CASESTUDY

COMPONENTS:
1. Introduction:Identifycasestudytopicandlistassertions(36)thatcanbeverifiedwith
evidence(fieldnotes,interviews,etc.)
2. AssertionsandEvidence:Discusseachassertionseparately(minimumoneparagraphfor
eachassertion)andincludesupportiveevidence.Underlineassertionstatementsas
presented.
3. Implications/Effects:Concludewithaninterpretivediscussionofimplications/effects.
Inferencesandconclusionsbasedonevidencepresentedcanbedrawn.

SAMPLECASESTUDYFOCUSINGONMANAGEMENTSTRATEGIES:
ManagementCaseStudyIntroduction
Throughoutthestudy,Shelleysclasswaswellmanaged.Explanationsandevidenceto
supportthefollowingsixassertionsregardingShelleysmanagementstylearepresented:
1. Shelleydidnotfocusextensivelyonbehaviormanagement;
2. Shelleymonitoredstudentbehaviorthroughoutlessons;
3. Shelleypromptlydealtwithpotentialdisruptivebehavior;
4. Shelleyreinforcedacceptablebehavior;
5. Shelleywasverytolerantofstudentinteractionanddiscussion;and,
6. Shelleydevotedagreatdealoftimetotaskmanagement.
AssertionsandEvidence
Throughoutthestudy,Shelleydidnotfocusextensivelyonbehaviormanagement.On
mostdays,thestudentsinShelleysclasswereverywellbehavedandseemedtobefamiliarwith
Shelleysrulesregardingclassroombehavior.OnoccasionswhenShelleyconsideredstudent
behaviortobeinappropriate,sheprovidedcorrectivefeedbackintheformofnonverbalgestures
orshortreprimands.Oncethefeedbackwasprovided,Shelleycontinuedwithinstructionand
didnotdwellonbehavior.Examplesofcorrectivefeedbackstatementsregardingthebehavior
ofthewholeclassincluded,Letsgetbackintocontrol,O.K.?,Letscalmdown.Ilikefor
youtoanswerthequestionsbutIdontlikeyoutocommentoutloudunnecessarily,Letshave
allheadsupplease,andNooneneedstobeoutoftheirseat.
Shelleyprovidedcorrectivefeedbackregardingunacceptablebehaviortothewholeclass
onthreedaysandprovidedcorrectivefeedbackregardingthebehaviorofindividualstudentson
fourdays.Onalloftheseoccasionsexceptone,thefeedbackconsistedofoneortwosentences.
Ononeoccasion,Shelleyreprimandedastudentforcompletingsocialstudieshomeworkduring
class.Thereprimandconsistedofthefollowingstatements:Audra,putawayyoursocial
studiesworknow.Imverydisappointed.Thisisscienceclass,notsocialstudies.Ifwecant
stopdoingthis,wellhavetotakesomeaction.
Duringaformalinterview,IaskedShelleywhenshethoughtaboutmanagement.
Mainlyatthebeginningoftheyear,shesaid,Iputalistofrulesuponthewallforafew

