Running Head: INDIVIDUAL DIFFRENCES PROFILE

Individual Differences Profile Essay

EmaLee Hamman
Instructor: Dr. Egbert
Education 205: Developmental Differences

INDIVIDUAL DIFFRENCES PROFILE

Individual Differences Profile Essay

That feeling you dont belong, is common to a gifted student. Students are often
placed in small groups for reading and math with other students with equal academic
levels. In the case of gifted students, it is difficult to place them in these groups because
there are usually only 1 in a class. In this essay I will be discussing the physical,
cognitive, and socio-emotional development of a gifted student, a summary of my finding
and some suggestions to implement in the classroom.
General Information
Jack is eleven years old and is Hispanic/Caucasian ethnicity. He lives with his
mother (Caucasian), father (Hispanic), and his three younger sisters. His sisters ages are
4, 7, and 9. Jacks daily schedule is full of routines which is a sequence of actions
regularly followed. During the week days, Jack wakes up around 6:00 a.m. gets ready for
the day, and catches the bus at 7:50 a.m. to go to school. Jack gets home from school
around 2:15 in the afternoon. He gets home earlier than his sisters and spends this time
doing home working and his chores. When his sisters get home they eat as a family and
then go to their sports games or practices. Jack and his sisters are all in soccer, basketball,
and baseball, and their mom coaches. Evenings for Jacks family are busy to say the least.
Physical Development
Jacks physical appearance take after his fathers Hispanic ethnicity with dark brown
hair, brown eyes, and brown skin. He has a birthmark on his thigh. Jack seems to be
developing at his normal physical maturation compare to his peers. Jack suffers from
asthma and allergies and is currently taking prescription medication for both. Jack uses
his right hand for writing and playing sports.

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Jack eats a well-balanced diet with home cooked meals. Jack is physical fit. Jacks
large muscle development seems to be normal compare to his peers. Jack is able to run,
jump, and play like most children. Jacks small muscle development seems to be normal.
Jack has good coordination and doesnt seem to struggle with any movements.
Cognitive Development
Jack is in sixth grade and he is placed in the regular classroom. He really enjoys and
thrives in Science and Social Studies. Jack does well in English, Math, Computers, and
Art, but doesnt enjoy it as much as Science and Social Studies. Jack is getting As in all
of his classes, so it is hard to determine what his strengths and weaknesses are. Jack has
been placed in a gifted and talented program that he attends twice a week. He likes this
class and finds it very challenging at times. He learns best through observational
learning is learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others.
Jack loves learning new things, but struggles with boredom in the regular
classroom. Jack has good behavior in and out of class and shows good self-regulation is
an integrated learning process, consisting of the development of a set of constructive
behaviors that affect one's learning. Jack stays on task, complete assignments, and
focuses well. Jack enjoys participates in class discussions. He shows helping skills
towards his teacher and fellow students, which is a skill of helping others without being
told. Jack has little to none misbehaviors which is the action of misbehaving or having
bad behavior, and there for discipline is not a problem. Discipline is the practice of
training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct
disobedience.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFRENCES PROFILE

Jack is in the formal operational stage, at this point, the person is capable of
hypothetical and deductive reasoning. During this time, people develop the ability to
think about abstract concepts which is from Piagets stage of cognitive development. In
this stage students are able to use hypothetical which is based on, or serving as a
hypothesis, analogical relating to, or based on analogy, and deductive reasoning is a
logical process in which a conclusion is based on the concordance of multiple premises
that are generally assumed to be true. Jack is able to solve abstract problems such as
word problems and riddles. He does puzzle questions well without getting frustrated.
Socio-emotional Development
Jack interacts well with peers, teachers, and family. Jack has a great personality
and many friends. He is shy at first, but very outgoing once a relationship has been
developed. He interacts with adults respectfully and confidently. Teacher and staff seem
to like Jack. He seems to have high self-esteem which is confidence in one's own worth
or abilities, and a good self-concept , an idea of the self-constructed from the beliefs one
holds about oneself and the responses of others. He knows he is smart, good at sports,
and loved by parents, family and friends. Jack loves his life and has a great attitude.
Jack seems to beginning the stage of identity vs. role confusion Adolescence is
the period of life between childhood and adulthood. (Erikson). Jack doesnt think
everyone thinks the same as him, so he isnt in adolescent egocentrism stage which is
inability to distinguish between their perception of what others think about them and
what people actually think in reality. Jack is loving and very caring for others. He is very
helpful and respectful to adults and peers. Jack has goals for his future such as; going on

INDIVIDUAL DIFFRENCES PROFILE

a mission, going to college, wants to be an engineer or a pro-soccer player, and plans to

get married and have a family.
Summary, Conclusions and Implication
The summary of the findings, Jack is a smart gifted normal eleven year old boy.
Some gifted students have been known to struggle with social problems, but that doesnt
seem to be the case for Jack. He is developing normal socially, emotional, and physically
for his age group. Jack has great self-confidence and good sense of self. He interacts well
with peers and adults using appropriate behaviors. Jack is able to make moral decisions
based on the rules of right and wrong. He has a strong stable family unit and feels safe
and loved. Jack thrives in science and social studies, but does well in all other subjects.
He is very creative and is able to think abstractly. His cognitive development is normal
or slightly above given his placement in the gifted classes.
Many different learning strategies which is a person's approach to learning and
using information that could be implemented in the classroom to help with Jacks
learning. Differentiation is the action or process of differentiating.instruction, this could
be used for Jack, so he would be taught at the appropriate level instead of a set guide for
his age. This approach would help Jacks be challenged and continue making progress.
Using multicultural education which is learning about several cultures in the classroom
would allow Jack to view his Hispanic ethnicity with value. Learning about his culture
will only improve the classroom learning environment for all the students. Multicultural
education helps student gain a greater appreciation for each others and other cultures.
Parent involvement is also critical. Having the parents be involved with the education

INDIVIDUAL DIFFRENCES PROFILE

plan will help the student, teacher, and parents all on the same page striving for the same
goal.
We have all felt like we dont belong sometime in our lives and it hurts at any age.
Our gifted students sometimes have to take the back seat in learning because the
normal is what is taught, the struggling students become the focus and the gifted are
often looked over. As educators we need to understand that each child is unique. Each
child deserves to have an educational learning plan that focuses on their unique levels and
learning styles. Until this is achieved their will always be a child that doesnt feel like
they belong.

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References
Sousa, D. A. (2007). How the Speacial Needs Brain Learns (Second ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
From Parsons/ Hinson/ Sardo-Brown. Educational Psychology: A Practitioner-Researcher
Model of Teaching, 1E. 2001 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning,
Inc. Reproduced by permission. www.cengage.com/permissions

INDIVIDUAL DIFFRENCES PROFILE