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Case Study
Case Study
Case Study
Case Study:
Observing a Student with Special Needs
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Table of Contents
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Domain 1: Introducing the Student
over a span of 15 hours, to see what kind of academic difficulties he may have. Steve was born
in 2012 with normal weight and height, he experienced a delay in learning how to walk as well
as how to talk. The walking and crawling delay might be related to the fact that he had
orthopedic difficulties and was required to undergo physical therapy for six months. When Steve
did start talking, he mainly spoke Arabic. He was enrolled in speech therapy while he was in
KG2.
didn’t wear shoes till he was two years. He was subjected to speech therapy at a relatively young
age, which proved helpful, judging from his file and how he talks now. In 2017, he was enrolled
in special education services, and his teacher at the time saw that he was able to understand
instructions in general. As a side remark, he does get distracted easily, avoids taking
responsibility, and sometimes abuses the bathroom excuse to leave class. As for his speech skills,
he had some speech delay according to his file. For instance, it would be a bit difficult for him to
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1.3 Current Provided Services
After starting the special education program in 2019, he was subjected to weekly pull
outs as well as psychomotor therapy, accommodation for tests, and guidance counseling. It
definitely has a positive effect on his education, and with the right accommodation and special
education curriculum, Steve is almost at the same level as his classmates; even though he is
sessions that he is slower than his classmates. This affects him in both languages and math, and it
shows in various ways for each. Initially, it might seem that he might just be a slow learner,
which shouldn’t be confused as an academic disability, and we try assessing the situation
capabilities and comparing it with his peers. At first, he showed difficulty in reading and keeping
up with the pace of his class. Additionally, later sessions showed that he also copies slowly off
the board, has difficulties with capitalizations, and can sometimes write certain letters or
numbers in the wrong way, such as mirroring the shape of numbers or letters. In addition to that,
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he sometimes skips words when reading out loud, and mispronounces more words than his
classmates do. So far, this shows us difficulties in language and verbal processing. Furthermore,
it is worth noting that this slowness is reflected in comprehension as well. He would not only
answer impulsively, but would also take longer than most of his peers to finish with a
comprehension exercise.
On the other hand, he seemed to mostly understand the lessons and exercises in his math
classes, however he was still slower than his peers. He seems to have the capability to process
the material given, but requires more time in order to do so. The mentor went over my notes and
gave me some pointers as well, which aided me reach these interpretations in a better way.
3.1 The administration of the first three CBM probes which are typically given to a
student
As for the curriculum-based measurement, one of the CBM probes was conducted on a
different student, Bob, because Steve tested positive for Covid-19 and wasn’t able to come to
school.
for Steve, and with different criteria results obviously. Bob is another student under special
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education services. For the baseline score, Bob had a baseline score of 82.6% accuracy in
Here, Bob was assessed on his reading skills and comprehension. There were a number of
words he misread and some he would completely skip. On the other hand, Steve had an initial
baseline score of 74.2% accuracy for a previously conducted informal assessment, and later on
77.3% on a different one after tracking his progress throughout the hours.
3.4 The set-up of a performance goal for the student, and the chart of an aimline
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The above graph shows the variation of the number of words pronounced correctly, as a
function of the number of sentences practiced beforehand that includes these words. With this
aim, we set a plan to monitor Steve as we increase the number of times he encounters certain
words, we can then start more and more words, while expecting him not to have more mistakes
assessments which showed me a better idea of his capabilities and a better understanding of his
learning difficulties. Taking into consideration the above-mentioned points regarding his
difficulties, I started asking him to pronounce certain words that I noted down which he
previously mispronounced. I would also look at what he is reading and check whether he keeps
on skipping words. In math, his problems just started to seem mainly related to him being slow,
and after a while he seemed to be understanding what is being given, but at a slower pace than
his classmates. It seemed to me that as time went by, and with enough practice from class and
during POs, the mispronounced words are decreasing in numbers. However, he still seems to
skip words while reading, but got better slightly at skipping less words.
has potential as long as he is given the right tools and enough time while doing exercises. As for
the language difficulties which are reflected in his reading and speaking, I suggest he reads more
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and works more on his speech when in POs. This type of intervention in his education can prove
Domain 4: Conclusion
4.1 Recommendations
As a conclusion, I would recommend Steve continue in special education, and I believe
this will be for his greater benefit. Catering to his needs isn’t something that should be taken
passively. He should be monitored and his progress observed along his journey to make sure he
education in general, and what it means to be a special education teacher in specific. It was a
fruitful experience that taught me more than I would have if I just read about such cases.
Properly observing a student and seeing how the situation actually is in real life, definitely gives