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Nicole Willis Child StudyFall 2013

Child Study Reflection

This student is a tenth grader in a co-taught biology class. He has no IEP, but is a part of Rams Success- which is a program geared towards students who are high risk of dropping out (based on attendance, behavior, academic performance). Although in the past he performs averagely academically and his absences are not excessive- his classroom behavior and tendencies show signs of lack of motivation and carelessness. He passed quarter one, but right now he is failing this class (due to incomplete assignments). While observing this student in my mentors class, I noticed a lot of similar tendencies throughout all three observations. He had a tendency to slouch in the chair, lack of eye contact when speaking to teachers, lack of expression, no participation. Every class he would exhibit these same behaviors- and this includes in my mentors class (biology) as well as observing him in social studies classroom. After reading over all of my classroom observation, I noticed that when he was given independent work he would not begin until he was directly prompted by a teacher to get started. During the second observation however, students were setting up a lab activity, and this was the most participation I have seen from this student- he even asked if his lab set-up was done correctly (showing signs of caring). It seemed as though when he was given hands-on work he cared to complete the work. These observations are the first step in being able to help this student- because in order to help him succeed, I need to know his areas that need improvement. Not only did I observe this student in a classroom setting, but in a school event, as well as talked to his counselor. The meeting with the counselor was effective because he confirmed the same observations I had made about this student in the classroom (lack of confidence, low motivation). He was also able to share some information about this student that allowed me to understand why he exhibited these behaviors. We were able to discuss strategies that we think would better serve this student and one was to place him in groups with friends to keep him motivated and engaged in the lesson. After observing this student at the school event (Rams Success Awards) this confirmed my decision to pre determine groups so that he is in a group with his friends. At this event, he interacted with peers, and watching him interact with friends was a lot different than his interactions with teachers because he seemed much more relaxed, did not look at the ground as often, and even smiled a bit! From this I concluded it would definitely be beneficial to pair this student with his friends and provide hands-on activities because he needs the active aspect in the lesson. I concluded that this student needs help with motivation and reading ability. I thought that an article on student engagement would be perfect because it would help me with hat I need to do to get him motivated in the classroom. Article one made me realize that student engagement is a problem in general, and can be more or less severe depending on the student. Students have different levels of engagement and I believe this student is on the low level. Frondeville not only explained levels of student engagement, but also gave a lot of insight on how to maintain students attention and gave specific examples that I think would work well for this student. One is to have students collaborate with each other and then share. I think this would greatly benefit this student because he exhibits signs of low confidence (always looking at the ground, no eye contact, slouching, etc.); and so talking to classmates before having a whole class discussion I think would make him a lot more engaged into the discussion and lesson. This article also suggest including movement into the lesson in order to keep students actively learning. From my observations at the school event (student chose to stand and socialize in a circle instead of sit) I think moving around in the lesson would help him stay focused and be proactive. The other skill I though this student needed most help with was reading. Article two not only gave me insight on why some students are more at risk of being/becoming struggling readers, but also how to address this. From research and observations, I have reason to believe there are outside factors that affect this students low reading ability. Kelly and Campbell also offered suggestions on how to address the underdeveloped skills of this student. They recommended making sure that reading content is connected and relevant to that students personal life- and if cannot be related, then communicate well so that they can form some connection with the reading. They also offered many other reading strategies (such as printing out smaller words to help them decode larger words) to encourage reading and reading comprehension. From these articles, modifications in the classroom can be made to help this student learn.

The action based-research helped me to develop a lot of instructional modifications that I think would better serve this student. I believe that this student will be more motivated and engaged when paired with friends that he feels comfortable with; therefore, I will pre-make assigned groups for this class to ensure pairs I think will form the best learning environments for students. I also think that active hands-on activities will help keep this student engaged and focused. Therefore I think that whenever possible- hands-on activities should be utilized. Even if notes have to be used- cut and paste part of the notes, or hands-on demonstrations would be beneficial. It is also important to build this students reading and literacy skills (which will take time)- but little activities can help. For example, providing him with a list of Latin prefix and suffix words to help him break down difficult biology terms. Modifications like this are what will make the difference between his disinterest to being actively engaged in the lesson. This whole process will be very beneficial in my student teaching next semester so that I can apply some of these modifications and see how the student responds to these activities. Not only will this project be helpful in bettering this student; but this process in general can be repeated in my future classes. The practice of studying your students and learning more about them is important for every class of every year. I believe that students learn best when they have a teacher that knows them- because she can then develop content that relates to them. Although this process may not be as in depth when doing a study of all of your students, the aspect of getting to know your students is the same. You need to observe their routines, habits, and learning preferences so you determine areas of weakness so improvement can be made. The same process can be utilized for whole class- observing class dynamics, individual preferences, conducting student surveys to get to know your students. Then taking this data and analyzing it to figure out what you need to focus on. Then I can take this data to do some research and apply the research in the classroom. Overall this project was not just beneficial in helping me to modify instruction for this specific student, but also learning how to apply similar procedures in my own future classroom. Article SummariesArticle 1- How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class

This article introduces a concept known as dead time- which the author explains as synonymous for lack of engagement. She explains how to convert dead time into active learning by summarizing ten things teachers can do to engage their students. Not only to get their students interested but eliminate drifting off and increase engagement throughout the entire lesson. Some recommendations include making sure to warm up your students minds and have them collaborate with other classmates and then share;. There are two suggestions that focus on building teamwork and collaboration skills in the classroom to aid in creating a warm classroom environment. Other suggestions include incorporating physical activity and movement into the lesson. Overall the article had plenty of resourceful tips on how to engage students and keep them actively learning. Article 2- Helping Struggling Readers

This article had two main focuses: why some students are more at risk of being struggling readers and two, how to address struggling readers in the classroom. The author explains that life experience, role models, and how they develop their reading skills have a huge impact on a students reading ability. Also, visual perception and learning disabilities can also influence ability to read. The authors main message is that if a teacher proactively focuses on these students underdeveloped skills, improvement can be made. Suggestions such as phonics and comprehension and listening instruction, as well as tutoring and extension activities. The author is adamant about focusing on the underdeveloped skills in order to achieve student success. Citations:1.) Frondeville, T.D. (August 3, 2011). How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class. Edutopia. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-student-participation-tips2.) Kelly, C. Campbell, L. (2012). Helping Struggling Readers. Johns Hopkins University.

Retrieved from: http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/strategies/topics/literacy/articles/helping-struggling-readers/[Type text]

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