CHILD STUDY

By Paul Poole

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Notes:

Notes from a non-instructional setting:

 More social/talkative in a non-instructional setting
o Could be less pressure or just respect enough to not talk in class much
o While the difference is noticeable, it is not drastic enough to catch my attention
 Interacts with many of the same students she is grouped with in the classroom setting
 Mannerisms and behavior do not change, still very timid and relaxed
 Does extracurricular dance outside of school with some of the same students she works
with in groups in school

Notes from meeting with school-based personnel: Special Education Case Worker
 What information do you have on their 6th grade year, as I did not receive any from their
cumulative file?
o N/A; Kaitlyn was not their caseworker last year and as a result only has access to
my student’s grades
 What differences have you seen between this year and last year?
o B ELA 2-year reading intervention, doing fairly well when accommodations are
implemented and not refused
 What subjects do they excel in/struggle with?
o Math
o Good at comprehension if you read to them
 has their ability level affected her socially?
o Don’t think so
o Refuses some accommodations, doesn’t want to look different
 how supportive has home been of them?
o had to explain to get the same accommodations at home - has improved]
o student likes to be independent, had to be explained to have someone check work
at home
 does their behavior change in different classes? if so how?
o Are they more or less talkative?
 more in ELA
o do they answer more or less?
 More in ELA
o Do they appear more or less confident/comfortable?
 More in ELA
 What types of assignments do they seem to do best on?
o Interactive assignments, science labs
o small group work, discussions
 What is the best thing I can do for them in and out of the classroom?
o form a connection and let them trust you
Written Reflection:

The student I have studied for this child study is a seventh grader with dyslexia. They

struggle with both reading and writing, which effects their ability to complete school work. They

are a relatively quiet student with very few behavior issues, and any behavior issues are

manifestations of frustrations with their disability. This student is very knowledgeable and

comprehends information very well when it is read to them or is presented in a way they can

understand. This student is also relatively new to the school. They come from a military family

and have moved to the school in the last two years. They have also moved schools very often in

the past, which could have made the social aspect of school difficult. Despite all of these

difficulties they achieved an A for the first quarter in my mentor’s classroom, meaning that when

given the proper accommodations they can excel in school.

From my meeting with the student’s special education case worker and observing the

student in a non-academic setting I have learned that my student worries about their disability

affecting them socially. They often refuse their accommodations and try to work independently,

especially in my mentor’s classroom, because they do not want to seem different from their

classmates. The student excels however when that pressure of school is removed. In a non-

academic setting they were very social, much more than observed in my mentor’s class. But this

increase in social ability was not out of character for the student. The student still stuck to the

same group of friends they sit with in class, my student just talked more than in class which

could the student respecting the teacher and trying to learn or feeling less pressured to seem

smart like she does in class.

The change between my student and even other students between my mentor’s class and

their English Language Arts class is what interests me however. In social studies, the classes are
mixed ability, which means that students of all ability levels are in the class. The higher ability

students tend to dominate discussion in my mentor’s class. ELA however, is sorted by ability in

order to help accommodate students with reading struggles such as my observed student. When

observing my student’s ELA class, them and even other students I have in my mentor’s class

spoke more times in that single session than I have heard from them all year. This confirms my

thoughts that the pressure of working with students with higher ability than my student’s does

affect their participation in class. Corroborated with the information from my visit with my

student’s special education case worker and observing them in a non-academic setting, this

information all suggests that mixed ability classrooms are not the best setting for the social

growth or comfort of students with similar disabilities or ability levels as my observed student.

My research seems to support this idea as well. The article “Improvising Reading Classes

and Classroom Environment for Children with Reading Difficulties and Dyslexia Symptoms.”

By S. H. Sahari and A. Johari gives a prime example of how it feels for someone with dyslexia to

attempt to read aloud. They demonstrate what a paragraph may look like and then ask how you

would feel trying to read that aloud to the class. To tell the truth, I gave up attempting to read the

paragraph about a sentence in, and it really changed the way I think about dyslexia. After having

attempted to read that just to myself I fully understand why my student does not volunteer

answers in my mentor’s class. With students with ability levels that are higher than theirs, my

student most likely feels they will be judged harshly for any incorrect answers, and therefore opts

not to answer at all. My other article suggests that there is not enough being done to help general

educators accommodate students with disabilities in the general classroom to justify full

inclusion and I would have to agree. Teaching a group of thirty students a new concept is a
difficult task in itself but teaching to varied levels of ability is whole other challenge. As

educators we do what we can, but often it may not be enough to truly help the student succeed.

