Bradley Argabright

Shadow Study
September 8, 2015
Shadow Study
The student that I have chosen to follow for a whole day is a student
that intrigues me in the classroom because he is known to be disruptive in
other classes but I have no problems at all with the student in my class most
of the times. The student in my class is very quiet and does the work that I
ask of him with little to no problems. I hope that through this shadow study I
learn more about this student in a broader sense and I come to understand
why he is acting like this in other classes.

1st Hour: 9th Grade Boys Physical Education 8:00am 9:20am

For the first hour of the day the student that I am following is attending
Physical Education. The time frame for this period is 8:00 in the morning until
9:20 in the morning. The teacher in this class is disciplined and also has
enthusiasm about his class. The class size that the student is in this hour
includes 16 students. The gym is located in a separate building than the rest
of the campus. The students have to walk from the main school building to
the gym for class. The student seems energetic for class in physical
education and is observed as being friendly with other classmates.

The environmental conditions for this class include open space in the
gym for activity and also the second floor of the gym has a weight room in
which the student will also be interacting with. The gym has no air
conditioning making the room humid. The lighting in the gym is well enough
for activity and a possible distraction of the room would be the gym lobby or
the doors that are open on each end. The doors are open for air movement
and the gym lobby does have air conditioning making that location a
possible distraction. The atmosphere of the class physical education seems
to be laid back but structured and also positive towards the students.
Class procedures include the teacher having the students start with a
warm up which includes the students running a couple of down and backs
and high knees. This is an activity that the students do each time at the start
of the class making this a routine for the class. The student then goes to the
weight room and the management system that is used for this time is a
whistle signaling when it is time to switch partners for the next lift.
Instructional strategies include having the students pair up in twos and
working as partners to accomplish the lifts for that particular day. The
student that I am observing does a good job staying on task and lifting with
his partner. Student seems to be distracted when other students come to his
station. The student is observed as having no physical touching of other
students unless it was to help with a lift. The student chose the very back of
the weight room to lift weights on this particular day. The student has clean
clothes on and that does not seem to affect his behavior in this class.

Student finishes the weight lifts that are required and then also does more
than is asked of him. Student is motivated by lifting weights and has positive
energy in this class.
After observing the student in Physical Education it is apparent that the
student likes this class and enjoys lifting with his classmates. Student was on
task for most of the period and also worked well with others. The
management system that was used in this class seemed to work for the
student that I am observing. The factors that influenced behavior in this class
included classmates actions and also the atmosphere seemed to influence
how the student behaved. After this period I feel that the student is having a
good day and also that the student is positive to be at school.

2nd Hour: Individual Reading 9:25-10:05

Student attended Seminar period for this hour which was a period for
just reading. The student is allowed to bring any sort of material to read as
long as the student is on task. The student is observed in this hour as just
reading and the student did a good job of staying on task and not disrupting
other students during this period.
3rd hour: Physical Science 10:10am 11:40am
For the third hour of the day the student that I am following is
attending Physical Science. The time frame for this period is 10:10 in the

morning until 11:40 in the morning. The teacher in this class is very
energetic and uses many props in his class to get his message across. The
class that the student is in only has six students which is smaller than the
last class that I attended by a good margin. This classroom is located on the
second floor of the main school building which is a completely different
environment than the first two classes.
The environmental conditions of this class of Physical Science include
good lighting for everyone to see in the classroom and it also contains
various posters relating to Science such as charts and diagrams and also the
periodic table of elements. The teacher also has posters of athletic events
and quotes for motivation for the students. The subject that is being taught
is Physical Science and the atmosphere is positive and structured well.
Classroom procedures include the teacher using question and answer on
worksheets to help the students learn. The classroom only has 6 students
and the teacher is managing his classroom structure with having 3 students
per table.
The student is observed as being attentive during the question and
answer portion at the start. At about half way through the question and
answer the student becomes distracted. The reason for this distraction is
another student at his table and also a paper clip that the student found on
the ground. The student is now redirected by the teacher and student
responds negatively to the redirection. The student still is distracted but this

time with another student and the teacher separates them at this point. The
student does well in this class when answering questions but has a hard time
not being distracted with others. The seating position in this class could help
this student be more successful. Student is not observed touching or having
any interaction with other students than talking. Once the student has been
moved to a different spot in the classroom the student has no problem with
staying on task and answering questions. Halfway through the class the
students are given a test and the student finishes this at the end of the hour.
After watching the student in Physical Science I am starting to get a
clearer picture of some of the factors that are influencing his behaviors in
class. The student had a hard time of staying on task in this class when he
was sitting by certain individuals. The time of the day also could have been a
part of his behavior since this hour is right before lunch. Although the
student had a hard time at the start of the class it was good to see him get
back on the right track with guidance from the teacher. Separating the
student from other individuals seemed to be the right approach today to
minimizing his behavior in the class. The student was observed as having
good interaction with others in the first class but in this class the student was
the opposite and had to be separated by the teacher.

