first percentile on the comprehension measure when
compared with other students his age on whom this test
was normed. Don’s performance on the pre-assessment of
conceptual understanding placed him in the bottom third of
the class; however, his performance on the post-assessment
(completed 6 weeks following the pre-assessment) placed
him at the mean for his class. In other words, Don
achieved a level of conceptual understanding that was
consistent with that attained by the average achieving peers
in his class.
The following case description examines how Don
engaged in the program of study on floating and sinking
(described previously), including the challenges he confronted,
the kinds of assistance that were provided to him,
and his response to that assistance. To begin, an observation
is provided that occurred before the teacher started the
GIsML instruction.