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Running head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE

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Development & Individual Differences: An Integrative Approach


Cody V. Elliott
Dr. Tracy J. Meyerhoeffer
EDUC 205 Development/Individual Differences
Online, Spring 2015

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Development & Individual Differences: An Integrative Approach


One of the reasons why people are often mentioned as individuals is due to the unique
and distinguishing characteristics that are among each individual. Despite the massive research
performed in educational psychology that allows researchers to generalize certain cognitive,
social, and emotional characteristics, a professional should refrain from generalizing and labeling
individual students. Most students may fall into certain categories, but every student has a unique
way of facilitating a behavioral category. By studying Bryan, one can discover the importance
of seeing every student as an individual with unique personalities and different ways of thinking
to solve problems.
Section 1: General Information
Bryan is eight years and seven months old, and he is in the third grade. He is a male and
is of white ethnicity. He has two older stepbrothers aged twenty-one and sixteen. He shares the
same father with them. He also has a younger brother and a younger sister in which both
originated from a different father. His younger brother is four years old and in pre-school. His
younger sister is six years old and in the first grade. Bryan lives with his mother and his mothers
boyfriend. It is unknown if this boyfriend is the father of Bryans two younger siblings. Bryan
sees his biological father every weekend. Especially in the United States, there is a positive
correlation between children having single parents and children having lower math and science
achievement in the third and fourth grade level (Pong, Dronkers & Thompson 2003). It is
important to be aware of this generalization but to not strictly apply it to any individual with
single parents as this can create hindering bias and labeling. As will be discovered later, this
correlation did not apply to Bryan. His daily schedule mainly consists of time spent in school:
Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 3:12 PM. His mother picks him up after school, and he

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spends most of his time at home with his siblings. If his mother has to work an evening, a
babysitter will watch over him and his siblings. During weekends he spends a large amount of
time playing basketball with his older stepbrothers at his fathers house.
Section 2: Physical Development
Development is defined as the sequenced and orderly adaptations occurring throughout
life that allow an individual to grow and learn (Hinson, Parsons, & Sardo-Brown 2001). In terms
of physical adaptations, Bryan appears to be doing well. He has dark green eyes, brown hair, and
a tan skin color. He has a significant birthmark on his upper right zygomatic cheek bone region.
Although Bryan appears to be a little shorter than the average peer, his physical maturation is up
to date. In addition, he shows competent general health. His vision and hearing are normal, and
he has no chronic health problems. He is right handed, and his handwriting appears decent
relative to his peers. Furthermore, he can speak, cut paper, color, and use feeding utensils
properly, demonstrating normal small muscle development. Bryan is not overweight, and his
physical fitness is good.
Bryans nutrition is based off of what is served at school during breakfast and lunch.
When at home, Bryan can eat whatever he wants, which is usually cereal if his mother has not
cooked anything. He demonstrates healthy large muscle development by participating in all PE
activities. He can jump rope, run, kick, and play basketball exceptionally.
Section 3: Cognitive Development
Bryan is unique precisely in that he demonstrates ADHD and behavioral issues but
performs well in his academics. He usually gets As and Bs, but occasionally he will get a C. The
teacher is astonished in that he never does any studying but gets As on every spelling test. This
provides evidence that Bryan could fit the definition of a gifted child with learning disabilities.

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Although only about two to five percent of all students are likely to be gifted and also have a
learning disability (Sousa 2007), Bryan does demonstrate deficiency in attention yet quality in
mathematics and spelling. Since transferring from a Twin Falls school to Filer Elementary
School, Bryan has had a history of school suspensions. His teacher is trying to get him into a
partial pullout program or a self-contained program. Specifically, she is trying to get him into an
individualized education program (IEP) in which a professional can sit with him in class and
work one-on-one with him to address his learning needs.
Bryans behaviors demonstrate an overall difficulty in paying attention. When at his desk,
he prefers to stand up for most of the time, occasionally leaning over his desk as he does his
work. He will also stand up on his chair sometimes. During Bryans time to complete
assignments, he gets easily distracted and becomes preoccupied with writing utensils in his desk,
and he usually pauses and stares around the classroom. He is typically the last student to get
started on his assignment, which could be a reflection of his lack of motivation relative to other
students. This could be due in part from his moral reasoning at the preconventional stage, which
is expected in children at birth to nine years of age. Bryan states that he would much rather play
games, and he wonders whats in it for me? when he follows directions in assignments. This
example seems consistent with the punishment-obedience stage of preconventional reasoning in
Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development (Hinson, Parsons, & Sardo-Brown 2001). When he
finally starts his assignments, they are completed quickly and efficiently only when no
distractive cues were present. If he does get distracted, some behavioral manipulation was
helpful. For example, Bryan expressed great interest in the mechanical pencil used by his
observer. As positive reinforcement a deal was made with him in which he could use the pencil
only if he remains focused in completing his assignments. However, if the undesired behaviors

