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Running Head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE

Individual Differences Student Profile
Kourtney Staker
Instructor: Professor Tracey Meyerhoeffer
EDUC 205 Developmental/Individual Differences, Spring 2014






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Individual Differences Student Profile
Americas education system is confronted with the rising demand of meeting childrens
diverse needs. One student in particular who has needs is John Doe, whom I had the pleasure of
profiling. In this essay, I will detail Johns physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development
as a Hispanic student with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). Following my
details, I will summarize my findings and the implications they may have for the classroom.
General Information
John Doe is a Hispanic male with ADHD; he is eight years and two months of age as he
works on completing the second grade. John currently resides with his mother, her boyfriend of
two years, and one older sister in a low-income apartment complex less than one mile from the
elementary school. Johns nontraditional family demonstrates the ability to adapt and has been
functional since his father left and moved away five years ago. Johns family is bilingual, but
mainly communicates in English. Johns older sister is ten years and three months of age and is
working on completing the fourth grade in the same elementary school John attends.
John and his sister walk to school when the weather permits; otherwise, they take a short
bus. Both children attend school all day, from 8:12 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.; upon release, the children
either walk home or catch the bus. John and his sister are latchkey kids, meaning they are at
home without adult supervision after school until their mother gets home. His mother states she
cannot afford daycare for them and she believes his sister is responsible enough to look after
them until she returns home around 7:00 p.m.
When John and his sister arrive at home, there is normally a chore list awaiting them. The
children must complete the chores and then move onto their homework. Johns sister said their
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chores usually only take about a half an hour and consists of small items such as taking out the
garbage and hanging up laundry. When the children are done, they may do as they please. John
enjoys playing video games and football with the neighborhood boys. John and his sister rarely
see their father, so their schedule is fairly regular. Normally, John and his sister are in bed by
8:30 p.m.
Physical Development
For being in the second grade, Johns physical development seems to be commensurate
with his peers. John is a brawny built young man with short, dark brown hair. His eyes are dusky
brown against his dark skin and he lacks any visible birthmarks or scars. John, in comparison
with peers of the same age, is equally physically mature. He is of average height and weight for
a second grade student. He has no chronic health problems and does not require any aid with his
vision or hearing.
John is left-handed and seems physically fit overall. Johns physical health is decent; he
participates in exercise and play during recess, physical education twice a week, and football
with the neighborhood boys. John has a pretty basic, nutritious diet; however, it may not be as
healthy as it should be because of the amount of authentic Mexican food it contains. John
displays regular large muscle development. His ability to adequately participate in physical
education illustrates normal development. His small muscle development is similar to his peers
and is considered sufficient. He enjoys drawing which helps to strengthen his small muscles too.
Cognitive Development
As a second grader, John is attending public elementary school. He attends a regular
classroom for the majority of the day, but goes to a resource room for Horizons during the
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reading block. His classroom teacher has noticed that he struggles academically, mainly in
reading, because of his inability to pay attention. He is fluent in both English and Spanish and
dominantly speaks English, even at home.
He has shown a significant improvement in math this year since the school has
implemented Common Core Standards. He is an exceptional visual learner as long as he can
remain attentive; by teaching to the standards, he is able to manipulate and use critical thinking
in a variety of ways other than simply working from a textbook. John actively participates in
class, especially during discussions, yet he shows a lack of motivation when it comes to working
individually. It seems as if he needs additional guidance to acquire the initiative to complete his
work in a timely manner. Additionally, John is able to think critically and answer questions
logically.
Since John attends a regular classroom setting during the majority of the day, he is being
taught at the third stage of Piagets cognitive development. Piaget introduced four major stages
of development and the third stage is the concrete operational stage, according to Berns (2013).
John is in this stage because he demonstrates logical reasoning when he is responding to
questions or participating in group discussions. He is also developing his operational thinking,
especially regarding mathematics, because he is interested in how things work. Through
exploration, John has shown signs of understanding reversibility as well. This means he
understands that an object or number can be changed and also returned to their original
condition.
Where John excels during math block, he exemplifies the zone of proximal
development proposed by Vygotsky, according to Berns (2013). The zone of proximal
development is nearly synonymous with scaffolding. John has mastered his work during math
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block due to guided learning; therefore, he is now able to complete tasks on his own. John is
capable of performing during this time without requiring much extra attention from more skilled
peers or the teacher. As a result, he is advancing his knowledge and is being encouraged with
individual learning. Then, John attends the resource room for Horizons which allows him to be
