CHILD STUDY

EDPROFST 608A/B: LEARNING AND

TEACHING IN NZ

BY ABIGAIL THOMAS
 SCHOOL DEMOGRAPHICS
• School - Sunnybrae Normal school
Ethnic composition
• Decile - 7
• Number of students - 382
• Years 1-6

• Ethnic Composition:
Asian – 48%
NZ European/Other European – 31%
Māori – 10%
Pacific – 7% Asian Māori MELAA NZ European/other European other Pacific
MELAA– 3%
Other – 1%
 CLASS DEMOGRAPHICS
• Room- 13
• Year - 5 & 6
• Number of students - 32
• Number of boys - 19
• Number of girls – 13
• Ethnic composition
NZ European – 23%
Chinese – 16%
Maori – 16%
Korean – 6%
Pacific – 6%
Middle Eastern – 6%
Sri- Lankan – 3%
Filipino – 3%
Other European – 3%
Japanese – 3%
Cambodian – 3%
Māori Pacific Korean Chinese Filipino
German – 3%
Sri-Lankan NZ European Other European Japanese Middle eastern
Cambodian German Indonesian Indian Indonesian – 3%
Indian – 3%
 CURRICULUM AREAS OBSERVED

• Literacy- Writing
• Numeracy
• Physical Education- Swimming
• Gender - Female
CHILD A
• Year level – Year 6
• Ethnicity - Chinese
• Interests - Reading, Dinosaurs, Computer games
• Reading level - Info seekers group (Above expected curriculum level)
• Writing level - Editors group (Above expected curriculum level)
• Numeracy level – Octagons group (Above expected curriculum level)
• Special needs - ADHD and Aspergers
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

• Prefers to work independently

• If medicated, the student can focus and complete tasks above the expected curriculum level
• Once tasks are completed, the student wanders away and is found reading or lying down on
the mat
• Sudden outbursts occasionally during classes
• Responds well to positive reinforcement
 LITERACY - WRITING
• Highest writing group
• Enjoys writing poetry
• Does activities in which she is interested or else wanders away to read books or starts
doodling
• Off task once work is completed
• Sits in the front of the class
Doodling after work is
completed Poetry on a good day
 NUMERACY

• Highest numeracy group

• Enjoys math
• Participates in whole class activities only if it is fun/interesting to her
• Usually answers all questions when given math worksheets
Child A on good
days

Child A on a bad day

 PHYSICAL EDUCATION

• Physical Education class - Swimming

• Dislikes physical activity
• Most of the time does not bring togs
• If she does - stays in the water for about 10-15mins, does not interact with others in the pool,
dislikes putting her face under the water
• Continues her own play activities even when the instructor is talking
 FINDINGS/SUMMARY

• Academically strong
• Works independently
• Dislikes physical activity
 STRATEGIES USED

• Positive reinforcement- The teacher gives her class dojos (Online class stickers), chart for
positive behavior at the end of the day.
• Asks the student to sit up when she is lying down
• Allows her to read books once tasks are completed
• During outbursts, firmly tells her to calm down
 WHERE TO NEXT?
• Give her extra attention at the beginning of the class to get her interested and motivated
• Talking to parents regarding the student sleeping in the classroom
• Needs to be challenged - accelerated learning, independent projects
• Tailor contents to her interests (Marzano & Marzano, 2003)
• Work with her to set goals (Marzano & Marzano, 2003)
• Develop a “things to do” checklist (Marzano & Marzano, 2003)
• Encourage working with peers – Buddy system (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm, 2007)
• Provide more guided practice with teacher feedback (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm, 2007)
 CHILD B
• Gender - male
• Year - 6
• Siblings - None
• Ethnicity - Sri Lankan (Moved to New Zealand in 2018)
• Interests - Cricket
• Reading level - Rad readers group (Below expected curriculum level)
• Writing level- Drafters group (Below expected curriculum level)
• Numeracy level – Pentagons group (At expected curriculum level)
• ESOL student
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

• Eager to help students and teachers. However, does not know how to due to a relatively new
social environment
• Acts differently with different teachers
• Responds well to positive reinforcement
• Sits at the back of the classroom
 LITERACY - WRITING

• Group - Below expected curriculum level

• ESOL student
• Tries to copy other students work
• Struggles to think of ideas during writing activities
• Prefers to use the computer rather than sit and write
• Distracts other students during reading/writing activities
• Disengaged during writing tasks
 NUMERACY

• Level - At expected curriculum level

• Usually the first in his group to solve problems
• Likes to solve math problems in his own way (does not use different strategies as explained by
the teacher)
• Attempts to answer all questions
• Loves math challenges
 PHYSICAL EDUCATION

• Physical Education Class - Swimming

• Beginner level – learning to put his face under the water and basic arm strokes
• Self conscious about his body
• Enjoyed the water
• Attempted to try everything the instructor told
 SUMMARY

• Works independently in Math

• Needs extra help with reading and writing
• Enjoys sport
 STRATEGIES USED

• Has built a strong rapport with the student

• Gives the student one on one attention whenever possible
• Has taken time to understand the home environment – cultural differences
• During writing – the teacher works with his group and breaks down the story and teaches him
how to write, construct sentences and asks questions that involve student thinking
• Challenges him during math by asking him to solve more complicated worksheets
• Uses positive reinforcement (class dojos- online stickers), praising other students around his
table when they do something good
 WHERE TO NEXT?
• Build strong relationships and refrain from criticism and reward small successes (Marzano &
Marzano, 2003)
• Teach and reinforce social behaviors through microteaching and key competencies (Marzano &
Marzano, 2003)
• Develop brainstorming strategies to help capture ideas and plan for writing, flexible learning
• Use more technology in lessons to help in child engagement- audio books, dictation software
(Vaughn, Bos & Schumm, 2007)
• Introduce discovery learning (past experiences, analogies, metaphors, real life experiences) to
improve literacy and numeracy skills
• Use maps and graphic organizers to show relationships between ideas (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm,
2007)
PEER FEEDBACK