Joe, A Case Study
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My case study is on Joe. He is a 6 year old boy who loves video games and has

a strong imagination. He tries to make friends with his classmates, but tends to lack certain social clues and often invades their “bubble” space. He tries to kiss and hug his classmates regardless if they are a boy or a girl. He comes into class every morning with a smile on his face and in a happy mood. He is sensitive to how his peers treat him and will cry, very loud and dramatically, if he feels they are being mean to him. Most of his peers at this age can sit still on the carpet for about 15-20 minutes without getting too antsy. Joe cannot. He is constantly rolling on the floor, playing with something on the carpet or bothering another student. He lacks focus and because of this often does not know or understand what is expected of him. He plays with anything that he can find or make at his desk and is often drawing characters from his video games instead of doing his work. He is often out of his seat trying to talk to his classmates.

I have chosen Rodgers Model of Behavior Management Cycle to use with my student, “Joe”. This model was developed by Carl Rodgers in 1979. He created it to help adults working with children to accept and manage their own behavior. With this model the goal is not to stop the behaviors before they happen, but to help the student manage the behaviors when they happen. From the way his model is written and the phases that go along with I feel that this may be meant to be used with children that may have more intense behaviors than students in a classroom setting. However, I feel that the basic idea of this model can be adapted to a classroom setting.

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In the center of Rodgerʼs model is the goal for the child. Rogers feels that it is

important for children to obtain these goals in order to grow into healthy, functioning adults. !

*Gain behavior ownership

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*Self-Discipline

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*Respect for mutual rights

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*Self-esteem

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*Relationship building.

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There are 4 phases in this model that all contribute to children reaching these

goals. Phase 1 has two components, Organizational and Relational. These components are about supporting the “business” aspect of your classroom. Making sure procedures, policies, and expectations are set up clearly. For example, your students understand what to do when they are finished with an assignment, where does it go, what they can work on next. What to do if they need supplies. Students also understand what is expected of them and what the consequences are when they are not following the classroom rules, and procedures. There canʼt be any confusion or grey areas.
The second part of this phase is Relational. This is an important component because it applies to your classroom atmosphere. How you are building relationships with your students and how your students are building relationships with each other. It is about creating an environment where your students feel safe to make mistakes. Sterling
(2009) states that it is, “key to successful teaching and learning.”(p.30).

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For the phase of Organization and Relational and helping Joe there are some

things that I can do specifically for him. For organizational, I can post a small schedule with goals for each activity for him on his desk so that he can see what is expected from him for the day. Itʼs also important to go over the directions again for the assignment just for him at his desk. This gives him an opportunity to just focus on me and what I am saying without distractions from the other students. He should be able to tell it all back to me in his own words so that I know he fully understands what he is to do.In regards to Relational, in my classroom we have morning meeting every day. This is something that we donʼt skip. It helps build positive relationships with me and my students, but also allows my students to build