Zack Williams

Shadow Study
02/12/15

Shadow Study
I conducted my shadow study on a student named Kent who is a sophomore and in one of
my classes that I am student teaching. Kent is infamous around the school as being a lazy,
unmotivated, and at times, insubordinate student. Most of the teachers, including my cooperating
teacher, do not have very nice things to say about Kent. Often a teacher will simply just kick
Kent out of their classroom and send him to office because he, just doesnt listen or care.
Kents grades reflect his unmotivated nature as well. He is failing almost all of his classes.
In terms of Kents background, he lives with his grandma and does not get to see his dad
very often due to off and on incarceration. Kent hangs out with friends who have had run-ins
with the law already. Kent has also been known to participate in illegal activities. In fact, I had
asked Kent what his plans were for the weekend one day at school and he replied, Probably just
get drunk. Kent might have said this for a shock and awe effect but his record indicates that his
statement could have possibly been true.
The first class that Kent had was Physical Education. The class was coed and in the gym.
I arrived five minutes before the class started and spoke with the female teacher. I noticed that
some of the students had already dressed out and were waiting for the class to start. The
students sat in the bleachers of the gym. After about ten minutes, students began trickling into the
gym. The last student to arrive and sit down was Kent. I noticed that he sat by himself and a
couple seats away from everyone.
Once the last student (Kent) arrived and sat down, the teacher told all of the students to
begin their warm-up routine. The students then all got up and begin jogging from one end of the
court to the next and basic calisthenics. Kent lagged behind the entire time and was always the
last one to finish a particular exercise. I also noticed that he kept watching the teacher to see if
she was looking at him, when the teacher was not looking, Kent stopped doing the exercise until
she looked back at him. After the students were finished with their exercises, they sat back down
on the bleachers and waiting for instructions from the teacher.
Again, Kent sat by himself and away from the other students. The teacher then began to
tell the students that they would be finishing up their ping pong tournament and if time
permitted, they would learn some dances for the approaching Homecoming dance. Kent
immediately blurted out, Im not going to the dance, so I dont care about the dances. The
teacher responded, Well everyone is going to learn the dances whether they are going to the
dance or not. Kent rolled his eyes at the teacher and pulled out his phone and began messing
with it, clearly not listening to anything else the teacher was saying.

After the teacher finished with the agenda for the day, she told the students that those
who were not playing ping pong could shoot baskets while they were waiting their turn. She then
had the first two teams go to the ping pong table. Kent was not one of the first teams to play in
the tournament so he picked up a basketball and starting making baskets. Again, I noticed that he
was by himself and did not have any interaction with the other students. He made several baskets
in a row but missed one shot and immediately threw the ball high into the air and then kicked the
ball up into the bleachers. None of the students around him or the teacher (who was not in the
gym but by the ping pong table just outside the gym) noticed that he had kicked the ball. Kent
walked slowly to get the ball and then walked slowly back and began shooting baskets again.
After fifteen minutes of Kent shooting baskets by himself, the teacher came into the gym
and told Kent that it was his and his partners turn to play ping pong. Kents partner was a girl
and they were to play another team that was made up of two boys. The two teams then began
playing ping pong. I observed that Kent was fairly good at ping pong but his partner was not as
skilled as he was. Several times during the tournament, Kents partner missed a shot or hit the
ball on their side. Each time Kents partner failed to get the ball over the net, Kent got visibly
frustrated. At one point, Kent got so angry with his parent that he slammed the ping pong paddle
on the table and threw the ball as high as he could into the rafters. The other players did not show
any signs of reaction to this behavior; I found this to be quite interesting, I believe that Kent
often acts in this way so it is nothing new or alarming for the other students. The other team just
simply picked up the ball and started playing again.
Eventually, Kent and his partner lost the game and again Kent threw down his paddle,
however, the teacher was there to witness the action this time. The teacher told Kent to, please
not throw the paddles down, and Kent just simply walked pass the teacher acting as if he did not
hear what she said. Kent then went to shooting baskets by himself again.
With thirty minutes of class left and the tournament over, the instructor went over
information that would be on a test for next class. Kent again sat by himself and pulled out his
phone once again and began playing on it, not really listening to the teacher. After the teacher
finished reviewing for the test, she told the students to go dress out. Once again, Kent was the
last person to come back to the gym.
After everyone was back from dressing out, the teacher then passed out the students
progress reports. She informed students that if they brought back the progress report with their
parent or guardians signature on it then they would receive extra credit. When Kent received his
progress report, he looked at it for a couple of minutes and then threw it in the trash and sat back
down by himself. A few minutes later the bell rang and Kent left (by himself) to go to the next
class.
Kents next class was History with an older male teacher. Before class began, Kent
crowded around a group of three other male students who looked to clearly be his friends. Kent
sat on top of one of the desks in the classroom and looked visibly happier than when he was in
P.E. When the bell rang, the teacher came in sternly told Kent to get off the desk, go to his desk,
and begin working on his bellwork. Again, Kent slowly meandered to his desk. I noticed that

