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LEARNING OBSERVATION REPORT Observer Melissa Terranova Date: 11/19/2018
Location: Classroom
Type of observation (circle): Cognitive Emotional/Social Learning
Description of the Context
Child’s name: Jordan Nuance
Child’s age
11 years and one month
Child’s grade:
5
th
Grade
Child’s academic achievement:
Jodan is struggling in all areas of Education
Child’s main academic interests:
Math
Child’s relationships with classmates:
Jordan has only a few friends
Child’s relationships with the teacher (other
authorities):
Jordan is regressing his refusal to do work has increased since the beginning of the school year. He does not listen to any of the teachers in the classroom as well as the teaching assistant.
Socio-economic status of the child’s family:
Jordan comes from a middle-class family.
Child’s family composition
Jordan lives at home with his mother, sister, and grandmother. Child’s family atmosphere
N/A
Child’s relationships with relatives
N/A
Presence/absence of child’s special need(s):
According to his co-teacher
Comprehension Goal
Decoding Goal
Computation math goal
Presence/absence of IEP or any therapy sessions
Jordan has an IEP that classifies him as having a “Learning Disability”. Academic IEP as well as Behavioral
Sees the school physiatrist 3 times a week.
Goes to reading services 3 times a week.
Co-teaching classroom gets 2 ½ extra of coteaching.
Jordan has a one to one.
The sequence of the child’s activities under observation I chose to observe Jordan in a writing lesson. Ms. Liberato’s is teaching the students how to write a personal essay.
The main task the child is accomplishing while being observed
(describe in detail)
The main task is to observe how Jordan understands new material/skill presented during this writing lesson. During my observation I focus on whether Jordan understands the objective and if Jordan is able to work independently, or does he require extra guidance? Something else what observer believes is important to know about the child. Jordan struggles the most with writing. I work with Jordan every other day for writing lessons it is always a hard time to complete each lesson and task that Ms. Liberato’s assigns. He also has difficulty focusing when the teacher is speaking. Jordan remains to be the subject of my continuing observation. On November 19
th,
2018, I conducted my third and final learning observation in an academic setting. Jordan is a 5
th
grader and goes to Birch Elementary school in Merrick, New York. He is eleven years old and comes from a middle-class background. Jordan lives at home with his mother, grandmother, and sister. Jordan’s sister is a 6
th
grader and attends Birch School, she struggles academically as well. Jordan’s teachers describe him as being defiant, shuts down when he is unable to do certain things that he wants to do. He does not communicate effectively with his peers. Any instance of engaging in reciprocal conversation by asking at least one question with a full sentence in the absence of maladaptive behavior, particularly when presented with non-preferred tasks or situations. Jordan struggles with both reading and writing. He nevertheless enjoys math, although
it is sometimes challenging for him. He has a comprehension goal, computation goal, and a decoding goal. He is passionate about certain things, according to Ms. Liberato’s, but he gets angry easily when he doesn't understand new material. Jordan becomes demotivated while learning new material. Jordan enjoys receiving praise from his teachers and friends and is most successful when he completes his assignments correctly.
Description of Child’s Activities/Actions Comments
What an observer sees (it is reality, it is objective)
What an observer thinks about it (subjective opinion and interpretation) 1.
1:20 P.M. Ms. Liberato’s asks all the students to come sit on the carpet
Jordan refuses to come to the carpet.
2.
She ask’s Jordan to come to the carpet three times. He finally comes.
She starts to explain the objective for writing for the day.
Jordan seems annoyed and is not looking at the smart board. Jordan seems distracted
and disinterested
.
3.
Ms. Liberato’s says they will write a personal essay about something that has happened recently in their lives. Jordan looks down and is not paying attention. Mrs. Terranova redirects him to look at the board. 4.
Ms. Liberato’s explains that they will
need to include a beginning, a middle, and end.
5.
She then asks for an example by a student to share what they will be writing about. Jordan seems engaged
. He raises his hand is excited to share his idea for his personal narrative. 6.
Mrs. Liberato’s tells Jordan that his idea for his personal narrative is a good one and to use it. Jordan is happy that the class and his teacher praised him. He smiles and does a little dance.
7.
She now demonstrates a full example
on the smart board of a personal narrative including the beginning, middle, and end. Jordan is starting to get unfocused again.
8.
Mrs. Liberato’s asks the students to go back to their seats and start their personal narrative. She hands out directions on writing a personal narrative. She puts a timer for 30 minutes on the board.
Jordan does not go back to his seat. Mrs. Terranova asks Jordan to please go back to his seat, but Jordan
refuses
again.
9.
Mrs. Terranova tells Jordan he can sit
on the high-top table in the back of the room. Jordan shrugs but goes to the high-top table and sits down. 10.
He does not begin his work. Mrs. Terranova redirects Jordan. He says, “I do not want to do this”. Jordan looks muddled. He looks around the room
and he see his peers writing a lot.
11.
Jordan slams his head on the table and closes his eyes. This is what Jordan does when he doesn’t understand how to start an assignment and notices other students
around him Jordan seems stressed and looks disheartened. This writing seems to be out of his current ZPD
, but just in reach. Liel is showing signs that
he is in need of support from his teacher.
