Bailey Ohman

Student Teaching

Spring 2018

Daegu International School

Contextual Factors Analysis

Daegu International School is one of two international schools found in the city of

Daegu, South Korea. Korea is the home to over fifty-one million people (Daegu International

School, 2018) piled into a peninsula that is about the half of size of Colorado in the United States

(Country Size Comparison, 2017). The capital of South Korea is called Seoul, and it is around

237 kilometers, which is 147 miles, away from Daegu. Although, due to political reasons and

relative proximity to its neighbor North Korea, another city called Sejong is being developed as

the new capital about 75 miles south of Seoul (The World Factbook…, 2018).
 South Korea has been a leading nation in the world when it comes to

education for the past few years (South Korea’s education…, Zhao, Coughlan, South Korea

Overview). South Korea, along with many other eastern countries and Finland, are described as

nations that value their teachers and education more than others, which leads to these countries

leading the charts when it comes to education across the world. These countries have been

described as having a “culture” of education​ ​(Zhao, 2012). Parents are also highly involved in

their children’s studies, which adds to the value of the education system, specifically in South

Korea (Zhao, 2012). South Korean college graduation rates were the highest in the world at 69%

at the beginning of 2017 (South

Korea's education... , 2017). This stems

from the importance of education

starting in the very young years. The

one weak aspect of the South Korean

education system is availability of

affordable early childhood education

for students of the age three and four

years old (South Korea's education... ,

2017). However, as a country, South Korea’s emphasis on the importance of education has

helped create a workforce that maintains a stable economic growth throughout country. The

value of education is important to consider when preparing instruction for these students because

knowing that the teacher has full support of the parents of each student, and the entire country,

means that teachers can have confidence in their abilities to teach young minds and to explore

new ideas and options with students that will lead to success in the future.

Education in South Korea has also led to industrial gains and advances over many years

throughout the whole country. These advances, including in the automobile industry and

telephone industry, are seen across the world as products are shipped worldwide as exports for

the country (The World Factbook…, 2018). In 2016, the unemployment rate in South Korea was

at 3.7% (The World Factbook…, 2018) compared to America’s 4.9% (Brainerd, 2018). Along

with a very low unemployment rate, only 12.5% of the entire South Korean population was

below the poverty line in 2015 (The World Factbook…, 2018). In recent years, South Korea “has

demonstrated incredible economic growth and global integration to become a high-tech

industrialized economy” (The World Factbook…, 2018). This insight into the economics of the

country gives a good idea of how they value the importance of the education of the younger

generations to continue this pattern of economic and industrial growth.

In South Korea, the main language that is spoken is Korean. Many schools, high schools

in particular, teach English as well (The World Factbook…, 2018). Along with a lot of the

population being bilingual, the culture in South Korea is much different than that of the United

States. South Korea is “a very male dominated country” (Toldeo, 2018). Many women are

discriminated against and treated as unequal to men due to the traditional ideas of Confucianism
that the country has followed in the past.

These traditions imply that men were the

dominant gender and women acted as

“stay-at-home” mothers (​Lindberg, 2017).

This concept plays a critical role in the way

that a teacher understands their students and

their classroom. When students are coming

from a society that has traditions of male

domination, students will pick up those traits

and begin practicing them in their own life.

This means that male students may tend to take over and be controlling in

the classroom, and female students may tend to be less confident in their knowledge and

performance in the classroom. This is not because either gender deserves to act and/or feel these

feelings about themselves, it is what their culture and society tells them. As a teacher, when

taking this into consideration, it will be crucial to respect the culture of the country that the

students are from and live in. However, it will also be necessary to share other ideas with the

students that encourage self-confidence, self-respect, and self-determination among all students.

Along with that, it will be important to create a classroom environment that ensures equality and

respect among the students in the school environment.

In South Korea, Daegu is located closer to the south western coast of the country. Out of

the fifty-one million people living in South Korea, about two and a half million people live in the

city of Daegu. Daegu is broken up into eight different districts. Among those districts, Dong-gu
 is the most eastern district, and is the administrative

district of Daegu. Daegu International School is

located in Dong-gu. Daegu is not a very diverse

city. Almost ninety-nine percent of the population

is of the Korean nationality. This only leaves a little

over one percent of the population made of

different nationalities (Brinhoff, 2017).

