Elena Plenda TE 803 Case Study: Reaching More Students Step 1 Our public education system seems to be an increasingly

hostile place. The message from the media seems to have an anti-teacher slant these days, and now our state has passed right-to-work legislation that has the MEA and the teachers in my placement school nervous. Teachers I have talked to feel as though they are under attack, with cuts to their pay, benefits, and resources, but increasingly higher outcome expectations for their students, on which their pay increasingly depends. In this worrisome environment student apathy and disrespect for the teachers and the school seem to be on the rise. As a new teacher, I need to consider how I will fit in to this imposing world. In what ways can I compensate for this unfriendly environment, overcome the apathy and hostility, and reach as many students as possible? I think it is an inherent desire of new teachers to want to reach as many kids as possible in their classes. We want to share our love of our subject, and our understanding of how it fits into our larger world. Yet as new teachers, this can seem an insurmountable task. Our students are all so different. They come from different places, expect different things, and see their future in drastically different ways. I do not even know where to begin with some of these kids. Many of our classroom management and motivational theory resources suggest starting on a personal level. So that makes this Case Study assignment make sense. It is a good place to begin, a place to start building our teaching toolbox, a place to learn how to begin reaching more kids. I am going to begin with my focus class. My focus class is a team-taught World History class. It is the only world history class assigned to my mentor teacher, the others are all taught by a different teacher in the building. I have been building the curriculum for this class since the second week of school. I even wrote their semester exam; yet I constantly worry that I am not managing the class well, or reaching some of my students. Because the class has two teachers the class was filled with students that have known behavioral issues, or other difficulties with school. They are more likely to disrupt the class, and less likely to complete their work. I have chosen two of these students for my case study. The first student I would like to focus on is a young male student I will call Bob. Bob qualifies for special services, and has an IEP. However, earlier this year he made it clear that he was not interested in special services. He outright refused the assistance of the team teacher for this class. This has made things difficult for Bob as the accommodations done for the World History class are done in pull-outs. This appears to be the method the special education teacher has developed in working with my mentor teacher. (Contrary to the other special education teacher who works with me in the American History team-taught class, where we both stay in the room and teach and assist together.) The special education teacher has indicated that this could in part be due to the fact that he does not want to lose face in front of his friends. He does like to socialize with his particular group of friends, chatting with them in the class and roaming the halls with them during passing period and lunch. He has at least one particular

friend in my class with him, a girl. Bob has refused to take the modified tests for which he qualifies, including the semester final the class will be taking Tues, Jan 22. He has been struggling with the tests and quizzes given in class, though he is very capable when it comes to completing classwork. At least, when he completes the work and turns it in, it does show understanding of the content. Bob used to put his head on his desk and try to nap earlier in the year, but I refused to allow this and continually disturbed his slumbers. Now he is better about paying attention in class, though there are some days when he does more socializing than work. Then there are days where he derides others for disturbing the learning atmosphere of the classroom. He will break out with derogatory comments, Your voice is so annoying, or yell at other students to shut up. Other days it seems he will close himself off entirely. He sits hunched in his desk, not talking to others in the class, even rebuffing them when they try to engage him. If I inquire as to how he is feeling during these times, he will admit to not feeling well or being tired. I contacted Bobs mother at one point, to let her know about a project the class was working on, and she was friendly and helpful. She expressed concern for Bobs school performance and encouraged me to keep in touch. I felt pretty good about this conversation. Bobs mother did mention having three other sons to worry about, without talking about any other adult figures in the household. It has come to my attention that Bobs brothers do not share a last name with him. She did not come to talk to me during the first parent teacher conferences, though I am told she was there. The special education teacher told me that she did not speak to Bobs mother either, nor had she expected to do so. Her expressed opinion of Bobs mother was not very high. She considered her more an adversary than an ally, supporting Bob no matter his behavior or school performance. Bob seems a curious combination of contradictions, making it difficult for me to decide what I ought to do for him. He will say hello to me when passing by in the hall, and is generally cheerful towards me. One day when turning in two assignments he missed while absent he asked, Arent you proud of me? I, of course, admitted I was glad he had done the work. Bob has expressed to me a dislike of the special education teacher; she has described him as rude, stubborn, and uncooperative. His expressed attitude toward his own learning seems rather ambivalent. Hell talking about doing his work and improving his grade one day, while the next he will not participate in the class at all. Bob shows signs of brilliance at times when we go through the content, pulling meaning from the text that troubles other students, but is also content to let others give him the answer some days. He does express concern with passing the class, but is content to pass with a D-. I would like to encourage this student to expand his horizons, and show him his potential. I would like him to want more than just passing. So I welcome the opportunity to study him and the situation, and pull him into the group of students I reach. The second student that I would like to choose for this case study is a female student that is currently failing my focus class. I have tried to let her know at least twice this past marking period when she is falling behind in her assignments, but she never seems to catch up. She will turn in a couple of her missing/late assignments, but not enough to bring her up to a passing grade. As things stand now, not even a perfect score on the semester final would be enough to have her pass the first semester. She is also repeating American History with my mentor teacher during 3rd hour, where her grade is even worse. This student is frequently confrontational with my mentor teacher, though I cannot tell if it is in

