TE 402 Student Case Study Assignment

Note: Titles and parts written in plain text are meant to be included in your final report. Notes in red italics (including this one) are advice on writing the report that you should erase from the final versino before submitting it.

Name: Partner: Mentor Teacher: School: Date:

This assignment has two sections. The Gathering Data section describes how you will get the information you need for your case study. You will not turn in the notes or data that you gather while doing this section. The Case Study Report section includes a template for your report. Gathering Data

1. Select a student for your case study. This should be a student who is not the student you are studying for your special education project, but who has problems with disruptive or off-task behavior or who does not seem to be motivated to learn. Check with your mentor to see if this student is an appropriate choice. 2. Observe your focus student whenever you have a chance during class, as well as before and after class—even in the hallway. Look for patterns in his or her behavior and keep notes about incidents that illustrate those patterns. Try to notice:  The nature of the situations where problems are likely to occur. What are the social and academic expectations in those situations?  How your focus student acts. What are some important patterns in your focus student’s behavior? How do those actions fail to meet social or academic expectations?  Clues about the goals of your focus student’s behavior and the responses of the teacher and other students. What social or academic goals does your focus student seem to be pursuing? How might choosing those actions satisfy social or academic needs that are important to your student?  The nature of the academic work that the student gets done. What are the consequences for the student’s grades and understanding? 3. Look for occasions to work with or help your focus student. Talk with your student about his or her interpretations of lessons, assigned work, or incidents that take place in the classroom. 4. Discuss your focus student with your mentor teacher and with other professionals who know this student, such as other teachers, counselors, or administrators. Try to learn what they know about the student’s background, patterns of work and behavior in other classes, and successful ways of working with the student. Look at the student’s CA60 or other school records if you have permission. 5. Read about ideas relevant to the student and his or her responses to school. Start with Weinstein and TSMU (including relevant chapters or sections not required as assigned reading). Add other references recommended by your mentor or other teachers, instructors, or your colleagues. Case Study Report

Use the headings in this section for the four sections of your report. Describing Observations and Patterns in Your Student’s Actions Describe two or three specific incidents that illustrate important patterns in your focus student’s behavior. Describe the patterns that these incidents illustrate. Use your discussions with your mentor and other adults to provide additional information about patterns in your focus student’s behavior. Criteria for Describing Observations and Patterns:  Are your descriptions of the incidents specific? Do they include the four kinds of data listed under number 2 above?  Do your descriptions of patterns include both social and academic components?  Are the patterns that you describe illustrated by the incidents?  Do you describe confirming or disconfirming evidence about the patterns you describe based on your discussions with your mentor and other adults?  Are the patterns you describe consistent with the explanations in the next section?  NOTE: Your descriptions and patterns should not be evaluative; rather, they should describe specific acts or interactions or patterns. For example, the statement. “He is unmotivated” is neither description/observation or pattern, though it might be the explanation for your observations and patterns that you eventually arrive at.

Possible Explanations for Your Student’s Choices Explain possible reasons for the patterns you described based on your reading and your discussions with your colleagues and teachers. What goals does your focus student have for his or her behavior, and how does that affect his or her choices? Are you aware of aspects of the student’s background, family life, or responses to other courses or extracurricular activities that help you understand the problem? Criteria for Explanations for Your Student’s Choices:  Did you use ideas from any of our readings (e.g., Weinstein, TSMU, Llewellyn) in your explanations?  Did you think about why your student’s motivation (expectancy times value) for resistance might be higher than motivation for cooperation?  Do your explanations include both social and academic components?  Is your explanation consistent with the examples and patterns described in the first section?

!//#, Page 2  Did you make use of other information about your focus student’s background or responses in other situations?  Do your explanations illustrate how your student’s chosen actions make sense to him or her—how the actions might help to satisfy some social or academic need?

Ideas to Help the Problem Suggest ways in which you or other teachers might be able to help this student change his or her goals and choices in science classes. These suggestions could include ideas about how to change aspects of the science class that are especially difficult for this student, even if they are not practical for your mentor’s classroom this year. Criteria for Ideas to Help the Problem  Do your suggestions address underlying reasons for the problem as well as the student’s behavior?  Have you considered all that you have learned from your readings, observations, and discussions in developing your suggestions?  Have you considered the impact of your suggestions on the learning, behavior, and sense of fair play of other students in the classroom?

Trying the Ideas (Optional) If possible, try out some or all of your ideas as you work with your focus student. Report on how the student responded and the difficulties you encountered. Discuss what you learned from trying out your ideas.

Discussion with Your Mentor (Optional) We encourage you to share a draft report (or your informal observations and ideas) with your mentor before you have to turn this report in. If you are able to do that, briefly describe how your mentor responded and what (s)he added to what you had noticed.

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