1st Classroom Observation Notes (with Mentor)

Date: November 1, 2017

Actions and context of those actions:

- Excessive tapping on the table and computer; stomping feet loudly on ground continuously
- Has head down on desk instead of working on unit project research
- Leans back in his chair to the point that it almost tips over
- Goes on websites not related to the research he is supposed to be working on
Words and context of those words:
- Makes a lot of noise (oooh and ahhhoo) at inappropriate times
- Distracts classmates easily by talking to them as they walk by his desk
- Look at my binder, papers are falling out everywhere!
- I do not know where my packet went, I need a new one.
- How am I supposed to finish this packet tomorrow?; teacher responds you have had three days
to work on it, if you did not keep losing it, you would not have to restart everyday
Participation in class:
- Does not ask a lot of questions related to the assignment and project
- Asks some questions about non-related topics (i.e. report card status)
- Looks around the room when teacher is giving directions - not fully engaged/listening
Interactions with teacher and classmates:
- Loves to talk to students and not be on task; turns around in his seat to socialize
- Kicks classmates shoes
- Asks teacher when report cards come out for quarter one and ask teacher to rephrase her answer
multiple times
- Teacher asks him to move to front of classroom after excessive socializing and distracting other
students; he asks why and teacher tells him he and the other student need to be separated
- Teacher has to continuously ask student to get/stay on task
- Teacher even showed him exactly where to find the scientific name and other facts he needed to
take notes on about his organism in the article
Performance in your class:
- Currently has a 70% C in the class (science)
- 6/14 assignments are missing missing assignments are half credit all missing assignments
are paper worksheets tendency to loose these a lot
- 8/14 assignments that are turned in, he received a 80% B or higher on most non-missing
assignments are mostly online work/cannot loose easily like worksheets
Other relevant observations:
- Begins new research packet when there are only 8 minutes left in class
- When teacher sent automatic message through BCPS One email reminding student he has missing
assignments, he simply responded back hi
- Of his eight classes, he has one A (visual arts), three Bs (language arts, math, reading) and four
Cs (technology, physical education, science, world cultures)
-
 2nd Classroom Observation Notes (with Mentor)

Date: November 14, 2017

Actions and context of those actions:

- Late to class with no excuse
- Rocking/leaning left and right in his chair
- Continuously stomping feet and tapping hands on desks
- Stares off into space frequently
- Does not close device immediately when originally asked
- Does not call out as often when he is using the device compared to when he is not
- Raises hand to ask the teacher questions
- Takes items out of the bag after being told twice not to do so
- Continues talking to friends after teacher has demanded attention of class
- Makes noises with his mouth/lips frequently
Words and context of those words:
- I dont even want to do this (aloud to himself when he had to read a short paragraph and answer
a few questions related to the paragraph)
- Ugh I heard you (to his classmates
- Ooooh youre in trouble (aloud to class when office made announcement over classroom
speaker to send a student to guidance)
- Dude this looks so realistic (to friend as he was off task drawing on his device rather than
typing up answers)
Participation in class:
- Rarely raises hand to answer questions
- Does not mind raising hand for individual question for teacher, whether the question is on/off task
- Does make somewhat of an effort in group work that involved creating a physical model of
various elements
Interactions with teacher and classmates:
- Asks teacher I dont understand how when he had not read directions yet
- Converses with nearby student rather than focusing on work
- Asks students in his group questions about his atom model
- Asks students what they are buying at the book fair (off task)
- Touches other students phones
- Laughs and jokes with friend at inappropriate times
Performance in your class:
- Current grade in class is 50% (E)
- All assignments for quarter 2 (that began 2 weeks ago) are missing
- Grades in other classes: 74 (C) in art, 64 (D) in technology, 60 (D) in world history
Other relevant observations:
- Does not engage in work until prompted
- Works well in student groups when activity itself is engaging to him
- Left device at end of class, even though he looked right at it as he was walking out of room
 3rd Classroom Observation Notes (with Teacher other than Mentor)

Date: November 30, 2017

Actions and context of those actions:

