1. Differentiated Instruction
1.1. Is defined as an individualized process of teaching and learning that is based on the developmental readiness, interests, and learning style of all students within a classroom (Santrock et. al., 2010, p. 198). In Colin’s case he has been identified as a gifted student. The educational assistant would provide would work in conjunction with the teacher to find an appropriate level of learning for Colin in order to stimulate and challenge him in his school work.
2. Cognitive Constructivism
2.1. Is defined as the emphasis on a child’s cognitive construction of knowledge and understanding (Santrock et. al., 2010, p. 215). Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes that humans cannot be "given" information which they immediately understand and use. Instead, humans must "construct" their own knowledge. They build their knowledge through experience. In Colin’s case, he isn’t acting on information given to him by teachers, but fuelled by his innate creativity and the initial positive feedback he is receiving from the school in general.
3. Scaffolding
3.1. Is defined as being a technique of changing the level of support over the course of a teaching session with a more skilled person (ex. Teacher or more advanced peer) adjusting the amount of guidance to fit the student's current performance level (Bennett et. al., 2013, p. 291). In the case of Colin, the educational assistant is the most skilled person who is adjusting the amount of guidance to fit Colin’s performance level. Colin needs to be challenged, which means that his educational assistant, as well as his teacher, must provide for him a curriculum that meets those challenging needs. The guidance that his educational assistant will need to provide for Colin is ensuring that the work he is completing is challenging for him, and is not something he lacks in interest. The work he is getting is to offset his need for doing pranks, which is something that the educational assistant must pay close attention too. If she is finding that the work he is completing is something that he accomplishes and is not intrigued, and thrilled while working on, then it is evident that more accommodations and changes must be made to that unit, as well as lesson. Thus, the educational assistant plays a critical role in determining the work that Colin is producing, his overall impression and feelings of the work he is doing, as well as the accommodations and adjustments that needs to be made for him to be challenged.
4. DD&MID
4.1. Developmental disabilities which are sometimes called intellectual disabilities are limited intellectual functioning and adaptive skill (p. 182). Students with mild developmental disabilities experience difficulty attaining the academic skills associated with their grade level whereas giftedness is the exceptionality that identifies students who demonstrate higher than average ability in three areas; 1. Cognitive abilities, 2. Task commitment, and 3. Creativity. It is only through a professional diagnosis that any student can be assessed for and diagnosed with an exceptionality. The assessment that Colin’s educational assistant pushed for ruled out Colin having a mild intellectual disability or a developmental disability and instead lead to the diagnosis of giftedness and concluded that Colin is developmentally advanced. Giftedness is quite different from exceptionalities such as MID or DD. He is capable of high performance or potential in any one or more of the following areas: general intellectual ability, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, leadership, or visual and performing arts” (189).
5. Giftedness
5.1. When discussing the topic of giftedness, it is categorized as "different" from disabilities and disorders that scholars talk about (Santrock, 2010, p. 189). Those who are gifted are considered to be developmentally advanced; there is no concrete definition or measure provided on giftedness conducted within all the provinces and territories (189). When testing for giftedness, a standardized test is performed, and an intelligence measure including IQ categories is looked at from a broad range of levels, starting from mildly gifted to extraordinarily gifted students completing the test (Santrock, YEAR, p. 189). Students who display signs of giftedness have different characteristics and abilities that have them stand out from the rest of their peers (Bennett et. al., 2013, p. 144). Note, that there are a variety of characteristics that determines if someone is gifted, for example, a wide range of abilities both academically and otherwise, a well-developed attention span, ability to work independently and take responsibility, self-aware, superior vocabulary and reading ability, (etc.) (Bennet et al., 2013, p. 144). However, with this idea of giftedness, there is a sense of discrimination in the sense that students who are gifted are underrepresented within the school system, and the lack of being able to define the term of giftedness is what is lacking the extra support and resources needed (Bennett et al., 2013, p. 148). Moreover, there is a growing debate over whether to keep student separated in a class where all gifted students can learn and grow together, with a teacher who is educated and capable of teaching students who are gifted; or encouraging them to be in an inclusive environment, instead of placed in segregated classes (Bennett et al., 2013, 149). If students who are gifted remain in their regular classroom, the next steps teachers must consider is how to correctly program for the students to fully succeed and strive in the class they are in (Bennett et al., 2013, 149). When considering Colin’s case, and these ideologies behind the term of giftedness, he does stand out amongst his peers because of his mischievous behavior throughout his time in school. Moreover, his art piece recreated in class emphasized the fact that his educational assistant wanted him to be assessed for giftedness, where his IQ score showed that he was very superior in the creativity aspect of the test. As a result, the highly debated argument about gifted students, is having them in segregated classes or keeping them in their regular class, where program adjustments can be made. In Colin’s case, this too is a matter of debate, as Colin’s teacher is finding it difficult and too overwhelming to accommodate him within the regular class. The concern is that if Colin is not challenged, he will then resort back to his old ways of pranking, and as he gets older, his pranks are becoming more serious and hazardous to the whole school. Even though the goal now is committed to keeping Colin in his regular class, with the accommodations he needs to strive, it is a matter of ensuring they are keeping and maintaining these accommodations. They need to support his overwhelmed teacher with the planning she needs to set forth for Colin, to continue his need to be challenged for him to remain focused on schooling and not pranks.
