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theme LEARNING DESIGNS
By Shari Farris
As principal of Roosevelt ElementarySchool in Spokane, Wash., I
startedmy uesday morning like many oth-ers on the playground,
where, asalways, I greeted parents and students
waiting for the morning bell to ring. Tat day, I was somewhat
preoccu-
pied by the task ahead of me. o gain deeper insight andsolve
problems related to the increase of discipline referralsfor some of
the immigrant students at Roosevelt, combined
with stagnant or declining state and classroom assessmentscores
for English language learners, I had planned to
spend most of my day shadowing Yasir.Yasir and his family moved
to the U.S. from Afghani-stan. Like many of the 43 immigrant
students at Roosevelt,he and his family arrived in this country
with few per-sonal belongings but rich with anticipation of a
better life.I had many opportunities to interact with Yasirs
father.In addition to the phone calls and office visits to
discuss
Yasirs behavior, his father volunteers three hours a weekin the
front office at Roosevelt, making copies, preparingmaterials for
teachers, and cutting art materials. Te same
IN YASIRS SHOESA PRINCIPAL GAINS INSIGHT BY SHADOWING AN ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LEARNER STUDENT
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theme LEARNING DESIGNS
and coloring on his papers. Te teacher asked all students tojoin
her at the carpet for a read-a-loud before lunch. Yasir saton the
outer edge and spent most of the time trying to attractthe
attention of other students. I observed that Yasir was notengaged
with the story and was redirected twice by his teacher.
At lunch, I sat at the same table with Yasir, who talked
andlaughed with peers, then headed outside for recess. He spentall
of his time in the four-square game and on several occasionsbecame
agitated when he was out and had to go to the end ofthe line and
wait his turn again. It appeared that he did notunderstand the
rules of the game. I could clearly see the lookof frustration and
anger on his face, and I felt frustrated, too.How was Yasir
supposed to enjoy recess like other students ifhe spends the entire
time frustrated and angry? From my yearsas a 3rd-grade teacher, I
remembered that the rules for foursquare are often made up by the
students and can change fromday to day.
My shadowing experience concluded at the end of recess.I
returned to my office and filled in my notes to keep track ofwhat I
wanted to remember.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
I had several insights from shadowing Yasir, which I in-tended
to further investigate for accuracy and to help developthe schools
professional development focus. I wanted to un-derstand the
implications of my experience on my leadershippractice, overall
delivery of services for students, and the mo-tivational conditions
for learning for Yasir and other studentsreceiving language
services.
First, it seemed clear to me that there was not enough being
done to engage and motivate Yasir. I probed this
assumptionthrough reflection and discussion with other principals
andteacher leaders. Allowing Yasir to disengage and receive
perim-eter instruction in his general education classroom seemed
toexacerbate the problems he was having in school. I thoughtthat
Yasirs lack of achievement and engagement might not berelated to
his ability to learn, rather to inadequate opportunitiesto use his
strengths, skills, and experiences, and to show successin unique
ways.
A second point of concern as I reflected on conversationswith
Yasirs father was that in Afghanistan, Yasir was a goodstudent.
Although his lack of understanding English is clearly
an obstacle, this may be exacerbated by limited positive
oppor-tunities for interaction with his peers and the teacher.
Whenthe gym teacher was asking students about their breakfast
aspart of the lesson on nutrition, Yasir was not asked, and he
wasallowed to disengage. Recalling information from a class
oninstructional renewal, I recalled that people who feel
unsafe,unconnected, and disrespected are unlikely to be motivated
tolearn (Ginsberg & Wlodkowski, 2009, p. 2).
Tinking about Yasirs experiences on the playground, Iwondered if
he may need structured and supported play, some-
MAKE SHADOWING A PURPOSEFUL AND
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE FOR LEADERS
Often, principals and other school leaders would
like to use shadowing as a strategy for solvingproblems of
student learning but are unsure how
to fit this practice into schedules that are already filled
with observations, walk-throughs, and other classroom
visit protocols. The key to successful and purposeful
shadowing experiences begins first with establishing a clear
purpose for the experience. What do you hope to learn by
shadowing? How will you use what you have learned? The
following tips may be useful:
Research how others have used shadowing. Read
articles about establishing the foundational trust with
families that is necessary to implement shadowing
experiences while remaining sensitive to any cultural
implications (Baeder, 2010).
Share your purpose, goals, and intentions with the
teaching and support staff in your school. It is essential
that they know that you are entering their classrooms
for shadowing experiences as a learner, not an evaluator.
Think about your evidence-gathering tool(s). Will
you carry paper for note taking? Will you record your
experience? How will you capture the verbal and
nonverbal exchanges without intruding on the learning
environment?
Communicate with staff that this should be
uninterrupted time. Principals are often called out of
observations and meetings for various reasons. Be clear
and enlist others in the logistics of the experience. The
shadowing experience is best done in the normal flow
of a students day rather than broken up into chunks
over several days.
Partner with families to set up your experience. Seek
permission from families, and clearly define your
purpose and goals for the experience. Finally, close
the loop with families regarding your visit. Debrief by
offering all of the strengths you see with their daughter
or son in the classroom setting, and allow them to ask
questions (Ginsberg, in press).
Share your experience with colleagues. It was not until
I heard about the benefits of shadowing from another
leader that I even considered the experience.
Open this experience to teachers or support staff.
Although the logistics may look different, the same
outcomes (a deeper understanding of motivation and
engagement) will result.
