Case Study

1 Corey Stawicki Instructor Syahril Te803 Sec.016 Case Study: Student F Case Study: Hypothesis Student F has perplexed me on multiple occasions throu hout the year. !owe"er# I am startin to see some trends in their work and $eha"ior. %ased on their work and $eha"ior inside and outside o& class# I ha"e hypothesi'ed that the student wants to et a ood rade in class to show he is success&ul to his &riends# peers# and parents. This concept o& success in class and in li&e is apparent in (illin ham)s text# *Why dont students like school?. (illin ham pronounce that humans want to succeed and &ear &ailure. +(illin ham 6, I $elie"e this can $e seen in the trends o& the student)s $eha"ior and work in class. (here they want to succeed and show they succeed $ut do not want to put a lot o& work in $ecause i& they do not et a ood rade they will look like a &ailure i& they do poorly. -ne such trend is that the student does their work &or the class $ut it is mostly o& low .uality or /ust $arely reaches the minimum re.uirements. !owe"er# the student has shown to put more e&&ort towards lar er assessments such as pro/ects and test# which ha"e a lar er e&&ect on students) rades in the class. %ased on this analysis# it is apparent that the student does at least want to et a ood rade in the class. This desire &or a ood rade has also shown in his $eha"ior in positi"e and ne ati"e ways. In ne ati"e ways $y askin me or students &or the answer rather than doin the work# which shows he "alues the rade o"er the content. !owe"er# the desire to et a ood rade has led to some positi"e $eha"iors such as Student F comin a&ter school $ecause they missed a day o& class and had di&&icult understand some o& the next day)s content. They showed initiati"e $y i"in up some o& their &ree time &or

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0 the course and durin this time they were much more &ocused than in class. Thou h this increased &ocus was most likely do to them tryin to et throu h the material as .uickly as possi$le so they could lea"e. I also had the ood &ortune to speak to Student F and their mother at parent teacher con&erences. Student F)s mother seemed admit on the student F doin $etter in class and student F appeared to ha"e not done well enou h &or their parents standards. 1lso durin parent teacher con&erences I noticed whom student F and his mother were talkin to# student F)s &riends that I o$ser"ed predominantly were in 12 3S history# which may ha"e an e&&ect on student F)s $eha"ior and desire to ha"e ood rade $ecause than they can show their success throu h a rade. The desire &or success is not the only thin that moti"ates and controls student F there is another component to them that is a little $it harder &or me to na"i ate. 4y second hypothesis &or student F once a ain concerns one similar component and that is the &ear o& &ailure $ut has an extra component# that extra component is that they are an 566 student. 4y second hypothesis is student F &eels or is a&raid o& $ein *othered7 as an 1&rican immi rant# does not want to show he is di&&erent and that there are aps in his 5n lish. This hypothesis is more di&&icult to access &or me $ein that my &irst lan ua e is 5n lish# and as Claude 8olden$er # points out in his text# Teaching English Languages Learners# o& tryin to learn alon with e"eryone else and stru le

simply $ecause o& a couple o& words +8olden$er 9:10,. Thou h I ha"e no &irsthand experience with student F)s situation there are $eha"iors and e"idence o& the lan ua e $arrier. 1s &or the students work there penmanship is poor $ut is this $ecause o& the lack o& writin or a co"er to protect 5n lish errors# I $elie"e it is a little $it o& $oth. I $elie"e this $ecause when asked to type somethin the student is much more con&ident in their writin and less worried a$out spellin or

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3 word use $ecause o& the computer. This student sometimes calls me o"er to clari&y words $ut mainly only on test# which leads me to $elie"e they could use more help on e"eryday work as well $ut &ears $ein called out or *othered7 $y their peers. The student sometimes will not $e doin what they are supposed to $e doin and when I ask them i& they are understood the directions# I am mi ht with mixed responses# and I $elie"e there are more misunderstandin s than they con&irm. 6astly# there is the $eha"ior and it is less his $eha"ior and more o& other students) $eha"ior. I ha"e noticed some students call student F weird or odd# which when I notice that I make sure to halt that kind o& talk. !owe"er# I am not that na;"e to think I hear and see all in my class and I $et the students make &un o& student F. These are the reasons I ha"e &or the actions# $eha"ior# and work o& student F.

