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Final Case Study

Brittany McIntosh, EDF 219, 4/16/17

Student Name: Jane Doe Grade: 12th

Piaget’s Cognitive Stage

Jane is in the formal operational stage. She showed no signs of struggle in the class and could

logically approach the material and retain the information. She has the capacity to handle ab-

stract ideas; One day I had observed, the project was to create your own virtual business and

be able to sustain it for a period of time. Out of all students she was able to successfully keep

her virtual business afloat the longest amount of time. Jane Doe is distinguished in manipulating

difficult ideas and effectively following instructions with a high comprehension of the material

and directions.

Student Description

Jane Doe is 18 years old and in her Senior year. Some of the social age level characteristics

that are applicable to Jane include having a job while maintaining good grades and not being

highly influenced by her peers. She is headstrong and goes by the rules while still being herself

and doing what she believes is right. The cognitive age level characteristics include having set

political ideals she believes in wholeheartedly as well as having formal thoughts and the capa-

bility to use them. She knows what she believes is right and is respected by her peers for her

opinion while still being respectful to others. Anytime politics would casually be brought up in the

class she generally had an opinion but would hold back if it caused an issue with any other

classmates. Jane Doe is about 5’4” and an average weight compared to her peers. She is cre-

ative and enjoys drawing and painting. She is less social and keeps to herself most of the time.
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Metacognitive Skills

Jane Doe is more mature than the other students and more developed in her ability to compre-

hend the schoolwork and assignments. She pays attention to the material more than her class-

mates and would ask questions when confused until she fully understood what was being

taught. She always completed her work on time and would start on the next due assignment

immediately. One hour I had observed the instructor showed me the grades of the students and

she was in the top 3 of the class based on grades. She is ahead of her classmates in her com-

prehension of the material. She is capable of processing the material and retaining the main

points. Jane Doe utilizes a planner to keep track of her day to day activities and assignments

and this further supports her maturity and responsibility level compared to those of her peers.

She self-regulates all of her work and does not need any assistance from her teachers or her

parents to keep track of her process in her classes. I observed that when she completed an as-

signment, she would review it and make sure it was as clear and concise as she saw fit, then

she would continue to turn it in. This showed her ability to notice mistakes not only in herself but

also have the capacity to correct them and retain what she did wrong.

Teacher Presentation Modes

The instructor would mostly use direct instruction and verbal communication to tell the students

the assignment. By the end of the clinical hours I completed she had allowed me to start giving

the directions the students must follow and direct them through the school website where the

assignment would be located. If there was an assignment that was more visual (such as a chart)

she would put an example on the board of what the students’ work should look like when com-

pleted. Since this was a high school class, the students generally understood the instructions

and were self-regulated learners. She mostly just used these modes of presentation because

the students were responsible in the class to take care of their own assignments and the level of
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teaching did not need to be as high due to the self-regulation present. There were some specific

assignments that were distributed in hard copy as well as charts and graphs the students were

required to fill out, which helped them all understand the material at a higher rate and made the

class move much faster.

Moral Development

Jane Doe falls in Level 3 Post-conventional Morality and Stage 5 Social Contract. Most high

school students will follow the general social constructs of his or her peers and Jane is no ex-

ception. She could be in the middle of Stage 5 and Stage 6 (Universal Ethics) because she will

follow what her peers are doing but on occasion she will be content on her own and not socializ-

ing. Her morals are somewhat based on who she surrounds herself with but some topics she

feels strong enough about to stand her ground. One day in particular some of the girls were

chatting about their plans for that weekend and the Frat parties they were going to go to and

drink at and it became clear Jane was not interested in activities such as those and preferred to

be home on a Friday night. The girls extended the invitation to Jane which she politely turned

down. This shows Jane’s morals may not be wholly based off those of her peers but of her own

personal beliefs she has adopted. She also has proven to be responsible and forward-thinking

in how she handles situations by how she deals with her schoolwork and upcoming assign-

ments I mentioned previously. Based on these criteria, I placed her in the categories I did. She

is between the Stages 5 and 6 because not all morals are her own and can be based off her

peers. Her opinion on cheating with other classmates is loosely based on that of her peers as

well.
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Sociocultural Theory

Jane Doe’s Zone of Proximal Development is fully developed. The teacher allows for coopera-

tive learning and working on assignments and the student chooses to work on her own mostly.

