Running head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES STUDENT PROFILE

Individual Differences Student Profile

Hailee Stotts

Instructor: Natalie Raas

EDUC 230: Intro to Special Education

Spring 2018
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This semester I got to observe a wide variety of diverse learners in various elementary

school classrooms. There was one student that I got to observe that was unlike any of the others,

Jacob. Jacob is an exceptional second grade Hispanic boy that faces a language barrier as well as

learning disabilities. Below is Jacob’s general information, physical development, cognitive

development, socio-emotional development, and the conclusion to my observations and findings

this semester.

General Information

Although I never found out Jacob’s exact age, I know he is in second grade, and the

average second grader is usually seven years old. He is a Hispanic boy which can help to explain

why he has more obstacles to overcome than his peers do. Jacob’s immediate family consists of

his mother, father, and older sister. I never got the ages of any of the family members, but I do

know that the sister is quite a bit older and no longer lives at home. From what I learned from

talking to Mrs. Axtell (Jacob’s teacher), there is not much of any communication that goes on at

home in English or Spanish. This may help to explain why Jacob is still a struggling English

Language Learner (ELL) and often non-verbal.

Physical Development

Jacob has dark skin and long brown hair that often covers his brown eyes. He is

comparable to his peers when looking at his physical body in both height and weight categories,

but has many struggles academically. Jacob is right-handed and seems to interact and play with

his peers just as any normal kid would. He does not suffer from any physical disabilities, rather

a few different learning disabilities. Jacob is not skinny, but not over-weight either. He seems to

look like an average second-grade boy from the outside. When at recess and PE he runs and

plays with his peers just as any other student does. His large and small muscles are completely
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developed. He can do all the physical things a second-grade boy should be able to do (run, walk,

play games, hold a pencil, cut, glue, point, etc). When you really get to know and observe Jacob,

you can quickly tell that is he academically not at the same level as that of his classmates.

Cognitive Development

Despite all his learning challenges, Jacob spends most of his time in the regular general

education classroom. He is taken out for three 30-minute sessions each day, to work on math and

reading down in the resource/special education room. In addition to his daily pull-outs, he is

taken out for an additional 30 minutes each Wednesday to work on writing. He is a bright young

boy, but really struggles with his reading. English is not something that is practiced much at

home, nor is any language at all, so school is the only time he is able to practice what he is

learning. According to his teacher, at the beginning of the school year he struggled with math as

well, but as the year has progressed he has found strategies that work really well for

him. Reading is another story, he has not quite mastered it yet.

Jacob engages with his peers when it comes to group activities, when he understands the

material. Although he is not one of the more vocal students in the class that is always

volunteering or sharing their answers, he seems to be more reserved. He does not seem to have

any shorter of an attention span than his peers. He works on assignments and activities for the

same duration of time (often times longer), without getting distracted or too off topic.

The two primary subjects that I get to observe Jacob in are math and reading, which are

the two subjects that he struggles with the most. As for math, when he is given general math

equations with all numbers, he can solve them. The problems become a little more challenging

when words are added to the mix. When he and I read word problems out loud together he often
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does not understand the meaning of simple words that most other kids his age knows. He does

not seem to get frustrated by this, he understands he just needs a little extra help. He is what they

consider a non-reader at his age, but he is not the only one in the general education class, which

helps him to not feel so alone. For this reason, many accommodations have been made for him

within the school.

When we are working on word problems in math, he always seems to know what to do

after we read the problems together and talk through them. He takes a little longer than the other

students to work through problems, but that is because he uses methods that most of the children

have outgrown. He knows what to do, just needs some extra guidance. I do not think that he is as

cognitively developed as most of the other kids in his class, but it makes sense when you know

about his home life. Jacob is in the Preoperational Stage, according to Piaget. Jacob is still

learning to think symbolically in using words and pictures to represent objects. Another key

characteristic that indicates that Jacob is still in this stage is that he still thinks about things in

very concrete terms (Berns, 2016). Considering his circumstances, he does very well and is

developing as he should.

