Case Study

EDUU 350 Case Study Assignment Description

(SIGNATURE ASSIGNMENT)

The purpose of this assignment is to give you the opportunity to conduct an in depth case study on one elementary age child. The assignment will give you the opportunity to hone your observation skills and apply the theories of social, emotional, cognitive and physical development you have been learning about in this course to the child in your case study. You will also have the opportunity to determine the classroom management strategies, instructional strategies and assessment strategies that would best support the child you study and reflect on insights you gained about teaching and learning from completing this assignment.

Directions:

1. Identify a Child to Study

Work with an elementary teacher to identify a child for your case study. The only requirements are that the child is in 2nd, 3rd , 4th or 5th grade and that the school is an elementary school.

2. Gather Background Information on the Child

Gather background information about the child you are studying through teacher and student interviews. Include the following questions in your interview and any other questions you think would be appropriate for the study:

Teacher Interview

1. What can you tell me about the child’s family background? Family composition? Cultural background? Socio-economic status? Home language, if the home language is not English?

Family involvement in school?

2. What can you tell me about the child’s academic abilities?

3. What can you tell me about the child’s behavior/social skills?

4. What can you tell me about the child’s interests/talents?

5. What types of instructional strategies work best for this child?

6. What do you see as this child’s areas of strength? Areas for improvement?

Student Interview

1. What are your favorite and least favorite subjects in school? Why?

2. What kinds of classroom activities do you enjoy doing the most? The least?

3. What do your teachers and other adults at the school do to make you feel safe?

4. What do your teachers do that help you learn?

5. What do you in class if you aren’t sure how to do something?

6. What do you like to do in your free time?

3. Observe the Child

Observe the child in the classroom setting, at recess time and in the cafeteria for half a day

(3 hours) and record what you see based on the questions below.

1. What do you notice about the child’s physical appearance and development?

Is the child physically mature or immature for his/her age?

What do you notice about the child’s coordination?

How well developed are his/her fine motor and gross motor skills?

2. What do you notice about the child’s social interactions with others?

Does the child engage with other students in class? In the cafeteria? On the playground? If so, describe the interactions you observe.

In what ways does the child participate in class?

In what ways does the child interact with the teacher?

In what ways does the child interact with other children? Does he/she initiate interactions with others?

Does he/she appear to have many friends? Does he/she interact with mostly girls, boys or a combination of both?

3. What do you notice about the child’s academic/cognitive abilities from your observations?

Are there certain subject areas the child excels in (e.g. math, science, and reading)? Are there areas where he/she struggles?

What activities does the classroom teacher do that seem to motivate or engage the child? What activities do not seem motivating or engaging?

4. What do you notice about the child’s emotional state?

Does he/she appear to be responding appropriately in social situations for the age level?

What do you notice about the child’s mood while you observe them in the classroom, at recess and in the cafeteria?

Does the child appear to be self-assured? Does he/she take initiative?

How did the child deal with any adverse situations he/she faced during the day?

5. Write a 6-10 page paper that includes:

a. A title page that includes assignment title, your name, course number, instructor name and submission date

b. A summary of the information you gained about the child from your teacher and student interviews (use pseudonyms for the name of the child, school and teacher)

c. A summary of what you learned about the child from your observation

d. Application to Learning Theories

Review the learning theories described in the text in Chapters 2 & 3 (e.g. cognitive

development (Piaget & Vygotsky), psychosocial development (Erikson) and moral

development (Kolhberg) and explain which of the theories can be applied to the

child in your case study. Provide a rationale for each of the theories selected.

e. Application to Teaching

Describe which classroom management strategies, instructional strategies and

assessment strategies in Ormrod, Chapters 12, 13 and 14 would be appropriate for

the child you studied based on what you learned about the child. Provide two or

more strategies in each of the three areas mentioned above. For each strategy give

a rationale for selecting the strategy.

f. Reflection

What insights did you gain about learning from completing this assignment?

What insights did you gain about teaching from completing this assignment?

g. References

EDUU 350 Case Study Rubric

	Exemplary 20	Proficient 16	Emerging 12	Needs Improvement 8	Not Completed 0
Background on Child	Clearly and concisely describes background information on the child obtained through the teacher and student interviews.	Adequately describes background information on the child obtained through the teacher and student interviews.	Partially describes background information on the child obtained through the teacher and student interviews. Some information is lacking or missing.	Little or no evidence of background information on the child obtained through the teacher and student interviews is provided.
Observation of the Child	Cleary and concisely describes observations of the child’s physical development, social interactions, cognitive abilities and emotional development.	Adequately describes observations of the child’s physical development, social interactions, cognitive abilities and emotional development.	Partially describes observations of the child’s physical development, social interactions, cognitive abilities and emotional development. Some information is lacking or missing.	Little or no evidence of observations that describe of the child’s physical development, social interactions, cognitive abilities and/or emotional development.
Application to Learning Theories	Clearly and concisely describes learning theories that apply to the child in the case study and a rationale for the theories selected.	Adequately describes learning theories that apply to the child in the case study and a rationale for the theories selected.	Partially describes learning theories that apply to the child in the case study and a rationale for the theories selected. Some information is lacking or missing	Little or no evidence of learning theories that apply to the child in the case study and/or a rationale for the theories selected is not provided.
Application to Teaching	Clearly and concisely describes classroom management, instructional and assessment strategies that would be appropriate for the child and a rationale for strategies selected.	Adequately describes classroom management, instructional and assessment strategies that would be appropriate for the child and a rationale for strategies selected.	Partially describes classroom management, instructional and assessment strategies that would be appropriate for the child and a rationale for strategies selected Some information is lacking or missing.	Little or no evidence of classroom management, instructional and assessment strategies that would be appropriate for the child and/or a rationale for strategies selected is not provided.
Reflection	Clearly and concisely describes insights gained about teaching and learning from completing the assignment.	Adequately describes insights gained about teaching and learning from completing the assignment.	Partially describes insights gained about teaching and learning from completing the assignment. Some information is lacking or missing.	Little or no description of insights gained about teaching and learning from completing the assignment is provided.
Writing Style and Mechanics	Writing is clear and concise. Sentence structure is varied. Fully adheres to academic writing conventions (grammar, spelling punctuation etc.) There are no grammar, spelling and/or punctuation errors.	Writing is clear and sentence structure is somewhat varied. Adequately adheres to academic writing conventions (grammar, spelling, punctuation etc.) There are few grammar, spelling and/or punctuation errors.	Writing is unclear with minimal variation in sentence structure. Partially adheres to academic writing conventions (grammar, spelling, punctuation etc.) There are several grammar, spelling and/or punctuation errors.	Writing is unclear. Sentence structure is the same throughout the paper. Does not adhere to academic writing conventions (grammar, spelling, punctuation etc.) There are excessive grammar, spelling and/or punctuation errors.