Austin Bogina

Shadow Study- Observation/ Individual Education Plan

9/25/2016

*The following reflection is based on true events but the name of the individual has
been changed for confidentiality.
When I first heard about this assignment several weeks ago, I already knew exactly
which student I would be observing. From day one of this school year Colton has shown little to
no interest in our daily activities and lessons which has caused for unnecessary interruptions and
issues. I decided to select Colton as the student I wanted to observe because he is a student that
currently has no Individual Education Plan (IEP) in place but could qualify for one.
Beginning the day, Colton was his typical always-a-step-behind self and shuffled around
at his own pace. Even with his breakfast in the morning he was the last one finished and sat
alone eating while everyone else had already moved back to the front room to begin the day.
Colton is entirely unaware at most times that there is something that he is supposed to be doing
so he sits at his desk and gets more and more frustrated. He always seems perfectly content with
just being on his own as long as he is left alone because I cannot recall a situation where he was
in trouble while interacting with another student. He is by no means a loner or withdrawn from
his classmates because he works perfect in group or partner activities. This fact alone is why I
feel that this is a case of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and in no way Attention Deficit Hyper
Disorder (ADHD). All of Coltons trouble stems from his inability to focus and pay attention for
a standard period of time and often times all it takes is a redirect to get him back on task. Where
we are at right now though is that as his teachers we cannot give him a redirect every single time
that he loses focus because we would have to teach directly to Colton because this is a constant
battle.

While observing Colton all day I also payed close attention to his emotions to see what
instances would get a rise out him and which were completely ignored. Outside of our normal
daily routines we had a guest speaker come and talk to us from the City of Pittsburg Law
Enforcement. I was pleased to see how in a situation that was not part of our daily routine he
was able to grab hold complete attention throughout the entire presentation. Through the whole
presentation Colton sat quietly, in proper listening posture, and was engaged with everything that
was going on.
During reading and social studies Colton was a part of the class physically but mentally
he was in another world. While the class was completing activities together, he would sit quietly
and do nothing until he realized an answer was on the board. During the time it took him to
answer the question he had missed, he then did not get to learn how to do the next question
which meant that he was only copying down answers and learning nothing from them. When
asked to answer a question he would need it restated and then prompted towards the answer
before he was able to correctly respond. Colton is a bright student but his lack of attention is
what is getting in the way of his possible success.
Personally, I believe that Colton responds well to me while I am teaching or prompting
him but when it comes to the female teachers he does not respond nearly as well. I usually take a
light approach to any question or redirect that I have for him because if I am at all aggressive or
attacking then I will lose him right from the start. Any time that he was being taught by a female
teacher he was uninterested and when he got in trouble for not paying attention it made no
difference in his behavior. This behavior was especially true during Specials time because
while in Library he paid little to no attention and then in the Computer Lab he had to be
redirected far too many times.

When reflecting back on his behavior when dealing with classmates and others I did not
notice any areas for concern. He is able to participate in a partner or group activity; he played
with friends at recess, and was able to properly interact during the math lesson that consisted of
playing a partner game. He does have random outbreaks where he shouts Oh come on! and
also I dont know how to do it which is followed by him whining and becoming even more of
a concern. I have not witnessed him having any trouble interacting with students but with the
majority of teachers he does not respond well to them regardless of gender. Overall I believe that
his behavior in the classroom stems from being unmotivated and also from having an attention
problem. While these areas do need to be addressed for us to get the desired results from Colton
that we expect, he is truly a good student and I do not believe that he is purposefully acting this
way.

With the second part of the assignment I was able to develop several different strategies
that could be implemented to address the areas of concern for Colton. For starters I understand
that I cannot constantly use verbal cues because that will interrupt class far too many times. I do
think that there are certain verbal cues that need to be used that are all short and simple. When
he is not on task or following directions simply saying Colton often refocuses him for a the
moment but that does not last long. Stating Colton, eyes up here also works some but other
times he is so zoned out that he does not even realize its been said. While I am giving directions
for a task I will now say Colton, boys, and girls but with a bit more emphasis on Coltons
name which I will discuss with him beforehand so he understands my reasoning behind it. He
needs to understand that he is not in trouble but that when I say his name it is so he will
remember that his eyes need to be on me and paying attention.

Another idea to implement would be to compliment him on something that he is doing

well and then respond with but I would rather see you ___(doing something correctly)___
instead of doing __(insert inappropriate behavior). He needs the positive reinforcement because
he realizes that we are all watching him so he does not want to misbehave. I cannot implement a
consequence system for this specific student because I truly believe that it an attention problem
verse a behavior issue. However, with his whining I do feel that a consequence system should be
in place due to it being entirely a behavior issue. The consequences could be simply clipping
down on our behavior chart, walking a lap at recess, or loss of game/extras time throughout the
week.
When it comes to non-verbal cues, walking by and placing my hand on his shoulder or
tapping him as I move by will remind him that there is something that he needs to be doing
instead of just sitting there. Discussing with Colton what signal him and I could use so that I
know when he is struggling may be another good idea to try out. Also, developing a signal for
me to give him when I notice he is not following directions or paying attention would avoid the
constant verbal redirects throughout the day. Along with the non-verbal cues, there also needs
to be a visual aid taped to his desk so when he seeing it while he is wandering off he will then be
reminded that his eyes should be on the teacher. This idea was partially Mrs. Burkes idea
because she made the point that when he loses his attention on us he will just stare at his desk.
Already in our classroom we have the give me five behavior strategy in place. The students
know that when Mrs. Burke or Is hand is raised they are supposed to raise their hand as well and
turn off their voices with their eyes on the teacher. The trouble with this strategy is that for
students such as Colton, I will often times raise my hand and hold it there for such a long period
of time due to him never even realizing that the class and myself have our hands up.

Another strategy that should be implemented in the class for Colton would be a colored
timer. I discussed with our school guidance counselor about the purpose of it and I enjoyed the
idea behind the tool. Since Colton has so much difficulty focusing, having the ability to watch
the color become smaller and smaller on the timer at his desk would possibly help him to realize
that he had better get to work before all the color runs out. Along with the timer, Colton needs to
be having daily discussions about what is expected of him before the day even begins. As the
students are coming into class it could be arranged that Colton comes straight to me before
placing his bag in his cubby and eating his breakfast so that I can talk with him about behavioral
concerns from the previous day, what types of behaviors he should be modeling during that day,
and also why those types of behaviors are going to be expected. Far too many times do we
address a situation with a simple dont do that because its a rule or because I said so and
that is accomplishing nothing. Colton needs to know why his behavior is of a concern to those
who care about him and want to see him succeed. I have already noticed since I last had a oneon-one discussion with him about his behavior that he is constantly watching me now and
looking for my approval. Something as simple as a high five, fist bump, or Im proud of you
Colton has already seemed to work wonders with this young child and I hope that this
development keeps progressing.
To conclude, I decided to observe this student because I knew that he would be having an
IEP meeting soon and I wanted to see how accurate I could complete one myself before I saw
what the school selected for him. While my main strategy for Colton would be the one-on-one
discussions that would be daily for the beginning and then slowly decrease in occurrence will not
be implemented I am confident that the right strategies with be chosen. I am still going to
actually recommend the one-on-one meetings and even volunteer to be the one to do them but I

do understand that the administration will be concerned about there not being an adequate
amount of time available.