Natalie Phillips

EDUG 523

10-28-21

Shadowing Assignment:

Observation/Interpretation Paper

Throughout my time as a BST in Mrs. Liddell’s third grade GATE class, I have identified a

special circumstance student. This student has divorced parents and both parents have legal

and physical custody. She often travels back and forth between parents and has several

guardians listed as her communication contacts. We have noticed a lack of organization and a

struggle to stay on task, so I have chosen to shadow her within the classroom for this

assignment.

I did notice the aforementioned disorganization during my observation when the

student became preoccupied with finding something in her desk that she was sitting on the

ground for 2-3 minutes while the teacher was beginning a lesson. My master teacher and I have

discussed the phenomenon and she posited the idea that the constant moving between homes

and guardians may be contributing to the mental and physical chaotic state of her desk and

backpack.

Another interesting observation was the change in behavior from Tuesday to Thursday.

On Tuesday the student was extremely well behaved and engaged with the lesson. On Thursday

however the student struggled to stay in her seat, follow directions, and had to be told to stop

doing something multiple times. One can infer that taking the day off on Wednesday to go to

Disneyland, may have contributed to this change. Disneyland can be exhausting and spending a
day away from school and responsibilities may also share some of the blame for decline in her

improving behavior.

The most salient observation I came across during this assignment was the student’s

need to be fidgeting. It is evident in my anecdote that the student was told multiple times to

stop playing with something at her desk. An extra face mask, an eraser, a water bottle, her

lanyard, and items she had bought during the class auction. In all instances she was told more

than once to stop playing with the items before she stopped. While the movement and

attention to these other objects was bothersome to my master teacher, I noticed that in most

cases although her hands were busy, she was still paying attention to the lesson. She still raised

her hand to provide answers, wrote on her paper when prompted, and followed directions

given during the lesson. I don’t think she is a distracted child or even misbehaving, I think that

her body needs that movement to help her focus. After her desk was cleared of things to touch

and play with, she put her hands behind her chair and began pushing on her backpack to make

it swing, it wasn’t that she was trying to play, she physically needed to be doing something.

Overall, what I learned is that the “issues” we are experiencing with this student are not

academic disparities or a child with bad behavior, but rather a product of her environment.

What I hope to begin is to find ways or fidget toys that will be beneficial to keeping her on task

and engaged in the lesson without distracting others.