6. Learning Disability
6.1. There is difficulty associated with assessment for both learning disabilities and giftedness. As defined by Santrock et al., 2010, learning disabilities take form in numerous disorders that may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding, or use of verbal and nonverbal information (Santrock et al., 2010). Learning disabilities may also interfere with a student's acquisition of oral language, written language, and/or mathematics. Students with learning disabilities may also experience difficulty when retrieving academic and everyday information which is opposite from what gifted students experience (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 170). Those students identified as gifted possess characteristics and abilities that stand out and are above average (Bennett et al., 2013, p. 144). Though these exceptionalities are very different both are dynamic, and it is worth noting that educators of students with learning disabilities and educators of students who are gifted all face similar challenges. Thus, improving outcomes for students despite there not being one accommodation, intervention or program that is useful for all (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 171).
7. Child Development
7.1. After being tested Colin was off the scale when it comes to creativity and score very superior in IQ testing (Bennett et al., 2013, p. 153). Because Colin IQ is very high for his age, he is bored in class and acting out because his cognitive level his much higher than his peers. Colin’s peers are currently in the concrete operational stage where the child focuses on logically thinking about concrete events and classifying objects (Santrock et. al., 2010, p. 41). With Colin’s cognitive stage being high he constructs knowledge very differently than his peers, therefore he needs to be learning material that challenges his mind so he can function at the level that is appropriate to him. At a first glance, Colin’s pranks seem very childish and immature, but there was a lot of thought put into the planning and strategies put into his pranks. For example, he chose to plug two tailpipes on the buses. He chose the front and the back buses, therefore none of the bus would be able to move until the two are fixed (Bennett et al., 2013, p. 153). This abstract idea and thinking resembles more of a formal operation stage which is suppose to begin at the age of 11 (Santrock et. al., 2010, p. 41). If he is not given work that will challenge and motivate him, then he will revert back to acting out and causing more pranks that will get more strategic as his brain continues to grow.
8. Special Education Policies
8.1. Bill 82 which was released in 1980, came from the Education Amendment Act. Bill 82 had a large focus on bring children of exceptionalities being accepted into all Ontario schools (Bennett et al., 2013, p. 6). With Bill 82 encouraging children to being integrated that is exactly what Colin is being encouraged to do. The school board supports the idea that Colin should be in a mainstream classroom but given certain accommodations and modifications to help support him. Bill 82, from the Education Amendment Act pushed for IEPs to be created, monitored, and implemented which truly helps Colin’s case (Bennett et al., 2013, p. 8). Colin needs the modification and accommodations when it comes to his learning in the classroom as he works at a very different level than his peers. Colin’s IEP helps him get the support of an Educational assistant and guidance that he strongly needs to be successful at school. Inturn, the support in the classroom will hopefully help Colin deter from acting out and seeking attention as he will be working at his full potential.
9. Summary of Case
9.1. Colin, a grade three student, was widely recognized in his school for being a mischievous prankster. In his time at the school, Colin pulled pranks on not only his fellow students but on teachers, bus drivers, parents and police officers. At first, most of his pranks were seen as harmless, even comical, but as time marched on his pranks gradually became much more serious and much less of a laughing matter. It was not until the third grade, through an art project, that it became clear to both Colin’s educational assistant and to his teacher that they had mistaken Colin’s giftedness for mischievous behavior. This was confirmed when the educational assistant pushed for Colin to be assessed for giftedness. It was discovered that when Colin was not being challenged or supported in class, he would resort to acting out and misbehaving. In response to the findings of the giftedness assessment, plans are underway to accommodate Colin’s needs in the regular classroom. The In-school Team has been made aware of the situation. However, as programming is proving to be an overwhelming challenge for his teacher, the concern is that if Colin is not being challenged and if accommodations are not made soon, even-more serious pranks will return.
