The target behavior in this case is being focused on work. It means that the student should not ask questions, make noises, be distracted, or distract others. When the time is up students should put their pencils down at once. It is necessary to note that all the students put their pencils down when they were told to.
It is possible to note that only one student (out of five) (he was sitting in the middle of the front row) revealed appropriate behavior during the entire test. It is possible to note that his behavior was 100% appropriate, as he was not distracted by anything. He focused on his work and followed the teacher’s instructions. The boy in the first row (on the right) also exhibited appropriate behavior almost all the time. His proper behavior was interrupted only twice when he was distracted by the noises another boy was making and asked him to stop (04:35) and when he raised his hand to ask a question (08:07). The boy in the front row (on the left) was exhibiting appropriate behavior during the first part of the test. Then, he seemed to be distracted as he drew and he used his eraser with no vivid purpose (04:08, 05:07). Though, this behavior could be explained by the fact that the boy completed the task. He stopped working and he was sitting quietly. Thus, it is possible to note that his behavior was quite appropriate, as he did not do any of the inappropriate actions mentioned above. The boy in the back row (on the left) revealed quite appropriate behavior during the exam except for two occasions. He dropped his pencil unintentionally (03:04) and he had to respond to his neighbor who distracted him (06:34, 06:55). However, it is possible to note that he still revealed quite an appropriate behavior most of the time.
The boy in the back row (on the right) revealed an inappropriate behavior as he made noises with his pencil (01:01, 08:34, 14:43), he was humming (02:39, 02:48, 10:28), he made noises with his feet (04:19, 11:09, 11:32), he dropped his pencil (though it could be unintentional) (05:50), he raised his hand to ask a question (06:17, 12:18, 12:34), he distracted another boy by asking questions (06:34, 06:55, 13:00, 13:39). He behaved in an appropriate way for short periods after the teacher’s remarks.
It is possible to state that the majority of students revealed appropriate behavior during the entire test. Nonetheless, only one boy exhibited 100% appropriate behavior.
The observation was not a very difficult task as it was not very long and there were only five participants. It was quite convenient to observe the students’ behaviors through viewing the video recording, as the observer could go back to some parts of the test. However, this opportunity was not used very often, as there were only five boys. It is noteworthy that the boys’ desks were located in a very convenient way and every student could be seen. At the same time, it was sometimes difficult to mark the behaviors of all the students, as there were times when several boys behaved inappropriately and it was necessary to make notes on those behaviors. It can be difficult to observe behaviors without using technology especially when many participants take part in the test.
After conducting a simple frequency measurement, the results are as follows: