Individual Differences Profile

Charity Dodge
College of Southern Idaho
January 4, 2020
 In America there are a vast diversity of students. With such a diverse place to live makes

for great opportunities in education. It is my job as an educator to offer a fair and equal place to

learn and grow. This will require me to have a diverse teaching method. While this may be

difficult to uphold, it will be the most rewarding task that an educator will achieve. I will show

you with examples of a student that I have had the pleasure of working with how this is possible.

The information that I will touch with be, general information, physical development, socio-

emotional development, cognitive development, and at the end I will summarize and conclude

my findings.

General Information

Jacob (Name changed) is a tiny eight-year-old little boy, he lives with his mother and

little sister. Jacob and the family are Caucasian. Jacob’s favorite activity is to play with his

monster trucks in the mud or water. He also will enjoy some time on the swing. He has a best

friend, a friend of the family, a little girl who is just a few years older than he is. When together

you can see that these two will use the buddy system. Jacob is in general education from eight in

the morning till noon, when he is moved into special education math and reading classes. Where

he is tested and given material to learn, Jacob excels at science in the general education program.

Jacob is a very outdoorsy kid who would prefer to spend all his time in the wild learning about

trees, rocks, and what makes the world go around. At home Jacob is normally found playing with

his sister or pug.

Physical Development
Jacob is a Caucasian boy, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He is slightly smaller than his

peers, both in weight and in height. His visual insights are also lacking, but his hearing is just as

well as his peers. Jacob is healthy and has never missed a day of school due to sickness. Jacob
can use both his right and left hand for pretty much anything, but does favor his left when

throwing or playing, and his right for writing or drawing.

Jacobs favorite school activity to participate in is science. He loves to run and scream as

if something was chasing him through the woods and will often tell you stories about being

chased by bears. His favorite sport is baseball, which he is normally on the winning team. He has

a lack of muscle development, while in comparison to his small size is normal. Jacob is a

perfectionist when it comes to schoolwork and does not like when he answers wrong which

makes him not answer questions as likely as the other students.

Cognitive Development

Jacob is a second-grade student, at North Elementary, his teacher is Ms. Wade. Last year

Jacob received a “expectations met” in science and a “below grade level” in math and reading.

Which is when Jacob started to attend a special education program for both math and reading

every school day for half of the day. While there Jacob will work on his basic math

fundamentals, and reading, spelling, word placement, and story problems. Jacob is in a constant

battle within himself and for his peers to meet the expectations. Jacob has a learning disability

that causes him to be behind in these subjects. Jacob has a paraprofessional that works with him

everyday one on one. This helps Jacob receive the help that he needs while not taking teaching

and learning time from the other students.

Jacob has behaviors that are not standard for his age, Jacob has a hard time staying on

task and easily miscommunicates what he needs to teachers and his para. When Jacob is kept on

a routine for his schoolwork, and has easy transitions, Jacob thrives. When his routine is thrown

off then he gets angry and will start to belittle himself. Jacob’s communication skills with peers
are to standard but needs help to communicate to the teacher. Instead of asking for a break Jacob

will just walk out of the classroom. Jacob does his best to communicate in all means possible

but will sometimes need redirected to do it in the proper channels.

While Jacob is behind with some cognitive strategies, he does his best, and is getting

better with the more work and time he spends with his para and his special education team. Jacob

strives to not be behind in his work for class, but sometimes gets so far behind that catching up

seems like it will never happen with deters Jacob from doing his work. When this happens, Jacob

knows that he will not be able to go outside or will have to eat lunch while working to catch up.

Socio-emotional Development

Jacob has no issues making friends. He has a few issues with communication to adult and

will probably shut down and not talk or belittle himself if he is found doing something wrong or

having to be redirected to ask the teacher for a break. Jacobs best adult communication comes

when he is talking to his mother. He relates to his mom and knows that his mom will help him

whenever he needs it.

Jacob has a hard time self-regulation and lacks self-esteem. He is the last to be in line and

the last to volunteer. Jacob will belittle himself if given the chance or if he feels like he is

“failing”. Jacob will tell you “I am the worst”, “I’m just not smart enough”, or “why can’t I be

smart like everyone else” then will shut down and give up on whatever he is working on. Jacob

does not believe in his self-worth. He will compare himself to other peers and even adults when

he struggles with an assignment.

 Jacob will struggle and show that he wants to do everything that a “normal” student does.

When his work pays off, he is proud and will display it where and whenever possible, but when

his grade doesn’t match the effort he strived to put into it, he will become discouraged and upset.

Summary, Conclusions, and Implications

Jacob is a smart, outgoing, and bright second grader with some learning disabilities. With

his Individualized Education Plan in order he continues to grow and achieve more then he has in

the past, but he still has a long way to go. As he continues to work with his para, special

education team, and teacher he will be able to move on and continue to be successful in his

education. Jacob has high expectations with himself and will be able to achieve these.

At the general education level that he is in he is below a typical student. Jacob is

advanced in his standards for himself. Physically Jacob is below average, but never lets that

cause him issues with be left behind the class. In his cognitive level Jacob is behind. He will not

finish his work with his class and will need extra time to do the work. Jacob has a hard time

following directions and concentrating on what the teacher is saying, so he will not learn as

easily, and will need the lesson repeated to him in short lessons. Jacob is at a standard level for

his socio-emotional development. He enjoys his peers and talking to them but will need help

when addressing adults. He will often get mad and upset about not understanding, or a bad grade.

Jacob is a topnotch scientist but has some issues with communication. Sometimes his

learning disabilities cause issues when he is trying to master a new skill, but once he understands

the material, he will not hold back his excitement. Jacob will have a better understanding with

one on one lessons. When matched with peers Jacob will excel. It will take time and learning, but

once this happens Jacob will advance quickly and achieve great and amazing things in his life.