The instructor will pass out the assignment or tell them where to find it online and she is always

on top of her work and unlike her peers would rather get it out of the way immediately versus

waiting until the last minute to get it completed. Most assignments in the class are group

projects the students will work together on and one in particular was a “dream vacation.” The

students were responsible for creating the vacation of their dreams, the only stipulations being it

had to cost under $2000 and be in the United States. Jane Doe got in a group with some girls in

the class and they required no assistance from the instructor and got it done in a timely manner,

I believe being due to the responsibility of Jane Doe with her classmates. She needs no as-

sistance in any of her assignments in class and generally when she gets done early the teacher

will allow her to work on other assignments in other classes. Because the students were more

focused on their upcoming graduation, they did the bare minimum in the class and did not do a

lot of work. The teacher understood they had other worries and allowed them to focus on such. I

believe she is a humanistic teacher because she always was asking the students how they were

feeling and what was going on with them outside of the school walls, which showed her interest

and care for them. This caused the students to respect her more and is a teaching style I hope

to adopt some day. One way the teacher brought culture into the classroom was by having the

students look at how difficult it is to become a citizen in the country. She incorporated business

into it by having the students work on an accountant-style chart stating the cost difference of

people from different countries coming over to the United States. She also had the students

create a simulated business online to show the difficulty in creating and maintaining a business,

an assignment which my student I observed did very well in.

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Psychosocial Stage

Jane Doe is in the “ego identity vs. role confusion” stage transitioning to “intimacy vs. isolation.”

She is 18 years old so therefore based on age will fall in the first category leading into the sec-

ond. She is not fully self-actualized yet but is getting to that stage and seems to comprehend

what her role in society is and what she wants to do when she graduates high school as well as

the career path she is choosing to follow. Ego identity versus role confusion generally follows

the virtue of trust and placement, or finding one’s place in society as the student gets older and

closer to “real life.” Jane is self-aware and highly intelligent, which leads to some isolation from

her peers. She actively seeks a partner, thus leading to intimacy versus isolation. She proves to

be content on her own but as most 18 year olds are, she seeks a companion to share her life

with whether that be temporary or not. One time I was in the class she was asking me about my

personal life outside of school and if I had a boyfriend, etc. She showed an obvious interest in

love and the idea of it. By her being at the crossroad age for both stages, she shares some

characteristics with either one. I believe it is unfair to put her in only one category over another

because different parts of each can be seen in how she interacts with her peers and how she

carries herself around others. One major issue that could arise from transitioning into the next

stage, love, is the distraction from school. Especially leading into college, school is a number

one priority and should stay that as long as possible. By bringing in another person into her life

to focus attention on, she theoretically could end up slacking in her work but based on my inter-

actions with her I doubt this to be a heavy concern.

Social Interaction

Jane interacted with me somewhat different than her peers. With everyone she comes off as

shy and quiet but when I would start having a conversation with her she would immediately

open up and chat with me about any topic. I believe this is due to her seeing herself as more
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mature and seeing the difference between her and her classmates. I could tell she was more

mature than the average senior in high school. Jane does not have much in common with her

peers so she does not have a lot to talk to them about but she jumped at the chance to listen to

what college is like and gaining knowledge that could be beneficial to her in the future. In gener-

al I understood her sense of humor as well as the teacher so we could appreciate the jokes she

would make but it would go over the other classmates’ heads. Jane Doe still had friends in the

class but she preferred to be on her own.

Challenges and Emotions

The entire class is full of seniors, so the motivation is sub-par. But Jane, although she is about

to graduate, was still working at full pace and handled her schoolwork understanding that the

grades she got still mattered. Every challenge she faced was not so much due to the school-

work but due to the stresses of being an upcoming Freshman in college. The emotional stresses

were more difficult for her to handle, although she did both well. Any questions she had for me

throughout my time spent at Model were not so much about the work but about how easy it is to

make friends in college. Her concern for friendship and belonging fits with the emotional aspect

of her personal challenges versus the literal difficulty of school. Jane expressed how she felt

with me more than the other students in her class and I feel this is due to her maturity level be-

ing higher than that of her peers. Her relating to the other students was her biggest challenge

she faced (that I could observe.)

