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Rebekka Inglefield
SCED 499
Dr. Edgar
Child Study

I chose this student to analyze because she is one of my challenging students in my

standard class. This student is constantly blurting out disrespectful comments to other students

and is rarely on task. I have had problems with this student not respecting me in the classroom

because she chooses to believe, since I am not Ms. Kerr, I am not her teacher. I chose to analyze

this student to understand more about her and research the best strategies for teaching students

with behavioral outbursts.

This student is a 9th grade female and is a mix of Asian, African American and White. She

lives with both of her parents and her brother who is in fourth grade. This student has never

missed a full day of school. She has no special services at the moment, but I do know that the

school is working on creating a 504 for her. There was a meeting scheduled, which I was going

to attend, but was cancelled due to a maintenance issue at school. She brought with her 89

service learning hours from middle school. From the standardized test scores the guidance

counselor could pull up for me, she is proficient in 8th grade science. I am unfamiliar about her

other subjects. The counselor said she took the Algebra PARCC exam, but that no score was

posted. I also collected her marking period one grades. She received a 2.5 last marking period.

In my mentors class she received a B, this is not surprising. She is a bright student and is a good

writer when she chooses to participate. That is one specific reason I choose to study this student.

My mentor teacher and I have had several conversations about this student and her behavior. She

could be in honors English if she cleaned up her language and adjusted the way she acted and
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treated students in class. An honors teacher will not have behavioral outburst in their classroom.

She is taking eight other classes in which her grades span from an A to an E. She received one A,

four Bs, two Cs and one E in Geometry. I have heard on several occasions that hates her math

teacher and that she recognizes she is failing. I decided to have my second observation be in her

Geometry classroom.

When my mentor teacher and I emailed her Geometry teacher to ask if it was okay for me

observe my student in her classroom we got an interesting reply. Her geometry teacher said,

Thats fine with me. Should be an interesting study. [this student] has some issues with another

student in that class, and she is not a fan of me or the class content. But Rebekka is welcome to

come in. I observed this class for about 60 minutes and noticed she did not pick up her pencil

more than maybe once or twice. Student has not completed any work in this class. She is turned

sideways in her chair with her feet up on the empty chair next to her. During the first part of class

which was teacher instruction, she was not completing the math problems along with the teacher.

She was instead whispering and talking jokes with the students around her. She has been on her

phone multiple times (taking pictures of other students on the other side of the room, when the

teachers back was turned). Constantly sighs when is asked to complete work. It is now

individual work time on a worksheet and this student has not picked up her pencil to do any

work.

This Student displays no respect for the teacher. She has not tried to participate or learn in

any way. When the teacher comes over to check on progress, or asks if she has an answer she

sighs, she may turn around and look at the paper, but then turns right back around and continues

socializing.
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While a lot of my observations are similar in my mentors class and this geometry class,

the main difference is the relationship my student has with my mentor teacher, Ms. Kerr. The

student will participate at times when my mentor teacher is able to engage her into the lesson.

While observing how this student and my mentor teacher interact I am always taking notes so I

can learn from these interactions.

I also observed my student during her lunch period. She did not act inappropriately in any

way. This tells me that she blurts out in class for attention rather than not being able to control

her outburst. She sat with a few students from our first period class which tells me they are

friends. She did switch tables to talk to some other students, but other than that she did not move

or walk around during lunch. She was one of the first people to sit at the table with her lunch and

then was joined by her friends. She did not try to leave lunch early, or act inappropriately in any

way.

When I researched strategies to teach students who display behavioral outburst I got a

mix of research. I looked at journals that are discussing physical violence, which is not

something she displayed in any of my observations. One educational journal I think had some

great strategies is called, Strategies for Teaching Students with Behavioral Problems, and was

written at Concordia University. This article discusses the task it puts on a teacher when there are

students in the classroom with behavioral problems. The article places a significance on every

teacher understanding these skills, because being able to teach a variety of students, and teaching

a lesson in which all students get equal attention is an example of an exemplarily teacher. One

strategy the article discusses is how to handle in-the-moment problems. Reducing privileges and

granting praise are two strategies for handling behavioral problems. Privileges can be put in-

place between the student and the teacher, as well as a rule system. When that student does not
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act appropriately in class that day and does not follow the rule system then certain privileges are

taken away, such as being able to use phones during home-room. Praise is also an amazing

strategy in which I have seen my mentor teacher implement. Praising positive behavior, instead

of always managing negative behavior is a great tool for teachers. My mentor teacher

acknowledges positive behavior a lot in my standard class because so many students have

behavioral problems. The praise phone calls are another strategy my mentor teacher uses. When

the student I am studying has a great day in her class, she will call home to her mother letting her

know. That is a great tool for building relationships, as well as praising that positive behavior.

Throughout all of my observations, as well as analyzing certain educational journals I

feel like I have learned more about this student and can begin working on strategies and building

that relationship with that student during my full-time teaching.