PEPSI Screening Mueller 1

PEPSI Screening

Benjamin Mueller

College of Southern Nevada

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PEPSI Screening
For my PEPSI screening, I observed my 14-year-old step sister Ava. The developmental

areas I observed for the screening are Physical Development, Emotional Development,

Philosophical Development, and Intellectual Development. Ava is a freshman at Desert Oasis

High School and participates in extracurricular activities including soccer and choir. She has a

16-year-old sister named Isabella who goes to the same school; the sisters are very close and

have an excellent relationship, reminiscent of best friends. Aside from soccer and choir, Ava’s

hobbies include riding bikes, hiking, cooking, social media, movies, and making videos. In

academics she is about at a slightly above average skill level. Some of her classes include

introductory algebra, biology honors, English honors, freshman studies, physical education, and

a computers course that focuses on making students efficient in Microsoft Office programs and

others. She is also a member of student council at her school. As for her future goals, she is

unsure at the moment and is keeping options open for studies to pursue in college to determine

her career choice. Her parents are divorced and she also has an infant half-brother on her father’s

side and quite a large sized family overall. Ava also loves animals, my dad and her mom have

two pit bulls and the rest of her family have dogs that she frequently walks and cares for as well.

For my observations, I spent time observing her with my family for multiple days, and spent time

observing her interact with some of her immediate family at her grandmothers for a few days as

well.

The first developmental area I will cover for the PEPSI screening will be Physical

Development. Ava’s physical development is what I would consider be above average due to an

active lifestyle and consistent engagement in a variety of physical activity. Ava’s primary hobby

and after school activity is soccer in which she plays for a club team year-round and participates

in a lot of tournaments out of state. In Deborah A. Stevens-Smiths article in The Physical

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Educator Journal, “Active Bodies/Active Brains: The Relationship Between Physical

Engagement and Children’s Brain Development”, she discusses the effect on physical activity on

overall academic performance and how engagement in physical activity is linked with learning.

She states that “when physical educators provide movement opportunities for children, then they

are developing not only the physical component of the child, but also the cognitive component”

(Stevens-Smith 2016). This is important because development expands beyond its separate

categories. If a child is deficient in one developmental area, it is likely to cause problems in the

other for a variety of reasons. For Ava, her eagerness to participate in sports is very encouraging.

She told me that the soccer team she plays for is a club team and a lot of her teammates have

gone to different schools as her which she actually enjoyed. She said she thought it was great

having teammates from outside of her usual peers because it’s an opportunity to interact with a

larger variety of people. This shows her physical development also being able to contribute

positively to her social development. A section of physical development where I see Ava excels

is in the realm of body awareness and self-acceptance. Her physical habits contribute positively

by this by allowing her to consistently see herself getting better at a physical skill and setting

goals to work towards within physical activity. J’Anne Ellsworth site states on its developmental

scale for early adolescents that “body awareness is normal and assistance with self-acceptance is

really important”. From my observation I her family does a great job of encouraging a sense of

self-acceptance in Ava. Ellsworth also says on the early adolescence scale that “Athletes tend to

be conscious of diet and health, even consumed at times while others may see attention to diet as

being babied”. I’ve known my stepsisters for about 5 years now, and their dietary choices have

definitely evolved in that time period. Ava told me that as she has gotten more into athletics, she

has started to like eating fruits and vegetables she didn’t enjoy in the past. I asked Ava about her
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thoughts on her Physical Education class, and she said she had mixed feelings on it. While she

enjoys getting consistent physical activity every day, sometimes the curriculum frustraters her by

not being fun or challenging. She says sometimes they just have to run or are forced to play a

specific sport, but she enjoys the day where they can pick what activities they do with their

classmates. In Richard Bailey’s article in The Kent Journal of School Health, entitled “Physical

Education and Sport in Schools: A Review of Benefits and Outcomes” he assesses the benefits of

physical education for children across multiple developmental areas: “physical, lifestyle,

affective, social, and cognitive” (Bailey 2006). He states that “there is a great deal of research

showing that when PES activities are presented in attractive and relevant ways to girls, they can

enjoy participation as much as boys” (Bailey 2006). It seems that when girls are given freedom

in choosing what physical activities they engage in, it benefits them by giving them some sort of

physical engagement that they don’t feel pressured into and can feel comfortable with. Overall, I

would say Ava rates far above average on the physical development scale due to her consistent

physical activity and high degree of self-acceptance.

