Child Study Project

Regan Roth
Towson University
Fall 2014

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Part 1: Classroom Observations

Observation 1: SAT Prep- October 30, 2014
1. Actions and context of those actions
During the group activity, the student got out of her seat to get questions from
another group so that she could continue working.
At the end of class, the teacher had extra time so he provided students with a
challenge problem. The student volunteered to share her response with the class
and went to the board to demonstrate her thought process.
2. Words and context of those words
During the group activity when the student and her other group members were
finished with their questions, the student stood up and asked, Does anyone
need questions 14 and 16?
3. Participation in class
The student actively participates in all aspects of class. As soon as the bell rang,
she began working on her drill.
Once the drill was finished, she immediately began filling in the Scantron with
the answers from her homework.
4. Interactions with teacher and classmates
The student works well in groups with other students.
She is very respect of all others around her, including the teacher, her
classmates, and myself.
She is quiet and respectful during class. She seems to be social when the time is
appropriate and talks to her classmates about relevant topics, but is quiet when
doing so. She appears to be more introverted than extroverted.
5. Performance in your class
The student is an A student in this class
Performance on all assignment, both group and individual, are consistent
6. Other relevant observations
The student appears to be very focused and devoted to her work. She tries hard
on all of her assignments, regardless of what is asked. She seems to hold herself
to high standards, which is evident in her work.

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Observation 2: SAT Prep- November 11, 2014

1. Actions and context of those actions
During the group activity when she figured out the answer to a tough question,
she explained the answer to her group members after completing a short
celebration dance in her seat.
2. Words and context of those words
During the group activity, her and per group members were debating which
answer was correct for a certain problem. All of a sudden she got very excited
and confidently said Its C! The answer is C!.
3. Participation in class
The student actively participates in all activities in class.
The student volunteers to answer questions throughout the class period. She
turns in all assignments on time.
4. Interactions with teacher and classmates
The student appeared to be very bored during class today. Even though she was
not very interested in the activity, she still worked hard and worked well with
her group members.
Regardless of her mood (bored or tired) she was still friendly and upbeat when
interacting with others.
5. Performance in your class
The student is an A student in this class as well as the AP Calculus class she is in
with the same teacher.
The level of work she turns in is consistently high, in both the SAT Prep class and
the AP Calculus class
6. Other relevant observations
The students performance and attitude stayed consistent between both the SAT
Prep class and the AP Calculus class.
She seemed to be shy when in a large group of students, but was social in
smaller groups.
She seemed to be very concerned about her grades and performance in both
classes.
Received a 23/25 on a Calculus quiz

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Observation 3: Software/Computer Apps- November 25, 2014

1. Actions and context of those actions
The student comes in and immediately gets settled in her seat
When the bell rings, she listens intently to instructions and then begins her
assignment.
2. Words and context of those words
The student is very quiet in this class. She focuses on her work and does not talk
to those around her.
3. Participation in class
Activities in this class appear to be individual rather than group.
She works diligently to complete her assignment for the day
4. Interactions with teacher and classmates
The student is very respectful in all interactions with the teacher.
She does not talk to her classmates much but when she does it is mostly small
talk
5. Performance in your class
The student is a straight A student, including this class
6. Other relevant observations

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Part 2: Outside of Classroom Observations