Although the city is not very diverse, the split

between genders in the city of Daegu is almost even

(Brinhoff, 2017). Along with the equal split between genders, the city of Daegu is highly

populated. In Dong-gu, the district of Daegu where DIS is located, there are almost 1,900 people

per square kilometer, which is only a little over half of a mile. So, students are experiencing not

very much diversity outside of school, and they are living in a city where there are a lot of people

packed into a small area.

This knowledge is essential to take into consideration when providing instruction for

students because it will be influential to realize that students do not know what it is like to live in

a house, may not have a yard to play in, and may experience life differently than that of students

who live in rural Maine. Many math story problems, or stories provided to students in classroom

books, talk about things like playing in a yard, traveling in a car, or living in a house. Many of

these things will have to be explained to students who have never experienced or seen them

before. It will be critical to provide time in lessons to discuss vocabulary and explain different

aspects of stories that talk about things that students may not know or understand.
 At Daegu International School, language is a barrier that many children face when it

comes to their education. From grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, almost all of the DIS

students are English as a Second Language learners (ESL). As an international school, DIS is the

home to students and faculty of many different nationalities from around the world. Out of the

306 students that attend DIS, only 80 of them are considered to be international students. Along

with that, about 204 of all of the students attending DIS are Korean students. Some students are

considered “part” Korean and they are considered a part of the 10% group of students. Out of the

306 students attending DIS, 22 are a part of the 10% group.

The students who are considered “international” come from nations like Australia,

Canada, China, Gabon, India, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippians, Taiwan, and America

(Wallauer, 2018). All students at DIS speak English; some more fluently than others. In the

entire elementary school portion of DIS, kindergarten through fifth grade, 21 students are in the

ELL program that the school offers. In the middle and high school portion of the school, there

are 31 students in the ELL program.

DIS prides itself on the importance of providing extra support for ELL students and its

ability to provide an American education to these students from different nations. DIS follows

the same curriculum as it’s sister school, Lee Academy, from Lee, Maine. Both of these schools

follow Maine laws and curriculums, meaning that DIS follows the Common Core Student

Standards for math and reading, the Maine Learning Results for social studies, and the Next

Generation Science Standards for science (Daegu International School, 2018). Along with the

regular education curriculum, DIS offers Physical Education, Art education, Music education,
library time, and foreign language education, such as Chinese and Spanish, as exploratory classes

at the elementary level. Exploratory classes would be known as specials in schools in Maine.

By providing ELL students with extra supports when it comes to

language barriers and learning new things that may not be common in a city or country like

Korea, it is a valuable asset that most teachers at DIS are able to create lessons that are universal

in that they accommodate students who are learning English as a second language. This includes

being patient with students when they are trying to communicate their thoughts, not pointing out

every mistake that is made when speaking or writing, and teaching the students different ways to

remember and learn new information that is taught to them in their second language. Any

accommodation made to support students learning in their second language will ultimately lead

them to more successful outcomes.

Along with being an

international school,

DIS​ ​is a private school

and a boarding school.

The students who

attend DIS are required to pay a tuition every year that they attend. Tuition costs for DIS are in
the twenty-thousand range when thinking of the U.S. Dollar. This requirement of families says a

lot about the commitment that they have to educating their students. Along with the regular

tuition, students of all age ranges are required to pay other fees that add to their educational

experiences at DIS.

Other fees include monetary requirements like paying for an entrance fee, paying for

lunch, paying for a school bus if the students take it, paying a residence fee if the student lives on

the school’s campus in the residence dorms, and a senior fee when the students are completing

their last year of high school at DIS.

Dormitories for students at the high school level are offered to

students to live in during the school year. Along with high school students, many DIS faculty

members are encouraged to live in the dorms on the school’s campus. Faculty get paid to live on

the school’s campus (Toledo, 2018) and also get free breakfasts, lunches, and dinners from the

school’s dining hall.​ ​This works well for those faculty who are foreign. The dormitories are
always locked, and therefore are only available to those students and faculty members who have

access with a fingerprint or key card. Having this dormitory as an option for international

students may make a huge difference when considering whether or not a student attends the

school. Some international students would not have a place to live if they did not live in the DIS

dorms. So, by including the dorms in the school’s opportunities, the school is opening its doors

to students who may have otherwise not considered the option of attending the school.