Case Study: Evaluation 5"aluation o& my actions in class< $e it as a whole or &or indi"iduals is a di&&icult task &or me. This is $ecause a &ew reasons# &irstly I am teachin which can $e all:consumin # the second &actor when e"aluatin mysel&# I ha"e nothin to really compare it to. (ith that $ein said this does not mean I cannot e"aluate mysel& $ut rather I must ha"e certain plans in order and see how they are enacted within the class. The pre"ious parts o& the case study $uilt:up my plan and course o& action on how to reach one o& my more trou$lesome students# and so &ar it has $een met with mixed results. The &irst and most simple course o& action &or this student)s was an assi nment o& new seats and where he would $e closer to me on a"era e. I mo"ed e"ery$ody not to sin le out him $ut to /ust ha"e a new &resh start in which we can all hope&ully $e more producti"e. I made sure this student would sit near me in the classroom# so he would $e less likely to $other other

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= students &or answers and distract them. The &irst &ault in this plan was that I am really /ust in one spot in my classroom# so I am not always near him. 1t the same time i& I am near him now he will /ust interrupt class to ask me .uestions at inappropriate times. >ow# that I am closer and ha"e $een workin with him more he expects this the whole class period which is o$"iously not conduci"e to teachin . This need &or me and attention was mildly &ueled $y my &irst action e"en thou h he does not ask his peers as many .uestions now. This lead me to another one o& my actions# which was to write:up a contract with him# thou h we ha"e not written one up# yet we are on ood rounds i& need $e. 1&ter he started interruptin me durin class or when I was talkin to another student# I took him to the side o& the classroom and explained appropriate time &or .uestions. This helped a little $it with the interruption $ut he still had many .uestions that a"e him si ni&icantly more attention than other students. This is where a part I planned on includin in my contract comes in I told i& he is really ha"e a di&&icult time with this material than to come in a&ter school and I will ladly answer his .uestions &or him. !e was responsi"e to this idea and stayed a&ter the next day to o o"er material where he could et the one on one attention he needs and desires. Thou h I cannot do this e"ery day# I hope it will lessen his worries and .uestions durin the day knowin this is an option when necessary. The part o& my action plan was to try to et him more in"ol"ed in the class were he can share more a$out himsel& in class to hope&ully help him &it in more and &eel more com&orta$le in class. It is di&&icult to desi n ways to do this co"ertly# and then enou h times so that students $etter understand this student. I until I can think o& a $etter way or a more concrete way to implement this part o& my plan# I cannot truly e"aluate this plan. Thou h most o& what I talked

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? a$out in this e"aluation was the ne ati"e# which does not mean there were not positi"es there were some shi&ts in $eha"ior and attenti"eness. !owe"er# o"erall I see this as a work in pro ress $ecause my plan was not executed as planned and I still do not truly understand what moti"ates this student in my class. Case Study: Solutions To respond to any student)s $eha"ior it is important to note that rarely i& not e"er is there one solution that will alter the $eha"ior. This is crucial in tryin to &ormulate a possi$le solution and@or solutions &or a student)s $eha"ior. (ith this $ein the case I know that the $est course o& action &or tryin to reach my case study student is oin to $e some com$ination o& solutions that will &ocus on di&&erent "aria$les o& the student. Thou h my solutions may "ary# the oal and &ocus remain the same# reachin my case study students in "aryin de rees. This concept o& usin multiple theories comes &rom Summers article# Cognitive Approaches to Motivation in Education# she looks at di&&erent theories merits and &aults. She oes on to explain that rarely is there one theory or solution that &its all# and this is what I $elie"e will $e necessary to reach student F. 2ossi$le# solutions include the student position in class# allowin an opportunity to share in class# and &inally the student)s expectations &or the class. These &ew solutions could ha"e colossal e&&ects on reachin student F. The &irst possi$le solution is mo"in student F)s seat in class. Somethin as simple as a seat chan e can make a world o& di&&erence &or some students &or a multitude o& reasons such as whom they are seatin $y# their proximity to the instructor# the set:up o& a classrooms# amon st others. The possi$le $ene&its to mo"in the student so he is in closer proximity to me is that I can assist more easily as well as keep him more &ocused on the lesson. !owe"er# other students &ind