The next developmental area I assessed is Emotional Development. Just as physical

development seems to impact the entire developmental spectrum, Emotional Development is

claimed to have an impact on all areas of development as well by Ernie Dettore in “Children’s

emotional growth: Adults’ role as emotional archaeologists”. It’s stated by Snowman and

McCown in Psychology Applied to Teaching that “many psychiatric disorders either appear or

become prominent during adolescence. Included among these are eating disorders, substance

abuse, schizophrenia, depression and suicide” (Snowman, McCown 2006). High school ages are

crucial in emotional development because an enhanced deal of responsibility falls on students in

comparison to the middle school ages. Snowman and McCown go on to further discuss eating
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disorders claiming that “Eating disorders are much more common in females than in males”

(Snowman, McCown 2006). It seems that Ava being enamored by physical activity, particularly

soccer, has benefited her in promoting a healthy diet and eating habits. J’Anne Ellsworth asserts

that around Ava’s age, “The child might be summed up as “I am what I imagine myself to be”

and “This age marks a new tension in harmonizing the past with hope for the future”. I asked

Ava if either of these statements resonated with her and she says that she feels entering high

school has forced her to think more about her future and how she wants to define herself as a

person. I personally see that answer as one which contains a deal of self-awareness, which leads

me to believe her emotional development, is at a high level. This self-awareness also plays into

the other developmental areas as it shows a level of social strength and intellectual ability. One

of the characteristics of emotional development I did not see a lot of from Ava was “a boasting

of prowess”, which is what Ellsworth described as “…especially around peer becomes a typical

way to mask inadequacy and feelings of insecurity”. This seems to be something I noticed

between Ava and her sister when they were a bit younger, around the ages of 11 for Ava and 13

for Isabella. However, as they have gotten older it seems they have developed a stronger

relationship where there’s no feelings of inadequacy between them because they have developed

into their own people.

Moving from Emotional Development, I will now cover the area of Philosophical

Development. J’Anne Ellsworth says that “the ideological pursuit for personal belief system is

littered with parental parameters and demands, peer belief and a sense of powerlessness to

change life” which means early adolescents may feel the demands of family and peers hold them

back from pursuing their own personal belief system. I asked Ava about her views on education

and she seems to fall in the “Conscientious” category on Ellsworth Philosophical observation
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PEPSI Screening
scale. She said that education is important and it can feel rewarding to learn new things, but

sometimes feel that school drags on, doesn’t feel challenging at times, and becomes too

repetitive. I asked Ava about what she found to be the biggest challenge in school, and she said it

was making sure she managed her time to have enough time to do homework, study, and

participate in her hobbies. In “Intended persistence: comparing academic and creative challenges

in high school”, Jessica D. Hoffman would categorize time management challenges under an

“academic challenge” (Hoffman 2016). She also claims that “Drawing students’ attention to the

creative aspects of academic assignments can potentially heighten their task engagement and

enjoyment.” (Hoffman 2016). I asked Ava if she felt that her school provided her with “creative

challenges” and she said that her Biology and English classes occasionally have provided some

assignments that encourage creativity, like a biology project where she had to design a pamphlet

on staying healthy during flu season. She also said that student council provides a lot of creative

work that makes the class very enjoyable; it should be noted that she also claimed the feeling of

helping other students and the school as a whole in student council contributed to the enjoyment

she has in the class. The enjoyment of a program that contributes to the school as a whole

displays a high level of philosophical as well as emotional and social development. Judith C.

Caplan and Carol K. McElvain discuss the effectiveness of after school programs at the middle

and high school level in “Creating effective after-school programs for middle and high school

students”. In their article, they suggest that “a good after-school program has a strong effect not

only on the students and staff but also on the community. Particularly at the middle and high

school levels, students and community members should have a voice in, and take responsibility

for, a programs operations” (Caplan, McElvain 2001). Student council is a program I feel

certainly meets these qualifications because they impact the school, its students, staff, and
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PEPSI Screening
surrounding community and allows for the members of the council to contribute positively to the

community. Another benefit of student council that contributes positively to the philosophical

area of development referenced in the aforementioned article would be “…programs in which

older students work with younger ones… many successful high school programs operate around

a mentorship model” which all student council programs adopt since every grade level has the

opportunity to participate in the council. Ava’s involvement with her school activities and

reflections on her education has led me to believe she is at an above average level on the

philosophical development scale.

The next developmental area I will discuss is Social Development. In my observations I

found that Ava did an acceptable job of balancing social interactions with her school work, based

off of observing her doing homework around her sister. The two did talk a lot during their work

but it’s debatable whether that portrays a negative balance between socialization and

schoolwork. I also observed her taking initiative in asking her mom and sister for help on her

homework which indicates positive socialization abilities. Ellsworth states on the early

adolescent social development scale that “The way out of the “forest” is to keep working toward

being real and accepting the true self. Adults who help in this task are loved”. Like I stated

earlier, Ava’s family does a lot to help promote her self-acceptance and encouraging her to

pursue her goals. I imagine that children do not have a support system that fosters this fall behind

on many aspects of the developmental scale due to feelings of not belonging and not feeling

encouraged. Ray T. Kest comments on the importance of social development in school in his

article “PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT,

EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT” stating “Social learning is an important

part of any education system. Children are greatly influenced by their peers and their
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PEPSI Screening
environment. The quality and the environment of the school is an important element of the

probability of success or the failure of a student” (Kest 2005). I asked Ava if she felt that her

school provided a good environment for social learning, and she said she felt like it does. She

said that being involved in student council and other activities provides motivation to work

harder on academics. Snowman and McCown claim in Psychology Applied to Teaching (2006)

that “influence of parents appears to be greatest when there are mutual affection and respect

between parent and child” which I concur with completely. Overly authoritarian parents typically

seem to end up having children that feel more compelled to rebel, be disobedient, or at least end

up having a strained relationship with their child. Ava’s family is very encouraging to her, and

while discipline occurs at the right time, there isn’t a sense of overbearing or authoritarianism

embedded in their relationships. I would place Ava relatively high on a scale of Social

