Running head: CHILD STUDY

Child Study
Meghan Avrett
George Mason University
EDUC 511
Mattix-Foster
December 14, 2015

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Child Study
Physical Description of the Child

*Kai is an eleven-year-old boy in fifth grade. He has an athletic, slim build and is the
second tallest boy in his class but is not abnormally tall for his age. He has light brown skin and
eyes, short, curly brown hair and some freckles on his face. He usually wears athletic clothes and
shoes to school (field notes, 2015).
Childs Socio-Cultural Context
Family
Kai is the youngest child in a family that consists of a mother, father, and a thirteen-yearold sister. He comes from a lineage of college educated, successful adults. His father works fulltime at a finance corporation in D.C., and his mother has a public health background but is
currently working part-time as the Grants and Development Coordinator at Kais school (see
Appendix II). Additionally, his grandfather was the first African American United States
Ambassador to South Africa during apartheid, which is something for which Kai takes much
pride (field notes, 2015).
I assume Kais mother and fathers parenting style is authoritative, which combines
affection and respect for children with reasonable restrictions on behavior (Ormrod, 2013, p.
57). I conclude this because I have observed Kai exhibiting many of the qualities of a child who
has authoritative parents, such as being happy, friendly, confident, and caring towards others
(field notes, 2015). Also, during an interview, his mother stated that Kai is a rule follower,
which leads me to believe that his parents set consistent rules and consequences in the household
(see Appendix II).
School Community
Kai attends *Washington Immersion (WI) in Washington, D.C., which is a Chinese

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Immersion Public Charter School. About 40% of students at WI are African American and live in
the surrounding neighborhood, and the rest of students are white, multiracial, Hispanic, and
Asian (DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education, 2015). The school hosts Pre-K
through grade five and has about 550 students total. It is quite difficult to attend WI as
enrollment is only achieved through a lottery. WI is an International Baccalaureate school, and
because Kai is in grade five, he follows the Primary Years Programme (PYP). In addition to the
IB curriculum, WI is a true Chinese immersion school. Thus, students are fully immersed in
Mandarin language as early as pre-school to attain best results for fluency. According to WIs
application, acquiring a second language at an early age is the best means to achieve bi-literacy
in Chinese as well as enhancing global language development and increase reading performance
(Washington Yu Ying, 2015, p. 6). Therefore, to ensure all students have an equal opportunity to
fully develop their second language at WI, new students are prohibited from enrolling at WI after
second grade.
Kais 5th grade teacher, Ms. I, has a bachelors degree in French and history and a masters
degree in Curriculum and Instruction from George Mason University. This is her 7th year
teaching at WI. She taught 1st grade for three years and 5th grade for four years. Upon getting her
masters degree, Ms. I received an IB Certificate in Teaching and Learning, which makes her
very qualified to teach the IB curriculum to her students and design units of inquiry. Her teaching
practices and classroom management skills reflect PYP attitudes, and it is evident that her
understanding of the IB curriculum helps her students develop attributes of the learner profile
(field notes, 2015). Additionally, she is soft spoken yet assertive and creates a sense of control in
the classroom without raising her voice (field notes, 2015). Ms. I also takes responsibility for her
mistakes. For example, while working on summative assessments, Ms. I apologized to her class

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because she misguided them on the instructions, which caused confusion among her students
(field notes, 2015).
The faculty at WI works very effectively with one another. The 5th grade teachers consistently
collaborate to plan out their units of inquiry and set coherent ground rules and behavior
consequences for their students as well. Ms. I believes that collaboration is an essential
component to give students the best care. Because the school is a Chinese immersion school, half
of the teachers are native Chinese speakers. For example, Ms. I shares her group of 5th graders
with a partner Chinese teacher. On Mondays and Wednesdays, half of her students are with her in
English class, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the other half are with their Chinese teacher. To
make sure they are always on the same page with lesson design and instruction, they
communicate before, during, and after school (field notes, 2015).
Socioeconomic Status
Kais family appears to be upper middle class. I base my assumption of his familys
socioeconomic status partly on his parents careers. His father works full-time and his mother
chooses to only work part-time at Kais school. Fortunately, Kais mothers part-time job gives
her enough flexibility to be able to stay home with her children more often (see Appendix II). I
also believe Kais family is upper middle class because Kai regularly comes to school clean,
wears nice athletic clothes and shoes everyday, and attends the afterschool program which costs
an extra $450 per month (see Appendix II). Additionally, Kai lives in a wealthy community in
D.C.
Language and Ethnicity
Kai is a biracial child. His mother is half Taiwanese and half African American, and his
father is African American. Kais primary language is English. His is also fluent in a second

