This week in my clinical I was able to take time to focus on a struggling student. I decided to focus my attention on a student that is repeating the 6th grade. During class he seems to not be on focused on the teacher and what other students are doing. He appeared to be bored and uninterested in the lesson being taught. I asked what happened that caused the student to be retained and if there were any underlying issues. I was not able to get much information other than he was lazy and that several people have tried talking to him and the he just doesn't care if he passes or fails. I do not think the school is doing anything to address this students needs. He is in the same classes and has the same teachers as last year.
When I tried to speak with this student he did not seem interested in talking about his lack of motivation to actively participate in the classroom. Luckily for me this was the same week that I was teaching my cooperative learning PBL which gave me a little insight into the problem. There were a couple of things that I did that I think the student responded well too. He definitely liked working within the group and even stopped me at the end of the lesson to tell me about a book he had at home the corresponded with the topic. He seemed very excited about the lesson and actually did very well in his role within the group. I had made popsicle sticks with the student names on them so I could call on students at random. When I called on the student he responded immediately with the correct answer.
I think that this student is bored with doing the same thing he did last year. His struggles are in no way related to not understanding the material. His struggles are because he is not interested in the material or the way it is being presented. Therefore he never feels as if he is a part of the activities going on in the classroom.
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