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Running head: DEVELOPMENT/INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Development Individual Differences Essay

Daphne Martin
Dr. Tracey J. Meyerhoeffer
EDUC 205 Development/Individual Differences
Online, Spring 2015

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Running head: DEVELOPMENT/INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Development/Individual Differences Essay

The children that an educator will interact with in his or her classroom will come from
many diverse backgrounds. Each student has different strengths and weaknesses when it comes
to his/her learning. Some may have learning disabilities while others may be gifted. Educators
must be able to identify and satisfy the needs of each and every child to ensure that he/she fully
benefits from their education.
I currently work in a school system as a reading paraprofessional educator for students in
kindergarten through third grade. I spend most days involved in different reading interventions
with the various grades. In the following essay, I will profile a student who is in one of my
reading intervention groups who has a learning disability. I will detail information regarding his
physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development. Additionally, I will provide a summary of
my findings and how these findings may have implications for the classroom.
General Information
The student I choose to write this profile on is a young boy with an auditory processing
disorder, who I will call Marshall for confidential reasons. Marshall is nine years and two months
old and is currently in the third grade. He has been in his current public school system since
kindergarten and attends five days a week. Marshall lives in a married household that consists of
his father and mother and two younger brothers; they are seven years and four months old and
four years and eleven months old. All the family members in the household are Caucasian.
Marshall is taken to school by one of his parents and then rides the bus home. At school,
Marshall is very active at recess and loves to play tag with his friends. He spends his whole

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Running head: DEVELOPMENT/INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

school day inside his regular classroom. After school, he likes to play video games, mainly
Minecraft, after his homework is done.
Physical Development
Marshall has light brown hair, blue eyes and milky white skin with lots of freckles. He
appears to be average in physical maturation when compared to children his same age and
gender. He does not wear eyeglasses or hearing aids and is right handed. Overall, Marshall seems
to be in good physical health and rarely misses school. He eats mainly healthy food, with very
little sweets. Marshall usually brings cold lunch to school that consists of fruits, vegetables, and a
sandwich. He enjoys participating in physical extracurricular activities such as soccer, basketball
and baseball. His large muscle development seems to be fine as well as his small muscle
development. His hand-eye coordination and motor skills are appropriate for his age.
Cognitive Development
As mentioned previously, Marshall is a third grader, and he attends a general education
class because he does not require special education. He does not excel in class and is considered
to be slightly behind the other children. It is difficult for him to complete his school work quickly
and often he falls behind the others and repeatedly has to redo his school work. Marshall is easily
distracted by the noise in class and has difficultly following verbal instructions or muilti-step
directions. Although he has no problem with peripheral hearing, his auditory processing disorder
makes it where he has difficulties in recognizing and interpreting sounds he hears. Marshall
performs significantly better if he doesnt have to rely heavily on verbal directions only. In sum,
he fits into Allan Paivios dual coding theory, meaning if he can both hear and visualize
instruction, he tends to process it better and does well on his assignments or tests.

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Running head: DEVELOPMENT/INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Marshall appears to be in what theorist, Jean Piaget, describes as the concrete
operational stage of cognitive development. He demonstrates the ability to apply logical
systemic principles to help interpret specific or tangible experiences (Berns, 2013).
Additionally, he has gained the abilities of conservation and reversibility in his logical thinking
process.
Socio-emotional Development
Marshall isnt very social, but he has a group of close friends that he associates with
regularly. He has a sense of humor and loves to laugh and joke with his friends. He does interact
with others in his class and works well with his peers when put into group situations. While
observing I never saw him get into any altercations with his peers or teachers. Marshall seems
like he is a bit more shy that the rest of the students in his class, but he does not seem to mind
this. His friends are of various ethnicities and come from a variety of socioeconomic
backgrounds. Marshall is very respectful around adults and he doesnt have any disciplinary
issues. At times he does show some signs of low self-esteem and an unhealthy self-concept.
In Ericksons theory of psychosocial development, Marshall falls within
Stage four: Industry versus Inferiority. This stage is where he learns that he
can win recognition from parents, teachers and peers by being proficient in
his school work, but also feels inferior when he cannot master his school
work.
Summary, Conclusion, and Implications

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Running head: DEVELOPMENT/INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

In summary, Marshall may have an auditory processing disorder that presents some
academic issues, but I think he will continue to learn and will succeed in school. He has shown a
remarkably great determination and ability to overcome the things that hold him back.
Marshall is currently involved in an educational plan that includes a close relationship
between his parents, the teacher, and his peers and provides guidance for all. At school he
receives a few support services that have been incorporated into his classroom that allow for him
to stay in the classroom to learn. Marshall is fortunate to have two supportive parents who do all
they can to help him progress in school with his classmates. Despite the challenges Marshall
faces due to his learning disability, with the proper school and home support and
accommodations, he will continue to experience improvement and academic success.
The observations and information gathered for this profile bring me to conclude that
while Marshall faces obstacles in his socio-emotional development and may have learning
disabilities, he is developing at a similar rate as his peers. Even with his auditory processing
disorder, he is still at the concrete operational stage of cognitive development from Piaget. He
also fits into Ericksons Stage four: Industry versus Inferiority for a nine year olds psychological
development.
Marshall performs academically at an average or just below average level for his grade.
The school and his parents could use different learning styles to help with his cognitive growth
and development. The teacher can also use her microphone to help Marshall hear her over the
classroom noise and adapt the dual code theory into her curriculum. With such additions and
accommodations, Marshall could show drastic growth. Testing has shown that he has a hard time
with memorizing, so I think he could also benefit from maintenance rehearsal.

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Communication is vital in making sure Marshall is given a fair opportunity to learn and
grow. There needs to be an open line of communication between Marshall and his teacher and
also between his parents and the teacher in order to discuss his learning disability and collaborate
about his educational process.
Learning more about Marshalls auditory processing disorder has given me respect and
understanding for the different learning disabilities that children have and how they affect their
learning. Teachers must work hard to know their students personalities, needs, and abilities in
order to ensure their students are given the best educational experience. By understanding the
students, teachers are then given the information to develop lesson plans and teaching strategies
that will help students gain the most from their educational experiences Great teachers take the
time to determine the strengths, weaknesses and needs of students and then provide the necessary
supports and building blocks for success. Students such as Marshall should be given the tools to
achieve academic success to the greatest possible extent. Teachers need to make sure that every
child knows that he/she is a priority and that he/she is cared about in every aspect!

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References
Parsons/Hinson/Sardo-Brown. Educational psychology: A practitioner-researcher model of
teaching, 1E. 2001 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning, Inc
Berns, R. M. (2013). Child, family, school, community socialization and support (9th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.