Student: Sam
Age: 14.2
Grade: 8th
SCENARIO
Sam is an eighth grader who is not finishing his work due to his off-task behaviors. According to his records, this has been an ongoing problem since third grade. His grades have become progressively worse this year. His academic grade in his social studies class (and in most of his other classes) is at 65 percent because assignments are rarely completed or are done haphazardly. When Sam does start an assignment, he often rushes through it, making a number of errors and overlooking information. His teacher reports the following types of off-task behaviors: reading books and magazines, drawing and doodling, daydreaming, and talking to friends and neighbors. These behaviors occur most often during independent work times and rarely during large group or whole class activities.
Having reviewed Sam’s completed assignments and his class participation in group activities, Sam’s social studies teacher believes he is capable of doing grade-level work and has decided that Sam will achieve the following goals within six weeks:
(1) Increase the number of independent assignments completed.
(2) Earn 80 percent or higher on all completed assignments.
Possible Strategies:
Specific Praise
Criterion-Specific Rewards
Choice-Making
Instructions:
Please answer the 4 questions after reading this case study.
1. Review each of the three possible strategies listed above and write a brief summary of the case study.
2. Write a summary of each strategy, including its purpose.
3. Describe why each strategy might be used to help Sam meet one or more of his goals.
4. What would you suggest the teacher do to redirect Sam’s behavior and ensure academic success?
Submission Instructions:
• Your paper is to be clear and concise and students will lose points for improper grammar, punctuation, and misspelling.
• The paper is to be 3-4 pages in length, current APA style, excluding the title, abstract, and references page.
• Incorporate a minimum of 3 current (published within the last five years) scholarly journal articles or primary legal sources (statutes, court opinions) within your work.
• Complete and submit the assignment by 11:59 PM ET Sunday.
• Late work policies, expectations regarding proper citations, acceptable means of responding to peer feedback, and other expectations are at the discretion of the instructor.
• You can expect feedback from the instructor within 48 to 72 hours from the Sunday due date.
