Case+Study+Sample

** Case Study Write Up Guide **
 * Information to Facilitate Problem Identification:**


 * Student Performance**—John is a 13-year old boy, in the 7th grade and Ashbery Middle School in Ashbery, Oregon. He is the youngest of three brothers, who precede him in the school system. John struggles with organization, homework completion, and on task behavior. Due to these three areas his participation, citizenship and academic scores all suffer. Using teacher generated observation checklists, teacher grading books, and weekly checklists, the teacher reports that John is currently turning in homework 65% of the time (class average=89%), he is off task approximately 23 times per day with periods of off task behavior lasting an average of 2.5 mutes (class average is 7 times per day with less than 1 minutes off task), and he is not utilizing his day-planner for organizational purposes. Outside of these issues John does not present significant academic concerns. He demonstrates proficiency in each area of the state standardized assessments, demonstrates the ability to create and maintain positive relationships with peers and adults, and has a high rate of attendance. A review of his school records reveals no medical concerns. A phone call parents indicate similar concerns regarding organization and attention to task on activities at home.


 * Teaching Methods**—John responds well to teaching/learning. Other than missing work his academic scores are slightly higher than class average. He appears to be a tactile learner and responds well to material presented using power point, handouts, the smart board and worksheets. He shows a natural talent for hands on problem solving activities. He performs well when a task has been mastered and he is able to shows his peers the skill.


 * Content/Materials**—Seatwork and worksheets prove to be a struggle for John due to issues with attention and organization. He performs well in group work, whole class instruction and experiential activities.


 * Learning environment**--John responds well when seated in distraction free places in the classroom. If he is removed from peers during whole class instruction he is more able to remain on task.


 * Learning traits and skills**--John has responded well to reminders when he is off task. The teacher expresses concerns regarding the number of times she is reminding him to be on task in any given day. Citing the research that multiple positive interactions are necessary to maintain a health relationship with lots of negative reinforcement must be provided, the teacher is looking for additional ways to remind John of his attention to task. Each time a student has more than 5 missing/late assignments, the student is required to stay after school to complete the work. During this time John organizes himself and by sorting through his backpack, desk and locker is generally able to produce each assignment in various stages of completion. There is no evidence that he is not capable of doing the work, he is simply not organized enough to get it turned in. As late assignments are not worth full credit, this lack of organization is impacting his grades. The after school sessions put pressure on John’s parents. He does not currently use his school provided planner or any other system of self-organization. The teacher has not been effective in helping John develop self-organization skills in class. He seems to need time away from the group of students in order to quiet his mind and sort through his papers.


 * (I will not be grading you based on which section you explain something…so if you write something in teach methods, which I think goes in learner’s traits you WILL NOT be graded down.)**

The Ashbery Middle School SIT team met to discuss John’s case on November 2, 2009. After reviewing all supporting materials and feed back from the parent, out conversations which included discussion regarding instruction, the curriculum, the environment and the learner, focused on John’s ability to maintain his focus in the classroom setting. The parent had not before considered the notion of a possible ADHD diagnosis and indicated that they would set up an appointment with a specialist. We provided copies of the team notes for the doctor to review and committed to filling out behavioral checklists. The team brainstormed the following hypothesis….
 * Problem Analysis**

“We feel that John is having a difficult time handing in homework because of his inability to remain organized.”

The team feels that the instruction, curriculum and environment are appropriate for John’s needs, but that he needs to gain skills in organization in order to effectively complete and submit home in order to maintain his course grades. The team also feels that part of his issue with on-task behavior may have to do with ADHD, but a medical professional may only diagnose this. In the case that this diagnosis is made we would recommend the method “self-monitoring behavior” as is described in the academic literature


 * Interventions**
 * 1) 1. In order to facilitate organization and homework completion the following will take place:

Parents—John’s parents have volunteered to purchase him a multi-subject notebook/binder that will travel back and forth to school. Each evening they will supervise an established homework time for John and provide him the quite environment in which he is able to organize his work. Arrangements will be made to allow John to remain afterschool for 30 minutes each Thursday in order to organize his desk, locker and bag and turn in any work missing for the week.

Teachers—All of John’s academic instructors have volunteered to provide his homeroom teach a weekly lesson plan/assignment sheet. These planning guides will be inserted into John’s binder each Monday. John’s homeroom teacher will supervise this activity during the first five minutes of Monday’s silent reading period during homeroom. The homeroom teacher will touch base with John on a daily basis to make sure assignments are not lost in the binder. The homeroom teacher is willing to supervise John during the ½ hour after school on Thursday afternoons.

Student—John will learn to utilize his binder and daily planner. He will keep all of his homework in his new binder and will work to keep his desk organized on a daily basis. John will complete all homework and check off assignments in his binder on a daily basis. If on Thursday afternoon’s he has no missing work and his desk and locker are organized he will be allowed to participate in a preferential classroom activity (computer games) for the 30 minutes he is to remain at school.


 * 1) 2—If parents report that John is diagnosed with ADHD, the homeroom teacher will pilot a method of “Self-Monitoring Behavior” utilizing the school-providing, vibrating reminder devices. During the course of a class period the reminder will vibrate at intervals and John will self-assess and record whether or not he is on task. At the end of the class period he and the teacher will review his data collection sheet to develop consensus and monitor progress. If this intervention is deemed successful in reducing his time off task, it can be expanded to other classrooms.

After two weeks of implementing intervention #1, John’s homework completion rate has increased to just below the class average at 88%. This is over 20% better than his pre-intervention rates. In the second week of the intervention, John had no missing work on Thursday evening and participated in his self-selected preferential activity. He commented that he enjoyed having the quite time on the computer and will work for this goal again. Data will continue to be collected regarding his progress. As a result of the use of the binder, John seems more organized and his parents report that homework time is getting easier. Parents also report they appreciate seeing his assignment sheets for the week at the beginning of the week so that they can better plan family activities and are not surprised with a project that was assigned a week in advance, but John didn’t remember until the night before. Other teachers report that John appears more organized and that they are willing to continue to provide the assignment sheets.
 * Follow Up**

Intervention #2—parents have scheduled an appointment with a medical specialist and behavior inventories have been distributed to teachers and returned to the doctor’s office. Intervention #2 is on hold until more information is gathered regarding the possibility of John having ADHD—inattentive type.

· All school based SIT paperwork forms · Evidence of parent communication (phone logs, meeting notes, email exchanges) · Evidence of research based interventions (if used), journal articles would be great · Evidence of pre-and post-intervention data collection (graphs, data sheets, charts) · Brainstorming notes from SIT session (mock or authentic) · I will expect your write up to have more data about the child’s performance (grades, standardized test scores, referrals) · I will expect your write up to have more data regarding the child’s performance compared to their peers · This example, due to the fact I just made it up, would be minimally acceptable, I’ll expect a bit more regarding details, parent communication, and team considerations
 * Required Appendix Items:**
 * Notes:**