12.
Mrs. Terranova asks if she can sit next to Jordan. He says ok.
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13.
She grabs the notebook and personal narrative sheet. She asks Jordan “if he wants to do this together”. She asks Jordan to reread the learning objective and asks Jordan to tell her more about what he will make his personal narrative about. But he is still confused as to where to start.
Mrs. Terranova is using the Scaffolding technique
called teacher
prompting by providing help to Jordan to allow him to reach his ZPD since this is new information to him
. She is acting as the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO).
14.
Jordan reads the learning objective and then starts to explain what he is going to write about. Mrs. T, “my personal narrative is about the time I went to Starbucks with my mom and couldn’t get my favorite drink”!
As he is explaining his story again his face starts to light up. Vygotsky’s theory
is seen here. Social interaction is vital to the development of young children.
15.
Mrs. Terranova asks Jordan what the first thing is we must do. Jordan says,
“We must first create an introduction for the story.”
16.
Mrs. T tells Jordan great job! Now what is a good first sentence does you
think to start your essay. Jordan says how about, “I will never forget the time I went to Starbucks with my sister and mother. Mrs. T says awesome love it! Let’s write it down
!
Jordan can focus and understand better when Mrs. helps to guide and prompt him.
17.
Jordan does not like to write things down because he struggles to spell many basic vocabulary words. Jordan
starts to shut down again.
18.
Mrs. T helps Jordan tap out certain words to such as “never” and “went” to help him write his first sentence.
Mrs. is using another scaffolding technique
to help Jordan spell words. Jordan likes it when Mrs. is helpful.
19.
Now it is time to write the rest of the paragraph you can do it! says Mrs. Jordan seems to shrug but he keeps going. Just by praising Jordan and telling him he’s got this is a way to keep him
motivated
and
engaged
and not distracted.
21.
It is now time for the next paragraph. I start to see Jordan gazing off. I ask Jordan if everything is ok. He says again, “I don’t know what to write.” It seems that Jordan is
confused
again and feeling
disheartened
. 22.
Mrs. T suggests a narrative graphic organizer to help put all his thoughts together. Jordan nods yes.
Mrs. T is using another scaffolding
technique to help Jordan plan the rest of his essay. 23.
Jordan is listening to Mrs. T as she is explaining how to use a narrative graphic organizer. Again, we see Mrs. T is acting as an MKO
for support
and
assistance
.
24.
Jordan starts filling in the graphic organizer and is working very hard. He asks Mrs. T a few questions here or there if he is on the right track. Mrs. T says yes and tells him he is doing a great job.
Mrs.T uses encouragement and praise to keep him motivated
. 25.
After he finishes the graphic organizer, Jordan goes back to writing his second paragraph of his story with prompts from Mrs. for spelling words. Jordan seems to be grasping the concept of a personal narrative. 26
Jordan is almost finished writing his personal narrative, but you can see him start to get distracted again. Jordan needs to constantly be moving and struggles doing something for a long period of time. 27
Mrs. T. makes a deal with Jordan. If he finishes his personal narrative, he can cash in his points to receive a reward.
Liel is now working independently
and is no longer looking for guidance from his teacher. He
is motivated and knows what to do thanks for the
scaffolding support from Mrs.T
28
Mrs. T just sits next to Jordan, but he is finishing it all by himself Mrs. T removes her scaffolding support because she sees that Jordan can work independently and now understands the assignment.
29
The timer goes off for the assignment
and Jordan completes a draft of his personal narrative. 30.
Mrs. T reads Jordans personal narrative and says, “it is written beautifully.”
Jordan seems very excited that he finished the assignment right before the timer went off. He tells his friends next to him. 31.
Mrs. T keeps her end of the deal and helps Jordan count all his points. He choses his reward of a Pokémon pack
of cards. Jordan feels proud. He is confident and tells everyone When he is rewarded the Pokémon pack, he shows it to his friends at his table. He seems content. Mrs. T is using Operant Conditioning, by giving Jordan a chance to cash
in and get a reward after completing his assignment. This is to motivate him to carry out the same desirable actions—independent effort and cooperation—in the future.
This is my third time observing Jordan. I observed him while Ms. Liberato’s was teaching a new writing lesson. She has been teaching the students how to write different types of essays.
Today’s lesson included her teaching the students how to write a personal narrative. My objective was to observe Jordan’s ability to follow instructions and write an entire personal narrative. Ms. Liberato’s had all the students sit on the carpet and went over how to write a personal narrative. She demonstrated an example of a personal narrative and had students share their ideas for their essays. Mrs. Liberato’s instructed the students to work independently and write their own personal narrative. Jordan was struggling in the beginning to get all his ideas together on the paper. He said he didn’t want to do the assignment. I think it is because he was struggling to comprehend it. He put his head on the table and closed his eyes. Mrs. Terranova went over to him and helped direct him on how to set up his personal narrative. Her use of scaffolding was advantageous as it enabled Jordan to finish the task.
