Lessons in a Different Language: Teaching Pre-Service Teachers to "Speak" Data

An undergraduate teacher education behavioral principles course focused on pre-service teachers’ accuracy of data collection using simple technology during a field-based experience is described. Pre-teachers, mostly special education majors, completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of the semester regarding whether simple technology (i.e., stopwatch, tally counter, interval timer) impacted data recording and perceived effectiveness. Interrater reliability was randomly assessed across two K-5 locations in which the pre-teachers tutored elementary-aged students in an after-school program. On-campus and on-site data collection interrater reliability results were promising, demonstrating pre-teacher ability to collect data accurately. Conclusions and recommendations for future practices are provided.