Assignment #8:Module 4, Visual case study #2

Case study of Tammy

          Strengths and Concerns: Tammy appears to be a very positive student who communicates well with her teacher(s). From what I observed in the two videos, Tammy is serious about wanting to succeed in school, and is taking the advice and suggestions of her teachers seriously. I think that this a valuable strength, because it suggests that positive action can be taken, and that Tammy will do her part to be a successful student in class. The 2^nd video highlighted what Tammy views as impediments to the successful completion of her coursework. Tammy states that her parents want her to study in out-of-school programs, and that these programs are contributing to her overall workload. She has self-identified as taking longer than average to finish some of her work, and she believes that is both the volume of this work and the time she has available that are causing her to fall behind in her school work. Both the school administration and Tammy have identified that her written work, i.e. essay writing, is her biggest struggle.

          At the same time, Tammy has been demonstrating great understanding and skill in other areas. In the first video, her teacher noticed she was doodling, rather than taking notes or reading her textbook. Tammy’s interest in creative projects is again highlighted in the second video, when she receives a compliment on the quality of her contributions to the school’s recent drama production. I see one of the major concerns regarding Tammy being the difference between her apparent ‘giftedness’ for some activities, and her struggles in written work. Second to this concern is the fact that Tammy’s father – via a telephone conversation – has expressed his lack of interest in Tammy’s creative skills, to the point of labelling them ‘a waste of time.’

Step 2: What might be happening and why: Generating hypotheses

The two videos show Tammy as a student who may have both strong and weak skill areas. The accompanying articles for this case study remind us that students who can show indications of ‘giftedness’ are not immune to simultaneously having a learning disability. This is likely one of the general hypotheses I would make regarding Tammy; That she struggles in written language skills. Additionally, she may have difficulty focusing in a conventional classroom environment. The following are some of the questions that may help uncover more about Tammy’s strengths and areas of concern at school:

1.   What types of activities does Tammy do at home? In her free time? Is she very creative at home? Is she very quiet?

2.   Is Tammy’s struggle in written work representative of her understanding? That is, can she show what she understands in some other form more successfully?

3.   How much opportunity does Tammy get to demonstrate her knowledge in non-written means?

4.   Does Tammy speak a second language at home?

5.   How does Tammy view her work in school? What does she think of these separate subject areas? Does she make the larger connections between the disciplines?

6.   How is Tammy spending her time at home on homework? What assignments and classes take up more time? What type of work is finished quickly and easily? What work doesn’t require homework at all?

7.   What skills of self-advocacy does Tammy know? When does she speak up with questions? What causes her to ask for help?

8.   Are their social influences in Tammy’s school that are contributing to her strengths or her weaknesses?

Step 3: What you need to find out: Checking hypotheses by collecting more information

          Having an in-depth conversation with Tammy will help answer many of these questions. Going deeper than simply blaming Tammy for poor performance in certain areas of her school work, I would try to ask more meta-cognitive questions about Tammy’s learning styles, and the ways in which she is thinking about her learning. From my practicum experiences in the last few years, I have noticed that teachers who engage students with genuine questions about the class get much more powerful results. Instead of offering ultimatums, i.e. ‘Why aren’t you successful in my class’ one and only teaching style?’, I’ve been lucky to see classrooms which legitimately offer students many different modes of expression and communication for their ideas.

          Above and beyond this, some teachers go further and ask students for their feedback on what went well with a particular type of work? Where do student strengths lie? And why do they enjoy some types of work, while not others? I think that asking Tammy these same types of questions may help unmask some underlying issues, perhaps even a learning disability. Some of the accompanying readings to this case suggest that in certain cases, students with giftedness can be overlooked when it comes to learning disabilities, since their particular strength may make it more difficult for teachers to notice a student struggling. Since Tammy herself stated that some of her school work simply “takes more time” than her classmates, another potential hypothesis is that Tammy has a learning disability of some kind.

Step 4: What you think is happening: Arriving at tentative judgements

Recently – and unrelated to this particular case – I have been reading some criticisms of the modern education system on a website called ‘reddit.’ One particular article was commenting on the expectations we have of our students to seamlessly jump from subject to subject in our schools. Made more pronounced in junior high and high school, we also change the teacher of each subject, so that students are in reality constantly adjusting to different teaching styles and subject matter. Regardless, we as educators expect their fullest concentration and demand a high level of accomplishment. Along with this practice is the separation of the subject matter itself. Very little time is spent, in my understanding of school administration, to connect and make clear the significance of each discipline with regard to the next one. In fact, almost all of the work in class X is created, assessed, rewarded or punished exclusively in that class, with little to no connection with other subject areas.

