Case_Study

Certificate in Education Year 2 10 UNIT 2A CASE STUDY AND COMMENTARY Case Study: Student Support (*For the sake of confidentiality, we shall address the student in this study with a false name, ‘Michelle’) Identify a situation in your experience or of your acquaintance in which a learner has required support for a complex coaching or tutorial problem. The situation should be one that required you to seek and refer to further information, guidance and support. The Performing Arts Academy at ****** ************* college receives students from many different backgrounds, all with varying abilities and skills. It is our job, as lecturers to ensure that the safety and welfare of our students is constantly ensured and any abnormal or disruptive behaviour seen within or outside of the classroom is disciplined in the correct and appropriate manner. In addition to this, it is also of paramount importance that any health issue or disability a student has is noted within their individual learning profile to help the lecturer support the student’s needs where deemed appropriate or necessary. It is this student support system which will be the central theme for this case study. In this paper I will be discussing and commenting on a situation in which a student has required extra support due to a problem within their studies. In this particular case study I also sought extra guidance and support in the form of internal agencies where it proved necessary due to the nature of the problems addressed. Michelle is a second year student on the Btec National Diploma in Performing Arts, studying at ****** ********* College. She is 22 years old and enrolled onto the course last year after deciding that she wanted to pursue a career within the performing arts industry. Michelle has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and ADHD. During classes and rehearsals she can be very disruptive and extremely forward, usually speaking out of turn. Michelle comes from an abusive background. She lives with her mother, who is an alcoholic and her two sisters whom she looks after when her mother is not present. Sometimes Michelle can be very paranoid and often believes that others in her class are staring at her in an inappropriate manner. This can make it difficult to negotiate with her and teach on a daily basis. Usually however, there is a reason to her characteristic lapses. Sometimes it can be due to a particularly difficult situation which may have occurred at home or due to a change in her medication. Because of her impulsivity and forward behaviour, Michelle can be quite expletive, commenting excessively without appropriate response to social restraint within class. This can be quite disruptive to the rest of the group when rehearsals are underway. A particular problem presented itself two weeks ago concerning Michelle within a singing rehearsal. The students were rehearsing a song which is in a show they are to perform in December. The group were finding this particular song difficult to grasp and as a result the rehearsal was becoming tiring and the students were losing interest. Michelle began to scream obscenities, exclaiming that the group were not trying hard enough to grasp the song and that some of the students were just being ‘lazy’. Immediately after this, Michelle grabbed an empty plastic bottle and began to hit herself continuously with it. This impulsive behaviour alerted my attention immediately and when it became apparent that she was not about to calm down, I had to ask her to leave the rehearsal and wait outside the room. After the rehearsal had finished, I asked Michelle to come to the staff office to talk about what had happened earlier on in the room. She informed me that her mother had been quite abusive to her in the morning which had continued to play on her mind. She then continued to explain, in detail, her home situation and how it clearly gets in the way of her concentration and studies. I felt that the situation was beyond my level of expertise and was probably best dealt with someone who had more experience in this matter, therefore I contacted our learning coach Andy, who deals specifically with ‘at risk’ students. Andy’s job includes setting up one to one meetings with students that have particular learning difficulties at the college and provides extra support where needed. I asked both Andy and Michelle if I could sit in on their meeting and both agreed. Commentary Individual tutorials are important in establishing contact with the student and recognising the importance of one to one communication. Minton (2005) describes the role of a personal tutor thus, ‘You help them settle in, keep an eye on their progress, discipline them if necessary, respond to their requests for help of various kinds and refer them to your team of specialists for further help if you think it is appropriate’. (p.219) The role of a tutor is to be a support for the student and to guide them through their learning experience, co-ordinating their development. As teachers we have a professional responsibility to support our students within their educational environment to the best of our ability through this tutorial system. Earwaker (1992) comments further adding that; ‘The aim in providing support is not simply to enable students to survive, but to ensure that they derive maximum benefit from their course and, indeed, from their whole experience of student life’. (p.11) However, whilst in agreement with this statement, in order to maximise student potential and development one must also allow for, and support, the students’ individual needs and concerns which may arise throughout their educational journey. It is of paramount importance that we understand what dictates a students action, what drives them and most significantly how we can support a student that may be in need of help either pastorally or academically. Michelle’s case study involves a number of complex issues and it is apparent to see that she is in need of both pastoral and academic help. At the end of the case study I had asked Michele if I could sit in on her meeting with Andy. The meeting took place within Andy’s office and I sat beside Michelle with her notes. The conversation that took place focused upon using open question techniques which allowed Michelle to say how she felt about her work load at the college, her attitude in class and more specifically the incident that occurred earlier in the day. Wallace and Gravells (2005) looks at this type of support system as being closely linked to a type of counselling, describing that ‘Helping someone with their emotional needs, without any preconceived idea of the desired outcome, most of us would recognise as counselling. In an educational setting, it is more like the pastoral care provided by a school or college. A more directive form of psychological and emotional support may involve the helper offering advice or acting as a role model’. (P.12) This is particularly