Socio-Emotional Development

Jacob seems to interact with his peers very regularly and well. For being an ELL, he

seems to communicate and play with his friends like any other students in the class. The class

has 21 students that are all in small groups that are always working together. I have listened to,

and seen Jacob communicating, participating, and engaged with the group. One day the students

were all asked money questions to work with their shoulder partner on, I was able to walk around
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to the different groups and I noticed that Jacob listened to what his partner said but also shared

his ideas as well, which is what every child should do.

Since Jacob does have more difficulties than the other kids, it seems he spends more

time with the teachers, paraprofessionals, or aides in and out of the classroom. From my

observations and my own experiences, he interacts and does very well with them as well. I have

not ever seen him be disrespectful and not listen or do what they ask of him. Jacob will get

pulled back to the general education teacher’s desk regularly or work one-on-one with her when

asked questions, like what do you think we should do next, how would you do that, what does

this look like, he always smiles and quietly shares what his answers are. He gets excited to show

off to the adults what he does know how to do, because that is not something that happens all the

time for him. When I was working with him and one other student I read a short passage to them

and asked them to restate what I read in their own words. Jacob was the first to want to share

what he thought (with a big smile on his face of course) and he had great ideas to share.

When gauging his self-esteem and self-concept he seems to have relatively high thoughts

and beliefs in himself, which really surprised me. I have noticed that he does not get embarrassed

or discouraged asking for more help than his peers get. He knows and understands that he has

additional obstacles to overcome that his classmates do not. Any time that I have walked into the

room, or he has asked me for help, Jacob is one of the happiest kids that almost always has a

smile on his face. With all of that being said, I have noticed that he always second guesses

himself and does not have the complete confidence in himself like some of his peers have, but

that is understandable.
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I would say that Jacob is still in the industry versus inferiority stage, according to

Erikson, that is centered around competence (Berns, 2016). I know that the time that Jacob is at

school, he has everyone on his team (general education teachers, resource room teachers, aides,

etc.), but when he goes home it is not even remotely the same, which has to be difficult for him

to adjust back and forth to. The lack of support and praise at home can explain his lack of

confidence at times at school. When he is at home, he is not getting the encouragement and help

that he is when he walks into the school each day. For this reason, I think he might spend extra

time in the identity versus inferiority stage.

Summary, Conclusion, and Implications

Jacob is at a typical level in general and physical development but below the typical

levels for cognitive and socio-emotional development. He looks and plays at the same level as

all of his peers and he does not seem to face any physical challenges. I believe that the main

reason for his deficiency in cognitive and socio-emotional development is the lack of support and

guidance at home.

It is a completely different world for him when he is at school versus when he is at home.

He does not have anyone to encourage, support, or even to talk to him when he goes home, it is a

pretty non-verbal atmosphere. The home environment explains why different conceptual and

language learning is not happening. It also can explain Jacob’s lack of competence and

confidence in himself.

While Jacob might not be at the same level as all of his peers, considering his

circumstances, he has a lot of strengths. He is hard working, diligent, and more patient than most

of the other kids his age. His weaknesses are the subjects of math, reading, and language. If he
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received the amount of support and guidance at home, as he does at school, I think his learning

and development would benefit tremendously.

The best strategies to get Jacob to the highest academic level is to keep having him work

in small groups or one-on-one, incorporating shortened and specialized assignments that focuses

on what he knows, not what he does not, and encouraging communication between him and

everyone else around him (peer buddies). There is not anything as a teacher that you can do to

make parents interact more with their children. You can talk with them and encourage

conversations, but ultimately it is up to the parents to make these decisions. When these

strategies are used for him, the academic improvements made are going to be incredible.

In conclusion, Jacob is such a smart and sweet boy that has the complete ability to

overcome the learning and language challenges that he faces. Overcoming these obstacles is not

going to happen overnight and he will not be able to do this all on his own. Everyone needs to

get on board and support Jacob and help him to reach his maximum potential. When everyone

else supports and has confidence in him, Jacob will begin to have confidence in himself and

make leaps and bounds in his academic achievements.

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References

Berns, R.M. (2016). Child, Family, School, Community – Socialization and

Support (10th Edition)