10. Connection to Course Material
11. References
11.1. Bennett, S. et al., (2013). Special Education in Ontario Schools: Seventh Edition. St. Davids: Highland Press.
11.2. Santrock, J.W., Woloshyn, V.E., Gallagher, T. L., Di Petta, T., & Marini, Z. (2010). Educational psychology: 3rd Canadian Edition. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
12. What might be your plan of action or proposed solution:
13. Although I have been tested for giftedness I think it would be important for me to continue to be educated in my current classroom with my peers and friends. I would like to talk to my teacher about keeping me involved with the class but an opportunity to try and explore other projects that will quench my thirst for creative output We could look at the enrichment Triad which involves general exploratory activities which expose students to exciting topics, group training activities which are designed to develop think processes and individual or small group investigations where students use methods of inquiry to investigate real world problems (Bennett et al., 2013, p. 154). A variation on the enrichment triad called the Revolving Door Identification Model where my teacher would use the resource room teacher as a consultant. In this model my teacher remains directly involved in my special projects but I am is still in the program. I also have the opportunity to apply for special consideration to work on projects that I choose (Bennett et. al, 2013, p. 154).
14. The significance of this issue/problem? How might you be feeling? How might you respond or behave:
15. As an 8 year old with a creative mind, I might not see my behaviour as an issue. I have been diagnosed as gifted as I am creative and imaginative and have a well developed capacity for abstract, complex, logical and insightful conceptualizations (Bennett et al. 2013, p. 144) I am under-stimulated in the classroom and have been expressing myself creatively by pulling pranks throughout the school that continue to escalate. My pranks are becoming more elaborate and more thought out. The pranks are becoming bigger, smarter, and funnier to me. I am currently receiving positive reinforcement from both my peers and teachers in the form of laughing off my mischievous behaviour. I feel this to be a reason to continue to prank bigger and bigger. It would seem that my school work has not been compromised but I could possibly contribute more in the classroom. However pranking is more fun and I am getting the attention that my successful pranks warrant. Why wouldn’t I go bigger every time? One thing that I really enjoyed more recently is that we were given a project to do in class where I produced a mural that duplicated da Vinci’s The Last Supper, but from a ground level perspective. Projects like this allow me to focus my creative output and different perspectives in the classroom towards my school work. I hope we get to do more projects like this as I find it very rewarding to show my teachers and friends how I think differently in my school work.
16. Teacher's Perspective
16.1. The significance of this issue/problem:
16.1.1. Colin is a student in my grade three class. As his teacher it is my duty to ensure that Colin is accommodated in my classroom and that he has the support he needs in order to succeed. I must also consider the other students in my class and be sure that no one’s learning suffers in this transition process that Colin, his gifted education resource teacher, and I are experiencing as a result of Colin being assessed and identified as being gifted. I am feeling overwhelmed for a few reasons. The first reason is because there is such a lack of consistency in defining the exceptionality of giftedness (Bennett et al., 2013, P. 143). There does not yet exist a universally accepted definition or measure of giftedness that is shared by provinces or territories in Canada (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 189)! With this inability to define the exceptionality comes a lack of consistency in suggested approaches and classroom strategies. This leads me into my next concern and cause for feeling overwhelmed which is that Colin is the only gifted student in my class, and I do not have any prior experience in teaching a gifted student. I am also feeling overwhelmed at the idea of having to make the necessary accommodations for Colin to curricula that I am teaching while at the same time ensuring that I am practicing inclusive education. I am also overwhelmed by how I will assess Colin. The kinds of assessment tools and strategies I should use when assessing a gifted student are not familiar to me. I also feel that because Colin was not assessed/identified for giftedness until he was in my class, there is a lot of pressure from my fellow teachers and administrative staff to plan accordingly for Colin to ensure that he does not retreat to his old troublemaking ways. Because Colin’s pranks were not just pulled on his own classmates but also on other staff members I know that my coworkers will be looking to see an improvement now that he is identified as being gifted.