good fun or actually antagonistic. For example she will say things like, Im gonna beat you up Raz or Get out of my face, Raz. My mentor teacher certainly does not take it seriously, he never writes her up or reprimands her for such talk, and the student has never acted on her words. Before Thanksgiving break, this student stormed out of my classroom swearing when I refused to let her sleep in class. I was worried about further attitude from her afterwards. She still does not do her work, but she has not spoken of the incident. This student, I will call her Jill, is capable of doing the work. When she reads in class she does so generally clearly and accurately, with mainly pronunciation errors. Her work, when completed, is well done. She does seem to miss quite a bit of school, but not so much that she would automatically fail the marking period. She rarely completes work missed after being absent. For some time this year, I was worried about Jills ability to read. She constantly refused to read out loud in class (even when everyone in the class was taking a turn), and performed very poorly on her tests and quizzes. She was usually rescued by an in-class friend who would read for her, both in US and World History. It is only recently that I have heard her read. She actually volunteered, when doing so earned her some extra credit. She read well, fluently and clearly. Right before break, in my world history class, Jill performed well on the chapter quiz I had given and stated: Studying really does make a difference. This was shortly after I had given her a list of her missing assignments, and her current percentage in the class. She did turn in some of the assignments from the list as well. Since that time, she has passed a vocabulary quiz, and a chapter quiz both with an A-. She has actively participated when we play games in class. I would like to know how to maintain this momentum for her, how to encourage her to become the student I know she can be. She did not end up passing the first semester, but she only needs to work a little bit harder to change that. I am hoping some thought and reflection during this case study will help maintain improvement we seem to have gained together. Step 2 I have had both Bob and Jill in my class for a full semester now. I have been teaching the focus class for the bulk of that time. As suggested by the Teaching ALL students resource, I have considered all that I have observed, and the data I have gathered about these two students. Although I have some concerns about the economic situations of both these students, it is not an uncommon difficulty for my school (some 70% of students qualify for free or reduced lunches). So it is not a situation unique to them, and a consideration in all my lesson planning. For example, time to complete assignments is always given in class. Supplies for completing assignments, including paper, coloring utensils, computer access, loaned pencils and books are always provided in class if they are required for the assignment. So it is not a lack of a safe, supplied home environment where they can work that keeps these students from completing their assignments. However, it could be things in their home environment that affect how they are feeling physically and emotionally in and about school. I suspect from things that have been said that it may not be as supportive/safe/ predictable as one would wish. This is a situation largely out of my control. I can learn to be more understanding of the effects this can have on Bob and Jill, as

