CASE STUDY OF A CHILD AGE 11

Anna Stewart
Professor Wyckoff
EDU 220
 BRIEF OVERVIEW OF 11-YEAR-OLD
(OBSERVATION)

• Physical Development:
Starting to begin developing into their mature bodies
Growth spurt has definitely already began or should be beginning to
• Emotional Development:
• More sensitive and self-conscious of themselves, but also their choices
• Wanting to gain more independence from parents
• Cognitive/ Intellectual Development:
• Easily frustrated over new concepts taught in class
• Starting to apply information learned into their day
• Psychosocial/Social Development:
• Wants to be able to fit into peer groups easily
• Moral/Character Development:
• Starting to try out different attitudes
• More moody than usual
 TYPICAL PHYSICAL BEHAVIORS
(ACCORDING TO RESOURCES)

• More sensitive
• Awkward around peers and people of authority
• May try to separate from parents, creating their own identity
• More independent
• Rely heavily on peer groups for opinions and certain decisions

(Medline, 2017)
 TYPICAL PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL ACCORDING TO SNOWMAN

• A period of relative calm and predictability in physical development

• Motor skill performance are obviously differing based on gender alone
• Both boys and girls become more lean and also stronger
• This is when obesity may become a concern for certain children

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2013)

11-YEAR-OLD PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
CHARACTERISTICS (OBSERVATION)

• The 11-Year-Old that I observed for this case study happens to be the
tallest in her class. Looking at her genetics it makes sense as to why
she is very tall since both her parents are as well. She also talks highly
of all of her friends and would occasionally say, “My friends are doing
this, can I?” As stated by both the resource I used and the book for this
course, around this age is when children will start being more friend
reliant for opinions and decisions, which is exactly what the student I
observed had shown signs of.
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Limit screen time to 2 hours a day. (Medline, 2017)

• Encourage children to participate in constructive activities
such as sports, clubs, arts, music or scouts. (Medline, 2017)
 TYPICAL EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORS

• Frequent physical complaints, such as sore throat, stomach ache etc.

• Easily frustrated
• Differing behaviors such as lying, cheating etc. to test the waters
• Peer acceptance is a reoccurring theme throughout this age

(Medline, 2017)
 TYPICAL EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORS
ACCORDING TO SNOWMAN

• Friendships are based solely on the same gender

• Family relationships may play a big part in behavior at school
• Self image is starting to develop more blatantly

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2013)

 11-YEAR-OLD EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
CHARACTERISTICS (OBSERVATION)

• The 11-Year-Old student that I observed for this case

study did only have her friend group consisting of only girls.
When I asked about boys, her response was simply
uninterested. I also noticed that she wanted to make sure
her outfit was looking good before she left for school as
well as her hair. That was a true sign that she as starting to
put more into her looks and therefore developing a sense
of self-image.
 EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Keep close communication with teachers, other school

employees, and parents of your child's friends so you are
aware of possible problems. (Medline, 2017)
• Encourage children to express themselves openly and talk
about concerns without fear of punishment. (Medline,
2017)
 TYPIC AL COGNITIVE/INTELLECTUAL
BEHAVIORS
(ACCORDING TO RESOURCES)

• Worrying about being bullied

• May be more anxious than usual
• Thing such as reading disabilities may start to show up
• Reading becomes more about the actual content of the book rather than
sounding out and figuring out words
• Attention span should be at minimum an hour

(Medline, 2017)
 COGNITIVE/INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTS
ACCORDING TO PIAGET & VYGOTSKY

Piaget:
• Formal operational
• “Able to deal with abstractions, form hypothesis, solve problems
systematically, engage in mental manipulations”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2013)

Vygotsky:
• “More strongly influenced by those more intellectually advanced.”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2013)
 11-YEAR-OLD COGNITIVE/INTELLECTUAL
DEVELOPMENT CHARACTERISTICS
(OBSERVATION)

• I feel like the 11-Year-Old that I observed for this case

study didn’t exactly fall into this category completely. She
didn’t seem to be worried about being bullied or self
conscious about herself, nor did she seem to be very
anxious. I do think that what Vygotsky stated about being
strongly influenced by more intellectually advanced was
something that I saw lining up with her.
 COGNITIVE/INTELLECTUAL
DEVELOPMENTS RECOMMENDATIONS

• If your child’s physical development appears to be outside the norm, talk to

your provider. (Medline, 2017)
• School-age children should participate in family chores, such as setting the
table. (Medline, 2017)

(Medline, 2017)
 TYPICAL PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENTS

• Trying out new attitudes

• May be caught cheating, lying etc.
• Wanting to gain more independence and create their own
identity

(Medline, 2017)
 PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS
ACCORDING TO ERIKSON

• Epigenetic Principle
• Idea that development progresses through a series of interrelated stages
and that each stage has a critical period of development
• Industry vs. Inferiority
• Industry: when the child is encouraged and praised for completing tasks
well or for even trying
• Inferiority: when the child is continually being let down for their tried efforts

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2013)

 11-YEAR-OLD PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL
CHARACTERISTICS (OBSERVATION)

• The 11-Year-Old student that I observed for this case

study would feel very independent and for instance
wouldn’t want her mom to walk her to the school gate,
and other days would be more dependent and clingy with
her mom. I think that was interesting to see that its not
like a light switch but more depends on the day and how
she is feeling regarding her independence.
 PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENTS RECOMMENDATIONS

• Show warmth and sensitivity

• Use appropriate discipline without harshness

(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017)

Set limits on the media and information children get exposed through from their
peers and social media

(Medline, 2017)
 TYPICAL MORAL/CHARACTER
DEVELOPMENTS

• Curious
• Daring
• Experimental
• Easily swayed into peer pressure
 TYPIC AL MORAL/CHARACTER
DEVELOPMENTS ACCORDING TO KHOLBERG

• Level 1: Preconventional Morality

• Stage 1: Punishment-obedience orientation
• Stage 2: Instrumental relativist orientation
• Level 2: Conventional Morality
• Stage 3: Good boy-nice girl orientation
• Stage 4: Law-and-order orientation
• Level 3: Postconventional Morality
• Stage 5: Social contract orientation
• Stage 6: Universal ethical principle orientation
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2013)
 11-YEAR-OLD MORAL
CHARACTERISTICS

• The 11-Year-Old student that I observed for this case

study showed many of the “normal” or expected moral
characteristics for her age bracket. Personally, she has a
very outgoing personality which can be both a good and
bad thing.
 MORAL/CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Explain to the child the dangers that being too brave or curious can be
• Ensure a safe environment for your child
• Monitor what access your child has while online
• Be a good role model
• Don’t be afraid to reprimand when necessary
 REFERENCES

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Child

development. Retrieved
from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html

• Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013). ED PSYCH. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth,

Cengage Learning.

• Medline (2017). Adolescent Development. Retrieved

from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002003.htm (Links to an external
site.)