Schavion Smith

9.25.14

Vignette 1

Classroom Management

Secondary
Tom has been a member of your History class for nearly three weeks now, having transferred from
Wilson High School after the Christmas break. Although he seems to be a nice young man, it is obvious
that his classmates have not accepted him. Small-group projects designed to involve Tom have not
helped. Tom remains outside an otherwise cohesive group. The other students seem to ignore him, and
he seems to ignore them; however, you have not seen any signs of hostility on anyones part. What do
you do?
Who are the players?
The major players involved in this situation are Tom and his small group cohort. The minor players are
the other students and myself, the teacher.
NOTES: Tom is affected because he is not benefiting from small-group communication. The team is
affected as well. Since Tom is not involved, they may be making decisions without his involvement. The
team may also be doing all of the work. Tom loses the benefit of learning how small groups functions.
Other students in the class are minor players because they may be on the receiving end of this small
group. For instance, if this is a class presentation, Toms ideas may not be represented in the
presentationonly the group. As a teacher, I am player because the small group that includes Tom is
not meeting expectations to function as a group if the Tom is not involved in a group project.
What is the problem?
The problem is that small group projects designed to help Tom be accepted by his classmates are not
working.
What are some possible solutions to the problem? How can this be resolved?
This can be helped by asking students to breaking down the project into project roles, and writing down
who is going to do what. I can offer my assistance if they need help to determine what those roles are.
The way this would work is first I would ask each student to figure out what the project entailswhat
needs to be done to do the project. Students can share their collective answers. Then I will ask students
to write their names down by what they feel confident in doing.
How can you connect the class readings? What have you read that might help you understand this
problem better?
One of the things I thought about when I shaped my response was providing an opportunity for students
to correct their behavior. On page 31, the author writes, If we believe student behavior problems often
represent skill deficits, this is not realisticcreating multiple opportunities for students to develop
needed skills.