Determining psychological characteristics, intellectual ability and life skills of students in grades 1 on the basis of a single, short-term case study. If the method of this study is followed, educators will be able to obtain an accurate and objective assessment of students.
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE OF HNUE Interdisciplinary Science, 2013, Vol 58, No 5, pp 93-101 This paper is available online at http://stdb.hnue.edu.vn CHILD DEVELOPMENT CASE STUDY Pho Duc Hoa Department of Post Graduate, Hanoi National University of Education Abstract Determining psychological characteristics, intellectual ability and life skills of students in grades on the basis of a single, short-term case study If the method of this study is followed, educators will be able to obtain an accurate and objective assessment of students Keywords: Psychological characteristics, cognitive characteristics, imagination, attention capacity, language skills, communication, soft skills, emotion Introduction Nowadays, children are very important and numerous in a large number of societies They are cared for and taught to become the future caretakers of their country by family and society A strong social, psychological and physical development of children needs to be given special attention Every day, children spend a large part of their waking time studying in school with teachers and friends Besides learning, they also play and join in many extra-curricular activities at school Children’s personality and psychological characteristics are revealed when they are engaged in activities and communication at school As a result, the class teacher has the opportunity to understand child’s psychological development thoroughly However, class teacher are involved with many things while teaching A case study would provide educators with an overview of the practical experiences that a child has in his activities [3] Appropriate measures could then be proposed to benefit the students 2.1 Content Introduction Full name: Nguyen Cong Tu Sex: Male Date of birth: 15/8/2006; Age: years months; Class: Received November 15, 2012 Accepted February 29, 2013 Contact Pho Duc Hoa, e-mail address: phoduchoa40@yahoo.com 93 Pho Duc Hoa 2.1.1 Family circumstances Tu is an only child His father was born in Central Vietnam Tu lives with his mother and father in Hanoi They have a ‘high standard of living’ 2.1.2 General characteristics of the child Cong Tu is a very smart, confident and agile boy with a smiley face He has a close relationship with a friend and he always cares for and helps classmates He is interested in the lessons and eager to contribute to class discussions He has a sharp sense of perception and makes an active effort to learn, always completing the assigned tasks He is a good student in class However, Tu does not arrange his work reasonably or work carefully 2.2 Psychological characteristics Psychological characteristics of children are generally shown by their actions and communications [2] To become aware of a children’s psychological make-up, teachers might use many methods, but observation is recognised as being highly effective We can know about a child’s personality, thinking and language by observation and analysis Therefore it is possible for teachers to understand specific physiological characteristics as well as their advantages and disadvantages and to know how to promote the former and discourage the latter so that they can develop comprehensively 2.2.1 Cognitive characteristics a Thinking Math is an important subject which requires good thinking, analysis and calculation competence Through observation, I saw that Tu prefer Math over Vietnamese Why? He is quite enthusiastic about numbers but it is difficult for him to write things down In the math lessons, Tu always contributes to class discussion and responds quickly to the teacher’s questions Sometimes, he answers the teacher’s question immediately For example: - When children were learning how to double a numbers, teacher demonstrated that if you double you get which is the same as plus The teacher then asked: “What you get when you double 3?” Tu raised his hand and said that if you double you get He explained that plus is With all young children, it is clear that detailed thinking and formalistic thinking are popular This is true with Tu, also As evidence of this: - The Half lesson – this is a difficult, abstract concept that is presented in the international Math curriculum of Grade At first, when the teacher said: “What number is half of 6?” Tu didn’t know what half meant Then, Teacher use a cube as a model to explain that if one wants to find half of number, we should divide it into equal parts He listened with concentration to the steps of teacher Then, he understood and knew how to 94 Child development case study find half of a number Tu worked on the worksheet He used the cube to exercises, too First, he made cubes that are equal to the given number Then, he divided the cubes into equal parts, getting parts which he could put together to repeat the process Next, he counted a part and found halve of that number It was observed that he took these steps proficiently and fluently He finished his homework quickly - When learning about ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ signs, he confused the two signs When comparing to 4, he knew that is smaller than 4, but he wrote ‘3>4’ The teacher used a “crocodile mouth” to illustrate and explain that a crocodile is very voracious So, he is often hungry and it eats a lot, and that the “crocodile mouth” always opens to the bigger number Then, when comparing two numbers, he usually identifies the bigger number and makes the ‘crocodile mouth’ open to that number He successfully identified how to use the greater to and less than signs and did not confuse them anymore From this case, it can be concluded that children’s thinking tends toward something