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language, Mandarin. Kai speaks Mandarin every other day at school as well as at home with his
mother.
Childs Capability in the Developmental Areas
Physical Development
Kais physical development is average for his age. He is the second tallest boy in his
class, but not abnormally so (field notes, 2015). According to Ormond (2013), boys gross motor
skills are typically more developed than their fine motor skills during the primary years, and this
trait is evident in Kai. One example that demonstrates his developed gross motor skills is my
observation every day at recess while he runs around or plays football. Also, out of the six boys
who play football during recess, Kais hand-eye coordination is one of the best, and he is often
chosen as the quarterback. Additionally, he demonstrates great agility while completing the
agility ladder in P.E. (field notes, 2015). Although his gross motor skills are highly developed,
and might be considered above average, his fine motor skills are average for his age and gender.
I base my assumption on his handwriting. His handwriting in Mandarin and English is legible,
but it is not extraordinarily neat (see Appendix III). Also, his ability to use scissors is similar to
his classmates (field notes, 2015).
Cognitive Development
Judging by my knowledge of Kais age as well as observations, Kai appears to be in the
early stage of Formal Operations. I originally thought Kai was still in the late Concrete
Operational Stage, so I decided to test his mastery through a Piaget test by presenting him with
two, identical balls of play dough and then changing the shape of one. When asked if the two
shapes still weighed the same, he stated that they did because nothing was added to either ball
(field notes, 2015). Kais mastery of this test demonstrates his understanding of conservation in

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that an objects weight does not change when the shape is altered (Ormrod, 2013). In order to
confirm that Kai was in the beginning stage of Formal Operations, I performed a second Piaget
test. To conduct this investigation I asked Kai, If I had a third eye, where would I put it? (field
notes, 2015). His first response was to say that he would put the third eye on the back of his head
to see behind himself, which proves his ability to draw logical deductions about situations that
have no basis in physical reality (Ormrod, 2013 p. 29). Another reason why I believe Kai is in
the Formal Operations Stage is because he has a conceptual understanding of fractions
(Ormrod, 2013, p. 29). I observed his comprehension of fractions while he was independently
working on the fractions module in Khan Academy. When asked what parts he had mastered, he
told me that he already easily mastered finding equivalent fractions, converting to mixed
numbers, and was now onto subtracting fractions from whole numbers (field notes, 2015).
Additionally, based on Kais answers of the general learning survey, it is evident that he
prefers to learn through experience by formulating his own understandings, also known as
Piagets Constructivist Theory (Ormrod, 2013). For example, Kai answered that in order to best
learn a skill, he would rather perform the skill as the teacher talks. Also, when asked the question
how would you learn how to bake cake? he answered that he would rather bake the cake
himself (see Appendix IX). This demonstrates Kais ability to learn through experience.
Another factor that leads me to believe Kais cognitive development is higher than the
average eleven-year-old is his Reading and Math Progress Report. This report validates Kai is
currently above grade level for both reading and math (see Appendix XI). Because of these high
scores, Kai is placed in the higher reading and math group in class and is, therefore, challenged
by more advanced math problems and longer, more complex reading material (field notes, 2015).
Linguistic Development

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Through my analysis of Kais writing samples and observations of him speaking, I have
determined that his linguistic development is above grade level. First, his fictional story about
WWII demonstrates that he can construct stories with plot, which is a typical linguistic
developmental trend for grades 3-5 (Ormrod, 2013, p. 46). At the same time, this writing sample
also shows Kais acquisition of metalinguistic awareness as he writes, When Will caught sight
of him he scared the daylights out of Frederick (see Appendix III). Ormrod (2013) claims that
metalinguistic awareness includes the ability to recognize the figurative nature of words and
Kais sample shows his understanding that figurative language adds richness to writing, which is
a linguistic characteristic of grades 6-8 (p. 45). Additionally, this writing sample shows that Kai
has good grammar usage. During analysis, I found minimal grammar mistakes and noticed that
he constructed a few complex sentences (see Appendix III).
Additionally, Kais use of high vocabulary shows his linguistic development. One
example that demonstrates his vocabulary is his in-class essay writing. Kai is consistently a
faster writer than most of his classmates. On one occasion, I observed Kai ability to organize
and type out an essay that filled about a page and a half (single-spaced) in just one hour and
fifteen minutes (field notes, 2015). This timeframe was much faster than most of his peers. Also,
in his second writing sample about water, Kai uses the words, sediment, contaminated, and
pesticides (see Appendix III). These words show his increased awareness of terminologies
used in various academic disciplines, which is an age-typical characteristic for grades 6-8
(Ormrod, 2013, p 46).
Lastly, Kais high linguistic development can be attributed to his second language
acquisition. Ormrod (2013) claims, learning a second language facilitates achievement in such
other academic areas as reading, vocabulary, and grammar as well as benefits with word

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pronunciation (p. 48). Because Kai speaks Mandarin at home and at school as part of the Chinese
Immersion Program at WI, he has spent the majority of his life reading, writing, and speaking in
two languages. It is clear that his good pronunciation and quality of writing in both English and
Mandarin are products of his bilingualism.
Social Development
From observations at school and conversations with his mother, I believe Kai is a social
individual. According to Ormrod (2013), Kai fits the definition of a popular student, which is
defined as a student whom many classmates select as people theyd like to do things with [is]
kind and socially skillful[and] tends to show genuine concern for others (p. 70). One place
where Kai demonstrates positive social behavior is on the playground. At recess, Kai appears to
be well liked by many students because of his kind personality as well as his physical athletic
ability. Every day at recess, he plays football with five other 5th grade boys. More often than not,
Kai becomes the natural leader in the group and often orchestrates the game to his friends. The
manner in which the other boys intently listen to him demonstrates their respect for Kai as a
trustworthy and honest individual who will play the game fairly. They also seem to like him
because he is a naturally talented athlete. For instance, during one game, the other boys said that
Kai should be the quarterback because he runs the fastest (field notes, 2015). Also, I assume that
he is an admired boy because during conflict, he does not contribute to the aggression. For
example, one day at recess, a scuffle between two boys broke out during a football game. Instead
of adding to the argument, Kai remained silent until it was over (field notes, 2015). This further
demonstrates Kais likeable personality. A final note that illustrates his positive social behavior is
his core group of friends who play soccer together outside of school. His friends include two
African American boys and one Caucasian boy, and recently, Kai invited all of them to his house

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to celebrate his birthday (see Appendix II).