weeks.AftertheyknowtherulesIonlythinkaboutmanagementwhenmisbehaviorisseen.
WhenIseesomething,Ithinkaboutwhattodoaboutit.Idontthinkaboutitmuch,Ijustdo
it.
AlthoughShelleydidnotdevotemuchclasstimetobehaviormanagement,she
monitoredstudentbehaviorthroughoutlessons.Duringeverylesson,shescannedtheclass
repeatedlyandmaintainedeyecontactwithstudents.Shealsocirculatedaroundtheroomduring
lessonsandoftenstoodnearstudents.Additionalevidenceforthisassertioncanbedrawnfrom
thedailyTPAIdata.ShelleyreceivedcreditforthedescriptorBehavioroftheentireclassis
monitoredthroughoutthelessonon20ofthe21daysofimplementation.
WhenShelleydetectedunacceptablebehavior,shepromptlydealtwithpotential
disruptions.Onmostoccasions,theonlystudentthatcouldbeconsideredpotentiallydisruptive
wasChuck.Whendealingwithapotentialdisruption,ShelleyusuallylookeddirectlyatChuck,
noddedNo,andsmiled.Onthreeoccasionssheverballydealtwiththepotentialdisruption.
Examplesofverbalstatementsincluded,Chuck,turnaround.AndChucklookoveryour
notesagainandseeifyoucanfindsomethingyoudontalreadyknow.Ononeoccasion,
ShelleywentovertoChuck,huggedhim,andsaid,Iwouldbesopleasedifyouwoulddowhat
youwereinstructedtodo.Duringaninterview,IaskedShelleyhowshemanagedherclass.
Thekidsareverygoodreally.Theresnotmuchneedforit.Itrytocorrectmisbehaviorsright
away.
Inadditiontoprovidingfeedbackregardingunacceptableorpotentiallydisruptive
behavior,Shelleyalsoreinforcedacceptablebehavior.Thispositivereinforcementappliedto
wholeclassbehavioraswellasindividualacceptablebehaviorandincludedverbalandnon
verbalreinforcement.Forexample,attheendofalessoninvolvinggroupwork,Shelleysaid,
Thankyouforfollowingtherulesandnotdisturbingotherclasses.OnDay15,studentswere
assignedtoworkinpairs.Twostudents,MarkandShawnarrivedlateandShelleyaskedthemto
worktogether.Allothergroupsconsistedoftwomalesortwofemales,andwhenShelleyasked
themtoworktogether,theylookeduncomfortable.Attheendofthelesson,Shelleywalked
overtothe,andsaid,Thankyouforcooperatingandworkingwitheachother.Iknowyoueach
wantedtobewithoneofyourfriends.
Duringlessonsinvolvingsmallgroupwork,Shelleywasverytolerantofstudent
interactionanddiscussion.Infact,sheevenencouragedvocalinteractionsamongstudent.For
example,onDay3,studentsworkedwithlivecricketsinpairs.Beforebeginningtheactivity,
Shelleysaid,Trytoanswerthesequestionsasquicklyasyoucanandhaveagoodtime.You
maydiscusswithyourpartnerandaskeachotherquestions.Youmayworkonthefloororat
yourdesks.
Regardlessofthegroupformatusedduringinstruction,Shelleydevotedagreatdealof
timetotaskmanagement.Taskmanagementcanbedefinedasmanagementofstudent
performanceonassignedactivitiesduringlessons.Inallgroupformats,Shelleymonitored
individualstudentperformanceonassignedtasks.ShereceivedcreditfortheTPAIdescriptor
Workorperformanceofindividuallearnersismonitoredastheyengageinlearningactivities
on16outof21occasions.Wheneverstudentswereinvolvedinindividualorsmallgroup
activities,Shelleyalwayscirculatedaroundtheroomwhilestudentscompletedtheirwork.
Duringaninterview,Shelleysaid,WhenkidsdoindividualworkIalwaystrytomonitorand
helpthemwhentheyneedit.

Duringwholeclassactivities,Shelleyusedseveraltechniques,includingfrequent
questions,tomanagestudentperformance.Forexample,onDay18,Shelleypresentedthe
contentintheformofapoemandfollowupquestions.Eachstudentwaspresentedawritten
copyofthepoem.Beforereadingthepoemaloudtotheclass,Shelleysaid,Todayweregonna
talkaboutwateranimalsandtheiradaptations.TomakesureyouarefollowingalongIwill
pause.ThenyouallneedtotellmewhatworkIpausedon.
Implications/Effects
Shelleysmanagementstylewascongruentwiththemanagementstyledescribedinthe
intendedcurriculum.Asaresult,hermanagementperformancehadpositiveeffectsonthe
curriculumimplementationprocess.First,Shelleysmanagementactivitiesensuredontask
behaviorofmoststudentsmostofthetime.ShereceivedcreditfortheTPAIdescriptorThe
averageontaskrateisatleast85%on19outof21occasions.Becausesheconsistently
monitoredstudentbehaviorandpromptlydealtwithpotentialdisruptions,littleinstructionaltime
waslostduetobehaviormanagementactivities.Asaresult,moreclasstimewasdevotedto
instruction.Shelleyspracticeofreinforcingacceptablebehavioralsoappearedtoencourage
studentstomonitortheirownbehavior,andresultedinmoreactiveengagementonthepartof
students.
Finally,Shelleysemphasisontaskmanagementensuredstudentcompletionofassigned
tasksandprobablypositivelyinfluencedthequalityofstudentperformanceontasks.Students
knewShelleywouldmostlikelychecktheirwork.Asaresult,theyappearedtofocusonthe
qualityoftheirworkratherthatjustconcentratingongettingthetaskfinished.