Theory Into Practice: Case Study Rationale

Context: I was placed into a 1st grade classroom at Glen Alpine Elementary where I was asked to choose one student out of the class that was from one of the ethnic groups that we did in our Cultural Reports.  I chose one of the Hmong children in my classroom named "Alex".  While doing this Case Study I observed him in and out of the classroom, at recess, lunch, in the hallway, and in some of his pull-outs.  I took notes and complied them into my acutal Case Study.  I also interviewed Mrs. Laws about her teaching methods for her diverse students, as well as "Alex" about his learning abilities.

Impact: There are many things that I learned from doing this Cultural Report that I will one day use in my own classroom.  I have realized that ELL students are usually behind the others, and that you need to give them that extra bit of help to help keep them up with the rest of the students.  Dont put students on the spot and give them the chance to get as much help as possible, even if they dont ask for it; you ask them if they need help.  Allow them to talk to students around them to get help with their questions and go slow so that these students have a chance to keep up because sometimes its not that they dont understand content, they just dont understand language. 

Alignment:

Standard 7 Indicator 3: This project had me to interview a student so that I could take into account everyone’s differences to help build onto their present knowledge base.

Standard 7 Indicator 4: My teacher and I talked about the use of different styles of teaching one subject matter so that everyone can learn.

Standard 7 Indicator 5: My teacher told me about the many different strategies she uses to help her students understand content.

Standard 7 Indicator 6: My teacher told me about the special things that she does throughout her lessons to help everyone meet their individual needs.

Standard 14 Indicator 1: Teachers comprehend that everyone has different feelings about education, and my teacher and I talked about ways to handle this.

Standard 14 Indicator 4: Teachers research various ethnic groups values about education and respect them, and my teacher talked about the ways that some of her students’ parents react and how she had to deal with them when they have different views from hers.

Standard 14 Indicator 5: My teacher showed me materials that she used that were unbiased to any ethnic group.

Standard 14 Indicator 6: The Learner Diversity Project had me look into different means of teaching ethnically diverse children.

Standard 16 Indicator 8: This project has teachers search for new ways to teach their students the same materials as they would the other children in their classroom.

Standard 16 Indicator 9: This project had to me collaborate with the regular classroom teacher about how she handles her diverse students and the kinds of activities that she does for her diverse students.

Standard 16 Indicator 10: My teacher showed me that she does her best to give everyone equal rights and treat everyone the same.