Although DIS provides many accommodations for students when it comes to learning the

English language, and allows students plenty of educational opportunities, DIS does not provide

accommodations or supports for students with disabilities. This means that students who have

any type of behavioral, learning, intellectual, or physical disability would not have the

opportunity to attend DIS, simply because they do not offer the supports. Even though DIS does

not offer the supports for students with special needs, many of the faculty are certified in Special

Education or recreational therapy, and are able to make small accommodations or adjustments in

their classrooms for students who may need more support than their peers. Some teachers may be

willing and able to provide such supports for students with disabilities, however, it is a major

disadvantage for the school to not have these supports available for all students. Although it is an

international school, by not providing supports for students with special needs, DIS is taking

away a critical diversity that provides all students with life experiences and preparedness that

other schools may offer.

Daegu international school gives students a lot of educational opportunities between it’s

operating hours of 7:45 A.M. and 2:30 P.M. Along with providing a snack break, a healthy

lunch, and recess time for all grades, DIS encourages all students and faculty to participate in
after-school activities; this is something that they call “ASAs”. Students from first grade to

seniors in high school are encouraged to choose from a long list of ASAs and attend at least one

each week. Each ASA is only offered once a week, so many students sign up for more than one

to attend on a weekly basis, each quarter. Faculty members are required to run at least one ASA

each quarter. Some of the ASAs that are available to elementary students are: Elementary Board

Games, Elementary Book Club, Readers Theater, Elementary Orchestra, Musical Theater,

Coding and Lego Building, Cooking, Cheer Team, Soccer Team, Volleyball Team, and many

others.

When considering the idea of ASAs, it is also important to consider the other activities

that students in Korea, and especially at DIS, are also participating in during the day. Many of

the students at DIS go to school all day, leave DIS, and then go to a Korean academy to study

more, focusing on specific subjects like math or science. Then along with those, students are

participating in dance classes, taking musical instrument classes, amongst many other

educational commitments. Many students are very tired by the end of the week, or even the end

of the day, and are looking forward to the weekend when they just get to play and be kids.

Although, for many students, Korean academies are in session all day on Saturday and students

attend religious commitments on Sundays.

As a teacher, it will be critical to think about what opportunities students have in ASAs to

relax a little bit and have some fun before they continue learning when they leave DIS. One

teacher at DIS considered this thought when she created the Elementary Board Games ASA. She

wanted to give students an opportunity to relax and have some fun after a long school day, and

that is exactly what she did. According to her experiences, this club fills to the max every quarter
because students know that spending some time in this after school activity will give them an

opportunity for a quick hour long break at the end of a long school day on Mondays (Gum,

2018).

Along with student exhaustion, due to having a lot of educational commitments on their

plate, many students are not even the ones signing themselves up for the after school activities.

Students’ parents have the access and control of the ASA portal on the DIS website, and

therefore are the ones who are ultimately choosing which ASA each child attends. This means

that although some parents may take their child’s preferences into consideration, some students

are put into after-school activities they may not have chosen or wanted to attend. This puts

students in a position where they may not want to go somewhere because they are tired at the end

of the day and have no interest in their ASA. Younger students may reflect this disinterest

through acting out or misbehaving on those specific days. This is an essential aspect to consider

as an elementary teacher at DIS.

Daegu International School employs one kindergarten teacher, and two teachers for each

grade level going up from first to fifth in the elementary school. The kindergarten and first grade

classrooms are located in a building that is not connected to the main building, called the Early

Childhood Center. Here, the kindergarten and first grade teachers spend a lot of time

incorporating ways for the two grades to intermingle and spend time with each other. One way

this happens is by sharing a recess on their own private playground that is different from the

fields and courts that the older grades use for recess. This provides a way for the students of each

grade to get to know one another and create friendships that they may have not made if the three

classes did not get time to spend together.

 In Mrs. Toledo’s first grade class, there are eleven students. The class is split almost

evenly with five boys and six girls. The class is not very diverse; there is only one student who is

considered to be international in this class, and she is from Nepal. These students are lively and

excited about learning. Most of the students in this first grade class are willing to challenge

themselves and are motivated by successes and failures. Some of the students have to work more

on their language use and development, and some have to work more on their impulse control,

but they all are respectful and smart kids.

