REDG 604: Adolescent Development, Learning and Assessment

Clinical Experience Double Entry Journal

Name: Halley Purkey

School: Century High School

1) Observe: Teacher behavior that reflects understanding of the developmental

characteristics of a focus student.

Description of student cognitive development and its variations:

A student who sits in the middle of the room, at a table with a

paraprofessional, spends a lot of time tapping and touching his elbow
partner and raising his hand often to ask inappropriate questions or share
inappropriate comments. This student does not have an IEP or 504 plan in
place. Any time the students hand goes up, Mr. Callahan asks if his question
or comment was appropriate and then allows the student to continue if he
responds with yes. Although I did not get to see the student ask an
inappropriate question or make an inappropriate comment, Mr. Callahan
told me he would ask the student to wait and share the comment with him
after class if it was not appropriate. Additionally, when the student taps,
pokes, and touches his neighbor, Mr. Callahan asks class as a whole to keep
their hands to themselves.
The student likely behaves in this way due to the developmental
changes happening in his brain at this point in his life. For example, a cause
of his immature behavior could be due to the influx of hormones in his body.
These hormonal changes affect adolescent moods and in turn cause them to
exhibit more risk-taking behaviors.

Reflect/Apply:

It is my belief that having an understanding of adolescent

development is crucial to understanding students. I believe my background
in psychology will help me immensely as I attempt to understand my
students and why they behave the way they do. Also, I believe Mr. Callahan
manages his students in a way that fosters student learning and makes the
classroom a safe environment for these developing teens. He makes it a point
to grow a relationship with each individual student so he can better assist
them both with their schoolwork and in their personal lives.

2) Observe: Instructional strategies that reflect levels of student cognitive

development.

Just over half of Mr. Callahan’s students have either an IEP, 504, or
both. He has to make many modifications to accommodate all of these

Updated May 2016

 student needs. For example, with regards to exams, one student’s IEP
requires he be given five days to complete the test. Additionally, Mr.
Callahan allows some students to create their own test if they frequently fail
his. This allows students to gain points instead of just failing yet another test.
One last modification Mr. Callahan makes is the use of 50/50 tests. This
means that instead of four multiple choice answers, there are only two to
choose from.

Reflect/Apply:

The large amount of IEP’s and 504’s causes me slight concern as to

how accurate each one is. I find myself wondering where to draw the line
between accommodating students’ needs and not challenging the students to
their potential. That being said, I truly believe that Mr. Callahan puts a lot of
effort into attaining these instructions and I hope to do that in my classroom
as well.

3) Observe: Student developmental characteristics – choose one male and one

female
a. Physical
b. Cognitive
c. Social/Emotional
d. Moral

The first female student that I observed has Tourette’s syndrome. This is
physical, social and cognitive in nature. One of this student’s tics is blinking
frequently, making this a physical issue. It is social with regards to the
tongue clicking, which can be distracting for those students at her table. It
also may make it more difficult for her to make friends, especially as a
freshman student. Additionally, Tourette’s syndrome is cognitive in nature,
in that tics associated with TS often stem from a lack of cognitive control.
Mr. Callahan allows this student to give multiple presentations per year
about her disorder in order to better inform her classmates. He also has her
sitting towards the front of the classroom to help keep her on task.
One male student that I observed is on the Autism spectrum. He has a
paraprofessional with him at all times and often gets up in class and walks
throughout the room pretending to be a raptor dinosaur. Autism spectrum
disorder is a cognitive disorder resulting in physical and cognitive symptoms.
These symptoms affect the student, as well as his classmates. Although they
are quite good at ignoring this behavior, because they have had many classes
with this student, it does cause somewhat of a distraction. Mr. Callahan does
not acknowledge this behavior and most often allows/expects the
paraprofessional to take care of this student. He also has the student assigned
to a table in the back corner of the classroom.

Updated May 2016

 Reflect/Apply:

I believe the most important aspect of managing students with

different developmental characteristics is getting to know the student, their
background, their needs, and what helps them be successful in the classroom.
Seeing how Mr. Callahan has taken the time to get to know all of his students
and how that helps him to understand their behavior and what he can do to
help them succeed has really inspired me. I hope to be able to do the same in
my classroom and believe it will help my classroom be managed better and
run more smoothly.

