Individual Student

When looking at the students in my combined 2nd/3rd grade host classroom and trying to
see who could benefit from some type of intervention I knew it was going to be a struggle based
on the overall classroom setup and the students ability to follow expectations. After careful
observation and discussion with the host teacher, I decided on Student A, a 3rd grader. He is
easily distracted, has the constant need to have something in his hands, and struggles with not
blurting out answers or trying to correct other students' behavior during instruction. Student A is
the youngest in his family and the host teacher is his mother so that also presents some other
challenges as well.
As I thought of interventions for Student A my focus was on trying to help get him
engaged in math by finding things he was successful at and building on them along with
introducing different fidget items that he could try using to keep his hands occupied so that he
can be less distracting to those around him while at his desk during instruction. The host teacher
had already tried putting velcro on the underside of his desk to occupy his fingers and was going
to get a large bungee cord for around the desk legs. Student A also would try using a sensory
cushion with his chair but it wasn’t always successful and he didn’t want to try a ball chair or
balance stool.
After speaking to the host teacher about several ideas for Student A there was a good plan
in place but unfortunately I never got to put anything into action with Student A. He was out for
a week and when he returned, he had started joining the small group with the Special Education
TA in the back of the classroom and he was doing better. The other issue that arose is that the 3rd
graders were going over to the TA’s classroom during math time because the 2nd graders were
starting a new unit and the host teacher needed to introduce and teach the concept and strategies.
In the group of 2nd graders I found Student B. His behaviors were very similar to Student A in
that he is extremely fidgety, is easily distracted and will distract others, and shouts out the answer
for the math concept being taught.
Now Student B was a bit more successful in his body control because he had a pop-it
style fidget toy that he could hold while sitting at his desk along with using a balance stool or
ball chair for his seat at his desk. While the pop-it fidget toy and options of chairs worked for
Student B most of the time, there were times that they were unsuccessful. Sometimes Student B
would be more focused on the pop-it toy instead of listening to directions and he could become
overzealous with the balance stool and actually fell off or tipped over a few times. When this
happened, Student B would be reminded to be careful with the balance stool along with a
reminder to use it appropriately. He was also reminded that the pop-it toy was a privilege and
that if it became too distracting to him and others, it would have to be put away or taken back
home.
Since math instruction was in a small group, I was able to try a few things with Student B
to try and intervene with his desire to shout out answers or distract others. One of the first things
I tried doing was having Student B sit at a desk or on the floor somewhat away from others so
that he could still wiggle as needed and not be as distracting. I also found that asking Student B if
he was being “helpful or hurtful” with his behavior had a mostly positive effect and he would
readjust his behavior. There were a few times that it did not help and I would have to tell him to
move somewhere else or tell him that he was being distracting to his classmates and taking away
from the learning time. As Student B became more comfortable with me providing reminders
and learning what he could and couldn’t do with me around, his body control started improving
overall and sometimes all it would take to redirect or remind Student B was simply saying his
name or walking over to him and asking him to tell me about what he was doing.
The interventions relating to answers being blurted out were somewhat successful. A lot
of the success or failure depended upon Student B’s mood and his understanding of the concept.
There were several days that he was a bit quieter due to learning the new concept and once he
understood, he could explain it to the group and show his work on the board. He sometimes
would act up a bit if he was unable to erase his work, however I found that if I let him know
beforehand I was going to erase his example he was okay. Sometimes letting him erase it himself
worked, like if another student was explaining something, but other times it was a distraction and
took away from learning. By allowing Student B an opportunity to share with the class or a
partner helped a lot in preventing him from blurting out answers however he still would answer
the question before I or the host teacher could call on another student. On the days that Student B
was really struggling with blurting out answers, I tried asking him if he had a different
explanation or if he did it the same way as the other student had explained. At first this was not
successful because Student B would then launch into his own explanation, even if it was the
same as what another student had said. So instead of asking Student B if he had anything to add I
started asking him if he did it differently or the same as the other student or if what the other
student said made sense to him. I noticed this change in phrasing would have more of a positive
effect and prevent unnecessary explanation or blurting out answers.
Overall I feel that my interventions with Student B were mostly successful. There is still
work that needs to be done and it will take time and effort to help Student B continue to be
successful. The host teacher already does many things relating to classroom management that the
behaviors of Student B could be considered minimal however intervening and introducing some
coping skills will help him to stay successful in his learning. I do wish that there was more time
to continue with these interventions and gather more information on Student B because I am
curious to see what type of success he would have over a longer period of time. In the short time
I was working with him, I saw progress and success in all areas of focus for Student B and feel
that he now has the basis of some coping skills that will help him continue to progress and be
successful.