As far as grouping and procedures go, my student is already receiving a lot of help and

has been able to excel in my mentor’s class thanks to this help. They have read to on tests and

assignments, scribe for written assignments, and an overall supportive community of teachers

and parents that are helping them to succeed. The only thing that I believe would benefit my

student and others with lower academic abilities is to make all classes sorted based on ability.

While it may see counter intuitive at first to have students in the same group for every class,

these students excel socially in their same ability classes and almost never speak in mixed ability

classes. This research as well as my observation all point to more social students in same ability

classes.

This information has helped me to become more aware of the challenges students that

struggle with reading face in the general education classroom. In addition to their specified

accommodations I plan to provide more multisensory ways to interact with classroom content.

This will help all students to have a better grasp on the content at hand and close the gap between

my students who are successful readers and those who struggle with reading. If I ever have a

mixed ability class, I also plan to be more understanding with my lower ability students

participating less. While this does not mean I will allow them to never participate at all, I will be

more understanding of the reasons they do not want to speak out and attempt to provide more

ways for them to participate without being put at the center of attention.
Article Summary 1:

Sahari, S. H., & Johari, A. (2012). Improvising Reading Classes and Classroom Environment for

Children with Reading Difficulties and Dyslexia Symptoms. Procedia - Social and

Behavioral Sciences, 38, 100–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.03.329

This first article goes over some of the basic ideas about dyslexia, the impairment my

student has. First it gives us an idea of what it may be like to attempt to read with dyslexia by

having us read a slightly jumbled paragraph, and it did help me understand the position of

individuals with dyslexia. It was incredibly frustrating to try and read and I gave up very quickly.

The article in its conclusion goes into many different ways to assist students with dyslexia. The

first of these is to be aware of what dyslexia really is and how it affects the learning process.

Once you have learned those ideas, the next step is to attempt to identify students with dyslexia

early on, so they can begin reading intervention to aid them. These strategies can include using

colors assigned to letters or using motor skills to help learn letters. One last recommendation the

article gives is to use games to help memory. Students may struggle to remember words and

making things into a game can make this memorization much easier.

This article was very helpful as it served as a good introduction to a disability that I did

not understand well. For most of my life I understood that dyslexia involved having trouble

reading, but especially after attempting to read their sample paragraph I now understand how

frustrating reading can be for students. Especially in a secondary level class with complex

vocabulary, many of the strategies discussed should be executed in order to assist students with

reading. In social studies for my student, we read to them on tests and for reading assignments

because the main focus is on the social studies concepts and not their ability to read. In English

language arts however, we see many of the strategies discussed take place. There are many
media tools used to assist reading and to ensure comprehension, and I think this has helped my

student to succeed more in English language arts than if there was not that kind of support.
Article Summary 2:

Sylvia O. Richardson. (1996). Coping with Dyslexia in the Regular Classroom: Inclusion or

Exclusion. Annals of Dyslexia, 37. Retrieved from http://proxy-

tu.researchport.umd.edu/login?ins=tu&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct

=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.23769453&site=eds-live&scope=site

This article argues that inclusion of students with disabilities in the regular classroom

may not be best for them due to a lack of teacher and administrative understanding of how to

teach students with disabilities. Our author argues that in order for students with disabilities, such

as dyslexia, to be taught in a regular classroom, teacher education needs to be changed to better

suit the needs of all students. Teachers need to become masters of the English language in order

to teach it, meaning they need to know how every part of it works and where students may be

getting lost when trying to learn it. The author also argues that all teachers should learn and use

multisensory approaches to teaching reading, because it is proven to help students understand the

content better. Having a special educator in the room to assist the general education teacher can

help, but it is nowhere near as effective as a team of teachers who all know how to handle

inclusion and working with that special educator.

I agree with this heavily, as I do not feel enough was done or required of me to help me

learn classroom inclusion. At Towson we are only required to take one special education course

and a few courses on reading and writing in the secondary schools. However, I feel there should

be more than this before we get into the field. Yes, there are in-service education opportunities,

but I feel that preparation ahead of actually teaching would go much further in preparing our

educators. I also agree with the author’s suggestion of team-based teaching. I think that all

teachers working together and sharing what works and what doesn’t in their classes for certain
students really goes a long way as far as helping students to be included in the regular classroom

no matter what impairments they may have.