Strategy for Growth

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Jane Doe had no struggle with school. The only areas that could truly be improved or she could

grow in would be her social skills and her moral standing, both of which are due to her lack of

socialization with her peers. There are a few different solutions to help assist Jane in her per-

sonal growth; The first being forcing her into those social situations. I personally would not

choose to do this unless absolutely necessary, but the way to handle this would be to put her in

a group project with some of her more social peers. By them being as loud and rambunctious as

they are, it may force her into talking more and get involved. The latter option is to allow her to

gradually get more and more comfortable with her surroundings and come out of her shell on

her own. Sometimes by forcing a student to try and open up they will just retract further back so

by allowing Jane Doe to work on her own for now would be most beneficial. Gradually adding in

group work starting in pairs then trios then eventually larger group activities would allow her to

get used to the environment she is in without being pushed too far. She is not academically

challenged in the least so assignments by herself have shown her ability off the most, but to

grow in her social skills she should be in a different setting than just by herself. I observed her in

group assignments before and she generally will sit back and allow other students to speak and

she enjoys the backstage process of the work. She was not proficient in getting her ideas out to

the larger group but she has the capability to be.

Strategies and Resources for Diverse Learners

My teacher I observed used group work and visuals to teach the information in the class. Some

students, such as the one I observed, were allowed to use their own style of learning to do the

assignments. One female student in the class chose to sit in the back office to complete her

schoolwork, and on the other side there were some students who enjoyed the visual graphs

created using Microsoft Excel. As long as the work was relevant to the assignment and got the

information across, the students were generally allowed to utilize their own learning style that
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best fit them. This is one trait I hope to adopt into my teaching style as it showed a high success

rate and the ability of the students grew. Some students enjoyed quiet work while others liked

poster boards and the teacher allowed for them to pick the best way for them to be able to learn.

One day in particular I had observed, the assignment was to create either a poster board, a

graph, a pamphlet, or a paper to explain to the reader how to find the variable cost. This as-

signment allowed the students to teach each other the way to find the variable cost in multiple

ways, thus leading the students to become more diverse learners. By them having to teach

each other, they were obligated to fully understand the information themselves before they

would be able to show the class what they needed to know. This is another strategy I will use in

my future classroom to help further the students’ knowledge and capability in business.
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Reflection

As an observer of this classroom and this particular student, I saw the traits most

teachers do not see due to the nature of my study. I now see the qualities of what I do and do

not like in the teaching style I will adopt. As a teacher, I plan to use some of what I saw during

my clinicals and more. At first I thought teaching high schoolers was going to be much more

tedious than it was for this class, and I now see how the students are developing cognitively and

what they can handle is more than I expected. The quality of education must be extremely high

due to the students being led to the real world out of high school, whether that be going into the

work force or going to college or anything else they choose to do. I plan to include different

ways for the students to gain the information such as using group work, PowerPoint

presentations, and charts, all of which the teacher I observed utilized in her classroom. By all of

these being easily accessible for the students, they were capable of not only working on the

work at school but having the ability to study at home. The instructor would include all

assignments as well as instructions and notes for them to look at later on if they needed to

review before tests. This benefitted the student I observed because she would catch up on

any work she would miss if she had to miss class which gave her the opportunity to stay on

track and not fall behind.

