Student Observation

EDTE 532

Liliana Ballarin-Cass

March 1, 2022

The “wonder” learner I chose to observe this week is kind, the first one to help a

classmate, considerate and enjoys learning. M, has a love for cats, drawing and spending time

with friends. I chose M because I recognize they have a high level of anxiety and uncertainty in

their abilities. I want to find ways to best support their confidence in their learning and gain a

deeper understanding of what may truly meet their learning needs.

M does not have an official designation however, is being assessed for a MID (Mild

Intellectual Disability) and has significant academic/social emotional needs. I learned they have

had an interesting learning journey. M was assessed in grade 3 for a learning disability and an

intellectual disability and were considered a ‘gray area’. Currently, they are in the process of

having them reassessed for a MID. M has difficulty in Math, and came into Math 6 with a low

level of understanding concepts, strategies and how to use these strategies. With Math this

learner needs 1:1 support and very rarely completes a Math assignment or ‘Show What to

Know’ independently. When given the opportunity to demonstrate learning with peers and in a

whole class activity, they show interest in participating and give it their all. M does best when

they have the strategies written down right in front of them for example: PEMDAS (order of

operations), for division and area model when multiplying double digits. Without the strategies

directly in front of them, mental math is difficult for M. However, it was interesting when asked

what 4 + 2 equals, M would guess incorrectly, I would hold up my fingers as a visual and they
would look and count, then guess incorrectly. M also has some difficulty with number concepts,

number recognition and remembering.

M also struggles immensely with anxiety. They are particular about ensuring everything

is accurate and are concerned when things might be wrong. For example: often asks for help

with spelling. “How do you spell this?” before attempting, or “Is this right?” “Did I do it right?”.

M can sometimes make key connections between concepts and ideas, although when asked to

expand or explain their idea, M seems not to recognize or understand what they wrote and

sometimes their thoughts are quite jumbled when asked to explain their connections. For

example, they made a wonderful connection between a novel they were reading as a class to

anti bullying and when asked to explain the connection they made M would say they didn’t

know. It made me wonder, if they were nervous about being wrong with the answer and

reverted to saying they didn’t know, fearing they would be wrong or maybe they had genuinely

forgotten/confused.

I had the opportunity to briefly ask M some questions. I asked M what strategies they

found that help their learning and they responded with “I ask for help and for someone to check

my work”, “I underline important information then I can see it and go bloop and use it” and “I

like to use a highlighter”. I noticed a growth in this learners independence of writing strategies

(underlining) from when I was visiting in the Fall has really seemed to support their learning in

picking out key information. I tried to further our conversation and ask what they felt they were

good at, instantly their demeanor changed. They seemed to sink down into their chair and

became a bit quieter. M stated only in short sentences instead of the elaborated comments:
“my drawings” “my stories” and “my spelling”. I am curious if the change in energy was because

of low-self esteem and I wondered what might help draw out their confidence. To provide

powerful support I think it would be important to strengthen my relationship with M to gain a

deeper understanding of who they are, find opportunities to support promoting a growth

mindset: ‘mistakes are learning opportunities’, encouragement and recognition of the progress

M has made and are making and also creating learning opportunities for M to incorporate their

interests and creativity into their learning.

Planning for M, I want to keep the ‘ask a friend strategy’ because it creates a

collaborative learning experience, can make their learning more engaging and will support M to

become more independent. Continuing with having the visual strategies for Math to support M

in building their skills. I would also like to try co created criteria and single point rubrics which

will support all learners in pointing out what they feel proud of. Next, differentiate learning is

key not only for this student however for all the learners in the class. This is a practice my

mentor teacher does very well in all aspects of learning. Differentiation will support this learner

in having an entry point to learning and understanding: creating opportunities for M to work

from their strengths and interests. Which ultimately will also support their confidence and

possibly minimize their anxiety. Another important thing to keep in mind is that the learning

support teacher comes in twice a week during Math and I would like to plan some of the more

challenging concepts around the days they are there, as there will be 4 adults in the room to be

able to support.
 When it comes to planning my unit and lesson plans to support this learner, I will

consider chunking material, have learners participate in small group work and opportunities for

turn and shares and I also think providing some of the content before hand to this learner will

benefit them. I appreciate that every Tuesday after class my mentor teacher facilitates a Math

group, to support learners who want extra help and I would like to continue participating in this

to learn more about this learner and how I can plan for them in my planning. I will be teaching

through the Second Step program which I think will also benefit M’s social emotional needs. As I

observed M, I am reminded of the importance of UDL in the classroom, ensuring all learners

have an access point and meeting learners where they are at. I really appreciate my mentor

teacher's approach to UDL and the support it gives to all the learners in this classroom

community “the goal of UDL is to use a variety of teaching methods to remove any barriers to

learning and give all students equal opportunities to succeed. It’s about building in flexibility

that can be adjusted for every student’s strengths and needs” (Universal Design for Learning,

2021).

My thinking towards this learner has deepened further into curiosity of what has

happened in their past learning for them to have the relationship they do with their learning. I

am wondering more about what makes them so anxious and how I as a classroom teacher can

use these strategies that may work for M, to benefit all learners in the classroom community.

They very clearly want to do well. I find it interesting that they can make some really insightful

connections but when asked, seem to be unsure why it is the right answer. Still asks is this right?

I wonder why. How can we build growth in confidence in their learning and to feel empowered.
References

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): What You need to know. Reading Rockets. (2021,

February 10). Retrieved February 25, 2022, from

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/universal-design-learning-udl-what-you-need-know