Tutoring and Assessment Case Study for Education 331

Candidate: Jonathan Scott Stalnaker

Subject: Math

331 Instructor: Dr. B. Wilson

Date: April 20, 2014
# of students: 1
Assessing: Mathematics
Grade Level(s): 7
School: Hurricane Middle School
Coop Teacher: Mrs. Shawn Rigney
Date of Pretest: March 13, 2014
Pre-test score: 0%
Date of Posttest: March 28, 2014
Average post-test score: 81%

Decision about Whom, What and How to tutor/teach and How to assess:
Mrs. Rigney and I decided that it would be best to choose the tutoring aspect
of this observation. Mrs. Rigneys class is a resource room which teaches 7
th
grade
mathematics. When decided on a student with initials C.R. He is a remarkable
young man with a cognitive disability. Mrs. Rigney and I thought that finding
values of X (degrees of an angle) within a triangle lesson would be best to
administer a pre- and post-test to C.R. I administered the pre-test/diagnostic test to
C.R. on March 13, 2014. Since C.R. has not seen this material before, I assumed
he would not score well. I was correct in my assumption. He scored a 0%. After I
administered the post-test, I used data-based decision making to see that all the
material needed to be addressed.
Tutoring Lesson/Unit and Assessment Description:
I assessed C.R. with 7th grade mathematics pre-test. The pre-test is the
same as the post-test and it is attached to this report. I administered the pre-test on
March 13. I then administered the post-test 2 weeks later, after tutoring C.R for a
couple of hours. The test was dealing with finding values of X (degrees of an
angle) within a triangle. C.R. had no prior knowledge of the material being
discussed; therefore, scored a 0% on the pre-test. This meant that we were dealing
with a blank slate. I taught/tutored C.R. the material and only administered the
post-test when I thought he had mastered the material. I administered the post-test
to C.R. on March 28, 2014. He scored 18 out of 22 on the post-test which is an
81%. I believe this a significant increase and demonstrated his knowledge of the
material. C.R. could have scored higher, but he made minor calculation errors.
Link to Standards:
The Seventh Grade Mathematics CSOs are:
M.O.7.1.3 using simple computation and problem-solving situations,
demonstrate fluency and justify solutions in performing
operations with rational numbers including negative numbers
for
adding
subtracting
multiplying
dividing

M.O.7.2.1 use inductive reasoning to find missing elements in a variety of
arithmetic and geometric patterns including algebraic sequences
and series.
The content that I assessed and tutored was finding values of X (degrees of
an angle) within a triangle. You are given two angle measurements and must find
the missing angle measurement. You use both addition and subtraction to
determine the missing measurement. I think this is important because this is the
foundation of future math classes C.R. will encounter throughout his high school
career.
Results of Assessments:
The results of the assessments are listed in the table below.
Student Pre-test Score Post-Test Score
C.R 0% 81%

The scores when graphed look like this:

As the table and the graph show, I only dealt with one student. He scored
0% on the pre-test and 81% on the post-test. This was a significant increase from
the pre-test to the post-test. I contribute this increase in percentage due to the fact
that this material was foreign to C.R. He was like a sponge, ready to soak up all
the new material he could handle. He showed remarkable skills when it came to
finding values of X (degrees of an angle) within a triangle.
Disaggregated Data:
It is impossible to disaggregate the data due to fact that I was dealing with
only one student. I could not disaggregate the data because no subgroups could be
formed. Disaggregated data simply means looking at test scores by specific
subgroups of students.
Reflection and Data-based Decision Making:
Based on the pre-test score it is obvious that C.R. had no prior knowledge of
the material being administered. Therefore, I had to make sure that no stone was
left unturned when displaying the material. I used C.R.s score to the pre-test to
determine that he needed extensive tutoring/teaching to help him reach the mastery
level. He became frustrated when trying the pre-test because of his lack of
knowledge of the material. I reassured C.R. that this result was considered and
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
C.R
Pre-test Score
Post-test Score
expected to happen. I told him that as students increase in levels of mathematics,
there prior knowledge becomes less and less. He took comfort in my words and
battled through his frustration. As expected, he scored 0 out of 22 on the pre-test.
I extensively went through the material and displayed the problems that he
missed on the pre-test. I showed multiple examples of problems encountered when
finding the value of missing angles. His enthusiasm for wanting and trying to learn
more is mind blowing. This attribute is what sets he apart from the other students
in the class. After adequate time tutoring C.R., I administered the post-test. I felt
that he had all the tools necessary to reach the mastery level of the material. My
reasoning was correct. On March 28, I administered the post-test. C.R. scored 18
out of 22 which is 81%. His success on the post-test made me very proud to be a
part of his learning experience.
Thought out this observation experience, I have learned a great deal. I
learned that patience is a most when dealing with students who have cognitive
disabilities. I came to realize that C.R. was teaching me as much as I was teaching
him. I learned that his struggles in math did not waiver his determination. I learn
that it takes a special kind of educator to interact day in and day out with students
who have cognitive disabilities.










Pre-Test/Post-Test