Pepsi Screening

Pepsi Screening Case Study

Tammy A. Condon

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 220-1006 Principals of Educational Psychology

Dr. Vincent Richardson

10/16/2021
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Biography

In this case study, the child I will discuss is an 8-year-old female in the third grade. The

first stool was passed in the womb during birth, but there were no lasting complications or health

concerns. She was eight pounds, thirteen ounces at birth, and 19 inches long. She currently lives

in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was born in Vista, California, where she lived for six months. At that

time, she moved with her family to Las Vegas. The child lives in an apartment in the Northwest

part of town. In her family, she is the youngest; she has two older brothers, that are 13-years-old

and 11-years-old, her mother and her father. Her parents are married and live together with their

children. They are a part of the middle-class socioeconomic status. Close by, she also has her

maternal grandmother and her mother’s sister. The father’s sister lives in the same town but is

not involved with the family. Her father’s aunt lives nearby and is actively involved in the child’s

life. Unfortunately, both of her grandfathers have passed away as well as her paternal

grandmother.

The child receives 150 minutes of GATE instruction per week and 20 minutes a week for

a speech IEP. She has attended the same elementary school since preschool. She wears glasses to

assist her in reading the board in the classroom. The child enjoys going to school and learning.

She strives to do her best and wants to succeed in all that she does. The child enjoys reading,

drawing, playing games with her family, gymnastics, being with her friends, and traveling with

her family in her free time.

Physical Development

The child is one of the smallest in both weight and height in her classroom. She is 52.2

pounds and 47.5 inches tall. According to the CDC’s height and weight chart (2000), found on

the CDC’s website, the child’s height is in the 25th percentile, and her weight is in about the 11th
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percentile. Through the CDC’s BMI calculator website (2019), “based on the height and weight

entered, the BMI is 16.2, placing the BMI-for-age at the 53rd percentile for girls aged eight years

six months. This child has a healthy weight.” The mother noted that the child’s diet is mostly

fast food or junk food. She does like salad, carrots, and broccoli, but not many other vegetables.

She is less picky about fruits. These food choices could be affecting her growth as well as in the

classroom.

Observing the child during recess and in her mother’s notes, she enjoys doing cartwheels,

round-offs, and other gymnastics-type moves every chance she gets. On the J’Anne Ellsworth

PEPSI (1998) website, it states for nine-year-olds, which is a year older than the observed child,

that “large muscle coordination has become a "joy" with the child doing tricks on the bike, gym

specialties like handsprings, flips, etc. and outdoor activities are usually seen as fascinating and

alluring.”

The child gets frequent infections with injuries and takes longer than usual to heal. For

example, according to the mother, when the child had surgery last October to remove an enlarged

lymph node, the surgery site became infected, had a cellulitis reaction that needed to be drained,

and needed antibiotics to heal. The child also had a bee sting in April of this year, which six

months later caused an eczema reaction and swelling that required medication to heal. The

mother also described the child as clumsy and constantly falling or hurting themselves.

The child has no interest in the opposite sex other than friendship. She does not have

“crushes.” The child plays equally with children her age of both genders.

Emotional Development
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The child’s teacher described her as the mother of the classroom, always trying to help

anywhere she could. She especially finds joy in helping other students to understand a concept

that she has quickly grasped. In an article titled The Emotional Lives of 8-10-year-olds on the

Scholastic website, it says, “one component of social and emotional growth in 8- to 10-year olds

is their desire for increased independence from parents and siblings, and their increased desire to

be seen as intelligent and knowledgeable.” She strives to be seen as “smart” by her peers and

teachers. When the child feels like she is “failing” she gets extremely emotional. Failing to this

student is anything less than an A.

When playing games with friends, at home with her brothers, or not getting her way, the

child will scream in frustration to express her dislike for something. She quickly calms down

when corrected but will have a sudden outburst again to express her emotions. When looking at

the University of Michigan Health website (2020) about children this age, it states that children

will “have rapidly changing emotions. Angry outbursts are common. Many children are critical

of others, especially of their parents. They may seem dramatic and sometimes rude.”

