Case Study on "Education in Today's Education Environment"

Case Study 7 pages (2168 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Education Case Study

In today's education environment, the child is under extreme pressure to perform well even before the Grade 1 level. As a result of this pressure, many children may be at risk of developing emotional or even psychological problems because of the lack of coping skills. Particularly problematic is when children have specific educational problems that can be identified and addressed before stress becomes a problem. For this, several assessment tests are available in order to help identify problems that children may experience in areas such as reading. If a child experiences reading problems, these transfer not only to the language aspect of their education, but to all other subject areas as well. It is therefore vitally important to address such problems as soon as possible in order to minimize the resultant problems.

Student and Problem Identification

The particular student examined in this case study is Jonathan Matthews, 8 years of age, in Grade 2. He attends a public school in New York, and has recently begun to display some problematic behavior.

With the permission of the school principal, the school counselor approached me with a request for an appointment to discuss Jonathan's case. Present during this meeting was myself, the counselor, Mr. Frank Iota, and Jonathan's Grade 2 teacher, Ms. Jenny Harrington.

According to Ms. Harrington, Jonathan had displayed model behavior in class so far. He was very quiet, but always obedient and always prepared for his lessons. During the times that she was able to observe him in more social situations such as recess, he seemed a little shy and with

Continue scrolling to

download full paper ⤓

drawn, but he did have a limited circle of friends. Ms. Harrington had not up-to-date felt that there was cause for concern in terms of either Jonathan's academic or social life, but she did feel that he should be carefully observed for any changes. This is why she was able to immediately refer Jonathan for a counseling session when she saw a significant change.

A this point, the counselor observed that Jonathan seemed to have lost interest in his school work, and that he seemed to have difficulty coping with everything. He was an extremely good athlete, and this seemed to be taking over the majority of his time and energy. Ms. Harrington confirmed this by saying that his work in school was beginning to suffer. He was never an exceptional student in terms of grades, but his grades were consistent and he was a hard worker. However, his performance had begun to deteriorate in concomitance with a tendency towards disruptive behavior in class. This was particularly so during reading or spelling lessons. These are also the specific areas where Jonathan seemed to be experiencing problems. He seemed unable or unwilling to follow instructions and spell correctly. Jonathan was unresponsive to punitive and corrective measures. His parents did not indicate any particular problems or changes at home, so additional pressure from home life stress was ruled out.

Furthermore, Jonathan did not seem particularly affected by peer group pressure, which indicated that his behavior problems were unrelated to his fellow classmates. I therefore suggested that reading be targeted as a possible cause of the child's problems.

Testing Materials and Methods

In order to determine Jonathan's reading proficiency level, it was decided to apply two tests: the Jennings Informal Reading Assessment as a pretest in order to determine the extent of the problem, and also as a post-test in order to determine the effectiveness of the remedy and/or the need for further therapy. In addition, Wepman's Auditory Discrimination Test (WADT) will be used to determine the more specific areas of Jonathan's problem.

The Jennings test will be started at the primer level, and increased in difficulty until Jonathan reaches a level at which he is experiencing some problems. This will then be used in order to devise strategies for remedying the problem. At the post-test stage, this test will also be applied to determine whether Jonathan's proficiency level has improved or declined.

The WADT determines a student's ability to distinguish between similar sounds in language. This is important in all areas of learning, including reading, writing and spelling. If Jonathan's problems in these areas are not immediately determined and addressed, he could experience problems for the rest of his school career. Following directions and spelling are particular difficulties that Jonathan is experiencing at the moment. These areas will then enjoy particular focus both during testing and remedial sessions.

Initial Diagnosis

In terms of the Informal Reading Assessment, Jonathan has shown very good proficiency up to level two, where he began to experience some difficulty with the comprehension questions. He also experienced difficulty reading aloud and following instructions of moderate complexity. In terms of the WADT, Jonathan shows a correlate difficulty in distinguishing between similar words at the Grade 2 complexity level.

