The Case of Jamie Edwards: (Page 16 of the Special Education in Ontario Schools) Summary: Jamie is a male student in Grade 2 who has had academic and social difficulties in Senior Kindergarten and Grade 1. He has spontaneous outbursts and his academic achievement is slow. His developmental difficulties were looked at by his previous teacher Ms. Markesh, who referenced this to his maturity level due to having a late birthday thus being the youngest in his class. His new teacher, Ms. Singh, discusses altering his program and to have him assessed. He now meets twice a week with the learning resource teacher to go over class work with extended time for his assignments. After continuing with this strategy, the outbursts disappeared almost immediately. Ms. Singh and Ms. Markesh work collaboratively in order to adjust their programs to suit not only Jamie’s needs, but also the needs of the other students. The teachers have become comfortable with the universal design for learning and differentiated instruction. It has been decided that Jamie is not currently in need of identification, but it is agreed upon that assessment is a useful tool. Both teachers happily accepted the task of deciding on and administering the necessary adjustments. Deconstruct the issue/roblem in the case : Throughout the previous sessions of the EDBE 8P03 course, we have discussed many different theories and ideas. This case specifically connects to the course content we have discussed through the use of Universal Design Learning, Child Development theories introduced, as well as, differentiated instruction practices. One is able to see the connection of these theories through the following four perspectives presented in the case study for, The Case of Jamie Edwards, the principal, the teacher, the parent, and the student.
by Bianca Soares
1. Principal Perspective by Jacob Bromhead: As the principle, the significance of the issue would be the initial problem with Jamie’s spontaneous outbursts and the negative reaction the other students would take to it. In addition, as the principle I would be concerned with the learning environment and how the teacher may react to a situation like this, not to mention the concerned parents if this issue were to escalate. Fortunately, the two teachers were able to collaborate their ideas and reflect upon what might be the solution to the issues Jamie is facing with spontaneous outbursts and slow academic achievement. They deducted that Jamie could work more effectively if he were able to meet with the learning resource teacher twice a week, using these sessions to work on his regular class assignments to catch up on his work and the skill sets identified by both Ms. Singh and Ms. Markesh. In addition to this, Ms. Singh opted to meet with Jamie’s parents to discuss the situation, and asked permission for their son to be assessed. This as a principle would alleviate many of the issues before it would be brought up to my attention in the first place, so my role in this situation would be to oversee the situation should Jamie return to having difficulty both academically and socially. I would propose similar strategies as the two teachers, and if this were to fail, I would talk with the parents, teacher and learning resource teacher, and discuss what might be the best option to take, whether that be further time in learning resource, or other programs. Fortunately, this method worked for Jamie, so no further action would be required from my part, and Jamie would be able to use most of his time with his own peers in the classroom setting, and only for the designated times needed, he could participate in his sessions in the learning resource room.
2. Teacher Perspective by Michael Pavela: As Jamie’s new teacher I would like to experience such outbursts first hand to maybe find out reasons for why Jamie is acting out in such a way. Little aspects like if the outbursts happen during a particular time of day, or a subject, etc. Some strategies I would try to use would be to change where he is sitting, allowing more time for explanations and for work, and maybe getting him involved with the classroom more. If these outbursts were to continue after this then outside help would be needed. I would feel the need to incorporate other professionals that could help this problem because this would be the most positive and effective response. Given the proper resources available and used in the right manner allows for not only a well behaved classroom but also for Jamie’s development. When applying course content to such an issue I have found that Jamie’s Child Development is occurring in a different manner than the rest of the classroom. The child has yet to fully develop which has played a part in his outbursts. Secondly, Differentiated Instruction appears to be needed for Jamie. He needs “Wiggle room” when learning and in allowing this plan of action helps his development takes place. From incorporating these two strategies to Jamie myself and the classroom would be able to see the change in behaviour which eventually creates an almost perfect classroom.
3. Student Perspective by Ashley Campana: From the perspective of the student, this situation posed an issue because I am not getting the proper guidance and was misdiagnosed for my learning. As the student, in this case, I feel like I am not at the same level as the other students and that I am not smart enough because I have a slow academic achievement and I am not engaged resulting to my outbursts. I would suggest designed the program so that it addresses a universal design for learning and differentiated learning for the class to be engaging and to meet my needs as a student. To address the outbursts, UDL may fix that issue by creating a sense of belonging in the classroom and drawing on the needs of each student, not just myself. In addition to that, UDL can make the course material flexible and custom for each student by the means of engagement, representation and accessibility. Regarding differentiated learning, it can benefit me as the student in this perspective by making learning appealing which may stop the outbursts and can heighten my academic achievement.
4. Parent Perspective by Bianca Soares: As a concerned parent for my son, I worry about his needs and the education he receives. My son has always enjoyed going to school, but I have noticed that sometimes he has trouble concentrating. It was primarily brought to my attention by the school’s learning resource teacher Ms. Markesh. At first, we believed it was about his development. This was a theory that discussed his child development. The idea was that because of his age, which suggested that he was one of the younger students in class, being born on January 2nd. At first, when this was brought up, I decided that it was a realistic approach and that we were taking the necessary precautions. Recently, his new teacher, Ms. Singh, suggested another aspect that could be affecting his outbursts. The teachers met with myself and my husband and discussed having Jamie permitted to be assessed. We were both thrilled that someone was concerned about or son just as much as we were. We are thankful for these teachers, as we are not able to be in the classroom and are unable to see what is happening to him during lessons. Therefore, they began to give him the option to work in the resource room allowing him to take his time and catch up on any school work he had. Once we took this approach, we learned that Jamie’s out bursts disappeared almost immediately, which was a thrill! They discussed this more in depth with us that it is known as a differentiated teaching style. This is where they change the style of learning or teaching in order to suit the needs of their students. They are now discussing a Universal Design Learning where they will prepare lesson plans in order to suit the needs of all students, including Jamie and his outbursts. I find it extremely intriguing how the educators are capable of suiting the needs of all students, that can be extremely difficult when you have many different types of learners. I hope we can continue to watch his progress and only help him to succeed in the future with the continuous help of Ms. Markesh and his homeroom teacher Ms. Singh.
