Shadow Study

The purpose of the shadow study that I conducted was to see how
different factors and teaching styles would effect a students behavior. The
student I observed is named Kently and she is a freshmen in the school I am
at. Kently is very involved in extracurricular activities and excels at them.
She is also a very hard worker in class but struggles to interact and socialize
with her peers. She is normally quiet and withdrawn from discussions and
conversations with peers. I chose this student because there is something
about her that interested me. One of the biggest things I learned about
Kently before I conducted my shadow study is that she has a very good
home life and great relationship with parents and siblings at home.
I met with Kently in the school office so we could walk to first hour
together. The first period starts at 8:00a and her first class is freshmen
English. The student desks are arranged in rows of five. Shee was sitting with
students that I have in my other classes. Kently was sitting in the front row
close to the teachers desk. The teacher took attendance and gave some brief
announcements and then said independent reading in which Kently began
to read without any complaint. There were a few people that had walked in
and out of the classroom which would cause a distraction in a quiet
classroom full of readers but that didnt bother Kently at all which didnt
surprise me. She stayed on task pretty well throughout this entire class.
Towards the end of the hour, the students watched a film and the discussed
it. Kently did not participate in the group discussion and the teacher did not
ask questions to attempt to engage her in the conversation.
Kently's 2nd hour class is and advisement period. This period if full of
students in 9th thru 12th grade where they can study or socialize
appropriately and quietly if they have no homework. Kently informed me that
she had no homework or studying to do. Kently took her advisement period
time to seek out myself and the other teachers and engage them in
conversation but did not seek out conversations or socialization with her
peers.
3rd hour of the day was geometry. This teacher is pretty social but
demands work and attention from students at all time. Kently informed me
that she is doing well in this class and currently has an A. There is assigned
seating in this class. She sits close to the back of the room. The rules and
expectations of the classroom are posted around the classroom for the
students to be able to see at all times. The class participated in group board
work and were given problems to solve and then write on the board
voluntarily. Kently completed two problems on the board. The class was then
assigned an assignment about solving angles of 90 degree triangles. The

class then group graded yesterdays assignment, which Kently earned a

100% on. Kently made sure to inform her classmates that she earned a
100%. This was the first real interaction with peers I had seen to this point. It
made me think that she doesnt do as well in groups that are her peers but
does like for others to know how well she does on things. Kently also
informed me that she is very competitive in all aspects of school not just
extracurricular activities.
Kently's 4th hour class is my class which is freshmen P.E. Kently does
very well in all aspects of completing exercises and always participates fully
in all activities. In this class it is very evident of her lacking social skills. She
is very competitive which can be off putting to other students in the class. In
class today the activity was Snake Ball. Kently participated well and excelled
in this activity. Kently once again engaged her teachers in conversations but
did not socialize with her peers during down time.
Kently's 5th hour class was Consumer Sciences. This class was
discussing proper table setting and setting up a breakfast menu for their
upcoming group assignment. The class is arranged into 5 groups with each
grouping sitting at one table. In this class Kently engaged her students in
conversation and socialized well but also continually made sure her table
was on task and completing their assignment. This class was Kently's most
social time by far throughout the entire day. This class was only for freshmen
students and Kently informed me that she has know all the students for
several years.
During Lunch Kently sat with her peers and appeared to interact well
with them at times but also had one headphone on at all times. When asked
about this Kently said that she really enjoys music and listens to it through all
passing periods and between bells.
6th hour was agra science and this time Kently was allowed to choose
her seat and she decided once again to sit up front close to where the
teachers positions herself and did not have a peer sit beside her. I decided to
ask her why she likes to sit alone she said its because she is tall and she likes
to use the empty seats to put her long legs on and stretch out. I am also very
tall so I understand how that can be more comfortable then sitting next so
someone. During this class Kently participated in class discussions over the
process of birthing cattle. She seemed to enjoy this class.
7th hour was Spanish 1 and this class had assigned seats. Her seat was
assigned close to the front and in the middle. She informed me that this was
where she chose for her seat to be at the beginning of the semester. This
entire class was spoken in Spanish and so I had some difficulties following
the conversations. Kently actively participated in the group activities and did

well during this session. She was complimented several times by the teacher
during this hour.
Kently's 8th hour class was computer class. This class had a substitute
teacher during the day and so the class was told that they could listen to
music while working on their personal website project. Kently listened to
music and worked continuously during the entire hour. She engaged me in
conversations a few times during the hour but mostly with general
pleasantries to make sure I was not uncomfortable. She logged off and
stopped listening to music the last two minutes of class and I thanked her for
letting me shadow her and she told me she enjoyed it. She told me to have a
good day and said goodbye and informed me that she was heading to
basketball practice when the bell rang.
Overall, this experience went very well but not like I thought it would
go. I thought I was going to be bored and think the day was going to go by
pretty slow but I was wrong! The day went by pretty fast and I found it
interesting and beneficial to observe a student for a whole day and also
watch how other teachers interact with some of the students I have as well
as the student I was shadowing. One thing that was consistent among all of
Kentlys classes is that she sits relatively close to the teachers desk in his
classes and worked very hard throughout the day. She seems to work better
and is more engaged when she is working by herself rather than in groups. I
would do another observation if I could because I enjoyed my time and I
found it interesting and very education and beneficial for me in my teaching
career. Not only does the teaching style have a big impact but the overall
environment of the classroom plays a big role for some students. One thing
that I wish the other teachers would do is take the time to help increase
Kently's social skills with peers because it appears that she is perfectly fine
going through the day without talking to anyone of her peers and only
talking to adults. I feel that if her social skills don't improve she will miss out
on an important social aspect of high school.