In this first grade class, there are procedures that the students follow every day. Some

procedures include choosing a book to read at their desk when the students come in from recess,

going to the bathroom and washing their hands before they leave for lunch, using the bathroom

and washing their hands when they are done with their snack, checking the board when they

come to school in the morning to see what they need to do that day, and many others. Along with

procedures that happen in the classroom, the students follow procedures in their Home Learning,

which can also be known as homework, in their after school activities, and when in the hallways

or outside at recess. The purpose of setting and using classroom and school procedures is to help

the students and the teacher throughout the day. By setting these expectations at the beginning of

the year, students are never wondering what they are supposed to do at any time during the day.

As a teacher, it will be important to practice these procedures with students, and make sure that

they know their responsibilities and the expectations for the rest of the year.

The students in this class do not have particular classroom jobs because they are all

required to do things that classroom jobs would ask them to do every day. For example, all

students are required to pick up the trash that they see on the floor when they notice it. This
builds respect for their classroom, and also gives them a reason to keep their own space clean

and tidy.

Procedures in the classroom apply to specific areas in the classroom. There are three

groups of desks, each group having four desks for the students to sit at. Students know that their

chairs need to have all four legs on the floor at all times for their safety. Each group of desks has

a basket of books on it and a basket of supplies that include pencils, markers, glue, scissors, and

crayons. Each basket on the groups of desks has enough of the supplies in it to share between all

of the students at the desk group. This is set up this way to limit the amount of rustling around

that students do when other students may still be working on their assigned tasks. Along with

that, keeping books on

desks encourages

reading when the

students are finished

with things. Practicing

reading will always

encourage successful

reading skills

throughout the year.

Each first grade student

in Mrs. Toledo’s class

received an “All about

you!” questionnaire.
The purpose of this questionnaire was to find out more about the students.

The first thing that the students were asked to do on this sheet was to write their name.

This particular bunch of first graders has a hard time remembering to write their names on their

classwork, and even more commonly, their home learning work. Adding the spot where they

were supposed to write their name to their worksheet reinforced the importance of writing their

name on their work to claim it as their own.

The second question that was asked, asked the students when their birthday was. The

answer of this question is not critical for understanding this bunch of students, but kids take their

birthdays very seriously. It is also good practice for them to remember, or learn, their birthday

and write it down. Although dramatic results from this question were not expected, interesting

information came from the answers that were given by the students. Most students shared that

they were seven or eight years old, which would be the common age for someone in second

grade in America. This is really interesting from an American teacher’s perspective because it

goes to show that this school puts students in the grade level that they test into when they apply

to attend this institution. Along those lines, many of the students may have attended Korean

schools before they came to DIS, which may also play a factor into their age. Seven and

eight-year-old students are more commonly in grades higher than first.

The third question that was asked was about the parts of school that each of these

students enjoyed the most. This question was important to ask for many reasons. One reason

being that the answer could lead to a teacher incorporating more of something depending on

what their students say that they enjoy more. For example, many of the first graders who

completed this sheet said that their favorite part of school was P.E. (Physical Education) or
recess. This says that the students like to be active and move around. This could be incorporated

into the classroom by considering including movement into lessons or allowing flexible seating

in the classroom. Another helpful aspect of asking this question is finding out if students are

enjoying the lessons and activities that teachers have planned for the students throughout the

week. One student who completed this sheet said that their favorite part about school was Daily

Five. This was an exciting answer for the classroom teacher has she had spent a lot of time

emphasizing the importance of making this particular educational program fun and interesting

for students, and it clearly was successful by this student’s answer. Other students wrote that

their favorite things about school were lunch, art, science, playing games, and writing, amongst

other things.

The purpose of the fourth question that was asked was to find out what the students

believe they struggle with. This question asked the students what the hardest part about school

was for them. Many students listed subjects like reading, math, and vocabulary. These would be

expected due to the varying abilities that are found in the classroom. One student wrote that the

hardest part of the school day was waking up in the morning. As funny as this was, it also

indicated that some students may be very tired from the strenuous amount of educational

commitments that these students have at seven and eight years old. Some students, on the other

hand, wrote that they didn’t believe that there were any hard parts about school. Two out of the

eleven students who completed this paper wrote that they didn’t “have anything” for this section

of the questionnaire. One student who wrote this is quite successful and motivated to take their

time in completing their work. The other student may have rushed through this home learning

sheet, as it is clear that during the school day this particular student struggles with following
directions and completing tasks on time. This is also a good way to see if students are able to

connect that they are struggling with something and could be a good way to talk with students

about setting educational goals for themselves. For example, if a student says that they struggle

with vocabulary, the teacher and the student could work together to create goals for that student.