4) Observe: A diverse student (racially, socioeconomically, culturally, etc.).

Describe classroom engagement, behavior, interest in content, and academic
achievement that may be impacted by language, culture and family.

Two Somali students, who happen to be brothers, are diverse in many

ways. They came to the high school with six weeks left in the school year.
This affects their willingness to pay attention and learn. These students sit in
the back corner of the classroom, at a table with a paraprofessional. When
they first arrived to this new school, they kept their heads down on their
desks for most of the class. However, as time went on, they began
participating in group discussions and completing their work. These students
share one backpack for their belongings and trade off days of who carries it.
As far as I’ve noticed, the student who carries the backpack on any given day
is the one of the two who does more work that day, because that student has
the backpack and therefore their notebooks/packets sitting right next to
them. The other brother often will not walk around the table to obtain their
belongings during class.

Reflect/Apply:

It is, and always has been, my belief that diversity is our greatest asset
in most, if not all, situations. Different cultures, socioeconomic statuses,
races, etc., all contribute to the positive atmosphere of a successful learning
environment. In Mr. Callahan’s classroom, students of color are all placed at
the same tables in all of his classes. In my classroom, I would like to celebrate
the uniqueness of each individual student and their backgrounds but also
mix it up with regards to seating arrangements.

5) Observe: Identifiable artifacts of the classroom management plan.

a. Describe the room arrangement.
b. Identify the classroom routines and procedures.
c. Identify rules and consequences.

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 d. Identify strategies used that incorporate teaching of social skills, motivate
students, and address misbehavior.

a. The room is arranged with the students in groups of four.

b. Each day begins with a PowerPoint slide that shows the objectives for the
day and an opening question. They use fill-in-the-blank note packets to
follow along with the lectures and often end with a group activity or
group discussion. Students are encouraged to ask questions and Mr.
Callahan often satisfies their curiosity by entertaining questions or
comments that may be off task.
c. Some of Mr. Callahan’s rules are no food in the classroom, no phones
during class, no throwing items, no inappropriate questions, and no
disrespectful behavior (either towards him, other students, the animals in
the classroom, or the property in the classroom). Some consequences
include private conversations with students to figure out root causes for
particular behaviors, others include taking away privileges, such as
listening to music during work time, and taking away distractions, such
as fidget spinners or cell phones.
d. Mr. Callahan motivates students with promises of cool/interesting videos
if they get their work done. He also encourages creativity by looking up
student questions on the internet, relevant or not. For example, during a
microbiology lesson, one student brought up ticks. And although this was
irrelevant to the content at hand, Mr. Callahan still saw it as an
opportunity for learning and growth. He brought up pictures of different
types of ticks and encouraged group discussion about them. When a
student was exhibiting a particularly disruptive behavior, Mr. Callahan
would instruct the class to work independently or in groups and would
then kneel beside the misbehaving student and calmly tell him that that
behavior was unacceptable.

Reflect/Apply:

I believe that Mr. Callahan’s seating arrangement is best for student

learning, but not great for classroom management. This is because students
are not naturally looking towards the front of the room, but instead are
focused on each other and group work. Additionally, I plan to duplicate his
use of a PowerPoint slide to display the objective and an opening question.
This opening question is a great way to call on previous knowledge, as the
lesson plans suggest.
I also agree with all of Mr. Callahan’s classroom rules and believe
that good classroom management involves consistent enforcement of those
rules. I like that he entertains the student’s curiosities in class, however,
sometimes think that he enables the students to get themselves and the class
off task. In my classroom, I plan to avoid tangents and getting off task by
having students bring in the answers to their off-task questions the following
day for extra credit.

Updated May 2016

 6) Observe: Identifiable classroom management strategies the teacher uses that
illustrate the teacher’s classroom management philosophy.

