Chelsea Tramel

Shadow Study

To protect the identity of the student that was shadowed, she will be referred to

as Shelby. The student chosen for the shadow study was a healthy, African American

female with braces. She was wearing glasses, jeans, and a plaid jacket. She had her hair

pulled back into a pony tail that sat on the side of her head, and big silver earrings.

Shelby starts her day off in science class, before school had started my cooperating

teacher asked me to come in, and then she gave me a choice of what type of student I

would desire (8th or 9th grade, boy or girl, good student or not so good student, etc.). I

told her that I was flexible, but that I would prefer to be put with an eighth grader.

Shelby walked into the classroom with her friend, and sat down quietly and began

working. When the teacher allowed students to talk, she mainly talk to her friend that

she walked into the classroom with. Although, when she was asked other questions or

approached from other peers, she was friendly and sociable. While most of the students

socialized with their friends loudly, she talked to her friend quietly, even leaning in to

discuss with her. As the bell rang, the teacher called the student over, and introduced us.

She also explained that I was a college student, and that I would be “shadowing” her (the

student), and that she needed to go about her business as usual.

After science, she went to art. When I asked her if she liked going to art, she

replied by saying that it was okay, but she wanted to be put into home economics. She

went on to say that her mother talked to her guidance counselor, and since she gets a

new elective every semester, she will more than likely get into it for next semester. I

asked her why she wanted to be in the class so bad, and she responded by saying that

her mother thought it would be beneficial for her to take it, and it appeared to be a fun

class. In art that day, she was making a pot out of clay. Again, she sat next to her friend

that was also in her science class. They talked throughout the class about what they did

over the weekend, and their families.

After art class, Shelby went to her math class. During her passing period she did

not stop to talk to friends, she walked straight to class. Books are provided in most

classrooms, so she did not need to stop and get her book from her locker. When I asked

her about her math class, she said that it was one of her least favorite classes, and that

she would have it for two periods, with one break. In math, Shelby sat in the back of the

classroom, she was very quiet, and only talked to one girl that would ask her questions

randomly in class. She would signal the answer it or mouth it, but never spoke out

directly to the other student. During the break, she got up very quickly and left the

room. I was not able to keep up, so I do not know what she did during that time. Shelby

would attempt to participate in class, she would raise her hand halfway, and whisper or

in a soft spoken voice say the answer.

During lunch, Shelby had to stand in line to buy her lunch. Her friend and herself

both complained about not having enough time to eat. Most of her friends had brought

their lunch from home, and were able to save them spots to eat their lunch. The

discussion at lunch was partly about who I was and why I was there. I had one of

Shelby’s friends tell me it was a great idea that they are getting future teachers to

witness what students go through on a day to day basis, because a lot of older teachers at

their school had forgotten what it was like. Most of her peers agreed with the girl that

stated that opinion. Shelby remained quiet during lunch, but did interact more with her

friends than in her classes. She only spoke with one girl from her group a lot, but did

chime in on group conversation. After lunch, she went outside the lunch room and

looked up what room she would be taking her district exam (social studies) the next day.

After, she stood close to her friends, but did not talk to them much other than to see

what room they were in. On the way back to class, I asked Shelby about her family. She

stated that she spent most weekends with her family, and did not hang out with her

friends much outside of school, but that she preferred to spend time with her family,

because they were close. She mentioned that her mother was in the process of getting

her doctorate, so she did not have much time to hang out, but on the weekends, the

family would be together and go see a movie, or go to Chuck E. Cheese for her little

brother.

During history (after lunch), Shelby sat quietly once again not talking to other

students, and listening to the teacher. She did put her head down a couple of times

during the class, but she did take notes even with her head down. During another one of

her least favorite classes, English, Shelby would speak frequently to her friend that was

in her previous classes (science and art). Although she would mouth what she wanted to

say to her friend. Shelby spoke about not like English very much, because the class was

overcrowded, and she sat in the very back, where her desk was isolated from the rest of

the class. She often felt that she was in the way, because her desk was literally right in

front of the door. Shelby also spoke about her teacher yelling a lot, and at the littlest

thing. In the class, one student walked in front of his friends desk and swiped his index

finger across the desk. The teacher immediately in front of the entire class started

yelling at him about being a distraction and how he did that on purpose. The student

asked the teacher why she was yelling at him, and she responded by sending him out in

the hall and giving him a detention.

In athletics (after English), Shelby went to the girls locker room, and got dressed

into her school issued athletic uniform. When meeting up with her after she got dressed,

she confessed to me that she was so grateful that her mother told her to bring her heavy

jacket, because she would be miserable without it. The task that she had at hand was

running around the track in less than fifty degree weather. When she got to stop running

and go inside, she walked briskly to the door.

After having time to reflect upon the day, I came to the conclusion that Shelby

was a confident, healthy, young girl. She was assured in her decisions, and relied heavily

on her families values and beliefs to help with her problem solving and day to day

activities. Although Shelby did appear to be timid around people that she was not

familiar with, she was still polite. There was consistent patterns of behavior. She was

quiet in class and kept to herself for most of the day, and with her friends she was still

quiet, but she was more outgoing in nature.

Shelby seemed pretty neutral towards the assessment, she included me as much

as possible, but tried to go along with her daily activities in her normal fashion. Her

attitude towards all classes was neutral as well, she did a good job of disguising classes

that she did not enjoy. Through all classes she sat through the classes, gave the teacher

her attention, and took notes when necessary. She did not show an attitude towards

classes that were not her favorite, although it was obvious what classes she felt most

comfortable in. Those classes tended to be ones that had her closest friend in them,

science, art, and athletics.

