UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO HUMACAO ENGLISH DEPARTMENT PRACTICE TEACHING

CASE STUDY: PHASE I JUAN PONCE DE LEON BILINGUAL SCHOOL - HUMACAO COOPERATING TEACHER: SARA TROCHE FEBRUARY 10, 2012

ANGELIQUE M. COLON 842-05-1566

Background Information The student that I have chosen to work with on my Case Study project is Pablo Rodriguez Miranda. He is 12 years old and in 7th grade in the Specialized Bilingual School Juan Ponce de Leon. He currently lives in Barrio Cotomabu, Road 9-22 in Humacao. His fathers name is Wilfredo Rodriguez Maldonado. He has a Masters degree in Physical Education and is currently working in the Juan Ponce de Len as a Physical Education teacher. Pablos mother is Maria Miranda. She has a Bachelors degree in Administrative Sciences and is currently working in the Adrian Medina Elementary School in Humacao as an administrative assistant.

Justification When I chose 7-2 as my practice group, one of the reasons that made me choose it was Jesus Castro who is a student who has been diagnosed with Leukemia. Taking into consideration the gravity of the situation, I had decided that I wanted to help him. However, it is February and we still do not know if and when he will come back to school. This is one of the reasons that lead me to the decision of choosing another student to be my Case Study. During these past weeks, I have gotten to know my students better. Although I had knowledge of two students with PEI in my group, I hadnt really noticed any particularities that could affect their academic achievement. Now that I have been able to have one on one contact with most of the students, I have realized that I have a student who is an exceptional case, and is in need of additional help in and out of the classroom. Pablo is a very courteous and outgoing student. He is very tall and has a mohawk haircut so you could probably see him from two to three blocks away. He has many friends and participates in countless school activities. He also has Specific Learning Disabilities and is currently being re-diagnosed because it is believed that he has Attention Deficit Disorder. His accommodations in all classes are additional time, a desk for left hand writers and lending of curricular books and other materials. I have included the official accommodations letter as Appendix A. In my classroom, he is constantly distracted. Whenever part of the assignment is to copy, he starts a minute before Im about to delete or change the information on the board. His responses are very automatic and he lacks disposition when students are asked to create something as for example a poem. During the class, I give out instructions at least twice and I ask my students if they have any doubts before moving on. Even so, he asks me another third or

fourth time because he hasnt heard what I have said. In our first short test, he answered correctly the match, true or false and identifying figurative; however, when asked to write his own simile, personification, metaphor and hyperbole he wrote random words in Spanish and handed it in. For these reasons and because I feel a responsibility to help him as well as I can, I have chosen Pablo as my Case Study.

Hypothetical Account As I have mentioned before, in the classroom he is very distracted and is not very perceptive. He lacks initiative and creativity. He needs additional instructions and perhaps a step by step guide when working on any given assignment. In terms of behavior, although he has many friends, he is very responsive to the classrooms rules and regulations. Even though he is easily distracted, he responds very well to positive reinforcement. He is very sweet to all teachers and likes positive recognition. I believe that he has not been able to succeed in his classes because teachers dismiss his problems. If his behavior is the same in all classes, his good grades are a direct result of the fact that his father works in the same school and rubs shoulders with the school personnel the students teachers. I also know from conversations with my cooperating teacher, that his parents do most of his homework. Furthermore, his needs have not been properly diagnosed; therefore, his accommodations and his PEI need an update.

Work Plan 1
Date Activity Purpose Gather information concerning the students behavior in different classes. Gather information concerning the students PEI and strategies to address his learning disability. Gather specific information concerning his attitude towards specific classes and the school environment. I will also gather information concerning relationship with parents, friends and his home environment. Ask him about his interests and future plans. Persons Involved E. Garcia, S. Gonzalez, S. Troche, V. Santiago, C. Algorri, V. Rios, W. Rodriguez (7th grade teachers) Mrs. Damaris De Jesus (Special Education teacher)

Week of Feb. 13-17

Interview

Week of Feb. 13-17

Interview

Week of Feb. 13-17

Interview Student

Pablo Rodriguez (Case Study)

Week of Feb. 20-24

Home Visit

Have a firsthand look at his home environment.

Wilfredo Rodriguez and Maria Miranda. (Case Studys parents) Pablo Rodriguez (Case Study) Brenda Ortiz and Nilsa Abrahan (School Secretaries)

Week of Feb. 20-24

Academic Achievements/ Standardized Tests (School Records) View students written documents and past projects from English class.

Gather information concerning his academic achievement throughout the years. I will review these and analyze these. Try to analyze his capacity and his usual responses in English. Identify weaknesses and strengths.

Week of Feb. 20-24

Sara Troche (Cooperating Teacher)