Inferences
Specify the two theories that are applied to the child’s behavior analysis
in your Inferences:
The sources which represent these theories are:
Lev Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development - ZPD and Scaffolding 1.
Y. Karpov (2014). Vygotsky for Educators
. Paperback edition. Cambridge Univ. Press. P.p. 22-25. 2.
Cortney Belolan (2013). Pre-Assessment: A Key to the ZPD.
Retrieved from: http://www.competencyworks.org/resources/p
re-assessment-a-key-to-the-zpd/
3.
Guk, I., & Kellogg, D. (2007). The ZPD and whole class teaching: Teacher-led and student-
led interactional mediation of tasks. Language Teaching Research
, 11
(3), 281–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168807077561
B.F. Skinner’s Theory of Operant Conditioning - Rewards and Reinforcement Theory 4.
McLeod, S.A. (2018).
Skinner – Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from
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https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-
conditioning.html
5.
Cherry, K. (2016). An Overview of behavior psychology.
Very well. Retrieved from: https://www.verywell.com/behavioral-
psychology-4013681
6.
Inferences
The first method I used was Lev Vygotsky’s theory of Scaffolding educational principles and Zone of Proximal Development. According to Vygotsky he states, “We should teach children at their ceiling level of their ZPD, that is, the level in which they initially can perform only with a great deal of help from us” (Karpov,2014, pg.24). Therefore, he used the ZPD to tell people that the only way for students to succeed is through guidance and collaboration with help from teachers or more capable peers (Belolan, 2013). According to Vygotsky, teachers should support students' learning within the zone of proximal development so they can advance their knowledge and abilities without being frustrated by tasks that are at first too challenging for them to do. To be successful and reach a students ZPD, scaffolding is great teaching method, teachers tend to apply. Scaffolding is a method of instruction which, “consists of the activities provided by the educator, or more competent peer, to support the student as he or she is led through the zone of proximal development” (Guk & Kellogg, 2007).
The help of a more knowledgeable other aka a MKO develops the students learning. As the child starts to understand the concept being taught the MKO starts to slowly remove themselves and they can work independently. If ZPD is used correctly it enhances the child’s learning experience drastically.
During Jordan’s learning observation he was introduced to a new concept in writing called personal narratives. He struggles drastically in writing but when prompted he can create stories
and finish assignments. Without the support and guidance from his one-to-one Mrs. Terranova
it would’ve been very hard for Jordan to complete the assignment on his own. Vygotsky’s states, “to learn we must do things that are not too difficult and not too hard”. When Jordan went back to his desk and had to start the assignment he got upset and shut down. This skill was new to him and outside of his ZPD. The scaffolding approaches by the teaching assistant helped Jordan drastically. By creating the graphic organizer as well as prompting Jordan he
was able to complete this assignment. As Jordan felt more comfortable with the assignment and had all the necessary tools to complete it, he was able to do it by himself. At the end of the
observation Jordan was able to completely do the last two paragraphs of his essay all by himself.
The behaviorist B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning theory is the second theory I decided to use in my learning observation of Jordan. Operant conditioning, or instrumental conditioning, is a theory of learning where behavior is influenced by its consequences. Behavior that is reinforced (rewarded) will likely be repeated, and behavior that is punished will occur less frequently (
McLeod, 2018). Skinner also found that, “positive reinforcers
are favorable events or outcomes that are presented after the behavior. In positive reinforcement situations, a response or behavior is strengthened by the addition of praise or a direct reward” (Cherry,2016). Mrs. Terranova told Jordan that if he finished his essay, he would be rewarded with a set of Pokémon cards. He was excited to get rewarded and this motivated him to complete his assignment by himself once he was shown what to do. This is called controlled conditioning. “Rewarding past behaviors makes children more inclined to repeat them cheerfully and voluntarily because they feel like they are doing what they "want" to be doing (Grace, 2016). I feel that Jordan will remember how he was able to finish his assignment and how good it felt to do so. This in turn will have him repeating these behaviors. Mrs. Terranova’s use of operant conditioning creates positive reinforcement as well as cooperative behaviors. This approach fosters strong role models in her classroom and good behavior from all the students. In conclusion, positive rewards will help foster students want to learn and cooperate within the classroom.
References:
1.
Guk, I., & Kellogg, D. (2007). The ZPD and whole class teaching: Teacher-led and student-led interactional mediation of tasks. Language Teaching Research
, 11
(3), 281–
299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168807077561
2.
Cortney Belolan (2013). Pre-Assessment: A Key to the ZPD.
Retrieved from: http://www.competencyworks.org/resources/pre-assessment-a-key-to-the-zpd/
3.
Y. Karpov (2014). Vygotsky for Educators
. Paperback edition. Cambridge Univ. Press. P.p. 22-25.
4.
McLeod, S.A. (2018).
Skinner – Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
5.
Cherry, K. (2016). An Overview of behavior psychology.
Very well. Retrieved from: https://www.verywell.com/behavioral-psychology-4013681
6.
Grace, E. (2016). Skinner Behavioral Theory
. Retrieved from: http:// www.kidsdevelopment.co.uk/bfskinnersbehaviouraltheory.html
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