School Based Personnel Notes:
1. In what capacity do you work with this student?
I am one of her teachers.
2. How long have you been working with this student?
I have only been working with this student during this semester, so roughly 4
months.
3. What are your experiences with this student? Please give specific examples.
She works very hard at everything she does. She is very devoted to her studies
and is equally devoted to her friends and basketball. She is a team player and is liked
by many. She comes to class everyday with a positive attitude and does anything she
is asked with great enthusiasm. She has been a joy to have in class this semester.
4. What are your thoughts on physical, social, emotional, or cognitive needs of this
student?
All of her needs seem to be met. She is on the varsity basketball team so she gets
good exercise multiple times a week. She also seems to eat well and appears to be
healthy overall. She is kind of shy when it comes to the social aspect of things, but
she has a core group of friends and responds well to them. When I have observed
her in my class as well as others, she seems to get along with others and is social
when it is appropriate. She comes to class everyday with a positive attitude and
ready to learn, which tells me that her emotional needs are also met. Cognitively,
she is both very smart and very mature. She is organized and manages her time well,
which can be seen in her schoolwork. She is able to balance advanced classes,
basketball, and friends, and is able to be successful at all of them. She seems to be
very put together and confident in herself, which I like to see in my students.
5. What might I do better to serve this student in my class?
Challenge her. Push her to her limits. She is a very smart girl and responds well. If
you do not push her in her academics, she gets bored. She will still work hard and do
her work well but you can tell she does not enjoy it. So try to keep things interesting
and challenging so that she can keep excelling.
6. Do you have any insight into the social and academic behavior of this student?
She cares a lot about her friends as well as her performance in school. She
manages her time well and makes time for both her academics and her friends. She is an
introvert when it comes to social situations, but can be very outgoing with her friends.
She puts a lot of effort into her academics, which shows in her grades, as well as into her
friendships, which can be seen in the relationships she has with others.

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School Sponsored Event Notes:

Date: 25 November 2014
Event: A-Lunch
1. How student is involved in event
Eating lunch during the school day
2. Observations of the event
The student sat at the end of a table with two other friends. The table they
chose was toward a corner of the cafeteria. They sat at the outside end so they
were close to a wall.

3. Relevant observations about students social and academic behavior

As stated above, the student sat with a small group of friends toward the edge of
the cafeteria. This leads me to believe that the student is shy, but is social within
her group of friends.
When she was not actively eating, the student was talking and laughing with her
friends.
4. Relevant observations about students physical, emotional and cognitive needs
The student bought a school lunch and finished it.
After she finished the main part of her meal, she went to the vending machine
and purchased a snack. When she left to go back to class, the snack was
unopened which leads me to believe she was saving it for later when she got
hungry.
The fact that she bought a snack for later means she is aware of her bodys
physical need for food.
5. How student reacted to your presence
The student did not react to my presence. I walked past her table 3 times but
there was no acknowledgement. When I was standing by the vending machine
and she approached to get a snack, she saw me but once again did not
acknowledge me.
6. Insight into how to better meet students needs in your classroom
The fact that the student sat with only a couple of friends toward the outside of
the cafeteria reinforces my observations of her being introverted. This translates
into the classroom because she most likely does not like working in large groups.
It is also important that I let her pick her partners when doing group work so that
she is comfortable with the people she is working with and can be successful.

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Student Cumulative Folder Notes:

1. What, if any, trends do you see in the students attendance, grades, and behavior
throughout their schooling?
The student is a very high performing student. She has mostly As with only a few
Bs during her high school career. This year in particular she has earned straight As.
Her attendance and behavior have also been consistent throughout her school
career. She very rarely misses school and she does not have any behavior issues.
2. Cite inconsistencies, if any, which appear in the students attendance, grades, and
behavior.
There are no inconsistencies in the students grades, attendance, or behavior.
She attends school regularly, earns high grades, and has no behavior issues.
3. Discuss any events that may have impacted the way the student approaches his/her
work and/or behavior.
There are no major events documented in the students folder that appear to
have impacted her work or behavior.
4. What new insights into this student have resulted from a review of his/her
cumulative folder that will inform your instruction?
After reviewing the students cumulative folder, I was able to see how bright and
devoted this student is. She consistently attends school and earns very good grades.
It is important that I use this information to challenge her in class. I now know that
she is capable of the challenge and have realized that in order to keep her
interested, I need to challenge her on a daily basis.

