Fieldwork Observation #4

Megan Wheeler

EDU 306 Dr. Maruca

Megan Wheeler
Dr. Maruca
EDU 306
28 November 2017

Observation 4

Reflect on your observations and work with your ELL focus student. Continue to
collect Describe how you might adapt the strategy or activity you identified to meet the
needs of the student.

One student activity I observed that would be particularly difficult for my focus

student was an orally proctored assessment. The assessment was a worksheet consisted of

various problems that consisted of a certain number of objects for which the student

would have to write the correct number. The difficult part of this assessment for my

English Language Learner is the fact that the text was proctored orally for some of the

problems. About half of the assessment consisted of questions that asked the student to

fill in the bubble representing the number 7 or 9 or 10 (etc.).

I noticed during the assessment that my English Language Learner was completely

disengaged and was falling behind as the teacher was giving the oral directions. This

student scored pretty low on his listening skills on the CELDT and he is easily distracted

by external noises. He needs one-on-one instruction for most tasks as well as continued

support throughout the lesson or activity. Because this student fell behind and missed

crucial instruction for the exam, the outcome would not be a proper representation of his

ability to identify numbers and count objects.

A simple way that I would adapt this type of assessment would be to proctor it one-

on-one with my student. I would take him aside in the back of the classroom (free from
distractions from other students) and prompt him to answer each question to the best of

his ability. I would then be able to monitor his engagement and make sure that I can

refocus him when he becomes frustrated. Another way the exam itself could be adapted

for this student would be to have the student use manipulatives and a whiteboard. Using

manipulatives would help this student to model his thinking as opposed to having to

write it out (which he struggles with). The whiteboard would be useful because it will

allow him to complete one problem at a time, without getting distracted by an entire

paper exam, which can be overwhelming. This will help him to focus on one problem at a

time. I would then take my own written note of which problems he missed or struggled

with so that I can provide further support following the exam. This assessment would be

a more appropriate form because this allows the student to focus easier without the

distractions of his other classmates and the large written exam.