Another question that was asked to be answered was inquiring on what the students did

after school. The purpose of asking this question was to find out if the students continue their

learning at academies, or what other commitments they have after school. Many students listed

the ASAs that they attend at DIS after the regular school day during the week. Some students

wrote that they do some things like taking piano lessons and doing their home learning. One

student wrote that they practice taekwondo, which is their hobby. This insight shows the teacher

that students are committed to their education during the school day and then also have more

commitments after school. The results of this question also shared some insight into what the

students are interested in and what they enjoy after school.

The fifth question that was on this questionnaire asked the students what they like to do

when they are not in school. Answers ranged from watching movies with their family, to going

on vacation, to other hobbies that they might have. This question, along with the fourth question,

is looking into finding out what the students like to do and how they like to spend their time.

The last question asked the students to share the most important thing about themselves

that they would want their teacher to know. Some of the answers were quite humorous; one

student wrote about his “big black dot,” which is actually a birthmark on his knee. Some students

wrote that they really enjoy spending time with their family. One student wrote that he tries

really hard to be a good listener even though he has a hard time sometimes. Along with these
answers, one student wrote that there was nothing important about them that they wanted the

teacher to know. This led to one-on-one conversations with each of the students about their

answers and asking this one student in particular about something special about themselves. This

particular student is the only non-Korean student in this first grade class. She speaks five

different languages. By having this conversation with this student, connections were made

between speaking multiple languages and being special, and she was able to realize that she had

multiple interesting things about herself that she could share. This was extremely meaningful

because this student was able to find and share some value that they saw in themself!

Lastly, the students were asked to draw a picture of their family. This was asked to find

out who lives at home with each of the students. Also, it was interesting to see how the students

visualized their family.

The questionnaire was important to give as a teacher because it was a way for the

students to open up and share some things about themselves, and it was a way for the teacher to

take into account their interests and thoughts and apply those things to the classroom

environment and lessons that the teacher plans for them. It is essential for the classroom teacher

to know and understand what gets their students motivated and get them to actively participate

during their time in the classroom. From the results of giving this questionnaire, and then

discussing with the students one-on-one about their answers, a teacher would consider including

physical activities in their lessons, including cross-content lessons (like reading a book about

science in reading), or creating lessons that include aspects that allow the students to be creative

and use art skills. Using these ideas would encourage participation and enjoyment throughout the

school day as students are able to incorporate things that they enjoy into what they are learning.
This also is a good tool to encourage locking in specific content that students are learning, as

they are more likely to remember something that they had fun or did hands on activities with,

rather than just completing a worksheet.

Along with handing out a worksheet for students to fill out, the students were observed

for two weeks in the classroom, their files were analyzed over two weeks, and the classroom

teacher was asked to share some insight about each of the students in the class. This information,

along with the results gathered through the questionnaire, gave a great amount of insight of what

these eleven students struggle with, thrive on, and enjoy the most. As the classroom teacher, this

data is critical when considering lessons, activities, and the classroom environment. The results

of the interviews, questionnaires, and file analysis will be used as future references and guides

when creating lessons for the students in this first grade class.

Student Gender ESL Attended DIS Interests Other

Kindergarten

EM F X Yes Baby brother, Needs extra support

(ELL drawing/art, dolls in reading and
program - writing/language arts
pulled out)

KK F X Yes Animals, Plays ice hockey

drawing/art, dolls

SK F X No Playing/being
active

KL M X Yes Robots, skiing, Struggles with

drawing, soccer reading and
vocabulary, very
active student

JC M X No Skiing, Robots Does taekwondo

after school
 JJ M X No Writing, Science Likes to travel

BC F X No Cheering/dance, Plays violin,

animals

JY M X No Hockey, board Enjoys spending

games/legos time with family

LK F X No Cheering Plays many

instruments

LL M X Yes Writing, playing Advanced in

outside reading, writing,
math

AJ F X Yes Drawing/art, International student

(ELL swimming, - five languages,
program - playing with plays piano
pulled out) friends

The data collected over these two weeks shared a lot of insight about each of the eleven

students in this first grade class. There are two students who are at the lower end of the learning

abilities spectrum, or not at the same ability level as their peers in the classroom. One student,

EM, has an American father, and their family is poor for Korean standards, especially compared

to other students in this classroom. This young student in particular does not have a lot of support

with her home learning at home, all the while dealing with other familial issues that go on at

home. This student has a new baby brother at home and an older sister who attends DIS, as well.