specific and close to life - When children were learning how to find the missing number in + = (1) The teacher introduced a method to find the missing number using a timeline, and she gave some examples Tu did very well and he was fast At first, he recognized the starting number and the ending number Then, he counted the distance between the two numbers to get the missing number Other classmates often confused that start number is 6, after jumping steps, the missing number would be Then teacher presented another problem, + = (2), and asked the students to find the missing number The students had to find a way to solve the problem Tu could not solve this problem using the timeline method because he didn’t know where to begin Then he remembered number bond to and realised that: + = => and the missing number is Why did he not he use the timeline? Because he thought that the missing number and the given number in this problem are different than those in the last problem He didn’t know where to start and how to it but he found another way to solve the problem It shows that he has flexible thinking and can find different ways to solve a problem Because children use visual thinking, children are more interested in math problems that are related to life Like the others, Tu oftentimes used resources to help him with what he is doing, for example, the cube and the timeline With addition and subtraction that is less than 10, they use their fingers or mental math to find the answers to the problems b Memory 95 Pho Duc Hoa Tu has a good memory At his age, children oftentimes make use of visual memory and images rather than words and logic In a plane geometry lesson, children learned about squares, rectangles, circles and triangles Children observed and touched physical symbols He remembered that square have equal sides and triangles have sides Then, all of the students went around the classroom to find things that are in the shape of a square, rectangle, circle or triangle As a group, they found: + Rectangle: book, notebook, desk; + Circle: Clock, plate Initially, Tu changed the original image making a different shape During the next lesson, the children made the shapes using a piece of ribbon At first, he made a square He knew that square has equal sides So, he cut equal pieces from the ribbon and made a square To make a rectangle, he cut pieces from ribbon which were not equal He cut pieces of equal length from a yellow ribbon, then he cut of equal length from a blue ribbon He cut and made the shape proficiently and quickly Thus, making use of a visual image will help a 5-year-old boy remember better In math lesson, children learned about “money” In the beginning, the teacher asked: “Yesterday, what did you learn about money?” Tu raised his hand and said: “We learned about 1p, 2p and 5p coins.” “What they look like?” He also remembered and said “They are a circle, a pentagon and one is 7- sided,” although he didn’t remember what the shape of each coin was We found that when children have the opportunity to see a real object, they can better remember it They always remember real objects and phenomenon more accurately, faster and better than a definition or long explanation Moreover, students remember things better when they are repeated For instance, when they learned about the number bond to 5, in their first lesson, the teacher used ladybugs that had dots on their wings to present: + = 5, + = and + = In following lessons, the teacher spent minutes to rewrite number bond to on a small board At first, Tu could it but he forgot + = and his calculations were not in the right order The next day, he could write all the calculations but not in the right order All calculations were repeated each day and he did memorize them In the next lesson, when learning about plus, in addition to the timeline, he could recall these calculations so that he could mentally find the missing number in addition Memory in early primary students is unintended and short-term They can remember easily but they also forget easily With the time passing of time, the memory gradually becomes more intentional and long-term c Attention capacity It can be clearly seen that primary students have a weak intentional attention span and their ability to pay attention is not strong Unintentional attention does develop strongly Apparently, new colorful or surprising things would be attention-grabbing to students For Grade students, because they are immature, their attention capacity is 96 Child development case study generally weak For example, in the math lesson using money, the children sat on a carpet and the teacher talked for 15 minutes, but they listened for only about minutes The teacher bent down, bit her nails and did other things to get their attention but she was not successful Children’s attention span is limited and it’s quite normal that they get distracted When the teacher shifted to other activities (work in groups, exercises) or provided a vivid, brilliant object or had them play a game, the children’s attention came back quickly [4] Teachers present important information at the end of a lesson For example, students are told they must bring a book to school, hand in homework, bring PE or swimming clothes or they hear of upcoming events at school However, when the time is up, children are excited to go home and their attention is not high - they can’t remember what the teacher said They only remember things that they are interested in The process of inhibition in their brain is weak and so their attention is distracted Obviously, concentration cannot be maintained for a long time Increasing the attention span should be part of the learning process and a leading function of teacher d Imagination Imagination is an important cognitive process Primary school students’ imagination is formed and developed through learning and activities in school The imagination of primary school students has been