suggested in MSCM1. I have, over time, come to be more supportive of both Bob and Jill when they are obviously tired or not feeling well. If I ask them if they are well and they respond negatively I will encourage them to call home, or take it easy that day in class. However, I will remind them that they are still responsible for the classwork, and will need to have it completed by the due date. This is not usually the case. It is much more frequent that Bob and Jill are not doing their work despite feeling perfectly well. They are more often socializing instead of working. I think there is an emotional aspect for both Bob and Jill that I need to consider. Bob is sometimes bad-tempered and touchy in class, but seems to have a good attitude toward me. I have seen Jill being very confrontational with my mentor teacher, but much more relaxed with me (aside from the one incident). They have both generally improved in their work over the course of my student teaching year, during which time I have developed a relationship with them (and all my students). In contrast Bob and Jill seem antagonistic toward the other teachers in the classroom. These other teachers have worked with the students before, and seen them fail. I would hypothesize that the students are impacted by the lowered expectations of the other teachers, while I continue to expect them to succeed and do well. I will let them know what assignments they have missed, and request that they turn them in as soon as possible, while my mentor teacher will do nothing. I am pleased to have seen Bob and Jill more interested in doing their work for me. I like having a relationship with them that lets me push them a little harder than I could at the beginning of the year. However, the improvement over the year so far has not been enough. There is still more of a gap that needs to be bridged between their current progress and that required to pass the class. So while the personal relationship is important, I believe that the most effective use of my attention and efforts, will be helping Bob and Jill to motivate themselves. Student motivation is a common concern among teachers. Without motivation, students may not even attempt a task, let alone try their best, complete it, and turn it in. Motivation is frequently cited as the reason why certain students do not perform well and school. It certainly must be a factor when students are academically capable of the task given them, but they still do not complete it. The question then becomes, how can teachers improve student motivation? When answering this question, *i+t is helpful to think about stimulating motivation to learn in terms of an expectancy value2 model. This describes motivation as the multiple of a students expectation of success and the value of the assignment. So to increase student motivation, the teacher needs to try to increase either the students confidence in their abilities, or how they view the worth of the assignment, or both. If I want to be the most effective teacher I can be, then I need to try to reach more students. I need to use this Case Study to learn more about teaching techniques for the students, but also so I can become the teacher I want to be. Both Bob and Jill have shown that they can do the work. Their assignments when completed are generally done adequately. So when it comes to daily assignments, I am not worried about either Bob or
1

Novodvorsky, Ingrid, and Carol Simon Weinstein. Middle and Secondary Classroom Management: Lessons from Research and Practice. 4th edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011. 148-149. Print. 2 Novodvorsky, Ingrid, and Carol Simon Weinstein. 215-238.

Jills expectation of success. This is a concern when it comes to tests and quizzes, however. Bob has definitely developed the belief that he will not succeed at tests and quizzes, and as a result, I think no longer even tries. Jill, by contrast had been doing poorly on tests and quizzes until improving her scores after studying. I was sure to reinforce her when she said that her success was because she had studied. I hope that by highlighting this success I will further increase her expectations of success on these sorts of tasks. Bob will need a little more attention. He had more success taking the modified tests offered by the special education teacher. It is possible he could repeat that success if I could convince him to accept the special education services for which he qualifies. His resistance to this service may be socially based, however, so I would need to find a way to arrange this that would not make him feel like he stood out. Alternatively, I could offer more assessment options than just a traditional test. Bob is not the only student who could benefit from different assessment styles, so that should be the first option I pursue. Success in alternative assessments could show Bob (and others) that they really are learning, they really do understand history, and perhaps increase their overall expectation of success in the class. I believe that the greatest problem for both Bob and Jill is that they do not feel that the work they do in my class has value. Given what I have observed of them, and learned about them, I think there may be a couple of reasons for this. I believe that both Bob and Jill may be of lower socioeconomic status. They may have less educated parents and more distracting home-lives, and this makes it more difficult for them to see the value of school in general and perhaps World History in particular. I need to make the content seem more worthwhile to them. I have consulted the book by Novodvorsky and Weinstein to help me come up with ideas to do this. Bob and Jill both seem to tune out when I am trying to lecture or have a recitation-style class, but they perk up when expected to respond more actively, such as during a game or simulation. Bob enjoys video clips, but Jill tends to fall asleep during movies. Both Bob and Jill have been more likely to complete an assignment when allowed to work with their peers, working with a single partner in particular. Group work seems to push them to socialization instead of classwork. Neither Bob nor Jill have done particularly well with finished products. I have never gotten one from Jill, and the only one I received from Bob was when the product could be a video game proposal (set in the historical period we were studying). When making a product, the students are always given at least two choices, so that particular strategy would not appear to be effective either. Both Bob and Jill seem to value their work more when they are able to work collaboratively with a peer, or respond actively. Bob and Jill are not always consistent in their behaviors, but I think there is a set of patterns that I can work with here. The resources available have helped me think about common themes. Bob and Jill are really not all that different. Although there are clearly some differences between them, it does seem like they can both benefit from very similar things. It is my hope that these things will also benefit the rest of the class as well. Step 3 My hypotheses about Bob and Jills behavior suggest that I should try a couple of different approaches when it comes to improving their performance in my class. I should continue to try to develop the personal relationships with these students. I should also try to increase their motivation to