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Part 3: Research, Analysis, and Reflection

Research Articles:
The student that I chose for this project is a very smart and devoted student. She
performs well in all of her classes, earning straight As. She is in advanced classes,
including the highest-level math class offered at her school. This got me thinking. How
can I keep someone who is so smart interested in what she is learning? To answer this
question, I did some research and consulted my textbook. Section Twelve of The First
Year Teachers Survival Guide focuses on how to meet the needs of all of your students,
including gifted students.
As I read through the section regarding gifted students, I was able to make some
connections to the student I observed for this project. I realized that I need to alter
instruction so that she can be challenged and reach her full potential. One way that I can
challenge her is to connect the content to her interests. She is on the Varsity basketball
team at school, which is great because sports are often related to mathematics. Another
way that I can keep her interested is to relate the concepts to real life problems. Rather
than just having her and other gifted students solve problems, I should be asking them
to solve real-world situations where the concepts can be applied. Allowing students to
connect the concepts to things they are familiar with will help them better understand
the content. Lastly, I was reminded how important it is to dig deeper with gifted
students. One way to keep gifted students engaged and interested is to challenge them,
and what better way to challenge them than to have them dive head first into content.
Providing gifted students with an extra project or extra credit will give them the

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opportunity to learn more, challenge themselves, and stay interested in all the
possibilities of math.
All of these are strategies that I can easily implement into the classroom. They
will help keep the students engaged and interested in what they are learning. In turn,
they will want to come to class and will want to try harder because they can relate to
the material.
The second article I chose to read for this project was called Boys Are Much
More Likely To Take On Leadership Roles In Science And Math Class, Say Teachers by
Rebecca Klein. This article discusses the fact that, once students reach middle school
and high school, math and science classes are often geared more toward male students.
The student that I observed for this project is female, and performs very well in her
math and science classes. The article discussed the gender gaps that are so present in
schools, especially in math and science classes. The author cites a survey saying, The
survey, which included 40,000 middle and high school educators, notes that these
gender gaps extend to the professional world, with fewer women taking on leadership
positions -- not only in STEM fields, but in most disciplines across the board. Gender
gaps in classrooms are causing a disproportionality of leadership between the genders.
The gender gap in classrooms is also leading females to be less involved in STEM based
clubs and leadership roles. The article discusses the fact that evidence suggests that
this kind of bias in the classroom can lead to students being pigeonholed into specific
roles and fields. As a young woman in the STEM field, it is important that I provide all of

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my students, both male and especially female, the opportunity to be successful in STEM
fields.
I realized when reading this article how important it is to create and maintain a
gender-neutral classroom environment. It is imperative that I give all students the same
opportunities and hold all students to the same expectations. It is also imperative that I
keep a neutral attitude toward all of my students and challenge all of them in the same
way. I need to hold all of my students to the same standards, regardless of their gender.
By creating a gender-neutral environment, I am telling my students that they can do
anything.

Citations of Articles:
Thompson, J. (2013). Meet the needs of all of your students. In The first-year teacher's
survival guide ready-to-use strategies, tools and activities for meeting the
challenges of each school day (Third ed., pp. 357-359). San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
Klein, R. (2014, October 1). Boys Are Much More Likely To Take On Leadership Roles In
Science And Math Class, Say Teachers. Retrieved December 1, 2014, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/01/nea-girls-leadershipstudy_n_5910944.html?utm_hp_ref=girls-in-stem

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Analysis of Data in Planning and Teaching

One of the main things I learned during this assignment is that I need to plan
challenging lessons for this student. She is very bright and gets bored easily. It is
important that I plan a variety of activities in order to keep her interested in the
material. Another thing I can do to keep her interested is to provide challenge questions
on her classwork, homework, and quizzes. There was one day that we had extra time at
the end of class so my mentor teacher gave the students a fun challenge question to
complete. The student was very excited when she solved the problem and was eager to
share her answer with her classmates. I think it is important that I provide her, as well as
her classmates, with more opportunities to challenge themselves and share their
knowledge.
I also think it is important to teach this student in a hands off, student centered
manner. She is very smart and is capable of pushing herself in the classroom. I have seen
the way she reacts to lecture versus discovery activities in the classroom and she not
only seems to enjoy discovery activities, but she seems to have more of an ownership of
her learning. It is important that I give her to opportunity to make necessary
connections to the material being taught so that it will mean something to her and be
relevant to her. Discovery and hands-on activities are one way that I can give her that
opportunity. Another way to provide her with a student centered learning environment
is to connect the material to her life and her interests. She is on the varsity girls
basketball team at Lansdowne, which is something that can easily incorporated into the

