Learner Analysis Profile - Part I

All About"Rex"

Finding Rex

During the second week of my internship, I witnessed a small conflict between two boys. One boy had called another boy a bully in attempted humor. The boy who was called a bully didn't find it humorous at all though. He responded by saying, "What are you talking about? I'm not a bully!" He was clearly offended by the statement. All of the surrounding students stared, waiting for his reaction. When he walked away, the other students carried on with their business. I got the feeling the students looked to him often, so I decided to keep an eye out. Sure enough, I observed he could influence how focused classes were. After talking to my CT about him, I found out he has a learning disability and has an IEP. My CT and I were brainstorming some students for me to focus on, and he stood out to me because he is an example of a student with a disability who has a great ability in another area - leadership.

I decided to take an open approach with him and asked him if he would be willing to work with me on a school project. I explained the gist of the project, but didn't tell him that one of the requirements is for the student of focus to have an IEP. A desired outcome of this SPED course is to focus on ability, so I kept this in mind as I told him why I chose him. Since it was his ability that I noticed in the first place, I told him that I noticed his natural leadership and influence on his peers. I knew talking about his learning disability would come up in later interviews if he agreed. To my joy, he agreed. I told him for confidentiality purposes, I had to use a pseudonym for him and that I could choose it or he can pick a name he likes. He smiled and said, "I'd like to be called Rex."

Interview #1

I wanted to build some rapport with Rex before interviewing him, so I had a mini-interview with him while the rest of the class was silently reading. The questions consisted of surface level "get-to-know-you type" questions about family, friends, interests, and hobbies which I explored in greater depth during the large interview. I wanted to make the interview as laid-back as possible, so it wouldn't feel like an interrogation, so I bought us carne asada fries and conducted the interview during lunch. I decided to record the interview using my phone. Here is a summary of my major findings:

Interests/Hobbies - Rex has a passion for football. He plays it nearly everyday and played in a league for seven years. He knows that he has an athletic talent. Out of the four main social networks (Facbook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat), he only enjoys Snapchat. He expressed that the other social networks cause too much drama. He listens to three genres of music: rap, dubstep, and trap music. 

Family - Rex lives with his mother, her significant other, and two siblings. He has another sibling on the way. He has siblings on his father's side, but is not in contact with is father. His father has been in prison most of his life, so Rex has given up on the hope of forming any relationship with him. He did express that he thinks he may have done better in school if his father would have been there, namely to help with homework while his mother took care of other duties. He is very close with a cousin and looks to him as a role model. He is proud that he has an uncle who owns a restaurant in Golden. 

Friends - All of his friends, excluding his aforementioned cousin, are boys he goes to school with. I have each of them in a class. As most friends, they hang out after school and on the weekends. He is aware that he acts as a leader within his group of friends. He also has a girlfriend who goes to a different school. 

Learning - Rex expressed his attitude toward school right now is not the greatest because it is boring. He is not apt to asking teachers for help if something confuses him. Instead, he will just avoid doing work and wait for the class to end. He finds his IEP helpful, but especially for math. The only time he enjoys math is when he is pulled out of math for services. Learning math becomes more of a game for him during this time. He didn't mention if it benefits him in other content areas, so I will be sure to ask during the next interview. 

Goals - Rex ultimately wants to play football in college and hopes to get drafted into the NFL. He knows that he has to work harder than he has been to get to college. 

Field Notes

• Witnessed another student calling Rex a bully and Rex's reaction
• When going to tell principal about my Learner Analysis project, Rex was the topic of conversation. Apparently another student was acting inappropriate and Rex told him, "Hey we don't act like that here, we're family." :) 
• Noticed Rex gets up, walks around, and jokes with peers if he isn't understanding something
  
• Rex zones/daydreams if not doing a stimulating task
• While observing Rex in his science class, he was pretty engaged while working on a poster project. Kinesthetic learner?
• Told Rex I took my family to eat at his uncle's restaurant. By his expression and his responses to me for the rest of the day, I'd say it helped a lot in building our relationship.
• Class had a connection circle and the information students were sharing was very deep and emotional. Many students were crying as they were sharing. Rex didn't end up sharing, but by the end of class, he was crying uncontrollably. It seems he has been holding a lot in for a long time. I overheard classmates saying how shocked they were to see him cry.

Understanding Rex 

Academically - Rex has specific learning disabilities (SLD). They are in reading fluency, reading comprehension, written expression, math calculation, and math problem solving. Per week, he receives five hours (60 min/day) of academic support outside of the general ed. classroom for reading, writing, and math. He has difficulty maintaining focus throughout class. During the interview, he expressed that many of his classes are boring, so it makes sense why he loses interest quickly. If lessons were more culturally relevant, I believe he would not as difficulty with focusing. I have looked over last year's transcript and even with the supports, he failed all classes but one. He was also held back a grade. His interest lies in science, specifically science labs. This leads me to wonder if he is a kinesthetic learner. While lesson planning, I will keep this in mind and give an option for a hands-on approach to see if this interests him.

Socially - Thus far I am understanding Rex to be a complex boy. He has grown up without a father and is the oldest child in the home. He has had to take on the "man of the house" role from a very young age. This reflects in his demeanor and may contribute to his leadership presence. Hip-hop culture seems to be quite the influence on his life from his style, to his lingo, and of course, music preference. This adaptation of hip-hop culture is probably what lead him to his friends as well; they also belong to hip-hop culture. Ethnically, he is Mexican, but he and his family don't practice any Mexican cultural norms. As mentioned in the "field notes" section, he broke down during the connection circle. There was a theme of growing up without a father while students were sharing. Though there could be a multitude of reasons why he broke down, it is likely it was because of the absence of his own father, which he shared with me during the interview.

Context and Setting

Clayton at a Glance

I am interning at Clayton Partnership School in Mapleton School District. Clayton serves grades K-8. It it one of the four schools that make up Skyview Campus. The majority of students at Clayton are Hispanic. The ethnic breakdown of the school can be found in the chart below.

Supports

• Clayton offers "The Island", which is tutoring/homework help for one hour after school Tuesday - Friday. I stay on Thursdays to help out, and so far only a few students are showing up after school.
• Mapleton District offers The LAB (learning after the bell), which serves each school on Skyview Campus. It is offered three days per week, two and a half hours per day.

My Role

I have stepped into a setting that Rex has known his whole life. Rex is probably used to outsiders coming into his familiar setting since he attends a partnership school. However, this is the first time one of the outsiders has asked to step into his life. I don't ever want him to feel like he is a mere subject I must study for a school project. I need him to know I see him as human first, student second. We have found common ground in hip-hop culture, so I believe that has closed some distance for us. His current setting is very similar to my own growing up, so I am familiar with much of the context he is familiar with. My hope is for him to accept me as a part of his setting, so that I can fully understand who he is as a person and as a learner.