Both EM and her older sister started at DIS in kindergarten.

Although this one student in particular is at the lower end of the learning abilities in the

classroom, she is able to complete her work on time and at the best of her ability. She sometimes

needs more support than her peers while completing specific tasks in the classroom, like in

writing and reading, but she is able to complete many things on her own. This young student’s
diligence when it comes to trying her best to complete tasks on her own says a lot about the

learner that she is. She gets pulled out, along with one other student, two or three times a week to

work on building her language skills and building her reading and writing skills, along those

lines. When planning lessons, it is important to consider the needs and abilities of EM along with

the rest of the students in the class. She is able to complete work on her own most of the time,

but sometimes needs more time to think about answers after a question is asked, and more time

to read and write when completing work that requires these two skills. Lessons will incorporate

accommodations like reading questions out loud in tests or on sheets that include directions, to

support not just this one student in particular, but for all of the students, as they are all English

Language Learners.

EM’s mom and dad are not always able to attend school functions or help EM with her

home learning. This means that the teacher has to understand and be flexible when it comes to

parent signatures on reading logs and other forms that are sent home for the parents to read. EM

and her older sister spend a lot of time doing home learning together at home. This means that a

lot of the support that EM is getting at home is from her sister who is only in fourth grade. This

is important to consider when checking student home learning, because it is crucial to

acknowledge the EM is doing this work on her own without a lot of parental support. This is

unlike many of the other students in the classroom, who sometimes hand in home learning that

they did not complete themselves.

The other student that gets pulled out for ELL, AJ, is comparable to EM when it comes to

learning abilities. Both of these students have shown progress over the year in their abilities to

learn, read, and write on their own, yet still sometimes need more support than others in the
classroom. AJ is the only student who is non-Korean in this first grade classroom, and is an only

child at home. Her family comes from Nepal, and although they are wealthy to Nepalese

standards, they are considered middle class in Korea. AJ’s mom and dad keep in regular contact

with the classroom teacher and always support AJ with her home learning, but never intrude on

doing it for her. From many conversations with the classroom teacher, and by looking through

AJ’s files, it is clear the huge leaps and gains that AJ has made throughout her time at DIS.

AJ started at DIS in the third quarter of her kindergarten year. She was shy and did not

talk to her peers at all. However, it is clear that she has made huge gains and come out of her

shell, even over the past five weeks, she has participated in activities more by raising her hand

and offering her answer to questions. She has made friends and plays outside at recess with her

peers, rather than by herself, and is more proactive in asking for help, asking to play with

someone, and doing things on her own. AJ’s reading, writing, and talking abilities have shown

major improvements over the past year and a half. Although she still struggles with pronouncing

and reading some words, she is more confident in her abilities to complete things and talk in the

classroom. AJ is lively and excited to learn every day. She encourages her peers and asks

clarifying questions when she is confused. AJ takes her time when completing work in the

classroom, and this proves to be a successful strategy as her grades have improved dramatically

since she began first grade last fall. She practices using each strategy that the class talks about,

and her work shows her understanding of the content of each lesson. AJ does an incredible job

using what she has learned in each lesson. From a teacher’s perspective, this is an incredible

accomplishment for this student. When considering AJ when planning lessons, her understanding

of the content will be clear by her answers and work that is completed throughout the lesson. By
incorporating engaging learning and instructional strategies, all students may be able to

incorporate what they learned, like AJ does, in their daily work. By taking her time, AJ is able to

build her learning abilities in the classroom, and is a very able young girl when it comes to

learning in the classroom. Although she gets pulled out for language instruction, she is very

smart and very able to learn in first grade.

Only one other female student in this first grade class attended DIS in kindergarten. KK

is a very intelligent young girl. Ability wise, KK is closer to the top in the class than other

students. She is able to take her time when completing her work, and is always willing to help

others. KK has siblings at home, and her parents are very supportive of her when it comes to

home learning and staying in contact with the classroom teacher. KK rarely gets into trouble or

causes distractions in the classroom.

