Assignment:
Develop a learning plan with strategies for the child from the “Case Study” that includes the following:
- Clear, measurable learning goals;
- Relevant materials and resources including a technology tool for the child and/or teacher;
- Time to implement learning plan;
- When achievement of learning goals will be re-evaluated; and
- Time to transition off learning plan.
CASE STUDY:
Mrs. Smith has been teaching kindergarten for 6 years. Currently, her class includes 28 students. More than half this class consists of boys. This proved to be a challenging year for Mrs. Smith. Joseph is one of the boys in Mrs. Smith’s class. He is one of the younger students in the class and is very immature. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and takes medicine daily to help him concentrate while in the classroom.
Joseph’s parents recently went through a difficult divorce. They constantly fight and communicate negatively in front of Joseph. The parents have contacted Mrs. Smith individually to discuss the dynamics of the divorce and recommendations for interactions with each parent in the future. Both parents have requested separate emails or communication based on the progress of Joseph in the classroom. Both parents refuse to attend school functions together.
During the course of the year, Joseph has struggled to remain seated during instruction time. He plays on the computer or goes to the cooking center during teacher instruction. When Mrs. Smith provides prompts to Joseph, he immediately shuts down and refuses to respond. His interactions are always attention based and he acts out to get a reaction from other students or adults. Joseph sits in his own space to eliminate distractions from other students. Joseph is a very smart student, but struggles to complete any assignment. He has to take it home or finish it during his recess time. Mrs. Smith has pulled Joseph aside several times to talk about his behavior and need for attention. She has reached out to both parents and tends to get very little assistance from either one.
Mrs. Smith recently started a new individualized learning program for Joseph. She asked the school psychologist to come in and observe Joseph’s behavior. After thorough discussion with the school psychologist, they determined a learning program they believed would help keep Joseph on track. Mrs. Smith developed two visual representations for Joseph’s plan. One visual representation was a folder that broke down each subject of the day. On the folder, Mrs. Smith added visual cues with Velcro. The visual cues were prompts to help keep Joseph focused on the task assigned such as sit down, listen, write name on paper, complete five math problems, hands to yourself, and additional prompts as needed. Once the teacher-led instruction was complete, Mrs. Smith would individually provide Joseph with three visual prompts to keep him focused on the required assignment. Mrs. Smith also developed a necklace she wore daily. This necklace was yarn worn around her neck with visual cues attached for Joseph. She thought this would help Joseph stay in his seat, listen while she was teaching, and stay focused. It was decided that verbal cues weren’t helpful with Joseph. When he was out of his seat, Mrs. Smith would walk over to him and show the visual cue to remind him to sit down. Joseph was provided with half-hour incentives. For every 30 minutes Joseph could stay focused, he would receive a popsicle stick. Every five popsicle sticks would allow him to pick a box on his reward bingo matrix. These rewards were put together with Mrs. Smith.
