequent behaviors that last for at least several minutes
Not useful for behaviors that occur with high frequency or the behavior starts and stops rapidly
Materials Needed:
A watch or clock to easily reference time
Data collection form (see below for templates)
How to Collect Data
How to Collect Data
Record student name
Provide an operational definition of behavior
Record behavior (use shorthand by putting 'behavior 1' or 'behavior 2'
As soon as behavior is observed, record the start of behavior
Once behavior ends, record stop time on the data sheet
Strategies:
Write the times on a dry erase board until time is available to document it on the data sheet
Use a stopwatch
Templates
How to Summarize Data
How to Summarize Data
Duration can be summarized two different ways:
Percentage of observation with behavior:
Sum the total number of min/sec/hrs that the behavior occurred during the observation
Divide the sum by the total number of min/sec/hrs of the observation
Multiply by 100.
Example: During a 60 minute observation, David had 3 tantrums that lasted 3 min, 7 min, and then 5 min with a total duration of 15 minutes.
% of observation with behavior
15 minutes ÷ 60 minutes = .25 x 100 = 25%
Tantrums occurred during 25% of the observation
Average Duration of Behavior:
Sum the total durations and divide by the total occurrences
Example: Average Duration 15 minutes ÷ 3 tantrums = Average of 5 minutes per tantrum
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