shaped and is more diverse than that of pre-school students The imagination of a child is just a repeat If children want to change, they will little about shape, size or replace other characters they are familiar with The process of awareness of children from vivid visual to abstract thinking; then from abstract thinking back to reality It is the way to reach the truth In summary, awareness in children is not fully developed at their young age They have moved from playing to learning but their psychological characteristics are unstable Sometimes, they’d rather play than learn In lessons, children are distracted and don’t concentrate for a long time Sometimes, they don’t think before they act and they might be disorderly Suggested ways to help children grow and develop: + Always create rich and diverse learning activities + Let students be active in class + For children who can think well (such as Tu), we should give more advanced and challenging exercises + Encourage children to spend more time reading books and exploring their environment to develop their imagination Children will form psychological characteristics if and only if they can express themselves in a diverse variety of learning situations Only through activities in which learning is at the forefront will they gradually expand their personality 97 Pho Duc Hoa 2.3 Personality characteristics a Personality Much of a child’s personality is formed when he is of pre-school age Through observation, I saw that Tu is a bold and vibrant boy He is not scared of an unfamiliar, new environment In each class period, he often gives his opinion whether it is reasonable or not Sometimes, when the teacher was teaching about something that he already knew, he would say, "I know that" or "I learned that before." This could be a psychological characteristic of his age He has weak control of his behavior and he doesn’t know how to make goals and pursue them to the end At this age, children are often stubborn and erratic They like to what they want For example, when learning about the number 6, Tu worked with teaching assistants and in a small group He was the first to complete the homework and it was more correct than the others Teachers tell children that if they complete their homework quickly and accurately, they will be allowed to play online games online on the school’s computer Tu wanted to play computer games but the teaching assistant prepared another game for him Although he wanted to play computer games, when she encouraged him the new game, he was interested in it and played with his friends At that time, he could play computer games but he chose to play and learn with his friends in the group happily In another case, Tu was working in group at a Vietnamese lesson – write a story He has good writing skills and he often writes in his group On one occasion the teacher told him, “You should spell and let your friends write”, and he did give the pen to someone else and the other child wrote while Tu dictated Tu has excellent competence to lead others in a group He joins in most team-work activities He works hard and is always responsible in his team During a Vietnamese lesson, children worked in groups to learn about writing He divided the work among the kids in the group But he usually works on all things in a group Tu is a friendly boy He is willing to help anyone when they are having difficulty During GoldenTime, he chose to play his favorite game "Snack and Ladder" with three other kids, including a new student At first, all of children were upset with the new student because he didn’t know how to play When Tu told his teacher, she said: "You should show him how to play the game." So, he went back to the game and showed the new kid how to play the game Vietnamese people believe that those who prefer the color red are likely to be strong and to misbehave Tu often selected red toys Once, when he went out late, he did not get to play with his favorite red toy He looked sad but then he relaxed and chose other toys to play Through his emotions and reactions, it can be seen that Tu is still as innocent and immature as his counterparts, but he is a little strong and mature for his age He compromises, shares and helps anyone around him 98 Child development case study b Language and communication Language and communication express a part of children’s personality While in primary school, language skills are being shaped and developed Language skills in children are limited Many children are afraid to communicate while others have weak language skills and so find it difficult to communicate Children want to say what they are thinking but they can’t find the appropriate words to describe their thoughts and wants In addition, their sentences are incomplete This year, Tu is years old His language skills are better than that of his friends He can talk to teachers and friends clearly, coherently and comprehensively One time, a boy would not change seats with a girl Teacher listened to what he said and then told him, “You should give your seat to the girl” He then said, "Yes! Boys should be nice to girls” The teacher was surprised to hear this His sentence was clear and it sounded like he was repeating what an adult said Tu also speaks English very well Every day, the children have periods to learn with foreign teachers and speak English His English is at the intermediate level, but he tries to use his vocabulary to talk with foreign teachers He can only speak short sentences but he is quite confident in his communication c Soft skills Soft skills are necessary in a child’s life These skills help them integrate into society Parents take care of and worry about their children However, in the classroom, they are under the control of the teacher but are not with their parents or caregiver Most of them are uncomfortable and embarrassed when they begin to go to school Every day, Tu is picked up at his home by a school