Emotional Development
Kais emotional development appears to be above average according to my observations
in the classroom. According to Ormrod (2013), peer relationships and interactions can be a way
for children to practice skills, such as emotional control (p. 67). On one occasion, I witnessed
Kai interact with his peers and demonstrate the ability to remain in control of his emotions
during independent work. Students were supposed to be working autonomously on their math
program, Khan Academy, but Kais tablemates were being especially silly and disruptive. They
were bothering him and touching his keyboard. Instead of getting angry or joining them in their
poor behavior, Kai simply asked them to stop and remained silent as he continued working on his
task (field notes, 2015). This demonstrates that he is more emotionally mature than some of his
peers. Additionally, Kais mother explained in an interview that Kai is in touch with his
emotional side. She explained that compared to his sister, Kai is more emotional and likes
giving hugs (see Appendix II).
Moral Development
Evaluating recess and classroom behavioral observations, I can presume that Kai has a
good general sense of morality, but there are a few instances when it wavers. On one occasion,
one of Kais friends fell down at recess, and Kai stopped the football play to ask if his friend was
okay (field notes, 2015). According to Ormrod (2013), this type of moral behavior reflects Kais
ability to have concern about other peoples rights and welfare (p. 79). In the group of six boys
who regularly play football together, Kai was the only student to ask if the boy was okay.
Another example that reflects his good sense of morality occurred during class when Ms. I asked
the entire class to retrieve the paper stands so they could begin to type their essays. I observed

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each student go to the back of the room and pick up one paper stand and then return back to their
seat. The only exception was Kai. Kai decided to retrieve four paper stands and proceeded to
pass them out to his table partners (field notes, 2015). This was a small example of Kais good
sense of morality.
Although Kai generally appears to have a good moral compass, sometimes his sense of
morality is underdeveloped. A few instances lead me to this conclusion. First, during the class
conflict unit of inquiry, they learned about the dropping of the atomic bomb and weighed the
pros and cons. After much research, discussion, and reflection on the topic, most students
believed dropping the bomb was an immoral decision to make and, instead, believed there could
have been a more peaceful solution to end WWII. However, Kai definitively said that dropping
the bomb was the right thing to do by placing his opinion on the Yes side of the continuum
(field notes, 2015). This demonstrates that although Kai is capable of having a high sense of
morality, sometimes he lacks empathy. Additionally, Kai seems to make decisions based on
what actions will please others, especially authority figures (e.g., teachers, popular peers),
which places him in Level II Stage III of Kohlbergs model (Ormrod, 2013 p. 82). For example,
during PE, I observed how Kais natural inclination to make the morally right decision weakens
when an authority figure is not watching. For this lesson, students were unsupervised and were
required to do exercises at different stations. Although Kai was physically capable of executing
each exercise, he only resumed the exercise when the instructor was looking (field notes, 2015).
Summary of the IB Learner Profile Elements
Exhibited in the Environment
Because WI is an IB school, elements of the IB Learner Profile are evident throughout
the environment and encourage students to become internationally minded people who,

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recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better
and more peaceful world (IB, 2008, p. 5.). For example, posters cover WI hallway walls that
describe the attributes of the learner profile using pictures and descriptions (see Appendix V).
Also, the 5th grade students exhibition projects from last year are displayed in the hallway. These
projects reflect previous students ability to be inquirers because it was a student-driven project
that required them to take action against a social justice issue in their community (field notes,
2015).
Specifically, Ms. Is classroom and teaching style reflect the thinker, caring, reflective,
communicator, open-minded and inquirer traits. For example, Ms. I frequently reminds students
to be thinkers while they are working through problems and displays a think before you
speak poster in her classroom (field notes, 2015).
Secondly, when students show signs of negative behavior, Ms. I would often ask them,
Are you being a caring person right now? (field notes, 2015). Asking her students to reflect on
their behavior is one way Ms. I emphasizes the reflective attribute. Additionally, her visual
learning activities emphasize refection. For example, one activity required that students reflect
on whether or not the United States should have dropped the atomic bomb (field notes, 2015).
This required students to practice moral introspection.
To help students be better communicators, Ms. I arranges the desks in three groups of
four, which encourage[s] student interaction when its appropriate (Ormrod, 2013, p. 425). She
also creates activities that require group collaboration, such as the water filtration experiment.
This experiment challenged students to communicate their ideas about the best possible water
filter design (field notes, 2015).
One way Ms. I teaches inquiry is through the way she introduced the second unit. Instead