4th Hour: Spanish I 12:05pm 1:30pm

For the fourth hour of the day the student that I am following is
attending Spanish I. The time frame for this period is 12:05 in the afternoon
until 1:30 in the afternoon. The teacher in this class has a completely
different approach in the classroom than the other classes I have observed.
The class size in this class is the biggest that I have observed with 20
students. This classroom is also located in the main building of the school
and is on the first floor. I have just arrived in the classroom and the class is
watching a movie with the language in Spanish for the film. The class is very
rowdy from a movie being on and the teacher does not seem interested in
quieting them down.
The environmental conditions of this classroom include round tables for
the students to sit in groups of four to five. My student is located at a round
table next to the teacher with a group of four guys. This class is the first
class that I have observed with both freshmen and sophomores the previous
classes have all just been freshmen. The teacher in this class uses many
posters throughout the room and various projects that the students have
done are also hanging on the wall. In this class the teacher does not seem to
have a rule on cell phones in the classroom. Many of the students are
observed on their cell phones throughout much of the period including my
student that I am observing. The students are also allowed to charge their
phones in class further hindering learning. My student acts well with his
peers in his class but much of that could be because of the cell phone use.
The student that I am observing is quiet in this class with his peers but there

are also signs of distraction at times. The teacher in this class does not have
the best classroom discipline and the students dont respond well to
instruction. When the teacher does tell the students to quiet down from too
much noise the students will listen for about a minute and then the talking
will start back up and continue to get louder and louder. The class watched
this movie the whole class period except for the last 10 minutes in which she
handed out a worksheet and asked questions. When a question was directed
toward my student he answered correctly with the help of his peers at his
table. The student is also observed as having no physical touching in this
class with peers in any activities.
During this class the student in my mind did not learn anything due to
the cell phone use and the teacher having no redirection to students off task.
The factors that played into this are both the environment and also
classroom management style. The question and answer at the end of the
class would have been a learning tool if the class had actually watched the
movie. Allowing the students to be on their phones and tablets during the
movie was an easy way for the kids to be off task and distracted. After
observing this classroom I have found there are different ways of classroom
management and some work and some simply do not.
5th Hour: English I 1:35 pm 3:00pm
For the last hour of the day the student that I am following is attending
English I. The time frame for this period is 1:35 in the afternoon until 3:00 in

the afternoon. The teacher in this class has the students sitting at individual
desks and separated half and half in the room with room for her to walk
down the middle of the classroom. The class size of this particular class is 14
students. The location of this classroom is in the main building of the school
on the first floor. This class is a class of all freshmen and includes both males
and females. The class environment is positive and disciplined. I could tell
right away when I entered the classroom that this is a structured class and
any nonsense will not be tolerated.
As I am observing my student in this class it is easy to tell that he is
interested in this subject. The student is sitting upright and listening
attentively. The student is also asking questions to the teacher as she
teaches. The teacher in this class is using both a lecture style and also
question and answer. The classroom has many posters pertaining to English
and also motivational quotes of different athletes and also famous people.
Even though this is the last class of the day my student that I am observing
is listening and doesnt seem disinterested. The teacher in this class does a
good job of having the students on task and doing what they are supposed to
do. Unlike the other classes that I have observed my student does not seem
to have as many friends in this class that can distract him from learning. The
class has now been given a worksheet to work on during individual time. The
student that I am observing does a good job of getting the worksheet done
and also is not distracting others but helping others when they need it. When
I observed the last class they were on their cell phones the whole hour and

had no consequences but during this class the cell phones are not to be out
or they will be taken. My student was on his phone just once and she
redirected him and told him she will take it the next time he has it out. I feel
that this problem could have been avoided if the teacher in the last class
would have the same policy as this class. During this class my student is
pulled out of class early due to a Junior Varsity football game and missed the
last 30 minutes of the day.
During the last block of the day I thought that the student that I am
following did a great job of staying on task and learning. The student could
visibly be seen as positive and encouraging during this class. I could tell that
my student liked this class and because of that he had more success. Some
of the factors that influenced the students behavior included classroom
procedures with using his phone and also the time of the day made my
student act out in ways. As the block got closer to being over the student I
was observing had more behavior problems and I think that this was due to it
being the last block and school being almost over. Overall throughout the
day I was very impressed with my student and how he acted in other classes.
There are several different factors that played into his behavior but I feel that
if you put him in the right environment and around the right students he can
succeed on any given day.