Running Head: Individual Student Differences Profile 1

Running Head: INDIVIDUAL STUDENT DIFFERENCES PROFILE
Individual Differences Student Profile

Riley Veal
Professor Natalie Raass
EDUC 205-001H Developmental/Individual Differences
Spring 2016
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Individual Student Differences Profile Essay

This semester I observed a girl in several of her extended resource classesclasses
outside of the general, or regular, classes where students with learning disabilities can be given
extra attentionat a local charter school. In the interest of maintaining her privacy, I will refer to
her throughout the essay as Wanda. Wanda is a Caucasian-American in high school with mild to
moderate learning difficulties. In the following, I will profile her general information, physical,
cognitive, and socio-emotional development, before providing a summary and conclusions of
my observations.
General Information
As stated earlier, Wanda is Caucasian-American and is in high school. Unfortunately, I
was not able to ascertain her exact age or grade level, though if I would hazard a guess, I would
say she is an underclassman. Her small stature, sharp elfin facial features, and her relatively mild
learning difficulties have led me to believe she has Williams syndrome (Hallahan et al, 92-93). I
am unaware of how many siblings she has, but I do know that she has some and that she has both
a mother and father who are married to each other. She mentioned her parents and the activities
they did together a couple times positively. I was able to observe her in several extended
resource settings: English, Mathematics, and a Study Hall period. She is at the school
throughout the regular school day from 8:00 A.M. to 2:45 P.M., spending the largest amount of
time in the general education setting, some in the extended resource classes I mentioned earlier,
and a little time in a one-on-one setting with the schools special education teacher.
Physical Development
Wanda has long, dark-brown hair and skin color. I do not know her eye-color with
certainty, but I think they are brown. As mentioned before, she has sharp, elfin facial features,
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notably a pointed nose and chin and eye-shape very similar to East Asians. She is much smaller
than other children her age. As far as I know, her health is good. I do not know whether she is
right or left-handed, nor do I know her exercise and nutritional habits. I also dont know whether
she has good large muscle development and is able to play sports. She can use a pencil, scissors,
and participate in any number of school-related activities. Based on this, she has well-developed
small muscle functions.
Cognitive Development
Wanda participates in a regular classroom for the most part with certain hours during the
week being reserved for working with the special education teacher in the resource room,
sometimes alone, and sometimes with other kids with special needs. Her grades are very good. In
fact, she received an invitation to join the Honor Society and prepared a letter with the help of
her teacher to accept the invitation. Her attention span is fairly good, though she can be
sidetracked by fellow students. She always participates and is very motivated, enthusiastic, and
chipper. Wanda reads fairly well, uniformly and without much stuttering, though she is a little
slow and doesnt always put much expression into it. She is in a separate math class from her
peers in the general setting, but learns quickly there. For English, she is also in a separate class,
where she sometimes has trouble following written directions.
In the first half of the Twentieth Century, a Frenchman by the name of Jean Piaget
developed a theory of cognitive child development (McLeod: Piaget). He believed that there
are four stages of cognitive development through which every child must go: Sensorimotor,
Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and the Formal Operational Stage (McLeod). According to
Piaget, Wanda would be in the last stage, which begins at eleven and goes on into adulthood
(McLeod). Based on my observations, I agree with this assessment. The two abilities, Piaget said
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were developed during this stage are: abstract thought and logical testing of hypotheses
(McLeod). Wanda demonstrated both of these while discussing Shakespeare in English and
multiplication and division of fractions in Mathematics.
Socio-emotional Development
Her interactions with peers and adults alike are quite good. Good-natured cheer goes a
long way to disarm even the most sullen of classmates and upset of teachers, and she has a lot of
it. I observed this happen in class several times. Even when the rest of the class is having a bad
day, she is cheerful, diligently doing her work or trying to cheer up others. She is respectful of
her teachers, listening to them and answering them politely.
I think she has good self-esteem, based on a number of observations. She has an internal
locus of controlthat is, she believes that a large portion of her life circumstances is dictated by
her own effort and not outside forces (Hallahan et al, 131). She is also an active learner, willing
to learn and try academic strategies to improve her learning experience (Hallahan et al, 131-132).
In 1959, Erik Erikson published a theory of personality development (McLeod: Erikson).
He said that there are eight stages: Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt, Initiative vs.
Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity
vs. Stagnation, and Ego Integrity vs. Despair (McLeod). According to Erikson, Wanda is
currently in stage five, Identity vs. Role Confusion, learning what her unique role is and or will
be in society (McLeod). In my opinion, Wanda is on track as far as Eriksons theory goes. She is
socially well-adjusted, willing to participate in new things like the Honor Society, motivated to
perform well in school, and enjoys her stable and loving home life.
Summary
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Wanda benefits greatly from the extra care provided by the schools special education
teacher, but she also gets to have most of the benefits of a general education. She has learning
deficits in key areas, but with the help she is receiving and her excellent motivation, I foresee her
excelling further in school. As long as she continues on the path before her, being both
challenged and supported, she will go far.
Conclusions
Wanda is, due to her small size, not at the typical level of physical development. Her
relatively mild to moderate learning disabilities in English and Mathematics means that she
learns better in a more specialized environment than the general education classroom in those
two subjects. Otherwise, her cognitive development is typical. As for her socio-emotional
development, it is, I would say, above average. She is more socially well-adjusted and motivated
than many adolescents.
Implications
Wandas disabilities are not very severe. Therefore, teachers should focus on academic
skills as opposed to self-help, community living, and vocational skills (Hallahan et al, 98-99),
particularly in the areas in which she is weakest: English (specifically reading and writing) and
Mathematics. Because of her strong sense of self-efficacy, I would suggest implementing
reciprocal teaching strategies in her education. Reciprocal teaching is where teachers take on a
master-apprentice role with the student, encouraging the student to create and implement
learning strategies of their own (Hallahan et al, 133). In order to improve her reading fluency,
teachers ought to have her practice repeated readingsreading the same passage over and over
againaloud (Hallahan et al, 134). In order to improve Wandas writing, the Self-Regulated
Strategy Development model might be used. It focuses on planning, knowledge, and skills
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and would mesh well with Wandas active learning (Hallahan et al, 134). As for improving her
mathematics abilities, teaching mathematics ought to be direct, organized, and accomplished
step-by-step (Hallahan et al, 134). Finally, due to Wandas high socio-emotional development
and motivation, teachers should look for ways to challenger her academically.
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References:
Hallahan, Daniel, James Kauffman, and Paige Pullen. (2015). Exceptional Learners: An
Introduction to Special Education. 13th Ed. Boston, MA. Pearson.
McLeod, S. A. (2015). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
--------. (2013). Erik Erikson. Retrieved from:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html

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Individual Differences Student Profile

Individual Student Differences Profile Essay

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