16.2. How might you be feeling? How might you respond or behave?
16.2.1. I would respond first by consulting the principal and then the in-school team including Colin’s educational assistant. I would then schedule a time for Colin’s parents to meet with myself and the aforementioned staff members. During this meeting I would explain instructional processes (for example, an enrichment program) that would resolve the issue of Colin being underchallenged (Santrock et al., 2010 p. 196). I will explain to Colin’s parents that it is when a gifted student like Colin is underchallenged that he can become disruptive and lose interest in achieving (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 192). I will explain to Colin’s parents that as his teacher I take seriously my responsibility to focus on all aspects of Colin’s gifted behaviours in order to break down any barriers that might exist so that I can provide the necessary support that will promote his social and academic success at school (Santrock et al., 2010).
16.3. What strategies or approaches would you propose?
16.3.1. With respect to classroom strategies, it is outlined by Bennett et al., 2013, that there are certain absolutes to which teachers should subscribe, they are planning goals that include; “1. Establishing an environment that shows clearly that intelligent thought, analysis and creativity are valued. 2. Encourage students to discover and develop their special abilities. 3. Provide opportunities for students to interact with adults, other students, and various experts. 4. Create an atmosphere in which risk-taking, speculation, and conjecture can be undertaken safely. (p. 156). Following these planning goals will certainly help me to program effectively for Colin, a gifted student, and for other gifted students I may teach in the future. In order to remain consistent with the inclusive education movement, Colin will follow an enrichment program that will both challenge and motivate him through problem-based learning and the application of his critical-thinking skills all while remaining in the regular classroom (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 192). Colin will also begin to work with a gifted education resource teacher. This combination will ensure that Colin is not socially isolated nor underchallenged in the classroom (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 193). Other strategies/approaches I will use include the practice of inclusive education and the process of differentiated instruction as it is one of the teaching strategies most commonly associated with inclusive education (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 198). Inclusive education refers “to the practice of including students with exceptionalities fully in school program and activities”, it is often seen as a complex yet dynamic approach to teaching students with exceptionalities (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 197). The notion of inclusion “assumes that all students, including those with exceptionalities, should receive instruction in the regular classroom and that instruction should be planned accordingly” (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 198). With respect to planning accordingly, it is important that as an inclusive educator, I develop lessons that recognize and scaffold on the skills and abilities of each of my students (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 198). In order to maintain an effective inclusive classroom I will also need to increase my knowledge base, this will involve me becoming more aware and knowledgeable about the types of exceptionalities students have in my classroom, I will also need to stay current on the technology that is available for educating students with exceptionalities such as giftedness (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 201). I will use relevant support services by carrying out all of the components of Colin’s individualized education plan (IEP) (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 201). I will be sensitive and considerate with my language, I will not use Colin’s assessment for giftedness as an explanation (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 201). I will help the other students in my class to not only understand, but accept those of their classmates and people outside of school with exceptionalities (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 201). Providing opportunities for students without exceptionalities to interact positively with students with exceptionalities is one way of achieving understanding and acceptance (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 201). By using the practice of inclusive education I will be just doing that! I will also remember that as a teacher, all my students can benefit from effective strategies which is why I will provide lessons that promote project-based/ hands-on learning and I will be sure to monitor student progress and success by providing “prompt, effective, and explicit feedback” (Santrock et al., 2010 p. 201). It is also important to note that my role as an inclusive educator extends beiyond the classroom. It is imperative for me to keep an open line of communication with Colin’s parents as it is most beneficial to Colin if his parents and I are able to regularly discuss his progress, review and revise his IEP and discuss any concerns either of us may have. It is also vital that as an inclusive educator I continue to coordinate and communicate with my principal and with Colin’s special education resource teacher.
16.4. What might be your plan of action or proposed solution:
16.4.1. I would like to continue Colin’s involvement in the regular classroom which is why I believe following an enrichment program will work best for Colin. Santrock et al., (2010) explains that enrichment programs provide students with learning opportunities that are typically not offered through the curriculum (p. 192). I will work collaboratively with a gifted education resource teacher in order to be sure that Colin is provided with topics, materials and experiences that exceed those covered in the regular curriculum. I acknowledge that Colin will experience some form of acceleration though the enrichment activities in which he engages. I will review regularly and closely follow the IEP that is created for Colin by the in-school team in partnership with Colin’s parents (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 199). In doing so I will be practicing differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction is defined “as an individualised process of teaching and learning that is based on the developmental readiness, interests, and learning style of all students within a classroom” (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 198). Teaching through differentiated instruction will involve me making modifications or accommodations to my teaching across all four dimensions; 1. Content or curriculum, 2. Process, 3. Product and 4. Environment (Santrock et al., 2010, p. 198).