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of displaying the central idea and lines of inquiry on a bulletin board, she wanted students to
discover it along the way. To do this, she showed a water video to students that taught them
about natural resources. After the video, Ms. I had students brainstorm different concepts they
heard or saw in the video (field notes, 2015). This encouraged students to a develop natural
curiosity about the unit (IB, 2008, p. 5).
Lastly, Ms. I emphasizes open-mindedness through her verbal messages to students. One
example of this occurred while they were brainstorming traditional German names to use in their
biography section of their summative book projects. One student claimed the names were
weird, so Ms. I responded by explaining that they are not weird; they are just different (field
notes, 2015). She also emphasizes open-mindedness by teaching her students to see events in
history, like the dropping of the atomic bomb, through multiple perspectives (field notes, 2015).
Exhibited by the Child
I believe Kai to be a very caring young boy because he shows empathy, compassion and
respect towards the needs and feelings of others (IB, 2008, p. 5). It is evident through
observations that he genuinely cares about his friends. One example that shows his caring
personality is when one of his classmates fell down, Kai stopped the game to ask if he was okay
(field notes, 2015).
I believe Kai is a good communicator as well. Even though he seems to gravitate towards
working on assignments independently, when asked to communicate to his table partners, he
does so in a mature way. For example, during book club discussions, students were required to
ask each other questions about their book. Even though Kais table partners wanted to goof
around, Kai remained serious and asked his partner, What do you think was the most exciting
part of the story Luke? (field notes, 2015). Additionally, Kais ability to speak Mandarin in

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addition to English demonstrates that he can express ideas...in more than one language (IB,
2008, p. 5). Lastly Kai knows how to work effectively and willingly in collaboration with
others as demonstrated in the water filtration experiment (IB, 2008, p. 5). During the
experiment, I witnessed Kai respectfully contribute his ideas on how to design the filter but also
allowed other group members to contribute their ideas as well (field notes, 2015).
Kai does appear to be quite knowledgeable for an eleven-year-old boy. I believe that he is
knowledgeable because he is above grade level in his reading and math scores and also because
he is fluent in a second language, Mandarin. Additionally, Kai shows his knowledge
development in his writing skills. He is consistently one of the first students in his class to
complete a fully developed writing assignment. For instance, on once occasion Kai organized,
outlined, and typed a five-paragraph essay in one hour and 15 minutes, which was much faster
than that of his peers (field notes, 2015).
Kais ability to be reflective was apparent during a book club discussion. When students
were prompted to reflect on how their book made them feel, Kai responded very reflectively by
saying, It made me think about my friendships (field notes, 2015).
Kais equal interest in sports and academics demonstrates his balanced personality, and
he also exhibits principled behaviors when he makes moral decisions inside and outside the
classroom (field notes, 2015).
The one attribute that I did not see Kai exhibit was risk-taker. To be a risk-taker one must
approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the
independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies (IB, 2008, p. 5). In contrast,
Kais mother confirmed that he has always been a rule follower; so taking risks is not
comfortable for him (see Appendix II). This is a trait Ms. I could address more often in her

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classroom.
Teaching Implications for the Child
Cognitive Abilities
Because Kai is beginning Piagets Formal Operational Stage he is capable of thinking
about concepts that have little or no basis in concrete reality (Ormrod, 2013, p. 31). Therefore,
in order to develop his cognitive abilities, Kai should be exposed to learning experiences that
challenge him to think more abstractly. Ormrod (2013) recommends teachers give students in the
Formal Operational Stage, like Kai, adequate exposure to mathematical word problems and
opportunities to practice the scientific method, which helps them logically think through
scientific hypotheses. Additionally, presenting him with various global political and social
problems should further develop Kais level of cognition because it would allow him to
theoretically contemplate how the world might be different from the way it actually is
(Ormrod, 2013, p. 32).
Linguistic Abilities
Kais linguistic ability appears to be above grade level, therefore, he should be challenged
with tasks that are more suited for grades 6-8. For example, instead of giving fictional writing
prompts, his teachers should focus Kais attention to expository writing. Ormrod (2013) suggests
that these types of writing assignments should be given with adequate teacher scaffolding. In
addition to more complex writing assignments, Kai needs to be exposed to reading materials
that introduce new vocabulary (Ormrod, 2013, p. 46). Kai has demonstrated his ability to retain
and use advanced vocabulary words in his writing assignments, therefore, he should continue to
be asked to read above grade level fiction and nonfiction texts to continue to develop this area.
Lastly, I think Kai can begin [exploring] complex syntactic structures (Ormrod, 2013, p. 47).

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The fictional WWII short story demonstrates Kais capacity to construct many grammatically
correct, simple sentences as well as a few complex sentences. Because he has mastered grade
level writing, he should be challenged to write more sophisticated sentences. To accomplish this,
Kai should be provided with books that contain complex sentences, and teachers must provide
him frequent feedback that gives him guidance on his writing assignments.
Social and Emotional Abilities
Because Kai is in the beginning phase of Identity vs. Role Confusion in Eriksons Eight
Stages of Psychosocial Development, teachers should provide him with plenty of opportunities
to explore various roles [he] might play in adult society (Ormrod, 2013, p. 62). This can be done
by bringing in outside speakers, going on field trips, and exposing him to books that depict
young boys in diverse roles. This instructional strategy will allow Kai to learn types of
occupations he capable of doing and interested in and will, ultimately, provide him with a strong
sense of identity.
Although Kai does appear to be socially and emotionally mature, he tends to interact with
the same small group of boys and also remains silent during conflict. To help Kai further develop
his social and emotional abilities among peers, teachers should encourage him to experience
positive interactions with diverse individuals and groups (Ormrod, 2013). To accomplish this,
Kais instructors could facilitate class activities that require collaboration with classmates who he
normally does not interact with. Also, Kais current teacher should continue to rearrange
students seats once a month, which will provide Kai with more opportunities to engage in
discussion with diverse peers.
To help Kai develop his conflict-resolution skills, his teacher could demonstrate effective
ways to deal with and resolve interpersonal conflict and then set up small groups where

