Running head: CASE STUDY: PRINCIPLE 7 1

Case Study: Principle 7

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Introduction

A case study can be described as an intensive observation of a person or group which

yields data that can add to the understanding of said group or person. Self-regulation is just one

of 20 different principles of teaching and learning. According to American Psychological

Association (2015), self-regulation can assist in learning and these can be taught. These skills

consist of organizing thoughts and materials, focusing and attention, planning and skills to assist

with memory, such as mnemonic devices. There are many ways that a teacher can help a

student learn self-regulation skills (Lucariello, et al., 2015). In 2007, researchers stated, "Our

findings suggest that children who have difficulty regulating their emotions have trouble

learning in the classroom and are less productive and accurate when completing assignments,"

(Graziano, Reavis, Keane, & Calkins, 2007).

In this case study we will discuss a student by the name of Lilly (not real name). Lilly is

12 years old and has had some issues in the past with self-regulation skills. She gets frustrated

rather easily and can become rather violent in many cases. Although she is only 12 years old

Lilly is much bigger than her peers and many of her teachers, in height and weight. Lilly is in

the 5th grade. She was held back in 1st grade due to poor performance and was not meeting the

minimum requirements to transition to 2nd grade. At that time, she was referred to special

education for testing. It was determined that Lilly has autism and emotional disturbance. Lilly

was placed in a special needs’ classroom with support during inclusion times.

AIMS

The purpose of the case study is to discuss how self-regulation can be taught to enhance

learning material through direct instruction. Self-regulation can be taught via modeling and the
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way a classroom is organized and how well the structure and environment are in conjunction to

student success (Lucariello, et al., 2015). A student may become violent when frustrated or

triggered, but through self-regulation, that student can also become a success and learn to

manage that behavior and use skills taught that allow for learning.

Method

The research process in integral to a case study. In this case study the research process

was data collection based on observation. The data collected through observing Lilly during her

meltdowns was based on when she had meltdowns, how long they were, what triggered the

meltdown and what did it take to get her back to the present on level ground after she

experienced an episode. We observed Lilly over a 3-week period and recorded data based on the

observations. We did observe that when Lilly did have an episode the teaching that was going

on around her and with her was not absorbed. This was noted based on questions asked after an

episode where Lilly could not reflect what was being taught at the time of her episode.

Results

During many episodes that Lilly experienced, that we noted in our data collection was

brought on by experiencing a difficult lesson. A lesson that Lilly was not confident in her

knowledge. She decided to act out instead of focusing and paying attention because she was

afraid that she could not understand that information provided by the teacher. Lilly would begin

her episode by repeating the word “Pikachu” over and over. This usually alerted our staff that a

violent episode was about to commence. Lilly would then begin standing and sitting repeatedly,

then she would move on the upending chairs and desks. During one episode a behavior

specialist came in to intervene and as soon as he laid a hand on Lilly she shoved him against a
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wall where he hit his head hard needing an ice pack later. The research tells us that Lilly has

trouble concentrating when she is faced with material that she finds too difficult. The research

also tells us that Lilly is experiencing periods of violence because she does not understand how

to regulate her frustration level.

Discussion

It is important that Lilly learn how to self-regulate her emotions and frustration level in

order to not become violent. It appears that once she enters into that violent stage she almost

blacks out and does not remember much during or right before the episode. It is important

because Lilly needs to learn to regulate those emotions to function in the real world. She cannot

go around being violent every time she encounters issues where she is frustrated and faces

something she finds too difficult. Unfortunately, life is full of difficult choices, issues and we as

a people get frustrated during every day life. If Lilly does not control this and learn to regulate

herself she could physically hurt someone and end up in jail or prison. Lilly is a bright student

and self-regulation will help Lilly learn how to regulate herself to maintain friendships, jobs,

family, as well as leisure activities.

Recommendations

Lilly can learn the skills to self-regulate. The skills to self-regulate will help Lilly

academically by regulating her frustration level and in turn allowing for non-violent behavior to

manage herself. This can be taught. With Lilly, I would recommend time in a motor lab style

room to alleviate some frustration prior to learning new material (Turke, 2016). It would also be

helpful to allow for some “heavy work” when Lilly begins to be frustrated (Turke, 2016).

Something else that may help Lilly is a short social story on what happens when we become
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frustrated and what things we can do to help ourselves regulate our behavior in order to be

present in the learning process. A social story can be short and at the student’s fingertips at any

given time. This social story can also point out what the student can look for to pin-point when

he or she is becoming frustrated. The student loses focus, and begins to sweat, their breathing

can start to get fast and they may feel their heart beat begin to increase. These are all things the

student can be aware of, so they can recognize the need for self-regulation. A safe place for Lilly

to go before she enters the violent phase to calm down will also be helpful. Something I would

introduce would be a choice board for Lilly. If it appears Lilly is becoming frustrated she can

use a choice board to choose an activity that she can do to alleviate the frustration. This helps

the student feel that they are in control and can help themselves. On this choice board I would

allow three choices, motor lab for ten minutes, heavy work for ten minutes or safe place for ten

minutes.
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References

Graziano, P. A., Reavis, R. D., Keane, S. P., & Calkins, S. D. (2007). The role of emotion

regulation and children's early academic success. Journal of School Psychology, 45(1),

3–19.

Lucariello, J., PhD, Graham, S., PhD, Nastasi, B., PhD, Dwyer, C., PhD, Skiba, R., PhD,

Plucker, J., PhD, . . . Pritzker, S., PhD. (2015). TOP 20 PRINCIPLES FROM

PSYCHOLOGY FOR PreK–12 TEACHING AND LEARNING. Retrieved July 19,

2019, from https://www.apa.org/ed/schools/teaching-learning/top-twenty-principles.pdf

Turke, S. M. (2016, November 11). Using heavy work activities to help students focus on

schoolwork. Retrieved July 19, 2019, from http://specialedtech.net/2016/11/11/using-

heavy-work-activities-help-students-focus-schoolwork/