bus This is an opportunity to him exercise independence Before a PE class, the children oftentimes have to change into their PE clothing At home, maids help Tu everything However, in school, he has to change his clothes and tidy up Tu is oftentimes the quickest to change his clothes although it’s not done well His independence is significant In addition, he is a neat and tidy student After finishing his work, he knows that he is supposed to tidy up For example, the children must put their pencils, colored pencils and glue stick away before they sit on the carpet While some of children forgot to put things away before they sit on the carpet, Tu has the habit of putting everything in place before he leaves his seat So his desk looks neat After playing, he puts his toys away quickly He also helps other children tidy up, something that not all children at this age It could be said that he does this because of the personality and consciousness that he has It is an important that he is well-educated in a good environment He is not independent but he does engage in all activities d Emotion Emotion is a very important aspect of psychology in general and human life For primary students, emotions are in play during their activities and express their level of awareness Positive emotions have a positive effect on their activities 99 Pho Duc Hoa When Tu was writing, he wrote badly and the teacher told him, "You wrote badly - you didn’t even try to write" He then sulked and did everything slowly Later when he was writing, the teacher told him, "This is very nice You should write like this" Tu then felt happy and wrote faster and better Cognitive processes and activities of children are dominated by feelings and emotions At Tu’s school, there is a swimming pool and children have a swimming lesson once a week Tu likes the water and swimming excites him He is therefore enthusiastic about going to school on Tuesday and is very excited during the first lesson because the next period is the swimming class At this time he does things faster than usual and he is very happy Young children not often hide their emotions They things which they like quickly and enthusiastically But when they don’t want to something, they won’t it This phenomenon is due to student’ excitement process is stronger the inhibition one and the cortex is not enough frequent to adjust the operation of the lower parts of brain On the other hand, the mental quality still not have the ability to control and regulate the emotions of child Transformation of emotion is quite clear in this period During a lesson, Tu’s classmate Nam said, "I don’t want to sit next to Tu” When Tu heard that, he was very sad The teacher asked Khang (or Nam or whatever we are calling the fictional kid) why he said that and then told him, “We should all play together” The children said that they were sorry If we were Tin (or Tu or whatever we are calling our main character), we would not want to play with that person anymore However, the two children still played together happily It is our belief that children’s emotions aren’t fomarted, sustainable or profound They are sad, angry or crying, and then they have fun and laugh The emotions come and go Through this, a part of Tu’s character can be seen quite clearly Outstanding characteristics of Tu are his independence, happiness and harmony with his friends We know that he is nice and innocent and we also know that he is mature and powerful He works well with groups of children and is responsible for his actions Conclusion This case study is a research method which shows human psychological characteristics in general and that of 6-year old children in particular Educators use their ability to observe to discover physiological characteristics of interest in interactions with the surrounding environment and the community From the results of this single study, educators can outline appropriate educational strategies for students in general Observing individual students closely helps educators see children’s physical and mental characteristics Through research and the use of reasoning when observing specific situations, we can understand the interactions between teachers and students better Observing a child for a short time will not reveal everything about a child and judgments 100 Child development case study about children in general will not be accurate, but it does show the signs of psychological characteristics at that age In addition, the limitations and deficiencies of children are also revealed regarding thinking, intuition and imagination One can observe the short-term memory, short attention span, language limitations and unformed character These criteria help educators when they attempt to propose actions and programs and create a safe educational environment for children REFERENCES [1] Alberta, 2004 Focus on Inquiry Canada [2] SEAMEO Regional Centre for Education, 2006 Applying constructvism and inquiry models in teaching volume-temperature relationship of gases (charles law) Penang, Malaysia [3] Calgary University, 2007 Case study at primary school Canada [4] Pho Duc Hoa, 2009 Active teaching and learning in Primary education HNUE Publisher, Ha Noi [5] Pho Duc Hoa – Ngo Quang Son, 2011 Method & information technology in the pedagogical interaction HNUE Publisher, Ha Noi 101 ... teachers and students better Observing a child for a short time will not reveal everything about a child and judgments 100 Child development case study about children in general will not be accurate,... compromises, shares and helps anyone around him 98 Child development case study b Language and communication Language and communication express a part of children’s personality While in primary school,... they are immature, their attention capacity is 96 Child development case study generally weak For example, in the math lesson using money, the children sat on a carpet and the teacher talked for