What is interesting about Jonathan's case is the fact that his results for lower levels are extremely good. According to his teacher, he never had difficulty with either spelling, instructions or discipline until recently. While there are no particular social or home life changes during this time, there have been an increase in difficulty level during the second half of the school year. This is the time during which Jonathan is said to have begun having behavioral problems as well.

In correlation with the test results, Jonathan appears to have difficulty with the new complexity level of the work. Being a fairly shy, but reliable child, it is found that he has developed uncertainty regarding school work that had never before been a problem for him. Being unaware of how to obtain help for his problem, Jonathan has been trying to conceal his uncertainty behind discipline problems. His "performances" in this way provide the child with a screen behind which to hide what he perceives as his academic inability to adjust to new difficulty levels. This needs to be addressed during the contact sessions.

After these diagnostic elements were discussed with Ms. Harrington, a joint meeting was held with the teacher, the school counselor, and Jonathan's parents. The problems were explained, and the parents were asked for any input they thought necessary. They expressed relief that there appeared to be possible remedies for their son's problem. They were baffled by his recent difficulties and feared mental or learning problems. The parents were asked to participate in their son's therapy plan, and to help him by reinforcing therapy exercises at home.

The parents also indicated that Jonathan frequently mentioned that his school work was "too difficult to bother" and that he seemed increasingly unwilling to make any effort at all. This appears to indicate an unwillingness and a negative self-belief rather than an actual inability to handle the complexity of the work.

Remediation Plan

The focus of Jonathan's remediation will be the areas of listening, reading comprehension, and spelling. The first contact session will include Jonathan's parents. Jonathan will be reassured that he has not done anything wrong, and that the contact sessions are arranged to help him enjoy his school work again. A brief outline of the plan will be presented to the family during this session. Jonathan will be told that he will have the opportunity to be creative, listen to stories, and tell stories in turn. If he shows any signs of uncertainty, he will be reassured right away. He will be told that he will not be graded, and that he need not do anything that is too difficult to him. At this sessions, the therapist will also make appointments with Jonathan for future contact sessions. He will be visiting once per week.

The second contact session, and the first session alone with Jonathan, will focus on getting to know him as a person. The therapist will let him know that the first part of the session will simply be "fun" and that the "work" is only to start later. In order to connect with Jonathan, the therapist will discuss his athletic career with him. He will ask questions and get Jonathan to talk about his hopes and dreams for the future. In order to build a mutually trusting relationship, Jonathan will be allowed to ask the therapist about her personal hopes, dreams, and career as well. This is aimed at eliciting a conversation that is removed from schoolwork, but that can nonetheless return towards the topic in a subtle way. This first session will end with the therapist asking Jonathan about his school, his classmate and his teacher. He will be invited to complain if he feels the need to do so.

The second therapy session will be devised to connect with the first. In order to keep from overwhelming him with the volume of work, this session will consist only of reading and comprehension exercises. The passage will be of difficulty level 1, which is still easy for Jonathan to handle. The topic will be something that interests him, namely athletics. This is aimed at teaching Jonathan to enjoy his learning once… READ MORE

Download Full Paper

Write a New Paper for Me

Quoted Instructions for "Education in Today's Education Environment" Assignment:

“

We will pay $105.00 for the completion of this order.

SAMPLE CASE STUDY GUIDELINES

As part of the course requirements, you will be working with a student in a clinical setting. When you have completed this clinical work, you will be detailing your assignment in the form of a case study.

The following guidelines and instructions will be helpful to you in understanding what you need to do, devising an appropriate plan of action, and writing a worthwhile document.

1) The purpose of a case study is to provide you with an opportunity to use the assessment tools designed to recognize reading difficulties. It is also geared to develop a diagnostic evaluation identifying these difficulties and determining an appropriate remediation program.

2) The case study process provides you with an opportunity to work directly with an identified student, using the the remediation designed to correct the reading difficulty.