17. Principal's Perspective
17.1. The significance of this issue/problem:
17.1.1. Colin is a bright young boy who enjoys the thrill of being challenged in school and his education. Colin is provided with an educational assistant in his class, who pushed for him to get assessed for giftedness. One of the reasons for this was the mural he created based off of The Last Supper, by Da Vinci. Colin over exceeded both his teacher’s expectations, as well as his educational assistant. Moreover, Colin has always been a prankster within the school, and as he progresses in grade levels, his pranks become more serious, and can even be harmful to the school. However, Colin is still being placed in a regular class with the support of the educational assistant, and the teacher in the classroom is feeling overwhelmed because Colin is not being challenged in the regular grade three class he is in. Thus, next steps I must take as a principle is ensuring that Colin is in a class that he, his parents and I agree to meet his needs. I need to work with his teacher, as well as his educational assistant, for him to get the most out of his school/education, and for him to maintain this serious prank free streak.
17.2. How might you be feeling? How might you respond or behave?
17.2.1. Challenged to support the teacher with the resources needed to accommodate Colin. We are intending to keep Colin within his regular classes, which means we must be making accommodation for him; however, his teacher is expressing concerns of being overwhelmed. I need to support her in ensuring we focus on providing the proper accommodations for Colin, and provide her support with planning within her program, to meet these accommodations. I do not want to let anyone down as the principal of the school. Moreover, there is also a sense of nerves, because he might act out in a way that puts himself, the students and my staff in harm's way. I need to ensure that this does not happen, as I have to maintain the safety in the school and ensure no one is in harm’s way. I also have to respect the sensitivity of this topic by discussing this subject with the superintendent, other colleagues, as well as the vice principal. The main idea, however, is respecting everyone involved with this matter. As a result, I believe that a school meeting needs to be held involving everyone, as well as the superintendent to see how we can take the appropriate steps needed to help Colin further in creating our accommodations in his class for his giftedness. Moreover, we need to work on having workshops set in place during PA days (professional development days), to further educate ourselves on the matter, which will then help us provide the accommodations Colin needs (Bennett et. al., 2013, p. 154). I need to ensure that I plan all these next steps to further support Colin and everyone involved in this matter.
17.3. What strategies or approaches would you propose?
17.3.1. The next steps, strategies and approaches that must be taken, and something I must support, as well as propose is taking a look into funding workshops for the staff to take on how to create an inclusive environment for Colin, our gifted student. Even though keeping him within his regular class is causing his teacher to be overwhelmed with the matter at hand, Colin does need that support to be challenged within the class, resulting in these extra steps that the teachers must take to promote these challenging accommodations within their classes. Moreover, our school board has invested in taking the time and effort in developing these organizational models to fulfill programming requirements for our gifted student (Bennett et. al., 2013, p. 154). The primary model I am trying to implement within our school is The Enrichment Triad Model, developed by Renzulli in 1977 (154). In this model, it explores the idea of exposing the gifted students to interesting topics, ideas, and fields of knowledge, that is not usually discussed within the regular curriculum (154). There are also group training activities, as well as individual or small group investigations that the gifted students can be involved in, such as real world problems and topics, using the appropriate technique and method of inquiry (154). Moreover, there is a resource room teacher, and Colin does have an educational assistant who will remain in the class to support him, as well as the teacher. Hence, Colin will remain in his class, and not be taken in and out of the room, as this may result in frustration for him, to be constantly moved class to class (154). I do believe that his model of The Enrichment Triad, will support Colin and the teachers in his room. It will do so because it looks at ways to further develop our school curriculum for him because he needs to be challenged in his learning. With our training that will be enforced for all teachers to attend and our remodeling of Colin’s lessons, I do feel he will prosper in his class, and be challenged by the material he is learning. Moreover, Colin’s teacher will be supported by myself, as well as the educational assistant, as they both can work on developing the appropriate curriculum Colin needs to succeed in his class.