- Does not open agenda book and copy homework, as teacher has instructed class to do
- Tapping feet and pencil on desk
- Has headphones on his head - not appropriate time to do so
- Does not talk to other students during first half of class, different from in Science
- Leans back in chair and just sits there as his caseworker finds his work in his binder for him
- Raises his hand and waves at me to get my attention (20 minutes into class)
- Throws pencils in trash can over the heads of other students walking by - dangerous
Words and context of those words:
- Wait how do you pronounce it? Et-ee-quit or Et-ee-kit? Huh?
- Ew I dont wanna do that - in reference to homework assigned for the night
- Ugggghhh (loudly) - in reference to having to write 5 sentences about the various students
presentations to the class
- What was that word? (loudly) - to the whole class so that he could write it down on his paper,
even though he was not listening to the presentation and engaging in another conversation
Participation in class:
- Does actively participate when teacher asks question to class sometimes he raises his hand and
blurts out answer; other times he just blurts out the answer without being called on
Interactions with teacher and classmates:
- Teacher has discussion with him at beginning of class about not throwing pencils across the room
and why it is dangerous
- Teacher must ask him to remove headphones
- He talks with classmate while another student is presenting their project in front of the class
- Teacher says to class we are not going to be pounding loud on the table (insert his name here)!
- Student calls out answer, teacher says no no no I was asking Haley* (*Not real students name)
- Teacher tells him that he will see the student at lunch due to a lecture on his behavior; tells him
not to be late; student slams his chair in desk
Performance in your class:
- Currently has a 62% (D) in the class
- 2 missing assignments out of 9 total for this quarter
Other relevant observations:
- When teacher says his side of room looks nice and is behaving well, he waves his hand/cheers
- Does write sentences only when teacher says it is their exit ticket out of class
- Case worker repeatedly tells him to stop talking during presentations
- Case worker takes him out of classroom for excessive disruptions during the last 10 minutes of
class
- Student receives lunch detention after being warned by teacher and caseworker multiple times;
puts head on desk and sulks for two full minutes straight
 School Based Personnel Notes

Date: November 8, 2017

In what capacity do you work with the student?

- School counselor

How long have you been working with this student?

- Since september 2017 (when student started middle school)

What are your experiences with this student?

- Mostly through mediations when student gets extremely upset with other students and needs adult
intervention to cool the situation down before it escalates
- Has not had many other interactions other than numerous mediations due to many students to
counsel
- Student is extremely impulsive and does not think before he acts
- Student needs a lot of emotional support in and out of the school setting
- Has a support team

Thoughts on physical, social, emotional or cognitive needs of this student?

- Most of the goals on his IEP are behavioral goals meaning he is not significantly academically
behind his peers at the 6th grade level
- Student needs to work on his ability to self manage his work as well as control his actions
(physical and verbal)

What might I do better to serve this student in my classroom?

- Allow student to walk away from a situation to prevent escalation
- Encourage student to count backwards (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) and/or take deep breaths
- Provide many opportunities for positive self talk and compliments
- Remind student of his choices to minimize trouble
- Be aware that a social worker assigned to him is constantly working with him

Do you have any insight into the social and academic behavior of this student?
- Surprised that student is labeled ED (Emotional Disorder), seems too far stretched
- Possibly labeled ED for additional adult support
- Had fine motor goals in Kindergarten through 3rd grade IEP, not much on behavioral goals
despite behavior issues in classes
- Had the label of ADHD (other health impairments)
- In third grade, his IEP switched to ED
 School Sponsored Event (non-instructional Setting) Notes

Date: November 15, 2017

Event: School Book Fair

How student is involved in event: Browsing/looking at books and other items to buy

Observations of the event:

- Book fair takes place in school library
- The library is located in an open room surrounded by hallways students get easily distracted
by other students walking in hallway
- Book fair taped items down onto table so students cannot pick them up or take them without
paying
- Within the book fair area, it is tight with not a lot of room to move if more than 3 or 4 other
students are in the same area at the same time

Relevant observations about students social or academic behavior:

- Student did not look at the books unless they were mainly filled with colorful photos
- The student kept touching other students, especially one girl even when she repeatedly asked him
to stop touching her
- Ew get away from me; Please leave me alone
- Student just kept smiling and laughing until teacher intervened
- Student kept showing off to his friends (either appropriately or inappropriately) trying to
please them social acceptance among peers?
- Drew inappropriate images out of the pillow, made his peers laugh

Relevant observations about students physical, emotional or cognitive needs:

- Student seems to want continuous attention by his peers
- Student seemed extremely interested in the posters with various types of vehicles on them -
particularly of cars
- Student looked at some books with colorful photos within the book
- Student was very hyper overall, continued to jump and move around every 30 seconds; could not
stand or sit in one place for long
- Kept playing with the shiny pillow
- Did not immediately go back to the classroom when the rest of the class did did not want to go
back to real academic work

Insight into how to better meet students needs in your classroom:

- Student needs many opportunities to get out of his seat and move around possibly incorporate
more hands-on activities within lessons
- When possible, include photos with text to engage student further in reading
- Possibly include situations involving cars, as that seemed to gain students interest
 Student Cumulative Folder Notes