3) Finally, you will create a detailed record of your activities from assessment through remediation.

a) You first need to arrange to work with a student. Your student can come from many sources:

a relative, a friend's child, a stranger who was recommended to you or a student in your school.

The student should be at least in first grade, but second grade would be a preference.

b) Explain to the parent that you are not going to solve every one of the child's problems. If you can avoid relatives it would be better because it is hard to be objective .

c) You will need to meet with the child in school (preferably) or in a home setting regularly and

consistently. You will need at least 8 sessions over the duration of the semester. These sessions should be at least 25 minutes in duration.

d) Your goals will be:

-to diagnose (identify) through assessment tools a student's strengths or weaknesses in reading

-devise a remedial program to improve just one or two of the diagnosed weaknesses

-imporove the student's attitude toward reading (if necessary).

The assessment tools you will use consist of the following:

An Informal reading Inventory (see website below).

An additional measurement tool

Most sessions will consist of a mini-lesson in which you will explain a particular strategy or skill to help the student read/comprehend better. The components should include activities in which you read to the student and the student reads back to you, a discussion of the story and a writing/drawing assignment.

Your first order of business is to find a student as soon as possible. When you have done so, spend the

first session gettting to know your student. Talk about his/her interests, read a story and then ask some questions about the story.

CASE STUDY FORMAT

The case study that you will be using should consist of the following components:

a)) Student identification- name, age, school, and grade level

b) Reason(s) why the student was referred to you: i.e., general problem in school, any specific needs, and your source for this information

c) Testing materials (pre/post) What you used and how it was used (modified or complete)

d) Your initial diagnosis: i.e. test results and teacher's observations

e) Your prescription for remediation.. It should include the focus of the remediation, your methods and

the materials you will use.

f) Lesson plans or logs of your remediation session, sequential, with meeting dates and planning for the next session.

g) Representative student work, dated and labeled, as to aim and purpose

h) Post testing IRI (Informal Reading Inventories) . It is suggested that you look through these inventories to familiarize yourself with their components. You should be making a copy, one for you and one for your student. ( You need to administer this only to one student)

All soft copies are to be mailed a few days before the course end to:

Judi Schleifer, 200 E. 15th. St., apt 2K, NY,NY 10003

Hard copes should be submitted through the assignments session as your final project.

You will need to use what we call testing or assessment instruments. These consist of various types of tests, some of which are very formalized, while others are more of the informal type.

The following are some suggested tests you can use: (You may also use the IRI I sent and the checklist on pages 82-83 of our book Guided Reading)

Y

1) The Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test is designed to determine if the student can discriminate

(tell the difference) between the phonemes (sounds in words). It can help to determine if there is a possible hearing defect, and if the student can follow directions.

2) The Slingerland Visual Discrimination Test has the same design, except it is focused on graphemes.

3) The Wiig-Semel Test of Linguistic Concepts is designed to determine the extent that a student has mastered the niceties and quirks of the English language, since knowing the grammatical structure and idiomatic language is basic to obtaining meaning from a printed word. The instructions are self-evident, even though they are not spelled out.

4) The Roswell-Chall Diagnostic Reading Test of Word Analysis Skills is very similar in function to the Pope BRSI. It has been included to give you another option, as well as because it has a very good set of directions, information on scoring the test, and provides you with a perspective on using the test results efficiently.

5) The Slosson Oral Reading Test (Sort) is a stand alone test designed to provide a quick and remarkably accurate indication of a child's reading level, so that you can quickly place the new student within a reading group. It has three sections: directions, score sheet, and a graded word list (primer to HS)

The IRI (one is an individually administered test consisting of carefully graded selections from the preprimer level through grade 8 or higher. Accompanying each passage is a set of questions to test comprehension. During the administration of an IRI, the examiner usually has the student read aloud passages of increasing difficulty. The examiner then uses the results of the

student's oral reading performance and responses to comprehension questions to provide him/her

with appropriate reading materials. The results can also be used diagnostically to assess specific reading behavior.