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students role-play different types of conflict (Ormrod, 2013, p. 301). Another way to develop
conflict resolution skills is by giving Kai opportunities to be a peer mediator.
Moral Abilities
Kais moral reasoning ability reflects Kohlbergs Level II Stage III because he typically
makes decisions based on what actions will please others, especially authority figures (Ormrod,
2013, p. 82). Therefore, in order to encourage Kai to achieve a more mature level of morality,
teachers should provide him with instruction that increases his desire to abide by the rules of
society as a whole rather than simply pleasing certain authority figures (Ormrod, 2013, p. 80).
One way to do this is to expose Kai to community service projects or activities that challenge
him to help others. Additionally, Ormrod (2013) advocates having students read
autobiographies and other literature that depict heroic figures who have actively worked to help
people in need (p. 80). These teaching implications would ideally challenge Kai to understand
societys need for people who actively choose to do right in the world to make it a better and
safer place.
Reflection
Completing the Child Study was a new and invaluable experience for me. I took a
handful of child development courses during undergraduate school; however, this assignment,
gave me the rare opportunity to witness how a childs developmental patterns provide teachers
with useful information. Although same-aged children do not always follow the same milestones,
universals in development or similar patterns in how children change over time really do
help teachers better understand and be able to serve their students (Ormrod, 2013, p. 20).
One of the most profound things I learned while completing this study was that the layers
of a childs environment impacts all aspects of his or her development, which is the essential

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argument in Bronfenbrenners Theory

(Ormrod, 2013). In my case, I witnessed how Kais familys authoritative parenting style has
given him confidence and has molded him into a rule-abiding, caring young boy. Also, his
familys socioeconomic status allows Kai to attend afterschool enrichment programs and have
consistent access to technology in the home, which affects his cognitive development.
Additionally, the larger community layer greatly influences Kais physical and social
development because it provides him with a safe neighborhood to run around in as well as access
to sports leagues. Lastly, the WI environment influences all stages of Kais development. Just
walking through the doors at WI, seeing art and student action projects on the walls, and hearing
voices of multicultural students speaking and singing in Chinese, one realizes WI is not an
average school. At WI, Kai is exposed to units of inquiry that encourage him to be empathetic
and globally minded, and he getting formal instruction in both English and Mandarin. In my
mind, there is no question that the healthy and thriving environment Kai has grown up in has
played an integral role in shaping him into the healthy and thriving young boy he is today.
Because the environment does play a major role in a childs development, conducting this
study has shown me how the teacher can give students equal opportunities by differentiating
instruction and management methods in the classroom. However, I have also realized this will be
the most challenging aspect of teaching because of the wide range of abilities. In my fieldwork
classroom, it has been eye opening to observe the wide range of cognitive and social abilities
possessed by a small group of ten and eleven-year-olds, and even more interestingly, the way in
which my mentor teacher was able to manage them. In this particular 5th grade class, there were
exceptionally gifted yet socially immature students, children who struggled academically but
acted like high school-aged students emotionally, and there were also students who were lacking

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in both areas of academic and social ability, and the teacher must be prepared to meet all of their
needs. This observation reaffirms Ormords (2013) assertion that students with exceptional
cognitive abilities arent necessarily advanced in other aspects of their development (p. 150).
One simple way Ms. I responded to this challenge and maintained a productive classroom
environment was by grouping students not always by ability but by emotional maturity. I noticed
from Ms. I that often times, it is better to create a group of students who varied emotionally
because it would encourage the less mature students to become more focused.
In conclusion, completing the Child Study has given me a better understanding of how
students advance through all stages of development. I will use this meaningful knowledge as a
starting point to base my expectations, however, I must always strive to better understand how
their unique environmental and cultural backgrounds play an essential role in their development
throughout the year. Most importantly, I have learned that my role as a teacher will be to know
where each student is at the beginning of the year, challenge them every day to develop at their
own pace, and always reflect on whether or not my teaching methods are giving them the best
opportunity to thrive.

*Pseudonyms were used to protect the childs identity.

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References

D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education. (2015). Washington Yu Ying PCS 20142015 equity report. Website: http://learndc.org/schoolprofiles/view?s=1117#equityreport
IB. (2008). IB learner profile booklet. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.
Ormrod,J.(2013).Educationalpsychology:Developinglearners(8thed.).UpperSaddleRiver,
N.J.:Merrill.
Washington Yu Ying PCS. (2007). Application to establish a public charter school in the District
of Columbia. Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonyuying.org/images/stories/pdfarticles/yy_body_of_charter_applica
tion_-sept_17_no_highlightsn-v2.pdf

