Eachstudent will be required to interview and/or observe an individual student and
preparea case study based on guidelines found elsewhere in this syllabus. Theinterview
mustbe structured to gather information about child development and findingscombined
witha minimum of five developmentaltheories from course materials and other readings
tocreate a study of 8-12 pages in length (not including the appendix), doublespaced,
onesided 12 font paper.
Thegoal of this project is to allow thought provoking and student exploration ofseveral
aspectsof development and compare findings to theories and researcharticles. This
project is a course requirement. Failure to complete this portion of the class will
result in significant grade reduction for the final grade.
CASE STUDY AND ARTICLE REVIEW GUIDELINES
Case Study: The objective of this assignment is to help you relate theconcepts we are studying to a child or adolescent with whom you areacquainted. The individual you are studying should be at least 4 yearsold and no older than 18 years. It is important that you answer each ofthe questions below about your child and provide evidence to support yourposition. To do this assignment well, you must read the appropriatechapters thoroughly before developing any interviewquestions or observations.
The Write-Up
1. Type the casestudy in font size 12, with one-inch margins, double spaced. It shouldrange between 8 and 12 pages, not including the appendix.
2. An “introduction”section of your paper will include a description of your interviewee usingfirst name only or a fictional name, the setting of the interview, and relevantdemographics.
3. There should be SEVEN(7) distinct sections of your CASE STUDY. Each section is described belowwith sample questions and requirements for each.
4. A “discussion” sectionof your paper should address the other seven areas shown in thissyllabus. Please set off each section with headings in bold print. Include all interview questions and asnwers in an appendix to your paper. Any questions and answers included in the appendix do not need to be typed, butmust be readable. This section should contain the information fromPiaget, Erikson, and the other three theories that you choose. It is alsosuggested that you include the name of the theorist in bold letters the firsttime you use that particular theory—this has helped students to organize the“theories” requirement for the paper.
5. A “Conclusions”section of your paper will allow for reflections on the interview, “lessonslearned,” and implications for teaching. Use the text, your observations,class notes, etc. to “tie everything together” in this section.
6. The final paper mustbe submitted on or before the due date.
7. Remember that personbeing studied should remain anonymous and fictitious name should be used in theCASE STUDY.
SAMPLE Questions for the CASE STUDY
Demographics
gender
age
grade in school
any disability
Use only first name, gender, age, grade in school, anydisability that may be present. Do not include any identifyinginformation (last name, school attending, etc.) about the student.
Cognitive Development
Have the person do two Piagetian tasks (eg. any conservationtask for a child from 5-9, a combinations task for a child 9-18; please see thetextbook). Using the text, explain what Piaget would expect and whetherhe or she seem to have the capability that Piaget would predict given his orher age. Note: Piaget must be cited.
Language/Literacy
Ask the person for a copy of a short paper they have written orhave them write a short paragraph about anything they choose (a young child maydictate to you if necessary). Does the writing ability surprise you for aperson of this age?
Family
Interview the child or adolescent to determine:
the family composition; what disagreements he or she has withthe parents; what parenting style is evident (eg. what happens if you disobeythem, if you get a bad grade? do they go to events at school? dothey know where you are and who you are with? do they include you indecisions, give an example? etc.)
Compare this information with what the text suggests…if thechild is from a divorced family, is his or her experience typical? Ifboth parents work, is his or her experience typical?
How does this information compare with what the textsuggests? (eg. what is the evidence for a certain parenting style, arethe disagreements similar to what the literature would lead you to expect, ifthe child is from a divorced family, is his or her experience typical; etc.).
Peers
Interview the child to determine:
1. who his or her friendsare; and what makes someone a best friend. For adolescents, ask about thegroups in the school, and which they belong to.
2. what kinds of thingspeers influence and what kinds of things parents influence. Use the text tohelp you justify whether the responses are typical of other children of thisage. Does the research suggest that most children of the same age say thesame things?
Motivation/Self concept
Interview the child or adolescent to determine if he or she hasmastery or performance goals. To what does he or she attribute success orfailure? Explain your reasoning.
Sample questions:
How did you do on your last test? Why do you think that happened?
Ask the person if they strongly agree, agree, disagree, orstrongly disagree to the following statements:
1. I would feel reallygood if I were the only one who could answer the teacher’s questions in class.
2. It’s important to methat the other students in my classes think that I am good at my work.
3. I like schoolwork thatI’ll learn from, even if I make a lot of mistakes.
4. An important reasonwhy I do my schoolwork is because I like to learn new things.
5. I like schoolwork bestwhen it really makes me think.
6. An important reasonwhy I do my work in school is because I want to get better at it.
7. One reason I would notparticipate in class is to avoid looking stupid.
8. I do my schoolworkbecause I am interested in it.
9. An important reasonwhy I do my schoolwork is so that I don’t embarrass myself.
10.I’d like to show myteachers that I’m smarter than the other students in my classes.
For young children, modifications will have to be made to thesequestions.
Review the characteristics of the different goal statuses anddetermine what sort of goals this person has.
Moral Development
Ask the following dilemma:
You are shopping at the local department store with a friend when you noticethat you friend is shoplifting school supplies. You look around andnotice that the store manager is watching you. What should you do? Why? (for younger children you may want to look up Piaget’s breaking cupsdilemma)
In what stage of moral development does this individual seem tobe? Explain your reasoning.
Conclusions
Give some concluding remarks bringing everything together. Tie in notes, observations, interviews and textbook.
There should seven distinct sections included in your casestudy. You may want to make sure that you set them off by bold print orlarger font upon final draft of study.