true in the way that Andy works. He described to me that most of the students he comes into contact with have need of pastoral rather than academic support. Andy also went on to say that most of the time a student will come to him to seek reassurance, ask his advice and to talk about their worries and concerns. Further education is a time when students will undoubtedly come across a number of emotional difficulties. It is a time in their lives where many ‘life issues’ will get in the way. Therefore there can be no denying that this support is crucial to helping a student feel at ease within their educational surroundings, in a time where it is most needed. Michelle seemed to feel comfortable enough to discuss her problems at length during the meeting so I decided to bring up the issue regarding the rehearsal process which I had intervened earlier on in the day. I explained to Michelle the reasons why I had to ask her to leave the classroom and suggested ways in which she could take ‘breathing’ sessions in class if things got too much for her. As a lecturer, making professional, unbiased judgements based on a situation either within a classroom setting or in a one to one tutorial is a fundamental skill which needs to be instilled within the individual as early as possible. This, (being a personal value) is essential to the role of a teacher where, for instance, the above case study may provide a testing ground for using such a skill in a ‘real-time’ situation. Michelle’s dilemma called for a judgement to be made out of concern for her own safety and welfare and this is where the root of making judgements as a teacher lies; in an educational setting we have an underlining obligation to be non-prejudice, non-discriminatory and to be non-judgemental. However, there is a definite distinction between the necessary process of making judgements and the unnecessary process of being judgemental. Cooper (2006) notes that ‘healthy judgement’ evaluates evidence clearly, looking at all the angles with careful consideration, (‘Healthy judgement)… refuses to distrust another’s motives unless there is clear evidence for this suspicion; holds its convictions with charity and tolerance with others; separates behaviours and ideas from the people who hold them ; and involves a concern for others’ (p.28) There is also another fundamental point to make here; in order to establish a purposeful learning environment where learners feel safe, secure, confident and valued one must be sure to create a motivating environment which encourages learners to reflect on, evaluate and make decisions about their learning however, Michelle’s behaviour meant that this could be achieved. It was important to make the decisions to separate her from the group so that the class could carry on with the rehearsal uninterrupted and therefore progress with their learning. The LLUK standards (2007) also touch upon this in domain B of the standards booklet; ‘Teachers in the lifelong learning sector: Establish and maintain procedures with learners which promote and maintain appropriate behaviour, communication and respect for others, while challenging discriminatory behaviour and attitudes’ (P.5) As a teacher I fully endorse this statement and continue to let it be a guide as a principle standard within my teaching. Learning should be inclusive for everyone and when it is disturbed or interrupted by unwanted behaviour, it can provoke an unwanted climate which can disrupt the level of engagement within the classroom. Sometimes it can then be a struggle to re-establish the groups’ connection to the task at hand. After much discussion with Michelle about her home life and her attitude in class she then explained that her written work had fallen behind due to her problems at home. I suggested the support available to her at the college in the learner support centre. I also recommended completing an application form for this and gave possible techniques that learner support could provide, on a ‘drop in’ basis that would support Michelle. I have also enclosed an application form as evidence for requesting additional support for Michelle. I believe that by suggesting the student to take this support, will create a developing ‘self-belief’ in her academic writing and eventually allow her to start taking a ‘self – directed’ learning approach to her education. Rogers (1983) also suggests this theory stating that ‘If students are to develop the self- belief that makes self-directed learning possible, the emotional climate created by the facilitator is crucial. The facilitator must empathise with the student and show that they value the student as an individual.’ (Cited in Petty 2004, p.355) The aim of this support is to work in a triangular communication style where the student knows that the tutor or facilitator is guiding her progress and the student provides the content. This facilitation of achievement inspires motivation to succeed, Petty (2004) also supports this point of view including that students who are independent are more likely to have a higher level of motivation, rather than those who are spoon fed information: ‘Independent learning increases motivation. The coaching involved encourages students to take full responsibility for their own learning; it challenges passive attitudes to learning, and teaches the active learners’ coping strategies and mind-set’. (p.348) Due to Michelle’s mental health problems Andy also asked if she would be willing to work with the colleges mental health support worker Laura Murphy to which she complied. In terms of mental health disabilities, The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 place a duty on institutions not to discriminate against disabled students including those with mental health difficulties, either in terms of admission to courses or in the provision of education and support services. ******** ******** college is committed to creating a non-discriminatory and supportive environment for all students. It aims to ensure that appropriate support is offered to students experiencing mental health difficulties such as Michelle, and has adopted a Student Mental Health policy to support the fulfilment of this aim which is also included in this paper as supporting evidence. By the end of the meeting, the actions agreed were seen to be possible and on a positive note. Michelle now feels that she has an underlining support barrier set in place by learner support, Andy and myself therefore; hopefully this improves both her unit grades and her performance in class. Michelle made an action plan for future meetings with both myself and Andy to track her progress and these future meetings will use the same process; discussion, tracking, re-setting of actions and the building of support tools to underpin the student’s learning. Michelle now has a clear progression route and was given an action in proceeding with it. This again supports her actions in researching her progression possibilities.