Kents desk was at the back of the room and close to the teachers desk. At the same time, the
only person surrounding Kent was the paraprofessional. Therefore, in similar regards to the P.E.
class, Kent was relatively by himself in this class as well.
Kent worked on the board work but after a couple minutes had passed, I noticed that he
pulled out his Ipad and began playing games. I am not sure whether or not Kent actually finished
the board work but if I could make a guess it would most likely be no. Then after twenty minutes
had gone by, the instructor began a lecture on the chapter that the students were to have read
before class.
During the lecture, Kent looked unengaged, bored, and unattached. He mostly sat with
his head as low as he could without actually having it on the desk and played on his Ipad.
However, at one point, one of his friends made an inappropriate remark which the teacher
dismissed quickly but Kent laughed and smiled over at his friend. This was the only time during
the entire lecture that Kent showed any signs of being attentive.
Following the lecture, the teacher had the students watch a video and take notes. Kent
took notes for about five minutes and then put his hood up, laid his head against the wall, and
looked like he was asleep (he very well could have been asleep). I did not observe Kent move or
even budge from that position until the teacher had someone turn on the lights after the video
was over.
The remaining minutes of class were devoted to time for the students to complete a map
exercise that they had started last class. The teacher informed students that they were to turn in
the map at the end of class. After the teacher had said this, Kent asked the teacher if he could
have another map because he lost the first one. The instructor looked a little annoyed at this
request since the assignment was quite lengthy and there would be no way Kent could complete
the assignment by the end of class. However, the teacher gave Kent the map and told him (Kent)
that, he had better get on it and get as much done as he could. Kent got to work on the map but
did not show any signs of haste. When the class was over, Kent had not completed even half of
the assignment but turned it in anyways. He did not show any signs of distress or
disappointment.
The second hour history class illustrated a marked contrast from that of the P.E. class for
Kent but some components stayed the same. The environment was certainly different, a
classroom compared to a gym. Kents outbursts were non-existent in the classroom setting but he
was far more disengaged. Kent also seemed to respond better to a male teacher as opposed to a
female teacher. When Kent was redirected by the male teacher, he (Kent) responded with quiet
yet slow approval. However, when Kent was redirected by the female teacher, he (Kent)
responded with verbal back talk and disrespectful actions (such as eye rolling and purposeful
ignoring). Also the differing element of having his friends in class changed the demeanor (if not
for a few minutes) of Kent. He did not seem as annoyed and reckless in his behaviors in the
history class as he did in P.E. On the other hand, there were components in both classes that
remained the same. In both classes, Kent was isolated for a good portion of his time in class. Any