Most IRI's include a graded word list. Students read the words on each list aloud until a predetermined number of words are missed. The results of this test are used to determine the passage on which to begin the oral reading portion of the inventory. Following the reading of the passage, the instructor asks a series of comprehension and vocabulary questions designed to demonstrate the student's understanding of the text. IF THE STUDENT CANNOT READ INDEPENDENTLY YOU NEEDN"T

ADMINISTER THE SILENT READING OF THE TEST.

For the purpose of this course, you need to do the following:

1) Based on your information, determine what problems your student is displaying. Use only hard determinable evidence for your diagnosis.

2) You now have the starting point for your work with your student. You are to create a remediation program for your student which will consist of activities to remedy the reading problem you have identified.

3) At the end of your work (session 8) you will retest your student on the same IRI and record the new resullts, which will now provide you with a picture of the student's achievement over the remedial period, which you will document on a new summary sheet; thus, you will have a "before and after" picture of

your student. That should help you determine how effective your instruction was.

You can download an informal reading inventory from www.ablongman.com/jennings5e.

HI,

I will just be e-mailing you this part of what is needed to be done. I dont care of the child is made up or what not but i need you to follow these guidelines:

SAMPLE CASE STUDY GUIDELINES

As part of the course requirements, you will be working with a student in a clinical setting. When you have completed this clinical work, you will be detailing your assignment in the form of a case study.

The following guidelines and instructions will be helpful to you in understanding what you need to do, devising an appropriate plan of action, and writing a worthwhile document.

1) The purpose of a case study is to provide you with an opportunity to use the assessment tools designed to recognize reading difficulties. It is also geared to develop a diagnostic evaluation identifying these difficulties and determining an appropriate remediation program.

2) The case study process provides you with an opportunity to work directly with an identified student, using the the remediation designed to correct the reading difficulty.

3) Finally, you will create a detailed record of your activities from assessment through remediation.

a) You first need to arrange to work with a student. Your student can come from many sources:

a relative, a friend's child, a stranger who was recommended to you or a student in your school.

The student should be at least in first grade, but second grade would be a preference.

b) Explain to the parent that you are not going to solve every one of the child's problems. If you can avoid relatives it would be better because it is hard to be objective .

c) You will need to meet with the child in school (preferably) or in a home setting regularly and

consistently. You will need at least 8 sessions over the duration of the semester. These sessions should be at least 25 minutes in duration.

d) Your goals will be:

-to diagnose (identify) through assessment tools a student's strengths or weaknesses in reading

-devise a remedial program to improve just one or two of the diagnosed weaknesses

-imporove the student's attitude toward reading (if necessary).

The assessment tools you will use consist of the following:

An Informal reading Inventory (see website below).

An additional measurement tool

Most sessions will consist of a mini-lesson in which you will explain a particular strategy or skill to help the student read/comprehend better. The components should include activities in which you read to the student and the student reads back to you, a discussion of the story and a writing/drawing assignment.

Your first order of business is to find a student as soon as possible. When you have done so, spend the

first session gettting to know your student. Talk about his/her interests, read a story and then ask some questions about the story.

CASE STUDY FORMAT

The case study that you will be using should consist of the following components:

a)) Student identification- name, age, school, and grade level

b) Reason(s) why the student was referred to you: i.e., general problem in school, any specific needs, and your source for this information

c) Testing materials (pre/post) What you used and how it was used (modified or complete)

d) Your initial diagnosis: i.e. test results and teacher's observations

e) Your prescription for remediation.. It should include the focus of the remediation, your methods and

the materials you will use.

f) Lesson plans or logs of your remediation session, sequential, with meeting dates and planning for the next session.

g) Representative student work, dated and labeled, as to aim and purpose

h) Post testing IRI (Informal Reading Inventories) . It is suggested that you look through these inventories to familiarize yourself with their components. You should be making a copy, one for you and one for your student. ( You need to administer this only to one student)

All soft copies are to be mailed a few days before the course end to:

Judi Schleifer, 200 E. 15th. St., apt 2K, NY,NY 10003

Hard copes should be submitted through the assignments session as your final project.