Whole Class
The elementary school I was at for this project is a Title I, has about 400 students in
attendance from Kindergarten to 6rth grade, and students walk to school or are dropped off by
their parents. There is only busing for Special Education students. The overall atmosphere of the
school is welcoming and friendly. Both students and school staff greet each other and ask how
things are going.
When I first came into the classroom there was an established routine and the students
knew of the teachers expectations and what they could do. As time went on, I was concerned that
I might not be able to find something to try an experiment with and then there was some
disruption in the class due to the teacher being out for a week. Once she returned the routine had
to be re-established and after reading several chapters from a few of the course texts, I decided to
try and do something that was engaging to the students that could connect to other areas of their
day, could connect to other content areas, or related to something that the majority of the students
were interested in.
When I approached the host teacher about this idea, she liked the thought of engagement
but suggested narrowing the focus to just thinking of ways to engage students at the beginning of
the math lesson and finding different ways to teach and reinforce the strategies being taught. I
was able to see what she was talking about when the class had a “Glow Day” and the math
activities were fun and engaging. The activities all related to strategies and concepts that all the
students were familiar with. By breaking the students into small groups, they were all engaged in
the activities and having a great time.
After the Glow Day I noticed that when teaching the math lesson that students were more
engaged if the question was simple or if they could explain their own thought process. I also
noted that some students were not paying attention and it was because they did not fully
understand what was being taught. Based on these observations and reading, I decided to try and
make math a bit more fun on the three days that I was in the classroom. At this point in the
semester, the host teacher was very comfortable with me in the classroom and was having me run
the classroom morning meeting and then teaching the math lesson for the day.
The first thing I started doing was making sure that the CHAMPS (Conversation, Help,
Activity, Movement, Participation, Success) expectation was reviewed before the lesson started.
If I forgot to review expectations a student would usually remind me or within the first few
minutes I would remember and pause to review expectations. I did this intervention for about
two weeks every day I was in class and overall it was successful and the students were ready to
learn. The other interventions I did depended on what was being taught and how the students
were engaging. Sometimes I would have the students share with a partner instead of as a whole
group, which allowed quieter students an opportunity to participate and become engaged. If I
noticed that a specific student was struggling, I would take the time to go over to them and ask
what part was confusing and have them explain to me what they understood so that I could better
help them. One thing I started doing towards the end of the semester was to pause and have the
students show me by using a thumbs up, sideways, or down their level of understanding so that I
knew if more practice was needed or if we could move forward. I wish I had thought of this
sooner because it was becoming very effective and the students would start doing this by
themselves during the lesson as a nonverbal cue to me if I needed to slow down and re-explain
something, keep going, or check in with them later.
The one intervention that I was least successful with was trying to have an engaging
activity before the lesson. I was able to do it twice and both times were a success however most
of the time things were too chaotic and I would get interrupted before I could start or I was
limited to 30 minutes because we had to swap groups. Based on this, I modified this goal of fun
engagement to be more of the students telling/teaching me how to do the practice problem. They
really liked doing this and I noticed that it provided a challenge in a way because they had to
figure out how to explain the math concept to me so that I could understand it. An excellent
example of this was the group of 2nd graders trying to explain how to use a number line to solve
a simple addition or subtraction problem. They were successful in telling me where to put the
numbers and how many hops on the number line I needed to make but they were missing the step
of counting up from the starting number to the ending number on the number line. It took some
questioning on my part to get them to explain that I needed to write down the numbers in
between on the number line to show how many hops I had to make on the number line.
Overall the interventions I tried with the whole class were successful and having a few
interventions to try was helpful because it allowed the students, and myself, to feel successful
each day I was in the classroom. It would be very interesting to see how these interventions
could be built upon or expanded as the students became more comfortable with them and trying
to use these interventions during other parts of the school day.
In conclusion I feel that the interventions for both the individual student and the whole
class were successful and growth was starting to occur. I do know that it took some time to figure
out what would work and that was due to my limited time in the classroom and I was only
working off what I saw for about 90 minutes, 3 days a week. One thing that will be staying with
me is that relationships have a lot to do with how well students will respond to my intervention
efforts. It also came to my attention that this process is ongoing and requires effort. There will be
good days and bad days and my ability to be flexible with the students and knowing which
interventions have the highest chance of being successful for the day is important and essential. I
am just like the students I am teaching, constantly learning and improving and I believe that it
will help make better students and me a better teacher.
 Resources

Jones, V. and Jones, L. (2016). Comprehensive Classroom Management: Creating Communities

Fisher, D. and Frey, N., et al. (2018). Engagement by Design: Creating Learning Environments
Where Students Thrive. Corwin.

Faber, A. and Mazlish, E. (2012). How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk.
Scribner.