time he attempted to converse with the teacher or his friends, he was immediately shut down by
the teacher. Also, Kent showed signs of disengagement in both classes and a lack of interest.
Kents third hour class was Science. He arrived to class five minutes late and was the last
student to come and sit down. The teacher did not say anything to Kent about his tardiness. I
noticed that in this particular class, Kent sat once again closest to the teachers desk but it was at
the front of the room this time. Also, the students sat in pods of four students per every two
tables. Kent sat at a pod made up of him and three girls. Additionally, this class had two
paraprofessionals that were present in the back of the room.
For the first fifteen minutes, the teacher sat at his computer while the students idly chit
chatted. Kent did not speak to the girls at his table but instead played on his Ipad. One of Kents
friends who was in the previous class sat two tables away but Kent had his head down and was
engrossed in playing his Ipad. Once the teacher was finished doing whatever it was that he was
doing, he stood before the class and began lecturing. The teacher passed out outline notes of the
powerpoints that he was lecturing over as well. Kent once again looked completely disengaged
and just simply kept his head down and played on his Ipad the entire time. At one point, the
teacher asked the students to look up different types of genetic disorders. Kent did not move
from his position and simply kept his head down. The teacher then walked around the room to
make sure that everyone was doing the assignment. When the teacher got to Kent, he (the
teacher) told him to get his head up. Kent complied with the request and got his head up but after
ten minutes, Kent once again put his head down. After fifteen minutes, the teacher went around
the room and asked students what they had found in terms of genetic disorders. When the teacher
got to Kent, he asked what Kent had found and Kent replied, I didnt find anything. The
teacher looked disappointed at Kent and moved on to the other students. Kent immediately put
his head back down after the teacher moved on.
After the teacher went around the room, he then put on a video for the students to watch.
Kent then put his hood up, slouched in his chair, and started playing with the strings on his hood.
He did not even look over to the screen of the video. At one point, he tried to call over to his
friend during the movie. However, his friend either did not hear him or choose to simply ignore
Kent. Following the video, the teacher instructed the students on an upcoming project. He
provided the students with several examples of creative ways to do the project. Then he told the
students to get into groups of two to three and begin working on ideas for the project. Kent once
again just sat at his table and did not move. The teacher noticed this action being taken by Kent
and went over to him. The teacher asked him, who are you planning on working with? to
which Kent replied, Another student but he is not here today. The teacher then told Kent that
he still needed to work on gaining research information for the project and walked away from
Kent. After the teacher walked away, Kent once again put his head down and went back to
playing on his Ipad. Kents disengaged behavior continued up until the bell rang fifteen minutes
later.
Kent seemed less engaged in the science class than he did in the history class. I think one
element of this discrepancy has to do with the demeanor and discipline between the two teachers.
The science teacher was much more laid back and for the most part let Kent do what he wanted.

The history teacher, on the other hand, was more on top of Kents behaviors which most likely
led to him being more engaged in class.
Kents last class of the day was Math. Once again, the teacher for this particular subject
area was a male and the classroom was set up in a more traditional fashion of desks in rows.
Kent walked in just before the bell rang and started talking his same friend that was in his history
and science classes. After the bell rang, the teacher told Kent and his friend to sit down. Kent
kept talking with his friend but slowly made his way to his seat, which was located at the front of
the class and this time not directly next to the teacher. The teacher then explained that they would
be going to the computer lab to work on a math tutor program. He then dismissed the students
and followed them over to the computer. I noticed that Kent and his friend stayed next to each
other the whole time and sat next to each other in the computer lab.
When everyone was in the computer lab, the teacher told the students to log on and begin
the tutor session. Kent and his friend were still talking with each other and laughing. The teacher
went over to Kent and his friend and calmly told them to stop talking and get to work. Kent and
his friend stopped talking for about 10 minutes and then started up again. Also, Kent did not start
working on the tutor program. When the teacher noticed that Kent still hadnt started the
program and continued talking to his friend, the teacher moved Kent over to where he (the
teacher) was sitting.
When Kent had to move over toward the teacher, he began to finally work on the tutor
program. The teacher even let Kent put in his headphones while he did the program. Kent
seemed to be engaged once the teacher had removed him from the distraction of his friend. The
teacher would have to get Kent back on task every now and then, but for the most part Kent did a
good job of completing his work.
After about an hour, the teacher dismissed the students back to the classroom. Once in
class, the teacher gave the students a quick bathroom break. The teacher emphasized that he
wanted everyone back after five minutes because he wanted time to go over examples for the
upcoming test. However, as had been par for the course that day, Kent came back after eight
minutes had passed and was the last one back in the room.
The teacher did not say anything to Kent or even mind that he was late. Kent walked
listlessly over to his desk. The teacher then passed out the review and worked out several
problems with the students. Kent was engaged and even answered a question. However, at one
point, Kent threw a paper ball across the room at his friend when the teacher had his back turned
to the students. None of the other students really reacted to Kent throwing the paper ball but
Kents friend found it really funny and was getting ready to throw the ball back at Kent when the
teacher noticed and told him sternly, Do not throw that ball. Kent then replied from across the
room, Why not? but the teacher just simply ignored Kents comment and got back to reviewing
for the test. Kent smiled back at his friend and then started working on his review again. After 15
minutes, the bell rang and class was over. Kent waited until his friend was ready to go and they
both left the classroom at the same time.