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Field Notes 2015

10/27/15
Recess: Kai joins group of boys to play football again. He shows engagement in the game. Does
not take control. He is vocal when he feels like someone was not playing fair. Social. Gets along
with others. Does not raise his voice. From observation, seems like Kai is one of the most
athletic 5th grade boys.
Summative book project work: I walk around the room and help students focus their research for
their book projects. Their focus categories about their country are
people/leaders/battles/facts/children/environment/events.
Students work in groups to share information they found while researching.
Students sit on circle and learn about a students grandfather who will be coming to the class to
speak about peace. He was the South American Ambassador.
Kai looks very proud and smiles a lot while the class learns about his grandfather
Math groups: Number systems
Kai is in the higher math group with Ms. H. Pretends to hit the students faces on the carpet. He
gets excited to tell class that his grandpa will be coming to the class tomorrow. She asks Kai to
pass out papers. Kai tells ms. H where they left off yesterday. Kai understands our ancient Arabic
number system. Likes to say the answer out. Says there might be a world war 3. Says my dads
been to Rome. He is much more vocal with Ms. H. Spaces out while the group reads. Loses
interest.
Kai was very dedicated and very fast with Extra math so he finished everything before his
classmates. -While other student at table tries to distract Kai, he does not engage with them but
asks them nicely to stop and remains focused on his Khan academy (emotionally mature)
10/28/15
5th Grade Chinese and English teachers meet to discuss next unit planning for fractions
Talk about how best to approach converting mixed numbers, recognizing equivalent fractions.
Students have trouble with work problemsdon't read carefully enough. Ms. I asks Chinese
teachers if some of the Chinese math problems can be in English.
During Lunch, I worked with a small group of students, including Kai. I did a concentration
memory game with Kai and he performed quite well on it. We went around the circle (3 other
students) and added on another grocery item to memorize. Kai added abstract things to buy like
a store or a friend he was able to memorize a list of 10 or 11 grocery items without
forgetting the order. We played 3 rounds and on each round the cut off was about 10 or 11 and
then he had to be reminded by his classmates on. This measured his short-term memory.
Piaget Test Concrete Operational stage. To conduct this activity with a Kai, I used two equal
balls of play dough. I then asked him, Do these two balls weigh the same? Kai said no they
dont weigh the same but then I allowed him to manipulate the balls so they did weigh the same
in his mind. Once Kai agreed that the two balls indeed weighed the same, I told him, I am going

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21

to form one of the balls into a hot dog. Next, placed the two shapes of play dough (one in the
original ball shape and the other in the shape of an ice cream cone) in front of the child and
asked, Does the hotdog weigh more than the ball, or does the hot dog and the ball weigh the
same? Kai said that the hot dog and the other ball of play dough had the same weights because
nothing was added or taken away from both shapes. This shows that he is on the higher end of
the concrete operational stage because he understands conservation in that the weight of an
object does not change if the shape changes. He is actually getting into the formal operational
stage because he can understand abstract ideas. I performed the Piaget test to test for formal
operational mastery and asked if I had a 3rd eyewhere should I place it. Kai automatically said
to place in on the back of my head to be able to see behind me. I also interviewed Kai about
his likes/dislikes/fun activities.
Students continue working on books. One child says- these German names are weird. Ms. I
interrupts the child to correct him that these names are not weird, but they are just different. So
we do not say weird, but we say different.
In Chinese, Kai switches back and forth between English and Chinese.
11/3/15:
Students work on their summative books.
Kai plays football again at lunch. He is very social. Gets along well with other classmates at
recess. Students continue working on summative books after lunch
I give Kai a learning survey. He tells me hes finished but has one question about one. He is the
first to finish his required book work. Since he finishes first, Ms. I allows him to get head and
start on another part of the project. He chooses a white piece of paper.
Students start working on fractions with Ms. I. And Kai works alone on Kahn Academy. In this
section, Kai has mastered finding equivalent fractions, converting mixed numbers. He said that
those were easy to master. Now, he is subtracting fractions from whole numbers. (1-3/5). He can
find common denominators easily.
PE Chinese exchange day
Students do stretches by counting to 10 in Chinese. Kai does not do some stretches but just
counts instead. Instructor integrates different subjects into the PE lesson.
PE instructor tells group what to do at each station and asks students to demonstrate the different
variations at each station (gives them a choice)
Kai volunteers to demonstrate a PE center
Kai during centers
Does the agility ladder well (more intricate motor development) Even though he can do it well,
he would rather play around and do it sloppily instead
At the ab station Kai does the exercises half way.
Rambunctious with other boys before starting the lesson.
Kai is not always the best communicator. During a scuffle with the jump rope, Kai remained
quiet rather than talking it out to fix the issue with his classmate. He is not one to engage in
conflict but would rather avoid it. However, this does not develop his conflict resolution skills or
communication skills.