The child is very impulsive. The mother has stated that when the child wants to do

something, like pour their own milk; she will not wait for someone to help her even if the milk is

too full and will spill it everywhere. According to the University of Michigan Health website

(2020), children in this age group “are impatient. They like immediate gratification and find it

hard to wait for things they want.

Philosophical Development
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As stated in the emotional development, the child believes she is “failing” if she gets

anything less than an A, there is no gray area that passing grades include B’s and C’s. She also

follows the rules to a T in school. She constantly has her hug and bubble when walking in the

hallway and will not step out of line or speak in the hallways. She will remind students in class

around her of the rules. For children this age, the University of Michigan Health website (2020)

states that children “have a black-and-white perspective much of the time. Things are either

great or awful, ugly or beautiful, right or wrong.” Another text, Psychology Applied to Teaching

(Snowman & Rickman, 2019, pg. 59), states, “seven- to ten-year-olds regarded rules as sacred

pronouncements handed down by older children or adults.” The child believes that rules are there

for a reason and they are not to be broken. She also believes that she needs to do her best to get

her teacher’s approval and her fellow students.

Her philosophy is that if she can help somebody, she always should. So she is the first to

volunteer to help a struggling student with an assignment, task, or lesson. “There is a small

tendency for females to favor a caring/helping, cooperation orientation.” (Snowman & Rickman,

2019, pg. 64). She also needs reminders to get chores or tasks done at home.

Social Development

When observed on the playground, the child could be seen playing with many different

students, but one female student was the one she connected to most. When asked, she described

the girl as her best friend. In an article on the Verywell Family website (2020), children in this

age group are described as “this is the phase of social development where many children love

being a part of social groups. In general, 8-year-old children enjoy schooland will count on and

value relationships with a few close friends and classmates, and may gravitate primarily toward
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friendships with peers of the same gender.” It was observed that friendships she has had for years

as more like acquaintances have become more meaningful and deeper. After receiving her

rewards from turning in Dojo points that she earned in class, she was observed giving them to a

friend who was not in her class but wanted them. As stated in other developments, she is always

the first to volunteer to help wherever she can. The same article on the Verywell Family website

(2020) explains they may “exhibit a wide spectrum of pro-social skills including, being

generous, supportive, and kind” this strongly fits this child.

At home, the mother notes that when the child is caught doing something she is not

supposed to, she will lie to try and get away with it.“Eight-year-old children are still developing

an understanding of what is "wrong" or "right," and lying, or other behavior requiring discipline

may need to be corrected.” (Morrin, 2020) While this is not observed in the classroom, it is

worth noting that she does try to push and see if she can get away with things at home. She also

can be an instigator with her older brothers; this can be seen frequently when she will run for an

item she knows her brothers want or are trying to get.

Intellectual Development

The child in this study is at the top of her class, seen in her testing, GATE qualification,

and grades. The child has an IEP for speech for the /r/ sound and the /l/ sound; this does affect

her writing at times because of the way she pronounces words. However, she is working towards

proficiency in those sounds each time she is pulled to speech. She sets the bar high for herself

and strives to get nothing less than A’s. At her school, they have the chance to redo a test if they

want to try for a higher grade. The student has on multiple occasions redone assignments if they

were less than an A. The child has set a goal to get the Principal’s Award this year, which

requires straight A’ all year, perfect attendance, and E’s in all learner behaviors. Children this age
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are goal-oriented; this is backed up on the virtuallabschool.org (2021) website; it says, “they

become more goal-oriented” when describing children in this age group. She often is so

confident in her ability to understand a lesson that when tested, she will make simple mistakes

from rushing through the assessment and not checking her work.