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return, he could lose the pencil as removal punishment in order to decrease the strength of that
unwanted behavior (Hinson, Parsons, & Sardo-Brown 2001). This example of some operant
conditioning helped Bryan stay a little more on task, and it supported Skinners well known
theories in operant conditioning.
By observing Bryans mathematical and scientific reasoning via PLATO and
assessments, Bryan clearly was functional at the concrete operational stage. With the aid of
concrete diagrams in PLATO, Bryan was able to demonstrate seriation by categorizing shapes
and numbers in sequential order according to magnitude, size and/or volume. As a matter of fact,
Bryan found PLATO to be too easy. Bryan found the enVisions math curriculum very
challenging, but he still succeeded with an A or B in math. The enVisions math curriculum is
known to facilitate problem solving from multiple perspectives to a situation. This appears to be
a challenging but enforcing practice for Bryans milestones in decentering and classification at
the concrete operational stage. Bryan was asked a couple questions that demonstrate his skills in
reversibility. For example, Bryan was asked that if four multiplied by eight equals thirty-two,
then thirty-two divided by eight equals what number? Also, he was asked if one-half is equal
to four-eighths, then four-eights is equal to what? Not only was he able to answer these questions
correctly, he was also able to state that four-eighths was equal to two-fourths. Lastly, Bryans
abilities in conservation seemed competent since he answered that the water in the tall beaker
had the same volume as the water in the regular beaker.
Section 4: Socio-emotional Development
Bryan has a unique way of interacting with his peers. Unlike his friends, who are all
mostly boys, Bryan can sometimes be content with being by himself. Furthermore, he interacts
more with the girls compared to his male friends. For instance, when eating lunch with Bryan, he

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remained seated next to a girl in the class who was sometimes withdrawn. When it was only
Bryan and the girl at the table, the girl mentioned about her situations at home with her mothers
boyfriend. She stated that the boyfriend was mean and that sometimes she saw him hitting her
mom (this was reported to the teacher). Bryan listened in on her conversation and stated that his
mom too can sometimes fight with her boyfriend (without any witnessing of violence in his
case). He also said that whenever his parents fight, he would go outside and ride his motorbike
away from home for a few hours. It was told to the girl that none of her situation was her fault.
While in the classroom, Bryan seems to get louder than his peers when frustrated. He will
tend to focus on other peers faults rather than his own. Bryan readily took initiative, but it was
often at an appropriate time. His desire to take initiative likely evolved from the Initiative vs.
Guilt Stage when he was younger (Hinson, Parsons, & Sardo-Brown 2001). When Bryan is in
trouble, it is very common for him to talk back to the adults. He is usually absentminded about
his own faults unless the teacher actually warns or punishes him. For example, Bryan would
often leave the classroom for brief periods of time without his teachers permission. He justified
his actions as good as long as he didnt get caught and as long as consequences werent enforced.
At the end of the day, a classmate told the teacher that Bryan left the classroom without
permission to get the recess supplies from the gym. It was then that Bryan knew what he had
done wrong when the teacher had sent him to the office. This reflects the market exchange
component of preconventional reasoning because altogether, Bryan had thought that leaving the
classroom was right as long as he didnt get caught (Hinson, Parsons, & Sardo-Brown 2001).
Since Bryan is in the Industry vs. Inferiority Stage, his self-esteem was largely based off
of his sense of mastery and competence in school (Hinson, Parsons, & Sardo-Brown 2001).
Bryans desire in mastery of daily lessons seemed evident when he engaged in private speech.

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For example, when solving a difficult math problem, Bryan would guide his thinking and action
by verbalizing the steps his teacher had shown to solve the problem (Hinson, Parsons, & SardoBrown 2001). However, his focus on doing it right was not as strong as his peers due to his
difficulties in paying attention, but it was still important to acknowledge how smart he was in
science, spelling, and mathematics. Bryan knows that he has behavioral problems, although he
may not know exactly what the specific problem is or what the cause is. Regardless, it was
influential to his self-concept, or his overall perception of himself, when being informed from an
adult that he was bright even in the worst of his attentiveness.
Section 5: Summary, Conclusions, and Implications
The key to Bryans uniqueness lies in his ability to succeed in his assignments without
any studying along with a probable diagnosis of ADHD. In terms of Bryans family
configuration, stress may play a role on his ability to succeed due to the extra responsibilities
placed on his single mother. His physical development is normal considering his abilities to play
sports and use academic utensils such as paper and crayons. On the other hand, his cognitive
development is hindered by his inability to sustain attention in the classroom. The teacher
mentioned his severity in the mornings. She describes his behavior as mini seizures in which
his eyes constantly wander throughout the entire classroom. Thus, it is more difficult to get his
attention in the mornings let alone sustain it. His socio-emotional development was more unique
relative to his peers in that he is more content being alone or with the opposite gender. Altogether
his socio-emotional development seemed up to date, but his desire to succeed in school was not
as strong as his peers due to his lack of motivation in staying focused on his assignments.
Bryan has the ability to succeed in school with little to no studying. When he actually
does pay attention to his assignments, he finishes them quickly and efficiently. It is predicted that

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in the future years Bryans weakness in paying attention may start to overcome his brilliant
strengths. His ultimate need is to have a personal educator by his side both outside and inside the
classroom. This educator can help sustain Bryans attention in his assignments by utilizing
interventions as recommended for students with ADHD. It is beneficial to Bryan in letting him
know of his potential to succeed well both inside and outside of the classroom. If Bryans unique
ability to succeed in school was neglected, he could fall prey to the generalizations of students
with ADHD and other behavioral issues.

References

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Hinson, S., Parsons, R., & Sardo-Brown, D. (2001). Educational psychology: A practitionerresearcher model of teaching (1st ed., p. 34, 55, 76, 77, 81, 89,227). Mason, Ohio:
Cengage Learning.
Pong, S., Dronkers, J., & Thompson, G. (2003). Family Policies and Childrens School
Achievement in Single- Versus Two-Parent Families. Journal of Marriage and Family,
65, 694-696. Retrieved March 16, 2015, from
http://www.academia.edu/2383689/Family_Policies_and_Childrens_School_Achievemen
t_in_Single_Versus_Two-Parent_Families
Sousa, D. (2007). When Learning Difficulties Arise. In How the Special Needs Brain Learns
(2nd ed., p. 27). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

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