I think that such a problem(s) in our planning is likely behind at least some of Tammy’s struggle. In video #2, two different teachers comment on Tammy’s success in subject areas that could be closely tied to written English, but for reasons of school structure and instruction, have been quite coldly separated. Tammy’s struggle may appear in only one or two skill areas, when just as coldly diagnosed by teachers and administrators at the school. Given that Tammy is a keen and positive student who appears to really want to succeed academically, it strikes me as odd that a solution could be placed only in one classroom or in one subject. If Tammy is indeed struggling with essay writing and writing in general at the expected grade eleven level, she can be challenged and supported in this skill in all subject areas, not simply in English class, as might be the case.

          If he struggles persist as a problem of her ability to focus or digest information, as suggested in video #1, Tammy and her teachers could practice study skills and strategies that best suit her. However, these are skills that Tammy needs to connect with her life, not simply with succeeding in science class, English class or in math class.

Assignment #7: Module 4, Visual case study

Case study of Mrs. Janes and Salim

          Strengths and Concerns: After watching the first video, it is clear to me that Mrs. Janes knows very little about Salim and his background. The principal comes with Salim to meet Mrs. Janes, presumably for the first time. All that Mrs. Janes knows at this point in time is that Salim and his mother are living on 7^th avenue in a hotel while waiting to hear about their refugee status. The principal even admits that she knows very little about Salim’s background, and the conversation with Mrs. Janes suggests that Salim and his mother have very recently arrived in Canada.

          After seating Salim with three of her other students, Mrs. Janes notices that Salim doesn’t immediately engage in the work of the class, and instead moves to a different seat and begins spinning in place. From the first video, I was not given the impression that Salim is interested in the academic portion of being at the school nor is he immediately interested in socializing with the other students. From the video, it is unclear whether or not Salim can speak English.

          In Mrs. Janes’ position, I would really want to know – as soon as possible – about Salim’s past school experiences, his level of English fluency, as well as his past life experiences in his home country. I would characterize Mrs. Janes’ impression of Salim as mostly one of concern. She knows very little about him after the first encounter, and is likely looking for ways that she can start learning about him.

Step 2: What might be happening and why: Generating hypotheses

The two videos from this case study provide little insight into Salim’s life story, but there were many suggestive statements made in the video to imply that Salim and his mother came to Canada in a hurried way, perhaps to escape troubles in their home country. Mrs. Janes may be able to learn about Salim by looking for answers to some of these questions:

1.   Could Salim be still affected by things he witnessed before coming to Canada? Was Salim involved in a civil war?

2.   Where is Salim’s father? Does this play a role in current refugee situation? What role does Salim’s father play in Salim’s life?

3.   Why did he and his mother move to Canada? What is the nature of their refugee claim?

4.   Does Salim come from a country where English is spoken? Does he have any experience speaking English?

5.   Has Salim attended a school before? If he has attended a school prior to coming to Canada, what was that experience like? How often did he attend?

6.   What is Salim’s family history? Does he have siblings that didn’t accompany him to Canada?

7.   What was Salim’s and his mother’s motivation in coming to Canada? What is their plan for the immediate future?

8.   What is Salim’s mother’s impression of living in Canada? Does she have a particular opinion about her son attending school in Canada?

Step 3: What you need to find out: Checking hypotheses by collecting more information

In an ideal situation, Salim and his mother would be capable and willing to answer most or all of these questions. Like the other teacher mentioned in video #2, the local immigration center could provide a translator to help in these conversations, if neither Salim nor his mother speak English. Likewise, Salim and his mother’s immigration proceedings are all well documented, and if shared, these documents would also make clear some of the factors and influences that brought Salim and his mother to Canada.

However, refugees to Canada could be sceptical and distrustful of Canadian governmental authorities, and may not want to share too much personal information if he or she gets the impression that someone in Canada may use that information against them. Because some of these questions and their answers lie not in Canada, but in Salim’s birth country, it may not be possible to seek out accurate or trustworthy information to fill in as much of the picture as Mrs. Janes would hope.

Step 4: What you think is happening: Arriving at tentative judgements

I’m not exactly sure what judgements you could arrive at before having some of these basic conversations with Salim and his mother. Having a conversation with another teacher – like video #2 – can give Mrs. Janes a good understanding of what might have been Salim’s life back home. This is assuming that Malik and Salim are even from the same country. And if this were true, which I’m assuming it is, (why else would it be included in this case study), it doesn’t necessarily mean that the two students led equally difficult lives before coming to Canada. Trying to assess Salim’s English ability could be useful, but I believe it would be far more beneficial to begin learning about who he is, and what his life was like up until coming to Canada. In conversation with Salim’s mother, I also think a great deal can be learned about how the two of them feel about living in Canada, and what their goals for being in Canada really are. Once Mrs. Janes can understand what factors from the list are relevant to Salim and his mother, she can begin the work of inviting Salim and his mother into the school in a manner that has meaning to both of them.