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assignments she is given. Providing connections to the material she is learning will help
her relate better to what she is learning, as well as keep her interested and focused.
Overall, it is imperative that I continue to challenge this student on a daily basis.
It is also important that I connect the material to the students interests and hobbies so
that she does not get bored. Allowing her to take ownership of her learning by providing
her with a variety of activities and holding her to high expectations will hopefully further
her success in my classroom, as well as her other classes.

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Reflection:
The student that I observed for this project is an 11th grade, female student at
Lasndowne High School. She is in my mentors SAT Prep class as well as his AP Calculus
AB class. This was great because I was able to see her everyday that I was there,
regardless of whether or not it was an A-day or a B-day. She plays on the varsity
basketball team and is a straight A student. This student was always very positive when I
was working with her. She was not afraid to ask for help when she needed it and was
always willing to participate. She worked well with group members and was able to
focus and stay on task to ensure her work got done correctly.
My observations of the student in my mentors classroom are very similar to the
feedback I received from her other teacher, as well as when I observed her in the
lunchroom. I learned that she is very hard working, regardless of the subject or
assignment. She puts her all into everything she does, whether that is school, basketball,
or her friendships. My observations, as well as the observations of others, helped me
realize that students can be both shy and outgoing. The student I observed was quiet in
class, which gave me the impression that she was shy. However, when seeing her with
her friends, she was much more social. It was nice to see her social side and see her
enjoying the time she spent with her friends. Overall, the observations I made myself
during this process as well as the observations of others helped me to teach the student
better in both classes I have her in.
Reading the professional articles helped me a lot when working with the
student. After reading the section of my textbook, I was able to think differently about

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the way I should teach her. I began to think about how to connect the content of both
the SAT and Calculus to her interests such as basketball. I also began to think of ways to
challenge her by asking questions in a way that would help her dig deeper into the
concepts. The second article I read was great because it helped me realize the
subconscious biases I may be presenting in my teaching. I am now more aware of the
gender gap that may be present in my classroom, as well as ways to prevent it.
One classroom practice that I should implement is challenge problems. During
my observations, the mentor teacher presented the class with a challenge problem. The
student was excited about solving it and was eager to share her answer with her
classmates. Challenge problems are a great way to keep all students interested,
especially gifted students. It was also nice to see her come out of her shell a little when
presenting her thoughts to the class. Another way to help my student to be successful is
to have students work either individually or in small groups. She is on the shy side so I
do not want to make her feel uncomfortable in a larger group of students. I believe that
for her, working with no more than two other students is best.
This child study has taught me a lot about what I want and dont want to do in
my own classroom. For one, I hate the fact that the mentor teacher constantly gave
students packets of work and had them work in the same groups, doing the same
activity, to work through the problems. It was obvious to me that students began to get
bored and lost interest in what they were doing. I want to keep all of my students
interested and engaged in everything we do. This project also helped me think about
how to differentiate lessons and concepts to all learners. Not all students in my classes

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will be at the same level, so it is important to challenge the high-level learners and assist
the low-level learners. It is important that I do things like this so that I do not lose any of
my students. Lastly, it is important that I create relationships with all of my students.
Once I began working closer with this student, she began to open up to me. She was not
as shy, nor was she afraid to ask for help. We started having short conversations
regarding things like basketball and other things she was interested in. This relationship
not only helped me get to know her better, but I could tell that it made a shy student
more comfortable in class.
Overall, I really enjoyed completing this project. I liked having the opportunity to
focus on one student in particular and get to know her on a deeper level. I also gained a
wide variety of knowledge, which I can use later on in my own classroom.