By Britain Miethe

Dr. Kimberly Moffett, associate professor of special education at Lee University, recently developed BehaveWrite, a behavior data collection system and application (app).

The app is designed to work with teachers and faculty and other personnel to improve behavior decisions in schools and other professional environments.

“The BehaveWrite app was developed due to teachers not having time to manually collect data,” said Moffett. “Since most teachers are not far away from their iPhone, iPod, or classroom computer, this app enables teachers to quickly choose a student, focus in on a behavior, and record the data in a matter of seconds.”

BehaveWrite is a multi-use app, wherein data can be more easily filed, notes can be attached with the report, and functional behavioral assessments can be completed. In BehaveWrite, reports can be generated in 25 percent of the time of a traditional report.

The idea for the app came when Moffett, a behavioral analyst for the State of Tennessee, was working with local school systems. She found that teachers had difficulty keeping up with data in their classrooms when that data was kept on paper. With technology already such a prevalent part of the classroom, Moffett went to work developing BehaveWrite.

“The BehaveWrite app is designed to help teachers in the classroom quickly monitor classroom behavior,” said Moffett. “It’s hard to juggle all the pieces of paper you need to juggle to get the information you need and not mess up the flow of the class. BehaveWrite helps teachers collect data while still maintaining the flow of the classroom.”

The program, which was officially completed in the fall, launched at a conference in Florida in January, and will be part of a larger expo at the International Council for Exceptional Children Convention in Philadelphia earlier this month.

BehaveWrite has already been in beta testing for over a year in school systems, one of which is Orange Grove Center.

“I have been a teacher for almost 25 years and I have always recorded behaviors by hand until I was introduced to BehaveWrite,” said Mary Lou Bergenback, a teacher at Orange Grove Center. “The app enables my assistants to accurately record data and gives us a graph of each student’s challenging behavior. This graph allows parents and school administrators to learn details about the student’s behaviors.”

Although BehaveWrite is currently being used primarily in schools, it is not limited to the education system. It has many specific uses and can be implemented wherever behavior data collection is needed.

Before she came to Lee in 2004, Moffett worked as a graduate assistant at Tennessee Tech, a research assistant on the Make a Difference Project, a special education resource reading teacher, and an early childhood special education itinerant teacher.

Moffett has conducted research on integrating positive behavior supports in a short-term diagnostic setting for long-term effects – a comparison of pre-school placements for Kindergarten readiness scores, as well as a longitudinal study on behavioral supports in school sustaining appropriate classroom behavior. She additionally provides services and trainings for schools for children with disabilities, and is currently working with school systems to provide proper interventions for students with challenging behavior.

In 2005, Moffett was named to the lists of Who’s Who Among American Teachers, Who’s Who Among American Women, and 2009 Cambridge Who’s Who for Executives, Professionals, and Entrepreneurs. In 2012 she was recognized as an Elite American Educator.

Along with teaching, Moffett serves on several educational committees. She is a member of the Autism Symposium Steering Committee and the Camp Director for Camp Spectrum, a four-day camp for all individuals with autism. She also serves on a national committee for the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) and is on the State of Tennessee Board for CEC serving as president and Lee University chapter sponsor.

Moffett earned her PhD from Tennessee Tech University in 2003, where her concentration was Applied Behavior and Learning. Her dissertation was entitled “Implementing Positive Behavior Supports in a Rural Elementary School.” She has presented research at various conferences including the International Applied Behavior Analysis Conference and the International Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference.

Moffett is originally from Spring City, Tenn. and is married to Bobby Moffett, with whom she has three children: Courtney, Levi, and Nate.

For more information on BehaveWrite, please visit http://behavewrite.com/.