When it comes to language, KK struggles a little more than other students at her learning

ability level. She is very able to read and comprehend stories, however, her speaking and writing

skills are where she lacks. There are many instances when vocabulary stumps her. However, KK

is very proactive and asks questions when she is unsure or confused during her learning. KK’s

ability to learn is something to consider when planning lessons, because it will crucial to engage

ELL students by connecting what they are learning to something that they know. For KK, and

most of the other students in this class, vocabulary is tricky, and explaining the rules of the

English language creates barriers all of the time. Incorporating mini-lessons that talk about

language use, like prepositions, adjectives, and nouns, will help students to build their

understanding of the English language, and ultimately help them with speaking, reading, and

writing.
 The rest of the girls in this class, SK, LK, and BC, attended Korean kindergarten.

Although they did not attend an international school for kindergarten, their speaking skills are

about at the same level as KK and EM. This is because a lot of the schools in the area around

DIS teach English as a language beginning in the very young years.

SK’s mom works at DIS in the main office, and it is very clear that she is getting a lot of

support at home. Unfortunately, sometimes SK comes to school with home learning that she has

not done herself, and being a first grader, lets the teacher know that she did not do it, her mom

did. As a teacher, it will be important to communicate with the parents that students need to

complete their own work because the point of home learning is to continue learning what they

are learning at school.

SK has a hard time paying attention during the school day, and is often needing

reminding to pay attention and to follow the directions. She is not unintelligent, yet she tries very

hard to get the answers from her teachers or her peers. SK is sometimes caught looking at her

peers worksheets and taking their answers and writing them down as her own. This lack of

initiative in thinking about and creating her own answers has been addressed in many ways

between SK, her mom, and the classroom teacher. Things like moving the classroom seats

around, moving seats during tests, and correcting SK when the behavior is observed have been

used to correct this behavior. However, it is still an observed behavior usually during both

independent work time and direct instruction time. This behavior is confusing for her parents and

her teachers because she is not unable to complete the tasks that she is asked to complete,

however, the teacher believes that she gets distracted easily and may also just be as engaged as

other student during the lessons. This is a behavior to address when planning lessons because all
students need to be engaged to reach the most successful outcomes from a lesson. This means

that lessons need to include activities that will engage students and keep them engaged all the

way until the end of the lesson.

When it comes to the male students in this classroom, they tend to dominate the room

when it comes to talking, especially in group work. Although this is a part of the Korean culture,

it is also because these students tend to have a lot more confidence in themselves as learners in

the classroom.

KL is a student who is very active during the day, and needs many reminders to pay

attention or to not fidget with things on his desk during direct instruction. This student in

particular is very able to complete the classwork that is assigned and is willing to take on

challenges in the classroom. Engaging this student with activities, manipulatives, and group

work works best to keep him engaged and paying attention throughout the entire lesson. KL’s

parents are very involved in his education and are actively communicating with the teacher

throughout the weeks and months of the school year. This works great because they are always

willing to try new things and work with the teacher to correct undesirable behaviors and keep KL

on track at school.

JY is another student whose parents are very involved in their learning. This student also

will come to school with home learning that they did not do themself, and it is very clear to the

teacher. These particular pieces of work are kept in that students file, and an email is sent home

to the parents, but it is also taken out during parent-teacher conferences to make sure that JY’s

parents understand that the home learning is meant for the student to complete to support their

daily learning at home.

 After analyzing the data that was collected over the past couple of weeks, there is a lot of

evidence indicating that these students are involved in many activities involving their education.

Many of them are tired and find that the work at DIS is more engaging and more fun than their

other commitments for the education. This information will guide future lessons and the

classroom environment, in that each student learns differently, but all of them want to learn and

are eager to move, hold something, and apply their learning. These students get excited about

experiments, doing anything that involves movement, and lessons that include manipulatives.

When considering home learning, it will be crucial to realize that not all students are

completing their home learning independently. Many of them are receiving support, but some are

not. Also, that some students will struggle more than other students to complete work in their

home environment. This information will guide the teacher’s approach to planning, instruction,

and reflections on lessons and what goes on in the classroom during the day.

This group of learners are eager and motivated to learn, not only by the rigorous

educational system that they are undeniably coming from, but by their own excitement and joy of

learning new things. They are an energetic, boisterous, loveable, and very intelligent group of

students who have great potential to face challenging tasks and conduct higher order thinking.

With the support of the DIS community, the parents of students, and the students themselves,

creating lessons that challenge and inform the students will be fun to create and complete.
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