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22

Chinese and yy students do an icebreaker game by interviewing each other

Now students share their Conflict UOI with their exchange friends
Ms. I clears up misunderstanding about summative book project. She is reflective and tells them
it is her fault for the confusion about what is going in the books. No typing
Students work on their summative book projects as I walk around the room and help when
needed. At recess, Kais usual group of football players are playing basketball with the Chinese
exchange students. But he rallies 2 other students to play football with him as the permanent
quarterback. He keeps trying to asks more boys to play with him. His usual friends are African
American, white, and Hispanic.
Kai shows caringasks if friend is okay after falling down in football. Stops game to ask
11/10/15
Students begin their new UOI (sharing the planet) They watch a short video that explains the
transdisciplinary theme. Watch it a second time and students call out any concepts they see in the
video. Ms I asks- what makes these key concepts a concept?
Ms. I writes the concepts on the board.
Watch a brain pop video on natural resources. Students add concepts to concept board. As a
group students pick out the most important concepts. Ms. I is trying to get students to figure out
the central idea for this UOI without telling them. This shows development of inquiry
Students start on math.
Ms. I demonstrates 2 different strategies to add and subtract mixed numbers. States that the
second strategy requires students to be thinkers to be able to split the whole number apart.
Then students would independently on math problems
11/18/15
Class does PE and plays a wolves and bunnies game. While getting directions on the game,
Kai listens attentively. Instructor explains this is a cooperative game that requires good team
communication.
After the 1st round, many of the students start arguing over who was tagged. Kai remains silent
and seems sad and frustrated that the whole class has to waste time by arguing. The instructor
waits until students stop being disrespectful to each other.
Kai becomes a wolf and starts the next round by leading a team hudle. During the game he
works effectively with his teammates to tag the bunnies. He demonstrates positive
communicative skills. He uses is voice clearly and respectfully to ask teammates to pass the ball
to him. He says- Here! Elise! Pass! He has a positive and fun attitude while playing the game
and does not engage in arguments or conflict.
11/19/15
Students work on collecting water facts from different websites.
They make posters to display their facts.
Kais mom comes in the room and smiles at Kai and gives him a nurturing tap on the head.
Kai plays cards at recess. During book club Kai shares the similarities and differences between
himself and the main character in this book. He shares and communicates nicely, but when
another student shares hers, Kai interrupts her and becomes a bit disruptive.

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11/24/15
I teach the Dust bowl lesson. Went well with a few minor hiccups.
Need to better balance teacher talk and student talk. I had a little too much teacher talk and
should have let them talk more during the presentation.
Post card activity went wellIm glad I had the worksheets for the ones who finished first, but I
should have had them go on the rug and share their post cards with each other.
The soil erosion experiment went great. Students were engaged and were able to connect the
experiment back to the dust bowl. Should have tied it all back into the larger unit (water)
Students come up with 5 qualities that their characters use to overcome adversity. They are
practicing communication and collaboration. They write these in an idea web (graphic organizer)
I go around and help book clubs with their graphic organizers. Students write 1 paragraph that
answers the prompt- How did the main character overcome adversity. Students type their essay
on their chrome books.
Has a student go up to the board and does a faction multiplication problem
She emphasizes that she likes his ability to think through the problem.
Ms. I models the new strategy SOLVE Study the problem, organize the facts, line up the
problem, verify the plan, examine answer
Students do independent work after she models a
12/1/15
Students watch a video on water filtration/treatment
After they work on a worksheet about osmosis
Kai answers question- Why is osmosis needed? He says to help in a drought to help communities
that are coastal. Ms. I writes answers on the board as students copy them on the worksheet. She
allows students to ask many questions during this time.
Ms I explains that we will show empathy for those who do not have access to clean water
therefore have to drink dirty water. The water filtration experiment shows this
Explains instructions for the filtration. Explains that each group will design one filter. Fosters
collaboration
Kai worked very well in his group of three. He communicated his ideas for the water filter design
very articulately and respectfully. He let other groups members contribute as well. He let one
other student take the leadership role, but he definitely contributed good ideas to the group
Students meet and discuss their book club books.
Ms I models a t chart with resilience/resourcefulness. Students use chrome books to find the
definition of these two words. Shows them how to use an online thesaurus and dictionary.
Students find examples of these 2 character traits from their books and write them down in bullet
points.
Kai has the option of working with partners on this book club activity but decides to work
independently.
Students collect facts about water. Ms. I gets out a calculator and shows how many children die
from a shortage of water just while they are in school. She explains that even though it is
shockingit is important to know the facts so they can take action and do something to make a
positive change. She says that is why they are doing a student action project. This demonstrates
her ability to encourage her student to be thinkers.

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General Kai notes

He placed his opinion on the yes side of the continuum that asked whether or not the US
should have dropped the atomic bomb during WW2 (shows moral/emotional development).
Kai is in group 2 Kahn academy- While working on a word problem. He solved double digit
addition in his head. When given a word problem, he was the quickest in his group to do
CUBES. Multi step problems. KWL chart for word problems. Ms. I models on her board as
students write on their boards.
He can solve long division, multiplication with no problem.
Please students to take time and be considerate to write down KWL to solve a math problem.
Does #1 independently. Kai was not the fastest to solve the word problem but he worked through
it correctly
Environment notes
Day 1-Elements of the IB Learners Profile are evident in the classroom. There are multiple
posters that display the ten attributes with explanations and pictures to go along with each one.
There are also elements of inquiry around the classroom, such as questions where students can
answer, What role would you play during a time of way? What action would you take? Students
answer these questions by writing their answer on a post-it note and sticking in on the posters.
Desks are arranged in clusters to facilitate collaborative/communication skills. The Unit Who
we Are is displayed on the all with the correlating central idea.
IB Learner Prof. Notes recorded throughout the semester
Inquirer
Writes questions on the board about central idea,
Has students write down questions for mr. Perkins
Instead of telling student the central idea for water unit, Ms. I gets them to figure it out by
brainstorming different concepts after watching video.
Communicator
Developing Chinese
Respectful during book group discussion. Asks other group members their opinions. What do
you think was the most exciting part of the story Lucas?
Likes to work with others Khan Academy
Has students do a lot of collaborative work (circle of viewpoints share ideas, starting water
inquiry by having students work in partners to read a text and take Cornell notes together, they
are encouraged to put their minds together to do the activity).
Knowledgeable
typically finishes his work quickly
map skills
fast typer
Reflective
Taking action cycle- reflect, choose, act.
Atomic bomb activity discussion

