Case Study Part 1-3 Editted for Blog

University of Puerto Rico at Humacao

English Department

Case Study: Part 1 - 3

School: Alfonso Casta Martínez Senior High School

Maunabo, Puerto Rico

Cooperating Teacher: Sonia N. Aponte Aponte

Group: 12-2

Luis E. Pabón Martínez

842-07-6105

Practice Teaching

EDPE 4006/4018

Dr. Aníbal Muñoz Claudio

April 28, 2014

CASE STUDY LUIS E. PABÓN MARTÍNEZ

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Table of Contents

I. Demographic Information …………………………………………………… 2

II. Justification…………………………………………………………………... 3

III. Hypothetical Account ...……………………………………………………... 4

IV. Work Plan 1 ……………….………………………………………………… 5

V. Analysis of Situation ………………………………………………………… 6 - 7

VI. Work Plan 2 …………………………………………………………………. 8

VII. Final Reactions ………………………………………………………………. 9 - 10

VIII. Appendix ……………………………………………………………………... 11 - 13


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I. Demographic Information

The student that I chose for my case study is Alex. Alex is 17 years old and he currently

attends the Alfonso Casta Martínez High School. He is in 12th grade in group number 2, and is

enrolled in the Carpentry program. His favorite sport is soccer, he likes to work on cars, and on

his free time he likes to ride his motorbike. He lives in Barrio Talante, Los Almendros, in

Maunabo, Puerto Rico with his father. His father’s name is Angelo León Virola, and he is a

mechanic.


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II. Justification:

The first thing that I did when I was first assigned this school and group was observe

them carefully. I immediately noticed a few students that stood out in terms of their in-class

behavior. Alex was one of them. What stood out was his lack of attention and participation in the

class. I talked to the teacher and saw the groups’ grades and scores of the diagnostic test. Alex

had an F in the class. I was intrigued by why this young man behaved in such ways in the

classroom and why he had such a grade.

The fact that he’s a 12th grade student and is a candidate for graduation in May concerned

me. I expressed my concerns to my Cooperating Teacher Mrs. Sonia Aponte Aponte and she

agreed and suggested that I should make him my case study.

I have been dedicating myself to observe the group for the last few weeks and interact

with them in order to find out more about them in general. I wanted to see how they performed in

class, how much they know, if they’re interested at all, among other things. I noticed that Alex

usually didn’t do the daily work, didn’t participate, and his excuse was that he doesn’t know

English. Some of his classmates help him with the daily work, which is good, but he doesn’t

seem motivated to do the work by himself.


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III. Hypothetical Account:

Alex is a disciplined student. I haven’t seen him misbehave in the classroom at all, he’s

always very respectful towards Mrs. Aponte and me. He is usually quiet, minding his own

business. I have seen him take out his cellular phone at times, to keep himself entertained. When

it comes to his work, he does it whenever he feels like it, but he usually leaves it blank and when

you ask him he says that he doesn’t know English, and even if you try to explain he doesn’t do it.

He would rather wait until a classmate finishes his/her work and helps him out with his.

Some of the factors that I believe can be an influence in him not doing well in the class

could be the lack of motivation and interest in the class. His mindset is that he doesn’t know

English, and he doesn’t even try at all in the classroom when he is asked to participate. In the

group profile questionnaire he mentioned that his father didn’t help him with homework, and he

didn’t list his mother in it. This could be another thing that may be affecting him emotionally,

and may have caused a lack of interest in school, or at least the English class.


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IV. Work Plan 1

Date Activities Purpose Person(s) involved

January

Make observations

in order to identify a

possible case study

subject.

Choose possible

candidates for the case

study.

Mrs. Aponte

Students

TC

February

3-11

Administer Group

Profile

Questionnaire

Get to know my students

more. Acquire information

about their home

environment, health

conditions, aptitudes, and

interests.

Students

Parents

Mrs. Aponte

TC

February 18 Case study student

selection

Choose a student for the

case study based on the

information gathered from

class observations and

group profile

questionnaire.

Mrs. Aponte

TC

Alex

March 3 Notify the parent

about the case study.

Explain the purpose of the

case study and gather

more information.

Mrs. Aponte

TC

Alex

His Father

March 3 - 7 Interview Alex’s

teachers.

Gather information on his

academic development in

all of his classes.

Mrs. Aponte Aponte

(English)

Mrs. Raquel Vizcaya

(Math)

Mrs. Santiago (History)

Mrs. Ortiz Rivas

(Spanish)

Mrs. Figueroa (Science)

Mr. Sugrañez

(Carpentry)

March 3 - 7 Interview the student

Explain to the student why

I selected him. I will ask

him about his future plans

and interests. I will help

him set goals in order to

improve his performance

in the classroom.

TC

Alex

March 10+ Assign a personal

tutor for Alex.

The tutor will help him

stay focused during the

class, and at the same

time, both students will

Mrs. Aponte

TC

Alex


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have activities that will

challenge

V. Analysis of Student’s Situation

Alex is a respectful student that wants to keep on studying after High School and

become a mechanic. In order to do so, he wants to get a sports scholarship so that he can study in

a local College. After conducting an interview to the student, his father, teachers, and classmates

I came across a peculiar situation. The student lost his mother when he was about 15 years old,

noticeably affecting him both at home and in school (as said by his teachers). Some said that he

would burst into tears randomly while in class. His father said that he is usually “in his own

world” distracted. His classmates support him thoroughly and are there for him as much as he

lets them. He has people that care about him everywhere he goes. When it comes to his father, he

said that didn’t take him to a psychologist because he went through the same ordeal when he was

young – he also lost his mother, but earlier in his life, and it was tough on him but he got through

it. He says that if he can’t help him, he doubts that there’s much a psychologist can do to help his

son. He mentioned that he’s rough with his son, but he does it because he loves him and wants

him to succeed, he doesn’t want him to fall into drugs (he also mentioned that he takes him

randomly to take drug tests, the kid is clean) or drop out of school.

