Free Essay. Description of the Child's Puzzling Behavioral Patterns

Description of the child’s puzzling behavioral patterns, developmental difficulties, and special need(s):

From the observation that was carried out, Jayden has a learning problem. He spent more time doing other things rather than concentrating on the test. Therefore, he depended on the teachers to assist him and repeat each point for him to grasp the content of the quiz. Jayden seemed to enjoy tackling the mathematical problems given, but he was easily distracted by internal and external elements. Their concentration span of Jayden was minimal, and he distracted both the teacher and the students in the course of the test. I hypothesize that because of his short concentration span, he needs assistance from the teachers to keep his mind focused on the test during the exam, which may indicate developmental difficulties.

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Description of the problem that you think the child has to solve:

Based on the observation, it is clear that Jayden’s problem is his short concentration span. When the teacher dictated the instructions for the test, he had to repeat them several times after finding out that Jayden was not concentrating and was staring outside the class. Jayden's concentration problem may be affecting his academic performance. Ryan's challenge based on the observation is his lack of concentration.

Information about the child’s familiarity with the activities he or she participates in:

Jayden was well-versed with the activity he participated in. At the beginning of the test, Jayden arranged his desk, as was the norm during an examination. He then moved his bag and placed it away from his locker. When the teacher started dictating the examination instructions, Jayden was very attentive for the first few minutes, but after a short while, he was staring outside the window. The teacher kept on going to his desk to remind him to continue writing, which may be the routine during an examination.

Description of a sequence of the child’s academic activities under your observation:

Students arranged their desks in rows before the test began. Jayden was very active during the arrangement exercise.

The teacher dictated the instructions, and as all students recorded in the foolscaps, in the beginning, Jayden was at par with the teacher, but after a few minutes, he stopped writing.

The teacher finished dictating the instructions and moved to Jayden's table, where he guided him again.

Jayden started responding to the questions one after the other, and he seemed to be enjoying the quiz but later got distracted by a bird outside the classroom window.

The teacher kept reminding him to continue with his work, after which he finished minutes after the rest of the class was through with the exam.

Description of Child’s Activities/ActionsComments

[2:10 pm- 2:14 pm]

The teacher informs the students to put their backpacks on the designated points in front of the class. He also asks them to arrange their desks in a row and shifts to the examination mode. Jayden seemed to have been excited when the teacher mentioned that it was an integer math test. He was more active than the rest of his peers in moving the desks as he bragged to his friend, "I will score higher than you this time!” Jayden takes out his pencil, sharpener, and eraser and puts them on top of his desk.

[2:14 pm- 2:17 pm]

Mr. Stan issued out the question papers to the class and read out the instructions and guidelines. When reading the instructions, He walked to Jayden's desk and whispered something o him, after which he stops staring outside. Mr. Stan inquires whether everyone understood the instructions, and they all affirm that they did apart from Jayden, who seemed distracted.

[2:17 pm-2: 20 pm]

Mr. Stan goes to Jayden's desk and pulls another chair and sits next to him. He explains something as Jayden nodes his head. Jayden asks the teacher to repeat out the guidelines to him as he did not get all of them. The teacher seemed unmoved by his request since he did not ask the question when he was explaining to the whole class, but he restates all the instructions. The teacher asked Jayden whether he understands the requirements, and he nodded, indicating he had.

[2:20 pm- 2:43 pm]

Jayden seems to be enjoying tackling the questions as he responds to one problem after the other. He seems to be answering the puzzles faster than his peers. He raises his hand and inquires something from the teacher, after which the teacher announces that the third question had a small error that needed to be rectified. He then progresses tackling the questions and seems to be exited with the answers he was getting.

[2:43 pm-2: 49pm]

Jayden stared at a bird that was flying and trying to enter through the closed windows. He then stared at his classmates while the tip of his pencil was in his mouth. He seemed to have forgotten entirely that he was in an examination room. He stood up and walked towards the teacher's desk and requested permission to use the bathroom, which was granted. He walks outside and comes back to class almost 3 minutes after.

[2:49 pm- 3:07 pm]

His teacher stands next to his desk to tackle the remaining questions, and he reminds him every few minutes to stay focused. All the students finish the exams ten minutes earlier than him, and the teacher stands there until he finishes the quizzes.

-Why is he more excited than the rest of the class?

- Is it his favorite subject?

-Does he anticipate to finish the exams the first one?

-Why is the teacher going to his desk?

-Why is he staring outside?

-Does he have a concentration problem?

-Why was the teacher sitting next to Jayden?

- Does he have a common problem known to the teacher?

-Did he not pay attention to the guidelines?

-Why was he too quick to answer the quizzes?

- Why did he seem not to understand when the instructions were read but enjoy answering the questions?

-Why was he staring at the bird outside in the middle of an examination?

-Why did he request to go to washrooms and comes back in less than 3 minutes later?

- Is he trying to waste the exams time?

-Why did the teacher stand next to him?

-Did he require motivation to concentrate?

Inferences

Student’s concentration plays a vital role in their learning development. According to Schunk, the information processing theory of learning addresses the different problems of short term and long term memory (26). Based on the observation, Jayden’s problem can be well understood by further analysis of these the development of the concentration span for children. Higgins and Turnure stated that a child is born with a high affinity for knowledge and takes several stages of development before attaining maximum concentration (1). According to Bolton and John, cognitive development theory suggests that adults participate in the children's learning process (2). When observing Jayden, it is clear that he performed better when the teacher stood next to him during the examination. His divided attention problem, which limited his concentration with the test, seemed to be controlled by the teacher's presence.

Jayden seemed to be troubled by external surroundings during the examination. He was easily distracted by birds and other students at the course of the test. Although Jayden had not finished the test, the teacher allowed him to visit the bathroom. According to Schunk, operant conditioning is essential in helping students concentrate on their tasks (3). If the teacher denied the student permission from visiting the washrooms and promised to let him go after finishing the quiz, he would have concentrated more on the test.

Works Cited

Bolton, Scott, and John Hattie. "Cognitive and brain development: Executive function, Piaget, and the prefrontal cortex." Archives of Psychology 1.3 (2017).

Higgins, Anne T., and James E. Turnure. "Distractibility and concentration of attention in children's development." Child Development (1984): 1799-1810.

Schunk, Dale H. Learning theories an educational perspective sixth edition. Pearson, 2012.