Reflective Fieldnote Blog Entry #4

        My overall impressions of my observations of the Japanese student were extremely insightful as to what his needs are.  Aside from the obvious need for him to gain more proficiency in English, he also has emotional needs that must to be met.  The results of the field work showed me that I needed to understand the concept of wait time, one I honestly hadn’t given much thought to in the past.  I was quite impressed with what the student was able to produce after being given adequate time to construct responses in English.  Another thing that I learned was how important it is for students to have extra support and attention at times, so they do not fall into isolation.  This is especially important if there are no other students or only one or two other students in the school that speak the same language.  Case studies can improve classroom practices greatly by presenting questions from which to draw research from.  These studies are formal assessments that improve educational practices on the whole and are necessary for teachers to know how to better serve their students.  The ethnographic narrative served to me to be a valuable tool to help build a relationship with the student.   He seemed to thoroughly enjoy being asked questions and was happy to receive the attention.  I feel that this information has already been helpful in assisting other teachers because I had a chance to collaborate with a few of his other teachers and share results with them.  They in turn, came back and shared experiences that they had with the student as well.  Together we have come up with a few ideas for strategies that will make lesson content easier for the student to grasp. Inclusion has also helped me understand how ESL students function in the mainstream classrooms.  By the time next year comes around, I should be able to tell his teachers exactly what his strengths and weaknesses are and the best practices with which to assist him.