complete their work. There are several ways that I can do this, so I will need to consider multiple alternatives. The personal relationship can be a very effective method in getting through to difficult students. There is a lot of literature regarding this. If students see their teachers as people who care about them then they are more willing to work for them, and take their tasks for them seriously. In interviews, high school students state quite clearly that they want their teachers to make an effort to know them.3 I have certainly noticed improvement in the attitudes of both Bob and Jill. It is something I will continue to pursue and use to engage them in class. I spoke with Mrs. Joseph, the second special education teacher I work with, about getting students to complete work. She regularly checks with each of the students in our team-taught American History class. This is not merely checking the grade book for zeros, but actively going to each student to see if they have completed the work. It is a more personal check that both holds them accountable and continues the development of the teacher/student relationship. There is a lot that can be said for the student knowing the teacher has noticed when work is missing or incomplete. I could try this technique for Bob and Jill. Bob in particular seems to want me to notice when he catches up on his work, so personal contact for that could be particularly effective. While I may not have time to check individually with all of my students during class, I can check regularly for missing work, and get back to the students with a personal note and a request for the assignments. While I want them to be responsible and do their work on time, I also want them to learn the materials regardless. So I could accept late work with a percentage penalty (departing from my mentors rule), and regularly encourage my students with such missing work to get it done. This could be a good strategy for all of my students who tend to get behind in their work. I could also try just touching base with them, asking how they are doing to get that personal connection outside their school performance. I am particularly concerned about motivation for both Bob and Jill. It is my intent to focus on this aspect for them in the coming weeks. I will make an active effort to increase the value they attribute to their assignments. I could arrange for more partner work in class, especially something interactive, more than just filling in a worksheet together. The more I can build in collaborative learning activities into my lessons, the more they will value their contribution. Alternatively, I could try to add more opportunities for active responses, games, simulations, perhaps something that has the students getting up and moving around. I can plan some discussions that draw on the students opinions, so that everyone, including Bob and Jill, can contribute. Simulations that enact past events would get students actively involved and draw them directly into the content. This could help all my students understand the actions of historical figures, and their results. This could also include drawing on my students experiences, so I can relate them directly to the content. Another option I think could be worth trying is a reward for work well done, just little things like stickers on the assignments in question. The entire class might enjoy that. I have already seen some success in improving the academic performance of both Bob and Jill through developing a personal relationship with them. However, this was not been enough of an
3

Cushman, K. (2003). Fires in the bathroom, advice for teachers from high school students . (pp. 1-35). New York, NY: New Press, The.

improvement to raise their grades to passing in the first semester this year. So I believe the most effective strategies will be those based around improving their motivation. I think the most effective strategy for Bob will be introducing more opportunities for active responses. While Jill does enjoy games, I think she benefits from partner work that is monitored to keep track of her effort and progress. I think she wants to be held accountable for her work and use of class time, particularly given her different attitude towards me against how she treats my mentor teacher. I hope for success for both of these students, because I know they can do so much better than they had done in the past.