Her level of comprehension in reading and speech is shown in her ability and enjoyment

of puns. She is often overheard using play-on-words and puns she hears from her mother. This is

typical for children this age, as discussed on the Verywell Family (2020) website, where it says,

“children also begin to show the ability to play on words, and they exhibit verbal humor.” It is

also proven to be typical of this age group on WebMD (2005-2020); they say that “around this

age, they see that some words have more than one meaning. That helps them understand jokes

and puns and start verbally expressing a sense of humor.” She has a broad sense of humor and

finds potty jokes especially funny.

Academically the child comprehends above her grade level in the following ways. She

knows the majority of the multiplication table facts. She can successfully solve a division

problem. In both math areas, she can show her thought process and set up a problem correctly.

Her writing is well thought out. The child includes many complex details in her stories and

writings. She finds answers to questions in the text in both multiple-choice and written

responses. She can comprehend figurative language in most contexts. When she reads, she

chooses chapter books that have high levels of comprehension. In her MAPs testing, she scored

in the ninetieth percentile for math, the eightieth percentile for reading, and the ninety-ninth

percentile for science. When tested for GATE in the second grade, the child tested in the 98th

percentile. She was the only student among her peers to score high enough on the prescreening

not to need further testing. Her GATE teacher described her as a thinker. When a question is
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posed to the class, she will not answer right away but think of every option and then give her

answer.

Normal Age

Physical Emotional Philosophical Social Intellectual Eight Year Old

Recommendations

When reviewing this child’s chart for physical development, I recommend ensuring that

the child is eating a well-balanced diet. While her height can not be addressed by outside forces,

making sure that she is in a healthy percentile for weight amongst her peers should be of utmost

importance. Having a well-balanced diet can help with sleep, health, focus, and stamina to get

through her day. I also suggest putting the child in a consistent athletic endeavor like gymnastics

to continue to develop the child’s gross motor skills and large muscle development. The child

appears to be on par with children her age emotionally. I would recommend helping her develop

coping mechanisms when she gets frustrated or upset that she has not reached a goal she has set

for herself. I would also consider setting meetings with the counselor to understand her need for
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perfectionism and to help her understand that nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes.

The child has a clear understanding of her philosophical beliefs and who she is as a person.

While being a stickler for the rules will serve her well in the classroom, it can be seen as a reason

for children to pick on them. While I do not suggest a child break the rules, I suggest that the

child focus on what they are doing and not on what other children may be doing wrong. I also

suggest having the child join leadership groups to encourage her desire to help others around her.

Socially the child is also on par with her peers. I would suggest encouraging the relationship

between the child and her siblings. I would also encourage her to continue building the

friendships she has made in and out of school. Intellectually this child is above grade level. She

should be given challenging reading material to further her vocabulary and comprehension.

References
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2 to 20 years: Girls Stature Weight-for-age percentiles. (2000, May 20). Retrieved October 16,

2021, https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set2clinical/cj41c072.pdf

Alli, R. (2021, May 04). 8 Year Old child developmental milestones. Retrieved October 16,

2021, https://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/child-8-milestones#1

Anthony, M., PHD. (n.d.). The emotional lives of 8-10 Year Olds. Retrieved October 16, 2021,

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/family-life/social-emotional-learning/development-milestone

s/emotional-lives-8-10-year-olds.html

BMI Calculator Child and teen. (2019, April 04). Retrieved October 16, 2021,

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/bmi/result.html?&method=english&gender=f&age_y=8&ag

e_m=6&hinches=47.5&twp=52

Cognitive development: School-age: VLS. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2021,

https://www.virtuallabschool.org/school-age/cognitive/lesson-2

Ellsworth, J. (1999). Teaching and Learning Fairness Age 9. Retrieved October 16, 2021,

https://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/PEPSIObserv/year9.html

Milestones for 8-year-olds. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2021,

https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/ue5720

Morin, A., LCSW. (2019, June 24). How children grow and develop at age 8. Retrieved October

16, 2021, from https://www.verywellfamily.com/8-year-old-developmental-milestones-620729

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching. Stamford, CT: Cengage

Learning.
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