The final period, Kent was in seminar. The science classroom in which Kent was in
earlier in the day was the location of his seminar class. Kent once again meandered into the class
five minutes after the bell rang and once again, the teacher did not make any comments. Kent sat
at a table next to the one he sat in during science class. This time, however, Kent sat with a pod
of two girls and one boy. When he sat down he immediately put his hood up and put his head
down while playing a game on his Ipad. After ten minutes, the teacher announced to that class
that everyone should be reading something to which Kent replied, No thanks. The teacher just
simply ignored Kents remark and went about his business.
For the remainder of the seminar (about 20 minutes), Kent simply played on his Ipad and
did not follow the teachers directions to be reading something or working on homework. The
teacher never got up from his desk to monitor the students so Kent did what he wanted to do.
Kent also did not respond or interact with any of the other students (which he was supposed to do
but is something that needs to be pointed out).
It was interesting for me to conduct this observation on Kent since I had heard so many
terrible things about from teachers. I was surprised to see Kent have what I would consider to be
a relatively good day. This observation makes me wonder if it is the other block days that Kent
struggles with the most. However, I do feel that there are several key triggers or factors that lead
Kent to misbehaving or acting out that I observed. The first trigger would be whether or not he
has a male or female teacher. Kent seems to do better with male teachers as opposed to female
teachers. He was definitely more disrespectful to the female teacher. To be fair, though, I only
observed Kents interaction with one female teacher so it could just be that he does not like that
one teacher. Secondly, Kent responds better to discipline and structure which in turn helps curb
his negative behaviors. He was the best behaved in the history class. Additionally, Kent was on
time for the history class and even early to class. I found out later that the history teacher is very
strict about giving students a tardy if they are not in the classroom when the bell rings. It makes
sense then that Kent would be early to this class but consistently late in his science and seminar
class, where the teacher was not concerned with him being late. Third, Kent was more engaged
with hands on activities as opposed to the normal lecture and worksheet method of teaching.
Kent stayed engaged during the computer lab portion of his math class after he was removed
from the distraction of his friend. Out of all the classes Kent had that day, his math class seemed
to peak his interest the most. Finally, I noticed that Kent did not have very many friends. From
what I saw, Kent really only had three people that he talked to the entire day (and all three of
them were in his history class). His interactions with other students were minimal at best
throughout the day. A good portion of his negative behaviors came from being away from his
friends like in his P.E. class and when he was a distance away from his friend. In some ways, I
cannot blame Kent for acting out a little bit when he is isolated from his friends. Since Kent does
not have very many friends, I can see why he would want to interact with them as much as he
can.
In conclusion, I feel like this experience has provided me with several different ways to
approach teaching and understand students. One of the most significant things that I realized at
the end of this study was that Kent never received any praise from his teachers. In other words,

Kent went an entire school day without hearing any positive comments, praise, or even a thank
you. The only time I heard anything positive towards Kent was in his history class when the
teacher told him to go sit down and at the end of his (the teachers) comment he added, please
and thank you. It was also sad for me to see that Kent had almost no interaction with the other
students in his class and the school. The take away then for me is that I need to remember as a
teacher to give out praise as much as I can, especially to those students who do not receive it
very much or at all. Secondly, I need to do all that I can to get students to interact with each
other, be that in group activities or think, pair, share activities, or class room discussion. Kent
was called on only one time in his classes and was quickly dismissed when he had supposedly
had nothing to share. In a situation like that, I feel that it is important to acknowledge that you
care about what the student has to say (even if they respond with, nothing) and that you will
provide another opportunity for him or her to contribute to the class discussion. I do not think
that I can eliminate all issues in the classroom or completely change the behavior of one
individual, like Kent, but I do believe that I can either make a students day better or worse by
how I deal with the situation.