You will need to use what we call testing or assessment instruments. These consist of various types of tests, some of which are very formalized, while others are more of the informal type.

The following are some suggested tests you can use: (You may also use the IRI I sent and the checklist on pages 82-83 of our book Guided Reading)

Y

1) The Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test is designed to determine if the student can discriminate

(tell the difference) between the phonemes (sounds in words). It can help to determine if there is a possible hearing defect, and if the student can follow directions.

2) The Slingerland Visual Discrimination Test has the same design, except it is focused on graphemes.

3) The Wiig-Semel Test of Linguistic Concepts is designed to determine the extent that a student has mastered the niceties and quirks of the English language, since knowing the grammatical structure and idiomatic language is basic to obtaining meaning from a printed word. The instructions are self-evident, even though they are not spelled out.

4) The Roswell-Chall Diagnostic Reading Test of Word Analysis Skills is very similar in function to the Pope BRSI. It has been included to give you another option, as well as because it has a very good set of directions, information on scoring the test, and provides you with a perspective on using the test results efficiently.

5) The Slosson Oral Reading Test (Sort) is a stand alone test designed to provide a quick and remarkably accurate indication of a child's reading level, so that you can quickly place the new student within a reading group. It has three sections: directions, score sheet, and a graded word list (primer to HS)

The IRI (one is an individually administered test consisting of carefully graded selections from the preprimer level through grade 8 or higher. Accompanying each passage is a set of questions to test comprehension. During the administration of an IRI, the examiner usually has the student read aloud passages of increasing difficulty. The examiner then uses the results of the

student's oral reading performance and responses to comprehension questions to provide him/her

with appropriate reading materials. The results can also be used diagnostically to assess specific reading behavior.

Most IRI's include a graded word list. Students read the words on each list aloud until a predetermined number of words are missed. The results of this test are used to determine the passage on which to begin the oral reading portion of the inventory. Following the reading of the passage, the instructor asks a series of comprehension and vocabulary questions designed to demonstrate the student's understanding of the text. IF THE STUDENT CANNOT READ INDEPENDENTLY YOU NEEDN"T

ADMINISTER THE SILENT READING OF THE TEST.

For the purpose of this course, you need to do the following:

1) Based on your information, determine what problems your student is displaying. Use only hard determinable evidence for your diagnosis.

2) You now have the starting point for your work with your student. You are to create a remediation program for your student which will consist of activities to remedy the reading problem you have identified.

3) At the end of your work (session 8) you will retest your student on the same IRI and record the new resullts, which will now provide you with a picture of the student's achievement over the remedial period, which you will document on a new summary sheet; thus, you will have a "before and after" picture of

your student. That should help you determine how effective your instruction was.

You can download an informal reading inventory from www.ablongman.com/jennings5e.

How to Reference "Education in Today's Education Environment" Case Study in a Bibliography

“Education in Today's Education Environment.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2008, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/education-case-study-today/313934. Accessed 3 Jul 2024.

Education in Today's Education Environment (2008). Retrieved from https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/education-case-study-today/313934

A1-TermPaper.com. (2008). Education in Today's Education Environment. [online] Available at: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/education-case-study-today/313934 [Accessed 3 Jul, 2024].

”Education in Today's Education Environment” 2008. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/education-case-study-today/313934.

”Education in Today's Education Environment” A1-TermPaper.com, Last modified 2024. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/education-case-study-today/313934.

[1] ”Education in Today's Education Environment”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2008. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/education-case-study-today/313934. [Accessed: 3-Jul-2024].

1. Education in Today's Education Environment [Internet]. A1-TermPaper.com. 2008 [cited 3 July 2024]. Available from: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/education-case-study-today/313934

1. Education in Today's Education Environment. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/education-case-study-today/313934. Published 2008. Accessed July 3, 2024.