Introduce the child and setting

1. Eugene is a four-year-old Pre-K child from Lagos Nigeria. He has special learning needs. I selected the child because he was the most appropriate for this study because of his individualized education program (IEP) for academics and speech. I will be observing Eugene’s push out SPED Reading lessons. This will assist him to develop his competences in speech and academics.

   Eugene’s teacher observes that he has a learning problem both in speech and general academics. This has been manifested in the long duration he takes to master basic things in class. His competences in literacy as evidenced from both formal and informal assessments are worrying. The child’s teacher alleges that he has had problems from childhood as told by the parents. He cannot speak well in the both his mother language and country’s dialect. He has difficulties in pronouncing words and generally has difficulties in socio-linguistic competence. According to Brantley (2007), socio-linguistic competence is the ability to master a language in different contexts. This has helped the family be receptive to the most appropriate steps of receiving SPED assistance.

   Having been born in Lagos, Eugene’s family moved to the US when he was still an infant.  This informs me of our different backgrounds.  The child’s cultural background is different from mine and the fellow classmates he share in many aspects. He was born in a culture where special programs are not included in the preschool curriculum to help children with learning difficulties and other speech complexities.

               With proper permission I met and interacted with the child’s parents who were happy about the child’s progress.  They provided me with vital information, which helped me to get an insight into the child’s life. They told me all the normal and abnormal signs the child has shown from the very first day he was born. From the meeting with the family I learned that the parents love the child and are optimistic that the child will keep improving each day. The family inquired on why I had selected their child. I explained to them in a professional way that developmentally appropriate assessments are essential in assuring that all children are learning to the standards of grade level.  I also shared with them that formal and informal assessments will be used to track the child’s progress and indicate where improvements are needed.  They were excited and let me know they would support what is needed their child.

               I interacted with Eugene’s family a little more to understand his childhood background.  According to Mindes and Jung (2014), the age span of early childhood contributes to the complexities in the development of the child from the interaction. I learned that the child’s family is composed of four people, the father, mother and the elder sister who is six years old and has shown no difficulties in speech and academics. The parents observed that the system of education in their country is different from that in the US.  They said that specialized programs for children with learning difficulties are not provided for in their country of origin.

                The family expects with the proper education assistance, he will grow up to overcome the problem and become a respectable person in the society. They said that they do a lot for the child so that their expectations come into fruition (Garvin, 2010).

   2. Report how data was collected and the observation protocol used

   In this research, I collected data by incorporating naturalistic observation tactics that took place in the classroom. The major tactic that I used was participant observation whereby I watched personally the behavior of the child for thirty minutes. Reliability was the observation protocol I used to assess the character of this child.  In this situation, I ensured that my observations were reliable by taking note of his behaviors within the allocated time. I also recorded data that revolved around things the child had to say concerning his character in class. I did this immediately to avoid forgetting information concepts that were vital in my study.

   3. Apply data in step two to identify shared interest and preferences with other children.

   Considering the data in the above step, it is clear that the child I observed preferred doing assignments with his colleagues. He also loved to take part in casual conversation whereby they discussed their favorite sports and television programs. Assessing his shared preferences with others, I found out that when it comes to class work, he was a team player. He actively participated in classroom sessions by responding to questions.

   4. Discuss the cultural, linguistic and ability factors that might influence the results

   From a cultural perspective, students in this classroom have origins that are based on diverse cultures. The complex nature of diversity affected results by making it hard to understand the personality trait of the child I targeted. Linguistically, he was unable to communicate in fluent English and this affected the research outcome.  He was not competent enough to contribute to success of our communicative procedure hence interrupted with results. Assessing the capability or ability of the child, I found out that he was shy which affected the outcome (Blake, 2009). For instance, he only talked when necessary and this could hinder access to full information given that he feared to share his classroom experiences.

   5. Description of the things I learned limitations, or need for further details

   The interest preference analysis of students in a classroom setting varies depending with an individual. From this observation, I learnt that a section of students prefer certain learning methods more than their colleagues. Learning styles formulate a unique basis of student’s preferences that aid tutors to plan effective means to deliver instructions. For instance, a teacher can engage students in casual conversation that articulates on their favorite television programs before commencing the lesson. This approach is helpful to enhance focus among students especially when they feel bored.

   The following is a record of activities, play partners, spaces, events and materials that engaged my target child in classroom. After observing, I learnt that this child preferred playing with his age mates only. His favorite activities were swinging and telling stories about sports. He preferred using materials such as crayons to decorate his work and he loved space because it enabled him to suck his finger without feeling ashamed of others. The limitation I encountered is that due to cultural and linguistic diversity, my target student could not communicate well. I felt that this hindered him from giving useful details that I needed to know.

   6. How the observation might contribute to plan for a group of children

   The observations I learned assist to organize students in a group to ensure they learn well in a classroom. Through it, tutors get to know children who highly participate in classroom activities and those who are dormant. In such a case, the teacher can categorize children by mixing them in groups to ensure they benefit from each other.

    

   Appendix

   Observation Notes

   • This Analysis concerns Eugene who is a four year old pre K child from Nigeria and has special learning needs.
   • Eugene has a problem both in delivering speech and in general academics.
   • He has a different culture because special programs were not incorporated in preschool curriculum hence he experience speech complexities and learning difficulties.
   • Interacting with his parents, they said that Eugene exhibited normal and abnormal signs from the very first day he was born.
   • From my observation, I learned that despite his condition his parents love him so much. They expect that with the proper education assistance, he will grow up to overcome the problem and become a respectable person in the society.

    

    

    

    

    

    

   References

   Blake, S. (2009). Interest of Children in Learning. University of Michigan Press.

   Brantley, D. (2007). Instructional assessment of English language learners in the K-8 classroom. Boston, MA: Pearson

   Garvin, C. (2010). Interest Preference Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

   Mindes, G. & Jung, L. (2014). Assessing young children (5th Ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson