PLE # 8- Interpreting Case Study

Educational Interpreting Case Study

This is your first week as an educational interpreter at Brown Elementary School. One of your students, Luke, has completely shut down and is not engaged in learning. During instruction, he refuses to look at you for communication. He has not completed any assignments that would help him demonstrate an understanding of material and has, on several occasions, put his head down on his desk and gone to sleep. On the second day of school, you tried to talk to Luke between classes to find out if there was a problem and he walked away from you. Yesterday, when you attempted to facilitate communication with his math teacher, Luke crossed his arms and turned his back toward you. His math teacher got angry and requested that you contact his parents, who are both hearing, and set up a meeting to discuss Luke’s behavior.

From a behaviorist point of view, I would ignore Luke's negative behavior, but when he was staying on task and engaging appropriately with the class and teacher, I would reward him for that desired behavior. I would try to work with the teacher to find a good reinforcer for Luke. For instance, if Luke really liked gummy bears, I would try to make sure to give him a gummy bear when he would pay attention in class. I think this might initially motivate Luke to pay attention to the interpreter/teacher during class. Also, since Luke might like socializing with his friends, maybe give the class some social time if they are all on task. This would be rewarding for all the students, and Luke would be part of the whole class, and give him a sense of responsibility.   

From a social cognitive theorist, I think the student would learn more from viewing the other students being good and paying attention. I think a social cognitive theorist would say that by observing the classmates keeping on track in class, Luke would want to act appropriately as well. I think for this to work, changes would have to be made in the classroom as well as at home. We would need to maybe change the seating arrangement, where Luke would be less distracted and would want to pay more attention. 

http://www.education.com/reference/article/social-cognitive-theory/