1. CHDODEV CASE STUDY
“ J M ”
Sofia Molato
Paula Siggaoat
Matthew Te
Kyle Riconalla
2. ABSTRACT
This case study is about a young boy named Jamuel
Joseph or JM. The group observed him in a classroom at
John Dewey School for Children. He is 10 years old, has a
younger sister and lives with his mother while his father is
working abroad. The paper is focused primarily on
physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development of
JM. It intends to study how JM is developing normally for
his age.
3. PART I. BACKGROUND OF THE CHILD
This case study is about a young boy named JM, who was
observed at John Dewey School for Children, an indoor
environment. The 10 year old JM lives in a house with his
mother and his younger sister. He is the elder of the two
siblings. His Fil-Am father works in the U.S. while his Filipino
mother is a plain housewife. Their house is located inside a
village near the school. He likes browsing the internet during his
spare time. He engages in sports like basketball and martial
arts. He likes the subjects Math, Arts & Music. He is fond of
horror and mystery movies. One of his favorites is the Piranha.
He is amused by wrestling and adores wrestlers, Rey Mysterio
(a.ka. 619) and The Big Show. He enjoys eating sushi and
ramen and hates bitter gourd or commonly known as
“ampalaya”. Colors red, green, and blue are his favorites. He
dislikes chaotic classmates but he is close to all the boys from
his class. JM is currently in Grade IV from the class Grade IV–
Panday.
4. PART II. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
JM likes outdoor activities and playing sports. He is a
normal growing boy, already experiencing some changes
in his body – he already lost deciduous teeth or baby
teeth. Middle childhood is the stage where the boys should
be experiencing the growth in height. “Girls and boys grow
about 2 to 3 inches and gain about 7 pounds per year until
puberty” (2013, Cliff Notes). Middle childhood is also the
stage where minor illnesses lessen in frequency.
According to Cliff Notes (2013) “…improved resistance to
common illnesses is probably due to a combination of
increased immunity from previous exposures and
improved hygiene and nutritional practices.”
5. PART III. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
During this period, JM’s thought is more logical, flexible, and
organized than it was during his early childhood. According to
Piaget’s Theory, JM is in the concrete operational stage
cognitively. Concrete operational stage is from ages 7 to 11
where JM falls in this category. Similarly, JM has a normal
cognitive development as evidenced by the parameters of
normal cognitive signs for a ten year old child.
An example scenario is when JM attentively listens to
Teacher Monette discussing a certain number on their past
quiz. When Teacher Monette states the problem, JM
immediately raises his hand to volunteer and to answer on the
board. Afterwards, Teacher Monette evaluates the outcome and
restates the result in terms of the original problem statement in
the end. JM is able to solve the problem on the board.
6. CONT.
In addition, when they have seat works to do, JM works diligently
and asks for assistance when needed and completes it without getting
distracted. JM pays attention when the teacher explains something in
the class and follows what the teacher tells them to do so. JM is
capable of paying attention to more than one thing at a time and
thinking becomes much more quickly. JM likes making decisions on
his own. He quite enjoys learning and loves joining school activities.
JM doesn’t get frustrated easily when things don’t go well and he
doesn’t really like things to be perfect at all times.
Yet, JM’s language development learning is very good. He speaks
fluent English and he knows how to speak the Filipino language
including the Kapampangan dialect.
Thus, JM has cognitive development, which is in parallel with his
level; hence I can see him as a good student with normal development
as expected of his age.
7. PART IV. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
As an energetic and playful 10-year old boy, JM is able to
exercise his self-determination and develop his emotional
maturity. But for some reasons, he still needs to have an
assurance from his parents depending on his attitude. He
gradually develops social skills and increasing ability to relate to
the outside world at school and with his friends. In that, he
shows interest in playing and spend hours with his chosen
activities. For example, he excels in basketball and also being
part of the student council. JM also has a desire to fit in and be
accepted by his peer groups. Prior to that, this factor is
essential to enhance self-esteem. He always wanted to be part
in the student government and engage in leading the group. He
interacts with people and is able to relate to both same-gender
and opposite-gender peers. He is quick to show observers his
happiness, sadness, confusions or frightfulness.
8. CONT.
Although he can handle conflicts and problems, he lacks the
sense of sensitivity of other people. He is not sensitive to situations.
For instance, he bullies his classmates and crack jokes that may hurt
the person. He also lacks the sense of respect when it comes to
orders and instructions. Teachers and staff were able to observe JM’s
insensitivity and lack of respect. Another noticeable observation of JM
is his urge to do something. In that, they are trying to help understand
JM by following what he wants. For example, the teacher gives JM the
opportunity to become the president of their class. The teacher’s
strategy is making JM the president so that he can be the role model
of the class. By that, the teacher must still help and guide JM. In terms
of his academics, teachers are concern about his grades. JM is getting
a hard time to understand the lessons especially in Mathematics. He is
also impatient in reading too many pages of books.
9. CONT.
And also, he always forgets to make homeworks and
requirements. This is because of his laziness and lack of
motivation to focus in his studies. However, it is likely to
improve his skills by giving him the right motivation to
focus on his academics. Other noticeable development of
JM is the ability to influence the people around him. For
example, his classmate will always follow him whenever
what he does or what he commands. This concept may
either give a positive or negative result depending on this
situation.
10. PART V. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
According to Kendra Cherry (2014) “…the child has become quite
adept at doing things independently and is probably quite proud of
such accomplishments.” It is the stage wherein the child becomes
more competent and confident. JM, from what we have observed is a
friendly boy. He talks to everyone and he does not choose the person
he wants to mingle with. He talks to whoever is beside him. He also
mentioned that he likes sports- martial arts and basketball and
because of these he is close to all boys. In these kinds of activities,
the child will develop discipline and will also be able to interact with
other children. In the article Social and Emotional Development in
Middle Childhood, it states that the child gains mastery of many basic
skills. It is a means in developing a sense of self-esteem. Friendship is
important in this stage because it’s where the children become more
interested in building relationships and maintaining them.
11. PART VI. CONCLUSION
To sum it up, JM’s development is on the right track. He shows the
characteristics in physical development of a middle school child. As
observed by the group, JM’s has the right height for his age. Though
his physique is slim, he is active and energetic showing a healthy built.
The diligence and attention span of JM on academic matters
exhibits concrete operational stage cognitively. It is evident on his
active participation in class and the results he gets from quizzes.
At the age of 10, JM has showed both strong and weak emotional
development. His emotional development is strong at some points
when he does the things he loves the most, however, he is also
emotionally weak at points when he is not motivated. Thus, with the
right motivation and guidance, JM will be able to surpass his emotional
difficulties.
As a friendly boy, JM strongly shows his social development. He
has high self-esteem that builds good relationships with others.
12. PART VII. RECOMMENDATIONS
In accordance to Piaget’s theory where JM falls under the
concrete operational stage, we recommend that children under
this stage be properly guided and motivated to further develop
their cognitive development. Children under this stage can
easily be influenced by society and environment. The school
and home play an important role in a child’s development. Thus,
a healthy environment will develop a healthy mind and emotion
of a child. On the contrary, a negative environment can greatly
affect the child’s upbringing and decisions. In addition, the
exposure of children to extra-curricular activities other than
academics like sports enhances their social maturity and critical
thinking of children under this stage. With the right exposure,
the child will be ready to face the other challenges of life, will
develop the sense of making the right decisions and be ready in
solving problems that may arise in the future.