Step 4 The case study has been an interesting experience. It was a good opportunity to look at things thoughtfully and reflect on my practice. I took advantage of the opportunity to combine my practice and the lessons MSU has been trying to give us as new teachers. There is often a disconnect between the two classrooms in which I spend my time. As such, it can be difficult to reconcile practice with theory. The process of the case study forced me to put the two together, which was something I, as a new teacher, needed. It gave me a format for thinking, planning and implementing, a format that will continue to be helpful in the future, as I try to improve my teaching. If nothing else, I have gained that. The success of my case study is somewhat more complicated. The implementation of my case study was complicated by outside circumstances. The first thing that I did was to go through my grade book and find all my students that were earning 65% or less. My two focus students were within this range. I made of lists for all of these students of the assignments they were missing, and handed them out in class while they were working on their assignment for the day. I spoke with each of the students a little bit to let them know that I wanted them to complete the late work, but that it would receive reduced credit since it was so late. I spoke to the entire class, letting them know that I would accept late work until the assessment, so that no student would be denied the opportunity. Jill accepted her list with a thank you, assuring me that she would do the work and get it in. Bob also asserted that he was working on his back work, and he would have it in by the test. The day of the assessment, Bob did indeed have some papers to give me. His grade was brought up to a D-, despite a poor performance on the test. Jill was absent the day of the assessment, and for several days afterwards. At this time she has more missing assignments than when I gave her the listing. The next strategy I attempted was an alternative assessment. Instead of giving my students a traditional test for the chapter (which was about early African kingdoms) they were able to do an alternative assessment. All my students received instructions on the assessment, which was to show me what they had learned during the chapter. They could choose a variety of formats (timeline, annotated map, graphic organizer, comic strip) and the specific content they wanted to convey within certain guidelines. In addition, students could choose to do 2 of these to earn some extra credit on this assessment. However, it was during this time that Bob missed several days of school. I later found out from him and another student that he had been having difficulties at home. These difficulties resulted in Bob spending a night in a detention center, and he is now in a probation program. He now talks of

leaving the school and perhaps the state entirely to go live with another relative. I did talk with Bob upon his return to school, letting him know that he had been missed. I gave him the work he had missed, which included the alternative assessment. I have been contacting him regularly since his absences to try and get him caught back up. He has continued to get in some of his work, but he is still missing some assignments at this time, including the alternative assessment. So I cannot say if this would be a good solution for him and his difficulties with traditional tests. Jill, who had some absences of her own, also did not turn in the alternative assessment. I have also taken the time to speak with her specifically. She assures me that she will do it, but has not turned in anything to me at this time. The third strategy that I attempted was an interactive vocabulary assignment. I allowed the students to help each other, and they had to cut and paste definitions and pictures to match up with the vocabulary words. Although some students complained about cutting and pasting, others were pretty enthusiastic. Jill was helpful in going to the office to request more glue sticks. She completed the assignment and turned it in. She got all of the definitions in the correct spots, though some of the pictures were often. Nevertheless, it was completed, and time and care had been taken on it. Bob did not complete the assignment. I have spoken to him about it, and he may yet turn it in before the assessment for that chapter. I had planned a couple of interactive activities that were pushed aside for MME testing and half days for parent-teacher conferences. This meant that Jill was out of the class for nearly a week (I saw her only Monday.) Bob was in class, and this is when I reconnected with him after his several days of absences. He is in the process of catching up on his work again, with some assignments submitted to me. I have a simulation planned for next week, but the results of that cannot be used for this case study. If I had to call this case study either a success or failure at this time, I would have to go with failure. My two focus students are not doing well at this time. Jill has been more frequently absent in this last month than she was at the beginning of the semester, and her grade has fallen with it. Although I have given her the work she missed, she has not completed it to my knowledge. I feel as though she has been slipping away, rather than getting closer. I was pleased with the result of the more interactive vocabulary. It is clear that my hypothesis for her and interactivity was correct. However, the personal connection does not appear to be effective in this case. Bob has had other issues that interfere with a solid conclusion. He is struggling to catch up after his absences. I still hope I may have reached him better, and that he will end up with an improved score and understanding of the content. However, at this time it is difficult to make a definitive call. He has had many issues outside of school that have been distracting him during this time. I have mixed feelings at best about the case study. I was hoping for better, more definitive results. It remains a good lesson on teaching strategies and implementation. It is also good to consider the influence of outside events on all your students, and your attempts to teach them. Although I feel I have failed at the directed intent of the case study, which was to better reach my focus students, I know it was also a good exercise in a more general sense. I did not reach my intended targets, but I did notice other students who benefitted from the strategies I used for them. I did not reach my focus students during this time, but there is still a month left in my internship, and I can still try some other strategies. I

am trying to look at this case study as a learning experience, and not a success/failure. I have learned quite a bit about my focus students, and how to go about motivating my hard to reach students in general. I have learned how to connect with these students on a more personal level. This did not yield immediate academic results, but it did make the relationship less contentious. I did not succeed, but I did learn. That will improve my chances of success in the future.