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Name: Anita Hughes

Date: October 20, 2013

Bluefield State College

EDUC 200 Child Adolescent Growth and Development
Case Study
I.

General Information
Name: Bell Burns
Age: 9
Grade: 4th
Birth Date: January 5, 2004
Resides With: Mother and Father
Siblings: 2
Physical Description: Long Red Hair, Petite

II.

Background (Interviewed Mother )

Birth Weight: 7 lbs 4 ounces
Pregnancy and labor: The pregnancy and labor were normal with no
complications. The mothers pregnancy was full term.
Age for Development First
Crawling: 7 Months
Sitting: 5 Months
Walking: 10 Months
Talking: 7 Months
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Toilet Training: 27 Months

III.

Pre-School History (Interviewed Mother)

According to Bells mother she was eager to attend Pre-School. She
was enrolled in Pre-School at age four and attended Silver Springs.
During her year at Silver Springs, Bell was a good student and played
very well with others. She did not have any trouble learning the
concepts being taught. Bell also followed instructions very well and
never caused any trouble. Overall she was a model Pre-School
student.

IV.

School History (Interviewed Teacher Mrs. Barton )

When I spoke to the fourth grade teacher at Glenwood Elementary she
had nothing but positive things to say about Bell. The first thing that
she stated was that Bell is a very bright and intelligent student. The
teacher went on to say that Bell is a model student. She stated that
Bell is one of her leaders in the classroom, always taking initiative to
help other students in the classroom that are struggling. Mrs. Barton
also stated that Bell makes good grades and is very skilled at
multitasking. When I asked Mrs. Barton what tier level she would
place Bell on she stated, Most definitely a Tier Level 3 student. She
also added that Bell scored in the top 2 percent on the West Test.
At the end of the interview I had one final question for Mrs.
Barton: Did she feel Bell was being challenged enough in the
classroom? Mrs. Barton had no trouble at all answering. She quickly
responded that no she felt that if they offered gifted classes at the
Elementary level that Bell would be a great candidate for them. She
said she can see that Bell gets bored sometimes in the classroom
because she is not always being challenged. She stated further that
because other students learn at a slower pace, some lessons my take
longer to teach. This ultimately hinders Bells abilities because she
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has to learn at a lot slower pace then she should be. Mrs. Barton feels
that due to this Bells mind may wonder in class sometimes. She states
it sometimes appears in class that Bell is not listening. Mrs. Barton
was adamant that Bell is listening; she just is not focusing her full
attention because she already knows the material and because of this
she gets bored. She hopes that once Bell gets into Middle School that
she can be placed in honor classes that will be better suited to teaching
her on the level she is on.

V.

Observations of Child
When I first walked into the classroom the teacher was starting a
vocabulary lesson. I had never seen Bell before this, so the teacher
quietly pointed out to me who Bell was. I quietly sat down in the back
and began to observe Bells reaction to the lesson. The classroom is
set up in a way that all the students have their own desk which allows
for their own personal learning space. I did not call any special
attention to Bell because I did not want her to be singled out in the
classroom.
The students were very quiet and they all seemed very focused
on what Mrs. Barton was teaching. She began the vocabulary lesson
by introducing the words and giving a short definition of what each
word means on the smart board. During this time, Bell seemed very
focused, listening very intensely. Once Mrs. Barton was finished
introducing the words, she pulled up a fill-in-the-blank page on the
smart board where students had to go up and draw a line from the
vocabulary word to the sentence it best to which fits. Several students
eagerly raised their hands to be called on. At first Belle was really
quiet and did not draw attention to herself, but she seemed to have
complete understanding of what was being taught. Eventually, after
several students had gone up, Bell raised her hand and was eager to be
called on. Once called on, Bell went straight to the board and had no
problem connecting her vocabulary word to the right sentence. When
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the teacher asked her to read her sentence out loud, she did not
hesitate. The only thing that I noticed was that Bell is a little soft
spoken. This does not seem to hinder her in the classroom at all.
After the vocabulary sentences were completed, the students were
then told to get out their Vocabulary Practice Workbooks out. Bell got
her workbook out quietly and turned right to the page that the teacher
specified. Mrs. Barton then explained that they need to quietly
complete the vocabulary crossword puzzle and once everyone is done
they will all go over it together. Bell eagerly worked on the
assignment and finished quickly. Once she completed the assignment,
Bell got out a blank sheet of paper and began to draw quietly while
waiting for her classmates to finish. When everyone in the classroom
was finished, Mrs. Barton showed the crossword puzzle on the smart
board and explained to the students that she is going to call on them to
come and fill in the puzzle. I noticed that at first Bell continued to
draw even as students were going up and filling in the crossword. She
did seem to still be listening but appeared bored. I believe this is
because it was taking some time for each student to come up and fill
in the spaces. However, as soon as Bell was called on, she knew
exactly what number she was to complete and went up and filled it in
with no hesitation at all. This lets me know that Bell is very aware of
what is going on in the classroom at all times. Overall I examined that
Bell listens to instructions and follows along very well.

VI.

Summary

I feel that from my observation of Bell that she has developed above what is
expected in her educational growth. After observing Bell, I worry that she is not
being challenged enough in the classroom. Based off of the teacher interview
and the classroom observation, Bell is an ideal student; never causing any
trouble, eager to help other students, a leader in the classroom, and makes good
grades. I feel that because Bell is not being challenged enough in the classroom
she is not being given the ability to use her full potential. She has to slow her
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pace down in class which causes her to get bored frequently. When this
happens, even though Bell is still listening, she is not completely focused on the
teacher which may cause her to miss out on something important in the
classroom. I feel that if Bell continues to not feel challenged, that she will
eventually begin to put forth less effort.
Vygotskys Social Development Theory implies that capable peers can be
used in the classroom as mediators for students that tend to struggle with
learning concepts. This aspect can easily be seen in Bells success in assisting
her classmates as stated by Mrs. Barton. Bells firm grasp of the subjects being
taught makes her an ideal candidate to pair with students to help fortify their
cognitive development. This will greatly boost Bells confidence among her
peers. However, I fear that the lack of challenging material may impede her
ability to grow to her full potential.
I conclude that Bell is developing above what is expected as a fourth grade
student and is already showing signs that she will have a very successful school
career. I feel that Bell could further expand her abilities once she is exposed to
more challenging coursework. Although it appears that her focus may
occasionally drift away from the classroom, I believe that she is still very
attentive to what is going on and appears to have no negative effects resulting
from it. This problem should resolve itself when Bell is introduced to more
difficult material. From my personal observation and the interview with the
teacher, I would say that Bell is a role model student.