17.4. What might be your plan of action or proposed solution:
17.4.1. Our plan of action and proposed solution is to ensure and maintain Colin’s prank free streak, as well as a positive learning outcome is granted and implemented for him. We need to approach this matter with care, and also hear, as well as see what Colin needs out of this. We need to examine and pay close attention to ensuring that Colin is successful and enjoying these new accommodations and not overwhelmed or discouraged by them, in acting out during previous matters. As previously stated, we will need to educate ourselves as educators, which will be a step in our plan of action and make the accommodations I have already mentioned, as well as will be mentioning below for Colin to prosper in a regular class. Some other solutions we are considering for Colin is having him discover and develop his own unique ability, by providing the time, space, technology, material and opportunities for him to push past the usual curriculum limit (159). His teacher should act as a facilitator, instead of an instructor in Colin’s case so that he can do that exploring. Almost like in the new Kindergarten curriculum, where the teachers act as facilitators so the kindergarten students can be the explorers of their own interest. Colin also needs to be able to do his own exploring, and instead of that being with his pranks, we should ensure and establish that his exploring is with the curriculum. The class he is in should be a class where risk-taking is allowed in a safe and educating matter (159). Colin has expressed and shown his ability to take risks with his pranks, but now we need to take these risks and implement them within our educational accommodations, for him to want to learn more and grow more from. He will go through the challenges he needs to go through, but it will be in a learning environment, and not one where he creates his own mischievous pranks. These next steps are essentially critical in determining how Colin will do in his regular class. I need to ensure as the principal that we fulfill and meet these requirements of Colin’s educational needs, or further action will need to be taken.
18. Parent's Perspective
18.1. The significance of this issue/problem:
18.1.1. My son Colin is a smart, creative and loving. I believe that because he is not being challenged enough at school he is acting out to get attention. The attention seeking is getting him in a lot of trouble as he is spending a lot of down time at school thinking of creative ways to play pranks. The pranks are a way for him to get attention not only from the students but also from the staff at school and most importantly, his parents. I am worried as I am uncertain of what his future will look like. I do not want him to be labeled as the “trouble child” as he truly is a good kid. The staff at the school just need to see how bright and creative my son is, so then they will be able to see his full potential.
18.2. How might you be feeling? How might you respond or behave?
18.2.1. Being a parent I am always looking out for the best interest of my child. I understand that staff at the school may be frustrated and overwhelmed with my child, but they need to take the time to support him so he can be challenged. If he is put to the test and given school work that is a challenge for him, the staff will see what a well behaved and bright child he is. I will try to respond by having constant communication with the school as I feel the school needs to support him better and I need to be aware of his actions. I am glad his Educational assistant finally recommended that he be tested for giftedness. The test results prove that Colin is truly gifted with a very superior in IQ tests.
18.3. What strategies or approaches would you propose?
18.3.1. I will acknowledge that I am not an expert on what educational strategies or approaches that should be taken because I am just Colin’s parent. I feel the expertise comes from the school and what is recommended is laid out in his IEP. I feel the IEP is a great tool that can help the staff at the school best support my son’s needs and interests. I would strongly recommend that they talk to my son and ask him what he wants to learn wherever possible. If he is interested then he will stay focused on the task and complete what is necessary. I understand it is not always possible to teach only what he is interested but if it can be integrated in some way, I feel this will best suit his needs. I am open to working with the school on strategies and solutions that they feel might best soon my son as they are the experts in their field.
18.4. What might be your plan of action or proposed solution:
18.4.1. From my son’s track record, one can see that he seems to act out or play his tricks when he is not being supervised properly or being challenged enough. I can not over see my son’s every move at school so I feel my plan of action can be to keep him active in the evenings. I am going to look into an after school arts program that will give him constant supervision. I hope the arts program will keep him out of trouble as well as keep his hands and mind active as he will doing something he is passionate about. I strongly feel that he needs to have one-to-one support from his Educational assistant on a regular basis as that will give him the challenge that he needs and longs for. I will also look into one-to-one tutoring as I feel the extra challenge outside of school might help him keep focused and out of trouble.
19. Student's Perspective
19.1. What strategies or approaches would you propose?
19.1.1. I would like to be involved in the selection of the subject matter in which our projects are designed. I am more engaged with school work and projects when the subject material is something I can connect with and relate to (connectivity).Teacher and peer approval are important factors in my sense of social approval (Santrock et. al., 2010, p. 393). My needs and desires are learned through experiences with the social world (Santrock et. al, 2010, p. 386). It’s important that we establish a class that shows that intelligent thought, analysis and creativity is valued. Encourage students to discover and develop while providing opportunities to interact with adults, other students and experts. It’s also important to create a class where risk-taking, speculation and conjecture is undertaken safely (Bennett et al., 2013, p. 156)