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6 student F &rustratin $ecause he is constantly askin &or answers and in&ormation that he needs to disco"er or de"elop himsel&. I must also must $e wary o& not /ust mo"in student F so I am not to sin le him out any more than he is $ecause o& his ethnicity. !owe"er# he will hope&ully not ask so many .uestions to students around him and ask them to me in the &orm o& actual .uestions not /ust searchin &or an answer. (ith him $ein so close to me I will $e a$le to mana e some o& his ne ati"e $eha"iors@ha$its. The close proximity to me will hope&ully increase the student en a ement and lessen his &eelin o& $ein othered $y his peers This solution has some ne ati"es $ut I &eel the potential positi"es out way the ne ati"e $y &ar. 1nother solution I see as a "ia$le $ut less likely is i"in this student an opportunity to share a$out himsel& and his li&e. The &irst real draw$ack to this solution is that how do I i"e him opportunity to share this in&ormation with the class without me sin lin him out e"en more. 1lso I cannot allow e"ery student share their li&e story in the middle o& the year. So I must dis uise how in&ormation a$out this student can $e shared with the whole class so they can $etter understand where he is comin &rom. I will try to add elements to lessons that allow students to connect the content more with their li&e and ha"e student F share his in&ormation more than others# so students will et to learn more a$out in hopes they will welcome him more and he will &eel more com&orta$le in class. So his peers can know more a$out him like that his &irst lan ua e is not 5n lish and that is a reason why he stru les some time. 8olden$er explains the

importance o& 566 students usin their primary lan ua e helps them $etter understand the content at hand to use their lan ua e and their li&e to connect. !owe"er# I reali'e this solution may not $e the most e&&ecti"e &or my student $ut does o&&er a di&&erent means o& addressin the hard to reach student.

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A Beachin this student may take a more direct approach to ha"e this student participate in the class as desi ned. The student is moti"ated to et a ood rade $ut does not wish to put the work or e&&ort into doin well in the class. !e would $e &ine copyin the answers &rom his peers. Cnowin he wants to succeed in class I would like to make a contract with him that we will write to ether and i& he &ul&ills the contract he will et an 1 in the class. !owe"er# he must stay on topic in class and not interrupt others I will keep a daily tally o& his slip ups and we will set the amount that is accepta$le. In this contract he will also ha"e to come a&ter school at least twice a month so we can o o"er any material he &ound di&&icult or did not understand. This student has already taken some initiati"e and has met me a&ter class when he was a$sent two days in a row $e&ore. This will $e away &or us to check:up with one another and see how he is &ul&illin his contract. So# that he can meet his oal o& ettin an 1 and I can ha"e a $etter $eha"ed and more en a ed student in class. This is my most drastic solution $ecause ideally I could ha"e him $e a lar er part o& the class throu h more en a in thinkin acti"ities +(illin ham,. !owe"er# my already attempts to $uild this kind o& thinkin as (illin ham explains in the article# Why Dont Students Like School? $ut it does not seem to connect with this student. Thou h# I do not $elie"e this one solution will $e a$le to reach this student to my desired le"els# $ut $elie"e a com$ination o& these solutions would pro"ide me with the $est chance to reach this student.

CitationsD 8olden$er # C. +0008,. Teachin 5n lish 6an ua e 6earnersD (hat the Besearch Eoes: and Eoes >ot FSay. A erican Educator# +pp. 8:03# =0:==,. Summer# G. +0008,. Co niti"e 1pproaches to 4oti"ation in 5ducation. In T.6. 8ood +5d.,# !" century education# A re$erence hand%ook +pp. 1=0:1=8,. 6os 1n eles C1D Sa e

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(illin ham# E. +0009,. (hy Eon)t Students Like SchoolH %ecause the 4ind is >ot Eesi ned &or Thinkin . A erican Educator. +pp.=:13,