During lunch, Shelby appeared to be comfortable with her friends, but timid

around them as well. Her friends are also female African Americans, although there was

one or two different ethnicities among them. Most of her friends were very outgoing,

which helps to break her out of her “shell”. The girls (including Shelby) did not seem to

have much interest in the opposite sex. The conversation pertained mostly around their

families, and what they had done over the weekend or in class. Shelby, being quiet

towards most people did not alarm me as being odd, because even though she said very

little she still looked people in the eye when conversing with them, and stood with

confidence (shoulders back and head up).

It made sense that Shelby mainly had black female friends, because she appeared

to be at the maturity level of not being interested in the opposite sex yet. I think this is

due to her family being so close, and her being sheltered from arising issues that kids go

through at her age. During lunch we got to talk more about her family, and I got the

impression that her mother keeps her children very close to the family, to keep them

guided appropriately. It was obvious she was very proud of her mother and her family,

because she mentioned multiple times her mother getting her doctorate and also

mentioned her family a lot. Shelby’s enthusiasm about her family, and her not wanting

to take part in the boy crazy behavior most of her peers (not so much her friends) were

doing was refreshing.

When asking her about her classes, it was obvious that her attitude towards her

least favorite subjects, math and English, was negative. She chuckled as she said that she

really did not like those classes. During her math class, it was more difficult to tell that

she did not like the class, because she was attentive and took notes. She explained to me

that she could get out of the class, but chose to stay in it, because it would better prepare

her for the district math test. This showed that she thinks about her future, and knows

what she needs to do in order to succeed. Also, during math class she got up and went

and picked up paper to take notes on, when she was not understanding the material.

The class was reviewing material for their up coming test, but it showed initiative that

she would get up to get paper, and start taking notes about something that she did not

understand very well. In English, it was a little easier to tell that she was not particularly

interested in the class, because she constantly was talking (mouthing) across the room

to her friend.

During athletics was a time in which I got to see Shelby come out of her “shell”

more so than she had done all day. After getting dressed in her athletic attire, she

quickly found her friends in the gym, and I noticed that she laughed and was joking with

them more so now, than during the school day. This was the first time all day, that I saw

her relax and be herself. She was still quiet, but was more willing to take part in

activities with her peers. When walking with her to go outside, she was more open with

me, and spoke of how grateful she was that her mother made her bring her heavy coat,

in case of this particular instance (going outside). I told her that her mother was a very

smart woman, and when she got home she really needed to thank her for the excellent

advice she gave her. Shelby had a huge smile come across her face when I said this, I

think it was because I payed her mother a compliment. Her mother is someone that she

aspires to be, and for someone to acknowledge her as an accomplished, smart person, it

was obvious that it just made Shelby aspire to be like her more. I think it is wonderful

that Shelby has such a great role model to confide in and aspire to be like, because it

seems as if most of her friends are trying to find an identity, and she already has an

identity. It shows that she has a great role model in her ability to interact with her peers

and teachers, and many middle level students need that today.

Overall, I was happy that I got a mature middle level student to shadow. Shelby

was healthy, self confident, and well mannered. She was not to worried about fitting in

with everyone else, because it appeared that she had enough fulfillment in her life not

desire the need to fit in as much as her peers. She did want to fit in, and she did a good

job of doing it, but she wanted it on her terms. This reflected in the different genders

and classes of students that would approach her during her classes. Her family has

strong values and morals that she upholds in school. Shelby knows right from wrong,

and is intent on trying her best, and doing what is best for her future.

There are a few things that I learned through doing this shadow study. One is that

there are many characteristics that make teachers stand out to their students. It could be

their classroom, personality, or rules of the classroom. The benefit of doing this study

was that many students once they found out what my purpose for being there was,

opened right up, and started spilling out information about what they wish their

teachers could relate to. From what I gathered from most students, including Shelby,

was that teachers need to relate to their students more, and be more approachable. They

also need to change their environment of their classrooms to help change the attitudes

of their students. I noticed that in classrooms that had a lot of clutter, or were not more

of an open setting, students did not feel as comfortable, and classroom participation was

less. Teachers need to be able to be assertive and give discipline when needed, but also

need to know when to let things go. In the study I saw a lot of frustrated teachers that

appeared to give up on their students far to easily. It was an instant reaction with

students that were normally behavior issues, instead of trying to approach them

differently, most of the teachers just sent them out into the hall and gave them

detentions. A teachers ability to adapt and change environments is crucial in the

learning process and development in students.

Academic Honesty StatementMid-Level Program – College of Education – University of Texas at

ArlingtonThe following statement must be used as a cover sheet and turned in along with everycourse assignment, quiz, test, or other work which will count toward a grade in anyEDML/Mid-Level course or field work.

Academic Honesty StatementI have read and understand the UTA Academic Honesty clause as follows. “Academicdishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form at The University of Texas at Arlington. All persons involved in academicdishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures.Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University. “Academicdishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.” (Regents’ Rules andRegulations, Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2., Subdivision 3.22).”Further, I declare that the work being submitted for this assignment is my original work(e.g., not copied from another student or copied from another source) and has not beensubmitted for another class.“Signature” (Chelsea Tramel):Date: 12/12/11