Running head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE STUDENT PROFILE

Individual Differences Student Profile

Kevin Larsen
Instructor: Tracey Meyerhoeffer
EDUC 205 Developmental/Individual Differences, Fall 2014

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Individual Differences Student Profile

As an educator I will come in contact with children in the classroom who have all sort of
special and individual characteristics. Each student has his/her own difficulties during his or her
educational journey. A students ability to learn is influenced by different factors in his or her
lives, such as a bad home life, a learning disability, or a poor role model(s). Also, not all
students learn the same way, or at the same speed. Students have different learning styles, so as
an educator, it will be my job to make sure that each student has the opportunity to learn
efficiently. For this individual differences student profile, I will examine the physical, social, and
cognitive developmental levels of a student with a conduct disorder. Additionally, I will provide
a summary of my findings and discuss how these findings may have implications for the
classroom.
General Information
Chris is a Caucasian male. He is 13 years and 4 months old and currently in the 7th grade.
Chris grew up in an average sized family in a small rural community. His family consists of a
father, mother, and two siblings. His father works as a manager for a rock quarry. His older
brother is in 11th grade and his sister is in 5th grade. His siblings are average students. Chris has a
huge extended family in the same community. They are all very active in sports. Chris plays
football, but though he tries very hard, he doesnt have the physical attributes or talent his older
brother has. Additionally, Chris has an emotional and behavioral disorder called a conduct
disorder, where he has anxiety attacks and lashes out on occasions. This disorder usually begins
with the appearance of hostile and defiant behaviors during the preschool years. Then as an
individual gets older, the conduct disorder appears where the child acts out his feelings or
impulses toward others in a destructive matter (Sousa, 2007).

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Physical Development
Chris is a little immature compared to his peers, but physically, he is normal in height.
Additionally, he is slim and hasnt physically developed or filled out as other peers his age have.
Chris gross motor skills are developing, but have not reached maturity yet. Right now, Chris
plays football and wrestles, but because of his size, he isnt very strong. As a result, he has
trouble tackling and blocking in football. In wrestling, he has only won a match or two. Other
than being not very physically strong for his age, his physical development is normal. When he
has an anxiety attack from being emotionally stressed, he loses control of his tempter and acts
out physically towards others. Chris is right handed and has strong fine gross motor skills, which
allows him to participant in sports and academics. Additionally, Chris doesnt wear glasses and
he has good hearing.
Cognitive Development
Chris attends regular classes with his classmates, but he struggles learning at the same
speed as his classmates. Though he has difficulty in the academic area, he currently has a grade
point average above a 2.0, which allows him to participate in sports. In class, he often gets
frustrated because it takes more of an effort for him to understand the subject than it does other
students. As a result, there are times when he takes out his frustration on the teacher, coach, or
others because of his conduct disorder. As a player on my 7th grade football team, I have seen
this occur. At home, he can also act out. His parents and siblings have learned that if they let him
pout for a little while though, it is not long until he is himself again.
For this profile, I used an informal methods of assessment as I observed him in class
and out on the football field during practice. I believe Chris is in Piagets concrete operational
stage of cognitive development (Parsons, 2008). Parson, Hinson, and Brown (2008) describe

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this stage as characterized by childrens ability to think logically, but only about concrete
problems and objects (p.45). I have also noticed that because of his conduct disorder, he shows
signs of egocentric thinking as well, which is an aspect of Piagets preoperational stage. For
example, Chris sometimes assumes that everyone thinks and views things the same way as he
does. It is from this egocentrism that much of his frustration originates as he does not like it
when others do not share his views.
Socio-emotional Development
Even though Chris acts out towards others, he is well liked by others and they help to
encourage him in class and sports. As I have worked with and observed Chris, I feel he lacks
some self-esteem as he often seems to doubt himself. Parsons defines self-esteem as the value
each of us places on our own characteristics, abilities, and behavior (Parsons, 2008, p. 81). Selfesteem is an integral part of the Lickonas model, which is a model of character education
encompassing self-esteem, cooperative learning, moral reflection, and participatory decision
making (Parsons, 2008).
In Erik Ericksons theory of psychosocial development, which is the relation of the
individuals emotional needs to the social environment, Chris seems to operate in stage 4
industry versus inferiority (Parsons 2008). In this stage, peer rejection carries over from
elementary to high school and may contribute to academic difficulties as well as being able to
adjust to problems later in life (Parsons, 2008, p.90). Since Chris seems afraid to fail, he doesnt
give his all during school and sports.
Summary, Conclusions, and Implications
Overall, Chris seems to be developing well despite his conduct disorder. He is normal
weight and height for his age, and is able to attend general education classes without much

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trouble. Cognitively, he is learning new things even though it may not be as quickly as others in
his class, but he is making progress.
Chris lives a normal functioning life, attending scouts, participating in sports, and doing
the regular activities of a 13-year-old boy. On the football field where I have gotten to know
Chris better, he struggles with his emotions and behavior. I have noticed, however, that if I let
him take a time out by himself to pout and sulk for a little while, he is back to normal quickly.
The only problems I have had are his physical outbursts, where he can go after a teammate and
hits him if he is mad. I have had talks with the principal, Chriss parents, and Chris about this
and how it cant happen if he wants to be a part of the team. Fortunately, the other kids and their
parents are aware of Chriss emotional struggles and tolerate his behavior as long as he does not
physically hurt the other players or students.
From what I have observed for this profile, Chris comes from a good, loving home with
strong religious beliefs, and has been raised in a small community where he is related to almost
everyone. Overall, Chris is a well-liked and good kid who just needs to figure out a good outlet
for his frustrations.

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References
Parsons, R., Hinson, S., & Sardo-Brown, D. (2008). Educational psychology. Mason, Ohio:
Cengage Learning.
Sousa, D. (2007). Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. In How the special needs brain learns
(2nd ed., pp. 160-178). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.