As soon as I received the syllabus, I knew exactly who my case study would be. TJ is a second grade student at the school where I work. I have known him for a few years as I had occasionally substituted in his first grade classroom as an undergraduate. I also know him outside of the school. Prior to teaching, I used to be a private tutor. My tutee’s mother babysat TJ while I tutored her son. TJ is a sweet and kind boy but he has a reputation around school as being a bit of a pain. His teacher has him in the front of her room as he is constantly talking and getting out of his seat. His grades are also not up to par. But, when I asked him to work with me a once a week, he was thrilled. He now asks me each day if we are going to do some extra work together. He even follows me around the lunchroom to find out when our next session is. I believe he might be doing this because he is familiar with me as a private tutor. It has been easy working with him thus far as it is a true treat for him!
It has been quite easy to formulate an educational background on TJ. The school has a Title I program which is implemented to help schools that have poor children meet all of their academic needs. The program is designed to meet the state’s standards and provide extra review for what is being taught in the classroom. He receives extra help four times a week for 45 minutes in both reading and math. I met with his reading teacher and she provided me all of his information from the end of last year. While I did not receive a copy of his reading assessment, he scored in the 20% percentile. At the end of first grade, he was reading at 1.4, meaning he was reading at the fourth month of first grade. I also learned that he received below average marks on his report cards. I also have spoken to his current year and she plans on having a sit-down with me in order to discuss his progress in the next few weeks.
I have done three assessments with TJ: the student interview, a writing sample, and a COW. In his student interview, he described himself as a great reader. (He always shows him the new book that he is reading!) He believes that chapter books are hard to read and when he has trouble with a word, he will ask his mom. TJ genuinely seems to enjoy reading and does it as home with his family. From what I have learned, he has a huge support system at home. I am told that his homework is always excellent but this does not translate on his tests.
I think working with TJ will be both fun and challenging for me. I only did the COW assessment yesterday, but he seems to have a solid concept of word. On the other hand, his writing sample and student interview leave a lot to be desired. His writing sample was quite interesting to read. He included a title without my directions. But, his sample did have any focus or sequence. He described an instance where he was scared when he was in the forest with his dog. He did not provide any information about why he was scared or what had happened. I am contemplating redoing the writing assessment with him. He did not seem tired or unwilling to be doing this assignment with me. In fact, he was excited but could still not even verbally communicate the story to me. This led me to wonder if he was making the story up and was simply following my example about a time when I was scared.
My goal for this case study is twofold. This is a great opportunity to learn how to assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses. I would also like to figure out if his grades are more due to not paying attention or if something else is actually going on. I am going to learn valuable skills to become an effective teacher. In addition, I have a vested interest in TJ as I will probably have in my classroom next year. I hope to learn more about his struggles and what actions can be taken to stop them. I want him to be a great reader and writer all while I can learn how to give out assessments. TJ is very confident and I want to make sure that he can perform at his expected grade level.
Good overview - how old is he? Language background? Interests?
ReplyDeleteTJ is seven years old. He comes from an English speaking household. His true passion is baseball. His teacher was telling me that when he does not do his homework, his mom will take away baseball practice. This results in a huge turnaround in his work until the cycle starts all over again. He also loves to play video games and loves Transformers and Star Wars. He looks up to his older brother in seventh grade. He brought me in a picture of him with his brother when his brother was his age. It was so funny because his brother looks exactly like he does now! I believe that TJ really loves to read even though he struggles with. I say this because he is always showing me his library books and his Scholastic Book Order list. He loves to read mystery and horror stories.
ReplyDeleteI gave him the Test of Phonological Awareness and he did quite well. While I have not interpreted it fully, his errors look to be with the short vowel sounds.
Seems like an interesting case-study student. After reading your overview about TJ, I found myself wanting to know more about his past education and literacy development, as well as what the results of his assessments are like in detail. Perhaps, my curiosity stems from the fact that I am also working with a young boy, from my Kindergarten class, who is similarly always very enthusiastic about doing assessments with me. It has been a positive for me, and it seems also for you, to be working with a student I know and is comfortable with me.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first things to catch my attention is the amount of extra academic support TJ is receiving; three additional hours a week. I wondered if he talks about it with you and, if he does, what kind of feelings he might express about the additional work he goes through in an effort to get him caught up to the state’s standards. As a second grader, he must be very aware of his abilities in relation to his peers. How is his confidence? You mention at the beginning of your overview that his teachers consider him a bit of a pain because he acts up in the classroom. Perhaps, he acts up as a result of personal frustrations, feeling inadequate or incapable of the work that he is asked to complete. I’m trying to consider the position TJ must find himself in and how extra tutoring, or keeping the boy at the front of the classroom, may not be the obvious solution to aiding his difficulties. I like the way you posed the question of Dennis the Menace at the opening of the blog because it demonstrates that you are maybe seeing more in TJ than the school community around him.
It looks like you are unsure about the writing sample you took from TJ, so, as you suggest, a second sample may not be a bad idea. I hope your assessments continue to go well. For some reason I am fond of TJ just from your description without even knowing him and have high wishes for him.