Regarding the teachers, I noticed a trend of teachers saying that he is very respectful

but that he’s always active, moving around, that he’s like a middle-schooler in terms of maturity.

He doesn’t miss class regularly (mostly due to his father being rough on him when he started to

skip). To help the student, the teachers have talked to his father in order to straighten him up and

get him on the right track.


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When it comes to my hypothesis, I can definitely see the connection between it and

my findings. This students lacks the motivation to study due to everything that has happened to

him. The loss of his mother has affected him a lot, the teachers and his father said that he never

left her side when she became ill and that they were very close. I believe that in order to help this

student I must promote group work so that he never feels alone, so that he knows that he has

people, friends, and teachers that he can trust and rely on. Assigning tutors was the first step in a

correct work plan, adding more group work and helping him personally will help solidify the

purpose of my case study, which is to help this student.


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VI. Work Plan 2

Date Activities Purpose Person(s) involved

March 31 +

Customize

activities/work

assigned in class and

turn them into group

based activities.

By turning the class

activities into group

activities the student will

be able to work with his

tutors or other classmates

and not feel pressured by

working alone all the time,

the student will also feel

responsible for the work

done in class because his

classmates count on him.

Case Study Student

Tutors

TC

April 1 +

Offer the student my

activities hour

(10:50 AM – 12:00

PM)

By offering the student my

free hour the student will

be able to come to me so I

can explain the material

given in class, clear any

doubts, and give him

personalized help outside

of the classroom setting.

TC

Case Study Student


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VII. Final Reactions:

This case study has made me realize how I am really a softie at heart and how much I

really want to help others. Alex is a young man who has been through some things that no kid

should have to go through at that age. The loss of his mother paired up with the toughness of his

father are circumstances that affect this young man’s performance in school. This is a kid that

needs support from everyone around him. This is a kid who lost the person he was closest to.

When I interviewed the other teachers some of them said that he would randomly break down

and cry in the classroom, that they would notice him teary-eyed, or that sometimes his mind was

in “another world”. My case study was more than just an academic issue, it was about treating a

social problem carefully, knowing what to do, who to talk to, and who to get involved.

On the academic side, my work plan was to get Alex involved with other students who

are doing well in the class. At the beginning of the semester I noticed that he was usually alone

in the back of the class not doing his work. I decided to change that by assigning him various

tutors. The tutors changed based on the work given since some dominated the material and others

didn’t. I had three tutors in total working with Alex throughout the semester. This approach

seemed to be working for him, he started doing all of the work because his classmates motivated

him and didn’t allow him to let himself not care and fail. Paired up with this approach I made

sure I gave him more personalized attention when explaining the different assignments in the

class, and told him that if he had any doubts he could come by during my free hour and I would

gladly help him.


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By noticing how well he was doing in class with his tutors, I decided to modify some of

my instructional methods. I changed a lot of activities to group activities because everyone

worked well together and seemed to understand the material better as well. Based on my

findings, I believe that Alex needs a lot of social interaction in order for him to realize that there

are other people out there that do care for him and want him to succeed. It is up to him to accept

or decline the help he is offered. His classmates are more than supportive towards him, they

accept him and try to help him in any way they can. As teachers, I don’t think there is much

more we are able to do in this case. We can offer him our help on and off the classroom, we can

talk to him and give him solid advice. In the end, this is more of an emotional problem that he

has to deal with. A professional like a psychologist may be able to help, but his father says that

he doesn’t need to go to a psychologist because he went through the same ordeal and he is fine. I

feel like his wound is still pretty raw and it still affects him to this day, even though he doesn’t

show it. It has changed the way he is, but with help from the people around him he will be able

to overcome it.


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VIII. Appendix


English Department

Re: Case Study

Teacher’s Format ________________________

Date & Hour

_____________________________ ________________________

Name of person interviewed Class

General Information

1. Students behavior in classroom.

2. Any comments the student makes in class in reference to school.

3. Which do you think are the student’s difficulties?

Can you perceive the students problems?

As the student’s teacher, how do you feel toward the situation?

4. What have you done to help this student?

5. How is the student doing in class? (grades)

6. Attendance to class.

7. Comments.


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English Department

Re: Case Study

Classmate Format ______________________________

Date & Hour

_____________________________ ______________________________

Name of person interviewed Group

General Information

1. How do you see the student’s behavior in the classroom?

2. Do you take all the classes with the student?

3. How do you see the student’s attitude towards school?

4. Which do you think are the student’s difficulties?

5. As the students friend, have you tried to help the student in the classes?

6. Comments.


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Universidad de Puerto Rico en Humacao

Departamento de Inglés

Maunabo, Puerto Rico

18 de marzo de 2014

Re: Práctica Docente

Estudio de Caso

Aceptación para el Estudio de Caso:

Yo, _____________________________________ , acepto ser la estudiante para el

Estudio de Caso de Mr. Luis E. Pabón Martínez. Dicho estudio será para mi beneficio y

además la información recopilada se mantendrá en confidencia.

Estaré dispuesto a ayudar y a cooperar con dicho estudio en todo momento.

Gracias,

________________________________ ________________________

Maestro Practicante Estudiante

________________________

Fecha

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Case Study Part 1-3 Editted for Blog