comfortable with other children at his academic reading level. During this time, additional
support is necessary and the reading coach works on scaffolding based on abilities. Scaffolding
is used by starting with approachable tasks John can complete and building on them for
advancement in his reading skills.
Socio-emotional Development
Interacting with peers does not seem to be a difficulty for John. He has been socialized
during his life to actively interact with others. He entertains himself with a variety of children,
regardless of their ethnicity or familys socioeconomic status; in all, he is accepting of any
person. He enjoys the company of his peers and shows a strong, independent personality because
he shows the characteristics of a leader and is not afraid to stand out; this is an example of
positive self-concept, because he knows he is not the same as others and does not have to be in
order to remain social. With his outgoing personality, he shows an especially positive self-
esteem; this is great because oftentimes people who have ADHD have the tendency fall prey to
depression or bipolar disorder. John is keen on interacting with adults in any environment. He is
not threatened by adults; he talks openly with them and uses their advice to build on his current
skills.
Stage four of Eriksons socio-emotional development is where John fits according to
Berns (2013). This is the industry versus inferiority stage where most children Johns age
reside. John is in this stage because he is developing a sense of pride when he accomplishes
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things on his own and is confident in his abilities, again showing good self-concept. He is
beginning to believe in his skills due to encouragement from his mother and teachers.
John operates in Selmans social-informational perspective-taking stage, according to
Berns (2013), because he does understand how different perspectives may result in a situation
because of people having access to dissimilar information. For example, Johns friends kicked a
ball out of the schoolyard boundary at recess. John knows he is not to go out of the boundary;
therefore, John approached the person on duty to inform her of the ball being out of the boundary
and was allowed to retrieve the ball.
Finally, John is in Kohlbergs first level of development, pre-conventional morality, as
well as stage one, obedience and punishment, as found in Berns (2013). He sees what the rules
and expectations are of him and believes they are fixed and absolute. He does his best to obey
the rules so he may avoid punishment; however, this is sometimes out of his control due to his
ADHD. His educators and mother do take his ADHD into account when he disobeys a rule or
does not meet an expectation.
Summary, Conclusions, and Implications
To summarize, John seems to be a regular second grade student who just gets into an
increased amount of trouble because of his lack of self-control due to his ADHD. He has a
decent family support system who communicates openly with his teachers. This communication
and family involvement shows a firm understanding of the family systems model and its
importance in Johns educational experience. Additionally, he is highly outgoing and enjoys
being successful and learning new skills. Although he requires additional assistance with
reading, he does not let this impact his love of learning. John has not allowed his ADHD to
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control him and is determined to be an overcomer. In sum, he will continue to regularly advance
in all levels of physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development.
My conclusions show John being in the appropriate stage of Piagets cognitive
development as well as Eriksons psychosocial stage for eight-year-olds. John reasons logically,
displays operational thinking, and shows an understanding of reversibility. He has a sense of
pride and confidence in his abilities or newly obtained skills which is reinforced by
encouragement. John is comparatively average across the board on his developmental levels but
will continue to advance since he is provided with opportunities to progress in his personal
growth. He is average physically, in comparison to his classmates, and remains socially active
and involved. He welcomes interaction with his peers and teachers.
Some learning strategies which could be implemented to assist in Johns development
include continuing with inclusion. He displays confidence in a regular classroom and this
strategy seems to currently be working effectively, therefore, I would not alter his routine. He
does tend to work better in a group setting, and has a preference for it, so I would suggest
additional time for group work to occur. Furthermore, Johns development could benefit from
being included a program such as the gifted and talented for his extraordinary math skills; I
discussed this with his teacher for the future and she affirmed it would enhance his development
but was reluctant to disclose that the program was no longer available through their school. As a
result, I would suggest further use of scaffolding to challenge John in this subject. He is certainly
not a model student as he has continuous behavioral issues due to his ADHD. His classroom
teacher works well, with both John and his mother, at encouraging open communication in order
to get a handle on his self-control. John works on a point system within the classroom, which
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also continues at home. This point system allows both his mother and the teacher to be well
aware of his behaviors as they transpire.
Future generations must be provided with opportunities to progress in their physical,
cognitive, and socio-emotional development. This can be done by providing a high quality
education to each student. Educators should be capable of recognizing a students developmental
level. As a future educator, I look forward to continually meeting these challenges with
perseverance and enthusiasm.

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References
Berns, R. M. (2013). Child, family, school, community: Socialization and support (9th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Robinson, L., Smith, M. (n.d.). Teaching students with ADHD. Retrieved from
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/teaching_tips_add_adhd.htm#top