Harriet
Harriet is a Caucasian girl who seems to be positive in attitude, self-aware, and willing to be critical. She rates herself as about average in terms of focus (6/10), interest (5/10), and responsibility (5/10) regarding her school work. Her grades for the first two quarters were a 76 and a 58. On her written survey she listed organization as her biggest struggle, but in this interview she discussed procrastination as more of an issue. She implied that one of the reasons for her procrastination is that playing Xbox is more fun than doing schoolwork. Together we put together a general plan to help her improve on both the issues of procrastination and organization. On her end of things, she will set aside every night the hour after dinner as time devoted exclusively to schoolwork. She will also experiment with creating a rewards system for herself relating to this. On my end of things, I will break larger projects down into a series of daily goals to make daunting tasks more manageable and less easily procrastinated.
When asked to give me critical feedback on my teaching, Harriet discussed that I sometimes jumped from topic to topic without making a good transition, which made discussion confusing and difficult to follow. She said I did this more when I first took over teaching but that I have been improving lately. When pushed, she cited specific lessons during the Scarlet Letter unit that were particularly problematic in this way as well as specific lessons recently that were much better. Based on the feedback we received from each other, it seemed that this interview was mutually beneficial. Harriet expressed that the suggestions I made for her were things she had not thought of before and that she was eager to attempt. I found Harriet's criticisms to be genuine and accurate; I also found her praise to be genuine and affirming.
When asked to give me critical feedback on my teaching, Harriet discussed that I sometimes jumped from topic to topic without making a good transition, which made discussion confusing and difficult to follow. She said I did this more when I first took over teaching but that I have been improving lately. When pushed, she cited specific lessons during the Scarlet Letter unit that were particularly problematic in this way as well as specific lessons recently that were much better. Based on the feedback we received from each other, it seemed that this interview was mutually beneficial. Harriet expressed that the suggestions I made for her were things she had not thought of before and that she was eager to attempt. I found Harriet's criticisms to be genuine and accurate; I also found her praise to be genuine and affirming.
Harriet Initial Interview | |
File Size: | 3025 kb |
File Type: | wma |
Over the course of this project, interactions with Harriet were regular and varied. I checked in with her regularly, but she also approached me with questions and concerns. Sometimes we chatted briefly in the hallways, and she made a conscious effort to participate more in class as the year went on. She turned in a third quarter essay, which was a vast improvement over her non-existent second quarter essay. When working on large projects such as the aforementioned essay, a group research presentation, and her literature circle work, Harriet made efforts to communicate any life events that would effect her work such as upcoming absences or group member absences.
Harriet Final Interview | |
File Size: | 1594 kb |
File Type: | wma |
In her final interview, Harriet's self-ratings have all gone up with her level of focus at an 8, her interest in English at a 7, and her responsibility outside of class at an 8. Her grade for the third quarter also rose to a 90. She reported that she had stuck to her improvement plan of setting aside a specific hour for homework each night after dinner. "It worked really well," she said, and she is continuing the practice still. This system has improved her performance in all of her classes.
Her feedback on the literature circle unit was lukewarm. She hesitated slightly like she didn't want to be negative, but then she reported that she was the only one in her group that read, and as a result "it was kind of hard to keep a discussion going. That's why we were done so early, and-- I don't know-- I kind of just feel like it didn't work." She did, however, find it useful to have a very specific assigned role/task to accomplish while reading. This made the process more enjoyable for her.
I acknowledged that Harriet has been participating in class more, and she said that she has been making a conscious effort to do so. She and her mother discussed it and decided that she needed to make more of an effort to participate in class in order to improve her grades. This was out of her comfort zone because she doesn't "like answering a question and being wrong and then looking stupid to the rest of the class." I praised her for making this effort.
Harriet plans on going to Temple University after high school and has planned on doing so for some time. Overall she is a bright and friendly student who simply feels more comfortable being quiet in class.
Her feedback on the literature circle unit was lukewarm. She hesitated slightly like she didn't want to be negative, but then she reported that she was the only one in her group that read, and as a result "it was kind of hard to keep a discussion going. That's why we were done so early, and-- I don't know-- I kind of just feel like it didn't work." She did, however, find it useful to have a very specific assigned role/task to accomplish while reading. This made the process more enjoyable for her.
I acknowledged that Harriet has been participating in class more, and she said that she has been making a conscious effort to do so. She and her mother discussed it and decided that she needed to make more of an effort to participate in class in order to improve her grades. This was out of her comfort zone because she doesn't "like answering a question and being wrong and then looking stupid to the rest of the class." I praised her for making this effort.
Harriet plans on going to Temple University after high school and has planned on doing so for some time. Overall she is a bright and friendly student who simply feels more comfortable being quiet in class.