Sydney Gennuso

15/10/14
SCED 499
Child Study
For the child study, I chose a male student in the 8
th
grade who is enrolled in
a Spanish I class. I chose this student because he is Hispanic, his father is from the
Dominican Republic and his mother is from Puerto Rico, and although it is not the
primary language spoken at his home, he understands and speaks Spanish, yet he is
enrolled in a basic Spanish course. This student also excels in language arts, which
in order to be enrolled in Spanish I, a student must receive high grades in language
arts in the previous years of middle school. I had made a few generalizations about
this student when I first saw him. I noted that he seemed shy due to the fact that he
did not say anything when I was there, he did not want to work with anyone and
chose to due partner activities alone, that he was extremely bright, but might not be
reaching his full potential due to learning things he most likely already knew, and he
was a really good kid.
I discussed the child with my mentor and she told me that he preferred to
work alone and she did not feel comfortable telling him he needed to work with
someone. However, she told me that he had been coming out of his shell and
staying behind to talk with her.
I observed the students actions in my mentors class on three occasions. On
September 23
rd
, there was a substitute teacher. He was the first to finish the review
worksheet that was left for the students, but he didnt turn it in right away. Once
more people finished, he turned it in and picked up the next activity, which called
for him to work with a partner. He sat alone and did not want to work with anyone
but his one friend in the class. Once he and his friend started working on the
activity, which was during the last 10 minutes of class, his attitude changed. He
went from very serious and quiet to smiling and laughing. On October 7
th
, the child
walked in and asked, Are we going to die today? The teacher replied with of
course not and the child walked away saying, I guess were dying today, and
laughed. He also did not take his seat right away and walked around the classroom.
When he did sit down, he wanted to go a way that was blocked. This caused a huge
distraction in the beginning of class. This was also out of the ordinary for the child
because he usually says hello then goes straight to his seat. He did act how he
usually acted during class after that incident. He sat down, did the drill quickly, and
stayed quiet for the rest of the period. He pays attention, but he does not
participate. On October 9
th
, the child walked in and was lying horizontal in his seat.
The teacher had to tell him to sit up straight and he complied right away. He did his
drill quietly, but did not volunteer to answer any questions, which is very common.
The next activity was a partner activity. He did not want to work with anyone. My
mentor walked to him and he interviewed her. After that interview, his friend
walked up and they worked together. There was another partner activity. The child
worked with his one friend whom he always works with. He filled in the questions
quickly and won the game. He made sure to tell me he won as I walked by.
From what I observed in the classroom, the child is very quiet in class, but
once he is with his friends, he becomes very talkative. He also does his work very
quickly and its usually correct.
I also monitored the hallway a few times and noticed that this student
usually walks with a large group of friends. He talks loudly and laughs a lot. He
even walks backwards to get them to laugh. There was one occasion where I saw
that he wasnt with his friends in the hallway and he was extremely quiet and
walked to his next class quickly. From these observations, I noticed that the childs
classroom behavior is different from how he is when he is with his friends. He is not
quiet nor is he very serious with his friends. He is very talkative and social with
them.
I was also able to view his cumulative folder. It was very thin, which I was
told means that he hasnt moved nor has he been a problem student. There was his
HCPS Registration Form, proof of residency, school attendance information, which
showed how his number of absences from kindergarten to seventh grade decreased
each year, the Annual Elementary School Performance Data Summary, which
showed that he was proficient in scientific and mathematical thinking language and
literacy, and social studies leaving elementary school, an MSA Test Card, a copy of
his social security card and passport, and a personal note from his mother regarding
the childs father due to his father having a high social status and asking that their
personal information be kept private.
I read two articles that I believe could help this student in the classroom. In
this case, he is more advanced than his other classmates in the Spanish language and
finishes his work more quickly. In the article Foreign Language for the Gifted:
Extending Affective Dimensions, the author explains how using affective objectives,
which emphasize feelings and creativity, as well as help develop interpersonal
relationships, in a gifted and talented classroom can increase a students self esteem.
Affective objectives can be used with most topics, especially those that deal with
culture. I think if affective objectives were used more in my mentors classrooms,
the child I am observing would want to do more with his learning, for example
participate and work with other people. The other article Collaborative writing in
pairs and small groups: Learners attitudes and perceptions written by Ana
Fernndez Dobao and Avram Blum. These authors conducted a study at a college
university involving 55 students who were enrolled in an intermediate Spanish class
on whether working individually, in a pair, or a group collaboration on a writing
assignment made an impact on the students grammar, vocabulary, and oral
proficiency. Most students preferred to work in groups because they felt like they
got more out of the lesson, while a few preferred working by themselves. I think
this pertains to the child I am observing because he clearly prefers to work by
himself, but now when given the opportunity to work in partners he chooses the
same person to work with. I think that if the child was willing to work with other
people, he would get more out of the activity, especially because the student who is
usually his partner is falling behind in the class. If he worked with other students,
he may be challenged in the class a bit more.
If given the opportunity, I would definitely call on the child to answer
questions. I think that if he gets called on and sees that his answers are correct, he
would volunteer more. Another thing I would do is pick the students partners
every once in a while. This would allow the child to work with other people who
may understand the material better and may cause the child to think more. If the
material is still too easy for the child, I would have to come up with alternate
assignments. For example, the child finishes work much more quickly than the
other students. I could give him a few extra questions to do as extra credit. By
doing this, the child will not be sitting idle while waiting for his classmates to finish
the assignments.
Finally, I think the process of the child study will help with my future career
as a teacher. I learned how to read what is in a cumulative folder, which I have
never done before. This means I can be more alert with my students, as in who may
need some extra help in the class. I also know that being extremely observant with
your students is beneficial. This can tell me who is struggling with the material, who
understands the material, and who is not paying attention to what I am teaching. I
will talk to other teachers and staff about how students are acting in their classes to
see if it is different from how they are acting in my classroom. Overall, I feel that the
process for the child study helped prepare me for observations of and interactions
with students in my next rotation, student teaching semester, and my teaching
career.

References
Fernndez Dobao, A., & Blum, A. (2013). Collaborative writing in pairs and small
groups: Learners' attitudes and perceptions. System, 41(2), 365-378.
Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Garfinkel, A., & Allen, L. (1993). Foreign language for the gifted: Extending affective
dimensions. Roeper Review, 15(4), 235. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.