Rebekah D. Wilson

Case Study 

 

Focus Student: Mona Lisa (age 15) [Female]

Mona Lisa has been diagnosed with ADHD, and has an IEP for the majority of her common core subjects. 

 

Data:

 

2/17/14 - 8:40 am (Math Period - Calculus)

• Overall, Mona Lisa has consistently interacted with teachers and peers in a positive manner.

• However, on occasion, Mona Lisa has trouble following specific instructions with teachers, and must be asked more than once to follow through.

• In order to have a clearer understanding of quadratic equations, Mona Lisa uses colored pens and markers to aid her in solving the problem.

• Mona Lisa seems more focused when solving the problem using her colored pens.

 

2/17/14 - 10:20 am (Drama)

• Mona Lisa is attentive and interested in the lesson when she is given the freedom to move her body.

• Mona Lisa gains even more interest when she is given an assignment to draw out diagrams. 

• During group work, Mona Lisa is cooperative with the members of her group, spending most of her time watching and observing.

• However, once Mona Lisa has an idea that may contribute to the project, she speaks up and takes charge.

 

3/3/14 - 11:20 am (English)

• Mona Lisa has trouble with structuring her sentences in her essays, due to scattered thoughts. 

• Mona Lisa tends to draw mini-pictures on her worksheets. The pictures are mostly of animals, aliens, or other patterns.

 

3/3/14 - 12:40 pm (Lunch)

• During lunch, Mona Lisa cooperates with peers of both sexes.

• She tends to hang out with only one or two friends at a time, keeping her groups intimate.

• Mona Lisa uses her sense of touch primarily to interact with her classmates. For example, she taps her colleagues on the shoulder when she wants his/her attention, instead of calling his/her name.  

• Mona Lisa’s friendships shift very quickly, as she divides her time between friends and herself.

 

 

3/3/14 - 2:30 pm (Transition into After School Activity)

• Mona Lisa  is restless, and wanders throughout the classroom, talking mostly to one friend, who sits at a table across the room.

• Mona Lisa is late to rehearsal, and it is assumed that she also smokes behind the building with a small group of friends after school.   

 

Interpretations:

 

Mona Lisa’s Approaches to Academics:

 

    In my gathering of data, I noticed many patterns with  as it related to her behavior, her interactions with others, and her process when participating in both academic and artistic settings. The first pattern that I noticed was despite her extraordinary artistic skill and talent, Mona Lisa has an inability to remain consistently focused during subjects which required high amounts of focus power, like math. During the math class that I observed, which focused on the different ways to do certain equations, Mona Lisa did not show much interest in the work. She often daydreamed or drew on her worksheets instead of solving the problems. She did not ask for help when it was evident that she needed it. However, when a teacher intervenes and she is told to focus, Mona Lisa then gets back to work.

 

         The math teachers are aware of this problem with Mona Lisa, and demonstrate a way in which they could help her. One of the ways that the math teachers are helping her is through allowing her to use bright colored pens, instead of the standard pencil when documenting her math problems. They try it with all the students, but Mona Lisa might be one of the students who benefit from this learning strategy the most. It seems as though Mona Lisa falls into the learning types of visual, tactile, and kinesthetic. Because the teachers have used this approach and catered to her learning style, they have noticed that she is able to concentrate more and solve the more problems in the designated block of time.

 

Mona Lisa's Behavior and Social Interactions:

 

       Mona Lisa's shows some patterns in her behavior and interactions with others as well. She tends to want to divide her time equally with her friends and by herself. For instance, during lunch, Mona wanted to play with her friends, with whom she showed great interest. But as quickly as that interest grew, the interest waned, and she chose to sit by herself. Then, when outside forces prompted her again, she rejoined the crowd. It is difficult to tell whether she could be classified as either an introvert or an extrovert. While Mona has extroverted tendencies, they are showcased with a small group of people or even one person at a time.

 

       It seems that in these situations, given Mona's age and diagnosis, children Mona's age have feelings that are interchangeable . Therefore, it could be that as a 15 year old, Mona’s feelings towards her interaction with others and her behavior change to the point of unpredictability. While some times she may be focused and socially active, other times she may be unfocused and introverted. According to my data, most of these changes that occur in a child Mona Lisa’s age may happen due to the environment or time of day. For instance, from the beginning of the day until the end of the day, there is an arc as it relates to her focus level. She begins the day unfocused, yet calm, drifting off into daydreams, not talking much to others, and drawing on her worksheets; by the middle of the day, she is focused and gets most of her assignments completed; and then by the end of the day, she goes to the bathroom frequently and talks to her friends, sometimes to the point of disrupting the class.

   

         Also, Mona Lisa’s behavioral patterns could be contributed to her own distinct interests as a person. With Mona Lisa’s natural artistic tendencies, she could only show interest in subjects that speak to her distinct passions and strengths. While she does not seem to show much interest in subjects like math unless it involves her doing something active, she is heavily involved in subjects that shows her artistic abilities and her tendency to be active, like free periods, drama, art, and P.E. To keep her interest, it seems as though catering to her active tendencies and her artistic nature creates better results in more logic-based subjects such as math and science.

 

Strategies for Lessons:

 

           When thinking about my drama unit, I want to make sure that I accommodate the balance between structure and freedom that cater to my teenaged audience. While I do want to take into consideration most of the things fifteen year olds have in common, like their frequent shifts in friendships or their tendency to enjoy routine in the classroom,  I also do not want to force my students to fit in a certain “mold” according to the studies done by scholars. Each student is different, and each student has different learning styles. I want my lessons to touch on at least all of the learning types.

In my lessons, I plan to cater to Mona Lisa and my other learners by first, sticking to a routine, and making it clear and concise. Every session, I write the order of the lesson on the board. From the warm up activity to the main activity to the closing activity, all of my students will be able to predict what will happen next, ensuring feelings of security and closure when beginning and ending the class.

 

         Another way that I can make sure that all of my learners, and learners like Mona Lisa can be more included is to use my lessons to create an effective balance between structure and spontaneity. Adding in different elements and activities, that fit within the structure of the lesson caters to those who enjoy order, and those who love spontaneity. Lastly, with their different learning needs, I could see what works by testing different learning styles through different activities. For instance, I can consider children who may need more time before having the ability to speak before a whole class, or who may not be strong readers, or who may even need more lessons geared towards interpersonal learning with their peers.