Date: November 1, 2017

Trends seen in the students attendance, grades and behavior throughout their schooling:
- Student has not missed one day of school so far this school year of 6th grade (starting September
2017)
- In 5th grade, student only had 4 absent days for the entire school year (98% attendance)
- 5th grade report card as follows:
- Language Arts and Math = combination of Bs and Cs
- Social Studies = Cs
- Science = range of As through Ds
- Library, Art, Music, P.E. = combination of As and Bs
- 5th grade teachers comments on student
- Capable of performing well when focused
- Needs a lot of prompting and assistance
- Working on controlling anger and less on those around him
- Too interested in gaining other students attention
- As term progressed, student became more defiant
- Needs continuous verbal prompting and visual cues

Discuss any events that may have impacted the way the student approaches his/her work and/or behavior:
- Beginning in kindergarten, the student expressed aggressive physical contact with other students
and teachers, along with insubordination
- Student had numerous referrals for inappropriate bathroom use (i.e. wiping hands on another
students clothing) during his elementary school years
- An official IEP was not drafted/approved until student was in 5th grade
- On the students IEP, he his labeled as having emotional disorders (ED)

New insights into this student may have resulted from a review of his/her cumulative folder that will
inform your instruction:
- This students IEP has only recently been approved and implemented (December 2016),
including.
- Frequent breaks
- Reduced distractions
- Extended time
- Positive reinforcement
- Preferential seating
- The student does not have educational goals on his IEP student is not significantly behind
content wise in any content areas
 Research Article # 1

Mulcahy, C. A., Krezmien, M., & Maccini, P. (2014). Teaching Mathematics to Secondary

Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Challenges and Practical Suggestions

for Teachers. Preventing School Failure, 58(2), 69-79.

Mulcahy, Krezmien and Maccini highlight the most common challenges and offer suggestions

for teachers who have students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) in their

mathematics classrooms, although the same ideas can be applied in other content subject areas.

Students that have EBD tend to have mental health concerns, poor self-regulation, impulsivity,

attention/memory problems and show low levels of academic achievement (p. 70). One

challenge that students with EBD often encounter is that their teachers are not challenging the

students themselves enough, as the teachers may have lower expectations for their performance,

leading to an assumption that teaching students with disabilities requires a slower paced

instruction and fewer assignments (p. 71). Research has shown that teachers of students with

EBD do not always engage students in rigorous academic activities, but rather focus on basic

skills and behavior for students to master. Many teachers of students with EBD also do not feel

adequately prepared to teach these students their content area, leading to these students not

getting their maximum potential academic instruction. One idea that Mulcahy, Krezmien and

Maccini suggest is that teachers promote effective student engagement and relationships in their

classroom from the very first day of the academic year. While engagement is an important key of

a successful classroom for all students, it is especially important for students with EBD, as
teachers can use their knowledge of their students on a personal level as a way to play on the

individual strengths of each student. Teachers can aso use assessments to gauge student

knowledge and skills to determine whether instruction is working and use that information to

make future instructional decisions since students with EBD often possess large gaps in

knowledge and skills (p. 72). Teachers should also strive to use explicit instruction as they teach

foundational skills, as it has been found to be highly effective for teaching students with

disabilities across content areas (p. 74). Teachers should also provide many opportunities for

hands-on activities, manipulatives and integrated technology along with a three-step approach on

helping students take control of their own behavior through self-monitoring and

self-management, teacher praise and student opportunities to respond, and peer-mediated

instruction (p. 74).

 Research Article # 2

Zelenka, V. (2017). Universal Interventions for Students with ADHD--and All Students. Kappa

Delta Pi Record, 53(1), 37-40.

Valerie Zelenka shares supports and strategies through the Universal Design for Learning

(UDL) framework for teachers to use with students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder (ADHD) in their classrooms. Zelenka highlights how it is important that teachers of

students with ADHD are aware of and understand the type of ADHD that the student has:

predominantly inattentive type, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type, or a combined type.

Once teachers understand the type of ADHD their student has, they can make the best, informed

decision on strategies to implement in their classroom for the student dependent on the type of

ADHD the student has. One strategy to help students with ADHD is to have set classroom

procedures and rules, along with general classroom organization to help minimize student

confusion. Teachers should try to focus on the positive interpretations of rules/procedures rather

than telling students what they are not allowed to do. When it comes to giving instructions,

students with ADHD especially benefit from having directions given in a clear, concise manner.