Some of Mr. Callahan’s classroom management strategies include not

entertaining power struggles with students, ensuring there is no audience
when confronting students for a behavior, and giving students options and
opportunities to assess their own behavior. Overall, his classroom
management philosophy focuses on limiting distractions and enhancing
learning.

Reflect/Apply:

Although I am still new to the world of classroom management, I

believe I have a lot to learn from Mr. Callahan. The way he has his student’s
respect and the way he respects each of his students is inspiring. Overall, I
hope to manage my classroom in a way that best facilitates learning.

7) Observe: Identifiable instructional strategies that address student learning styles,

multiple intelligences, and performance modalities
a. Identify examples of student strengths used as a basis of growth
b. Identify student errors as an opportunity for learning
c. Describe instructional strategies observed that foster self-esteem.
d. Describe instructional strategies observed that foster positive interpersonal
relations among students.

a. Students were instructed to create either a board game, a

poster/presentation, or to write/illustrate a book to finish up their
microbiology unit. Students then presented their projects to the class.
This activity allowed students to use their creativity to think about the
content in a different way. Additionally, one student who excelled at
drawing, illustrated their groups written book. The class as a whole was
very impressed and expressed their appreciation of the student’s artistic
ability.
b. When Mr. Callahan asked a question to the class, one student confidently
offered up an answer. When that answer was incorrect, Mr. Callahan
used it as an opportunity to, not only teach what the correct answer to the
question was, but also to inform the class as to the correct usage for the
offered-up answer.
c. Mr. Callahan praised students often and offered encouragement when
students were struggling to grasp content. He also encouraged comments
that led to deeper understanding for the class. For example, when
learning about camouflaging animals, one student raised his hand and
brought up a video that he had seen of a specific animal using camouflage
to protect itself. Mr. Callahan searched online for the video and shared it

Updated May 2016

 with the class. This led to the students and Mr. Callahan expressing their
gratitude towards the student for sharing that video with them.
d. Mr. Callahan values group discussion and group activities to aid in
student learning. He fosters this by having students arranged in groups
four, instead of aligned in rows facing the front of the room. Additionally,
students are encouraged to ask their peers for help before asking Mr.
Callahan.

Reflect/Apply:

I believe a classroom where students feel comfortable making

mistakes and where creativity and praise are encouraged is the best-case
scenario for my future classroom. I hope to duplicate Mr. Callahan’s
strategies, such as, group discussions, encouraging guesses, and activities to
show-case student talents.

8) Interview the teacher.

a. What is the role of the subject matter in student learning?
b. What is the importance of exhibiting professional and ethical behavior in a
school setting?
Bridge gap between knowledge and conveying that knowledge
a. Mr. Callahan says that a subject like biology is so detailed and so
complex that it can sometimes be difficult to stay on the surface of the
content. This makes it difficult to convey the information without
making it too complicated for students to follow along with. He also
talked about how sometimes the students will ask questions that will
require him to go deeper into the content that he had planned, but he
just sees that as another opportunity for learning.
b. Mr. Callahan says that exhibiting professional and ethical behavior in
a school setting is incredibly important for relationships with
students, parents, and coworkers. We talked a lot about how as a
young teacher, I will have to try even harder to separate myself from
the students. For example, the biology department chair wears jeans
to school but I would be better off wearing more professional attire.
Additionally, we talked a lot about how students model the adults
around them. It is for that reason that Mr. Callahan says it is of vital
importance to act as though you are the role model of every one of
your students. That way, you are modeling respectful and professional
behavior to every student.

Reflect/Apply:

I definitely agree with Mr. Callahan in that it is sometimes difficult

for me to not get carried away when talking about certain scientific subjects.

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 Because it is something that I am so passionate about, I want everyone to feel
the same way. I think it will be very important for me to plan ahead of time
the content that needs to be conveyed, so that I do not go deeper than the
students are required, and that I do not go deeper than they can grasp with
their limited scientific background knowledge. Additionally, I completely
agree that exhibiting professional and ethical behavior in a school setting is
incredibly important. As a young teacher, I believe it will be even more
important for me to act/look even more professional to appear more
confident and to give myself the authority it will take for classroom
management.

Updated May 2016