Danielle Vetesnik

Artifact Title: Third Grade Case Study

Date: April 29, 2013

Artifact description
Artifact 2 is a Third Grade Case Study that explains real life
situations, and shows how those relate to theories of child
development. I was assigned to create this case study during a
Human Growth and Development course, at the University of
Wisconsin-Platteville. In order to complete this assignment I had to
observe a 3rd grade classroom for a period of time. During this, I
observed and took notes on the class as a whole, and then chose
one child named (Tom) to observe and relate his actions to theories
of child development.
Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment
Standard 2: Development and Learning. The teacher understands
how children learn and develop, and can provide learning
opportunities that support their intellectual, social, and personal
development. This artifact demonstrates my competency in this
standard because, in order to create this case study I had to research
the following child developmental theorist: Sigmund Freud, Erik
Erikson, Lev Vygotsky, and Jean Piaget. With that thorough research,
I deepened my knowledge on the theories; furthermore, I was able to
build off of what I learned from researching by going out into the
educational field to observe the theories in real life situations. From
this experience, I grew as an educator because I was able to
observe, and reflect on students emotional development, social
development, cognitive development, and physical development.

As a result of this experience, I understand what I can do as an

educator to provide learning opportunities that will support children
development.
UW Platteville knowledge, skills, disposition, alignment
KSD1.b: Demonstrating Knowledge of Students. The candidate
displays knowledge of typical development characteristics, learning
styles, skills, interests, developmental backgrounds, and cultural
heritages of students and is always aware of the broad ranges of
variety present for each of these student characteristics and
lifestyles. I know that this case study was very valuable because, a
lot of learning opportunities were presented during the creation of this
assignment. One of the requirements of this case study was to find
out demographics of the school and the town it is located in. I was
able to find out that Richland Center, WI is a small rural area, and a
safe environment to raise children; furthermore, Doudna Elementary
is a public school serving 415 students in grades K-5, and 90% of the
school is White. I learned that this information was relevant to me
because students backgrounds, cultural heritage, and lifestyles, can
affect their learning in the classroom, physical development,
emotional development, and social development. By gathering that
information ahead of time, I was able to fully understand the positive
environment of the Third Grade classroom, and the behaviors of Tom
that I observed.
As a result from this experience, I understand why it is important to
not just know who your students are in the classroom, but also where
they come from, and what type of lifestyle do they live.

Secondary KSDS
KSD1.f. Assessing Students Learning
KSD4.e. Growing and Developing Professionally

Personal Reflection
What I learned about teaching/ learning:
From this experience, I learned that when you observe someone, or
a group of people it is important to gather information about the
school, the town, and the students ahead of time; therefore, you are
able to assess the student, or students learning efficiently. I also
learned, course work is important and you can gain knowledge from
it. However, being able to observe the things I learned through the
course work in the relatable field helped me develop a deeper
understanding about development of children, and how I can support
their development through my instruction as they are learning.
Also from this experience, I learned that researching, and observing
will continue to help me grow as an educator. Consequently, I will be
communicating with people in the educational community and
learning from their opinions and experiences.
What I learned about myself as a prospective educator:
As a result of this experience, I learned that I would not fully
understand and know the students in my class, if I do not have the
knowledge of how each student learns and where they are at
developmentally. I am fortunate that I am allowed to research these
theories and ideas, and observe other classrooms and teachers.
From that, I will continue to grow professionally and gather more
knowledge on how to provide learning opportunities that will support
students developmental backgrounds and learning styles.

From this experience, I know that if I foster positive relationships with

my students, I will be able to help them grow academically;
Furthermore, I will understand and support their social and personal
development.