Teachers can also give the instruction in multiple ways, such as clearly stating the directions as

well as post written or pictorial directions complex instructions may need to be simplified or

repeated (p. 38). When teachers give assignments, they should strive to be adjusted to the

students needs and when possible, give the students options/a choice to choose from multiple

assignments. Teachers should also help their students with ADHD participate in their own

evaluation, creation of an improvement plan, and monitoring of their own behavior and academic
progress [as the] process allows them to take ownership of change and gain pride in

accomplishing improvements (p. 39). One last strategy Zelenka suggests teachers to look into is

using technology in the classroom, as many apps and websites allow easy customization for all

learners, dependent on their skills - a great resource that can be used in a classroom with multiple

different student skill/academic levels.

 Reflection

The student that I have observed during this child study is a 6th grade male who is

identified as having Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. He has only recently had an

Individualized Education Plan (IEP) approved and implemented for the past year. Before then,

he was identified as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) for a large

percentage of his elementary grade years. Currently in 6th grade, the student exhibits extremely

social behavior with both his peers and his teachers. He is outgoing and continuously attempts to

gain the attention of others, even if it is not an appropriate time to do so. The student has a

difficult time focusing on the tasks at hand, as he gets distracted very easily and struggles to

complete and turn in his work. In the classroom, the majority of the interactions I had with this

student was teaching related, asking him to stop talking to other students and focus on

completing his own work. A few times, other school personnel in the classroom or I have had to

repeatedly ask the student to stop calling out answers to the whole class or talking when other

students are trying to speak.

After having the opportunity to meet with the students school counselor, I learned how

the majority of her interactions with the student involve mediations. She is one of the adults that

has to intervene in the situations where the student gets extremely upset with other students and

starts lashing out. His school counselor has to do her best to cool down the student and the

situation before things escalate. I realize that even though I have not witnessed the student at this

level of disruptive behavior in the particular classroom I teach him in, it does not mean that the

student does not have his lashing out moments. The school counselor was also able to give me

more insight into the students behavior in his past elementary school. She explained to me that
she was surprised that the student was labeled as having an Emotional and Behavioral Disorder

and that it seemed too far stretched, in her opinion. As she looked on her computer into the

students virtual records, she noted that he had an unofficial IEP through 3rd grade, where he had

a label of ADHD under other health impairments. This unofficial IEP from Kindergarten

through 3rd grade had the student focusing on fine motor goals with very little information on

behavioral goals, despite the students recorded behavioral issues in his classes at the time.

During 3rd grade, the students label in his IEP switched from ADHD (other health impairments)

to Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. The school counselor felt that they may have done this

so the student would receive much needed additional adult support in the school setting. The

school counselor has told me that having the additional adult support has helped the student

improve on the severity of his behavioral issues in and out of the general education classroom.

I choose to find two research articles on how to help students with ADHD and EBD, as

this student has been labeled as both throughout his school career. In the first article about

teachers helping students with EBD in the mathematics classroom, I was genuinely surprised to

learn how research has shown that teachers do not challenge students with EBD as much

academically as they do with other students and that they are under the impression that teaching

students with EBD requires a slower paced instruction and fewer assignments (Mulcahy,

Krezmien & Maccini, 2014, p. 71). I was also surprised to learn that many of these teachers do

not feel prepared enough to effectively teach their students with EBD. In the article regarding

students with ADHD, I was surprised to learn that there are three different types of ADHD

(predominantly inattentive type, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type, or a combined type).

Teachers need to be aware of what type of ADHD their student(s) have in order to develop and
implement effective instructional strategies for teaching these students. After reading these

articles, I realize how important it is for teachers to understand their students challenges and

have knowledge of effective methods and tools to use to help these students succeed in their

classroom.

In order to better serve the student that I observed, I will personally strive to create

options for as many assignments as I can for the student to choose from, as suggested by

Zelenka. Since I have observed that the student has a tendency to focus more on classwork that

he is interested in, the student may especially benefit from having choices in his assignments. I

will also try to incorporate more online, virtual activities using the student's devices, as he

(along with the majority of his class) enjoy doing activities involving their electronic devices and

tend to have more focus for longer on these types of activities. In addition, I would like to utilize

more formative assessments of how well the student is grasping the content being taught, instead

of waiting until the larger quizzes and unit tests to assess student understanding. In this manner, I

can judge how well the student is focusing and comprehending the material and if he is not, then

I can determine what I need to do as a teacher to help the student relearn the material and be

successful in the class. Throughout this study, I have learned how to discreetly observe and

analyze a student to determine the challenges and potential causes of these challenges a student

may have in my future classroom. I have also gained more insight into tools, strategies and

teaching methods that I should or should not use to help this student better succeed in my

classroom. This child study has not only helped me figure out how to help this particular student,

it has also helped me to understand how to help other students with ADHD, EBD or those that

have similar challenges in the classroom.