The interactions I had with the students helped me learn that the connection a teacher

can create is vital to the students’ relationship with them. Since the students had a high opinion

of the teacher I observed and liked her, they were more willing to learn from her even though

most of them had no interest in business. They had a level of respect for her due to her respect

for them and I appreciated seeing that, as I was a high school student one short year ago. Her

respect for the students was mutual and allowed for everyone in the class to listen and respect

each other, which was something I really enjoyed seeing from upperclassmen such as
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themselves. They learned easier because the teacher allowed them to handle the work

themselves and did not micromanage the class. Instead she told them the assignment and a

due date for it and allowed them to work. If they chose to do it or not was on them but she gave

them the tools necessary to succeed and what they did with it was their choice. This was

beneficial to the seniors because the teacher treated them as adults and upcoming college

students, which they truly were. Most high school teachers are guilty of still babying the students

but by her treating them as the adults they are going to be seen as soon they bumped up to that

level of maturity and responsibility necessary to succeed. This is one trait of the teacher I

observed I plan to do. By talking to the students almost as peers versus talking down to them

they will respect the teacher as well. I also noticed the teacher used an authoritative approach

to teaching and interacting with her students. One day I had observed, a student was late to

class and the teacher asked her why she had been late instead of immediately marking her

absent or late. The reason she was late was understandable so the instructor did not mark her

absent or late but instead was flexible in the start time of class. This trait I appreciated as a high

school student and know my students would appreciate it as well and I hope to be as

understanding without being a pushover. I will also most likely wend up having an

unconventional teaching style when I become a teacher. The teacher I observed used an

average instructing style but on some days would allow the class to be taught outside instead of

in the classroom. I liked this because it allowed for the students to move and be active outdoors

while still learning the material. Being outside may not have been relevant to the material but it

caused the class to be more attentive and not mind learning material they were not as

interested in because they were doing something they enjoyed simultaneously.

Throughout the EDF 219 course the most valuable lessons I have learned are how to

manage the classroom and the teaching styles and how to use them. As a teacher I believe I will

end up adopting the humanist approach. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has always been on my
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radar of something to look out for in my students. If there is any student who is deprived in any

way I want to try to understand why and help them. If a student’s basic needs have not been

met I want to be able to help that student so they are at the mental capacity to take in new in-

formation and learn. Without those basic needs met a student is incapable of truly learning and

retaining anything they heard. This also applies to my future classroom because if there any any

problems my students are dealing with I want them too feel like they can come to me for any-

thing at any time and know I will help. Some of the levels of the hierarchy I can’t help with direct-

ly but I can help the student know where to go to have these needs met such as safety and ba-

sic physiological needs I can’t help with. My goal for the end of each year is to have the stu-

dents see their self worth and potential. One activity I heard at some point was at the beginning

of the year have a paper for each student and pass it around. Everyone in the class puts some-

thing kind about each student in the class and by the end of the class each student has a paper

full of kind things their peers have said about them. The teacher keeps the papers and at the

end of the year the teacher puts their own traits they appreciate in that specific student on the

back along with a small note and laminates them and hands all of the notes back to the stu-

dents, so they all have a laminated copy of it. This activity is such a confidence booster for any-

one, especially teens who deal with everything that comes with high school. It starts the year off

right, gets the students saying kind things about each other, and helps them see the teacher

sees them and appreciates them as a student. I plan to do this at the beginning of every school

year and I can’t wait to start.

My classroom management style will most like fall between the authoritative and permis-

sive style. I will be lenient and kind while still being strong and firm with my rules. I want my stu-

dents to be able to make the basic classroom decisions themselves such as topics for papers

and certain things we will do in class. I hope the way I teach will motivate the class to want to

learn. My favorite lessons in high school were the ones we were able to decide on ourselves
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and they were the most important assignments of the year. I had a multi-media research paper

due that I could pick any topic I wanted for it as long as it was appropriate. I hope to use some

of these traits as I become a teacher and get to do what I love.

If I were to use all of these modes of teaching I would have the ability to get the students

to the point where they are self-regulated learners and able to be responsible enough to do their

work without me micromanaging them, a trait most students hate in a teacher. I want to be able

to have such a positive impact on the students that they get to where they are self-actualized

and see their self-worth. My Humanistic approach in teaching does have some fallbacks, such

as getting too emotionally involved but if that is the worst that can happen I am willing to take

that risk for the sake of the students. No matter what year of high school I teach I hope I can

make an impact on them, whether that be through the emotional connection I hope to make with

each and every one of my students or them knowing I am a listening ear present to help them.