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Book club: when answering what the book means to him, he answered that it made him think
about his friendships and what makes a good friend.
Open-Minded
Ms. I says not to say that German names are weird but to maybe say that they are different
than names they hear all the time.
Balanced
Snack time, Ms. I sees the importance of recess needs to get out the wiggles play is important
she says
Plays sports, reads, friends
Plays the recorderlikes to sing
Principled
Kais mom says he has always been a rule follower, likes to do the right thing
Risk-Taker
Khan Academy. Ms. I encourages her students to try new math problems even if they havent
learned it yet but to just try it out and they wont be penalized.
Kai is not really a risk-taker. His mom explains that he likes being in control and likes to follow
rules at all costs.
Caring
Ms. I often asks her students if they are being caring. When she was sick.
Kai helps tablemate while working on Khan academy.
Thinker
Think before you speak sign
F answers a question in a sarcastic wayMs. I asks him to be a thinker

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Appendix II
Parent Interview
1. What is your family background? Siblings? Work?
Dad is African American, Mom is half Taiwanese half African American. Grandfather
was first African American ambassador in South Africa during apartheid. Mom works
part time as a Grants and Development Coordinator at *WI and dad works full time at a
finance corporation. She chooses to work part-time to be able to stay at home for often
for her two children. Live in DC. Has one older sister who is 12 years old and she attends
the WIs sister school, which is where Kai will go.
2. When did he start at WI?
When he was in Pre-K (5 years old)
3. How is he doing in school? Very well
a. Challenges
He is shy so he does not always speak up for himself. He is (and has always been
a rule follower). Even when he was just starting school in Pre-K, if another kid
was bothering him he would just stare straight ahead at the teacher because he
didnt want to get into trouble. He does not like chaos and does not cope well in
situations where there is a lot of disorganization and chaos, which can be during
after school time.
b. Strengths?
Does well in academics and is getting better at thinking outside the box. He is
very affectionate/in touch with his emotional side. He is even more emotional
than his older sister. He likes giving her hugs but she does not respond to that
well.
4. Does he like being in school?
He loves school and loves to learn. Very curious about the world. The only part he does
not like is afterschool program because it can be a little chaotic and unorganized.
5. What does he like to do outside of school?
He loves playing all kids of sports (soccer, basketball, football). He also enjoys video
games and reading as some of his hobbies. He even reads the sports section of the
newspaper and knows a lot about hockey even though his parents have never taken him
to a hockey game. Now all he wants to do is go to a game. He also plays on a soccer team
with some of his school friends. His dad coaches this team.
6. Who are his friends? How does he interact with his friends? What kinds of activities
does he do with them?

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Kai used to be really shy but is getting to be more social the older he gets. For example,
when he first started school he would often say that he does not have any friends. He was
not sad about it. It was more a matter of fact for him. As he gets older, he is breaking out
of his shell a bit more. Most of his friends at school are boys from his class. In his close
circle of friends there is 2 African American boys and 1 white boy. These friends recently
came over to his house for his birthday party and they played in the back yard and had a
soccer scrimmage.
7. What does after school programs at WI currently consist of?
There is before school care and after school care. Each consists of both academic and
extracurricular activities that are run by instructors and teachers. Students can choose to
participate in a variety of activities during this time (chess club, wood shop, robot class, lego
class) This is also a time for students to get supplemental academic instruction (Mandarin
language development, Chinese homework lab) Often time teachers basically stay later
and use this time as an intervention for struggling students.
8. How much does it cost per student to attend an afterschool program?
There is a sliding scale for costsBefore care: Standard care price is $152 per month, and reduced care (for those who qualify
for free/reduced lunch) is $91 per month.
After care: Standard care price is $450 per month, and reduced care is $270 per month. So
even though YY does offer a reduced priceit is still too much for some families to pay.

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Appendix III
Writing Samples

Appendix IV
General Learning Survey

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Appendix V

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IB Elements in Environment

Appendix XI
Kais
2015
Progress
Report

Student Progress Report

Norms Reference Data:
Growth Comparison Period:

Nuri, Kadin

Student ID: 7432621906

CHILD STUDY
District:
School:

Washington Yu Ying PCS

Washington Yu Ying PCS

Term Rostered:

Fall 2015-2016

2015
Fall to Spring

31

Mathematics
Term/
Year Grade

FA15
SP15

Mathematics Goals Performance - Fall 2015-2016

Operations and Algebraic Thinking
High
Measurement and Data
HiAvg

Number and Operations

Geometry

5
4

RIT
RIT
Growth Percentile
(+/- Std Err) Growth Projection
Range
224-227-230
80-86-90
227-230-233
82-87-90

High
High

Reading
Term/
Year Grade

FA15
SP15

Reading Goals Performance - Fall 2015-2016

Literature
High
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
High
Lexile Range
951-1101L

Informational Text

High

5
4

RIT
RIT
Growth Percentile
(+/- Std Err) Growth Projection
Range
222-225-228
85-90-93
220-223-226
82-87-91