Development because of her involvement in activity inside and outside of school, which has

benefitted from a compassionate relationship between her and family members.

The final developmental area I observed is Intellectual Development or Cognitive

Development. Ellsworth lists intellectual development as including abilities such as recognition,

recall, comprehension, demonstration, opinion, analysis, attitude, application and synthesis.

These could be considered the primary learning objectives for schools to provide students. I

asked Ava what she thought her strengths were in academic, and she said she feels that she

excels in classes like math and science when she is able to take her time, but enjoys more fast

paced, social activities in her other classes. A few members of her family have attended college,

but a great deal have actually not. Jay D. Teachman discusses the impact of family on intellectual

skill in “Intellectual skill and academic performance: Do families bias the relationship?”.

Teachman states in his conclusion that “even though families may not bias the relationship
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PEPSI Screening
between ability and performance, they may be influential in determining the level of intellectual

skill” (Teachman 1996). Cognitive development consists of a vast array of skills, and I found it

to be the most difficult area to assess without being in the classroom with Ava to see how she

performs intellectually in that setting. For her age, I would say Ava exhibits perhaps a very

average level of intellectual discourse on topics such as politics, which I would not consider a

negative thing necessarily. Some people are less inclined to pursue these topics especially at a

young age because of their controversial nature. I did notice that she seems a lot more thoughtful

of consequences of actions, which was discussed as a prominent part of early adolescence

cognitive development in Psychology Applied to Teaching (2006).

PEPSI Chart

Intellectual 70 30

Social 90 10

Philosophical 70 30

Emotional 80 20

Physical 90 10

Achieved Not achieved

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
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Recommendations

After my observations, I found Ava to place above average in all of the developmental

areas. For her physical development, I advise the path she is on to be continued so that a healthy

active lifestyle can be sustained. By having an active lifestyle, her social and emotional

development will benefit greatly from staying in shape and active, as well as from continuing to

participate in team sports. Emotional development is also on a great path, I recommend she

continues to engage in a healthy relationship with her family to the benefit of her mental health.

Keeping emotional development in good standing will also benefit her in the way of the other

developmental areas by keeping a clear conscience as she goes through school. Pursuing further

challenges in school could also benefit her emotional development, granted she does not become

overwhelmed by them. Ava is relatively high on the philosophical scale, and I believe that will

go up with continued engagement in leadership programs such as student council and soccer.

Since she just started high school this area might not be fully developed as she becomes

acclimated to high school’s challenges, but further developments in leadership will have her

philosophical development increase. Ava exhibited strong social development skills, again

attributed to her involvement in social programs and interacting with her peers. I would

recommend stepping out of her comfort zone into programs that she may not be familiar with to

challenge herself and increase social skills. Her intellectual development has been exceptional as

well. Just as the other areas, further challenges could greatly benefit her intellectual

development.
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References

Bailey, R. (2006). Physical education and sport in schools: A review of benefits and

outcomes. The Journal of School Health, 76(8), 397-401. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/215671786

?accountid=27953

Dettore, E. (2002). Children's emotional growth: Adults' role as emotional

archaeologists. Childhood Education, 78(5), 278-281. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/210383505

?ac countid=27953

Hoffmann, J. D., Ivcevic, Z., Zamora, G., Bazhydai, M., & Brackett, M. (2016). Intended

persistence: Comparing academic and creative challenges in high school. Social Psychology of

Education : An International Journal, 19(4), 793-814. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11218-016-

9362-x Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/185503708

7?a ccountid=27953

McElvain, C. K., & Caplan, J. C. (2001). Creating effective after-school programs for middle

and high school students. National Association of Secondary School

Principals.NASSP Bulletin, 85(626), 35-44. Retrieved from

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http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/216045143

?ac countid=27953

Kest, R. T. (2005). PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT,

EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Futurics, 29(1), 50-66. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/219835134

?ac countid=27953

Teachman, J. D. (1996). Intellectual skill and academic performance: Do families bias the

relationship? Sociology of Education, 69(1), 35. Retrieved from

http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/216356916

?ac countid=27953

Ellsworth, J. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2018, from

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. (n.d.).Psychology Applied to Teaching(14th ed.).