Alexis Adams
Affective Case Study
EDPS-545
December 11, 2022
Affective Case Study
After learning about the social and emotional needs, and discussing and
analyzing misconceptions regarding gifted and talented students, I conducted a case
study on one of my students-Sehejmit Doe. He is a ten year old boy in the fourth grade.
He was born in the United States, but his family is from India. The information was
collected from interviews with Sehej, conversations with his family and past teachers,
analysis of his school work, observations of him in the classroom, and of his interactions
with his peers throughout the day. As well as and from data collected from our
Clearsight program- which is a digital summative and formative assessment platform
utilized by the district that I work at to progress monitor throughout the year, report
cards, and standardized tests, such as the Indiana’s Learning Evaluation Assessment
Readiness Network test (I-Learn) . The information collected not only allowed me to
identify and understand the social and emotional needs of Sehejmit, but also helped me
develop ideas for ensuring that his needs are met. Also, it seemed as if Sehej was able
to gain a true understanding of his own strengths and weaknesses academically,
behaviorally, socially and emotionally.
After interviewing Sehej, speaking with his family, and reviewing his interest
inventory, I came to the conclusion that Sehej and his family are married and very
present. They have a total of three sons and Sehej is the youngest child they have. His
parents did not graduate from college, however, his father is a construction worker, and
his mother is a homemaker. One characteristic that stood out to me was that both of his
siblings are gifted as well and the family seems to be very open and honest with one
another.
As mentioned previously, Sehej’s family is from India, and they are a very close
and traditional Indian family. When discussing his family, Sehej seems to be filled with
joy. They spend a lot of time with one another, supporting each other in every aspect of
their lives. Sehej also mentioned that his parents set high standards and expectations
for him and his brothers, which was something that was apparent to me through
different conversations we have engaged in this school year. They are very vocal about
wanting their children to be challenged and cultivated for success, but it was clear that
they genuinely want the best for their kids. Academics definitely seems to be very
important to his parents, and they are very involved with each of their kids’ academic
journey. In the article, “Family Environment and Social Development in Gifted
Students”, the author’s explain the connection between family cohesion and social
competence, defining cohesion as “the emotional bonding that family members have
toward one another”(Barnes & Olsen, 1985, p.439, as cited in Olszewski-Kubilius et. al,
2014, p. 201). Furthermore, the authors explain that “the overall family environment- in
particular, the relationships and communication between its members- provides the
foundation for children to develop both the cognitive and affective components of
prosocial behavior” (Knafo & Plomin, 2006, as cited in Olszewski-Kubilius et. al, 2014,
p. 202). Sehej’s family seem to have a very healthy and strong family cohesion, which
would explain why Sehej does not struggle socially. It is very apparent that they have
great relationships with one another, which is why I believe that Sehej is able to interact
with others around him normally and is able to truly be himself, regardless of his gifted
status.
When discussing what a typical day was like for him and his family, he explained
that after getting home from school, they complete homework, eat dinner at the table
together, and play games with one another. He explained different customs that they
have, holidays they celebrate - such as Diwali- , and even shared some of his favorite
Indian dishes his mom makes. He didn’t go deep into their religious beliefs, but he did
tell me about the “Patka'', or head covering, that he and his brothers wear daily, which
led me to believe that they follow the belief systems of a traditional Indian religion.
Throughout this conversation, I couldn’t help but think about Bronfenbrenner's
Ecological System. In chapter four, “Contextual Influences on the Social and Emotional
Development of Gifted Students'' from Understanding the Social and Emotional Lives of
Gifted Students, it is suggested that “a person’s biologically influenced characteristics
interact with environmental forces to shape development” ( Hébert, p.158). In regards to
the description of the microsystem and its effects on the development of a student, I
would say that the Sehej’s has the necessary support and foundation to be successful
on his academic journey.
Physically, in comparison to his peers, he is a bit bigger in size and height than
most of them, however, there are other 4th grade students that have similar physical
characteristics as he does. One of the major distinguishing factors is that he wears a
patka, which is a traditional head covering from his religion. He is very open about why
he has to wear it, and most of the students have been in class with him since
Kindergarten, so they are aware of the reason Sehej wears the Patka. He did share with
us that under his Patka, his hair is very long, which he said one day, he may show us
his hair, but wanted to ensure that he had permission from his parents first. There are
not many other physical characteristics ,aside from his size, height, and ethnicity, that
distinguishes him from his peers. I get the impression that he is very confident about
himself and who he is- physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially.
Although Sehej was born in the United States, he moved to India for one year
when he was about 3 or 4. He moved back to the United States and was enrolled at his
current school in Kindergarten. When analyzing his records from Kindergarten, it was
apparent that Sehej had high ability in Math, but struggled with certain reading
concepts. It seemed as if there may have been some sort of language barrier prevalent,
due to the fact that he had just recently moved back to the United States from India.
However, through discussions with a few of his teachers and his parents, I was able to
identify a set of characteristics that have traveled with him throughout his academic
journey. Both his previous teachers and parents said that Sehej has always been more
advanced academically, and has always been well behaved. According to his Dynamic
Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills data (DIBELS data), which is a program that
assesses and tracks a students’ growth in literacy, from kindergarten to second grade
he made major gains in reading. He was ranked as above in certain categories such as
basic comprehension, reading comprehension, reading fluency, decoding, word
reading, and letter sounds. However, he still seemed to struggle in the area of
Phonemic Awareness. Behaviorally, he is typically on task, completes his work on time,
and when he does get off task- which seems to be mainly talking with his friends from
time to time-, he is easily redirected. No one mentioned him being defiant or
disrespectful, or any other negative behavioral characteristic. Academically, his scores
have always indicated his high ability status, but the way he answered questions at
such a young age indicated that he was very advanced cognitively as well. He was
always willing to participate in class discussions and volunteer answers in class. His
kindergarten teacher did mention that early on he struggled a bit with understanding
certain concepts, not because he was not able to do that, but because he was unable to
comprehend what was being asked- which she associated with him being bilingual.
Behaviorally, he is typically on task, completes his work on time, and when he does get
off task- which seems to be mainly talking with his friends from time to time-, he is easily
redirected. No one mentioned him being defiant or disrespectful, or any other negative
behavioral characteristic. Sehej has never participated in any special programs outside
of school, besides being clustered with other gifted students. All in all, the things
mentioned and discussed during these conversations still hold true even today.
After analyzing his data from Dibels during his primary years, and then analyzing
his data from I-Learn and Clearsight, it is evident that Sehej has high ability in Math, and
above average in Reading. Math is actually the subject he is most confident about and
his scores have indicated that Sehej consistently performs above level. In regards to
reading, his scores indicate that he has above average ability, but he is not considered
to be high ability or gifted in reading. From my own observation, I believe that he
struggles a bit more with reading due to a language barrier. I say this because, although
he knows english very well, his native language is mainly spoken at home, which some
students who speak multiple languages sometimes have a tough time with going back
and forth between languages and struggle with certain language arts rules. Typically
when he is reading, or completing work and tests in reading, he gets confused with the
actual question, but once it is explained a bit, he is able to answer the question. This
would be something that would need to be further investigated, in order to address this
barrier. His grades have always been good, and he definitely scores well on formative
and summative assessments in class. His ability to produce great work and projects is
phenomenal. His work is always exemplary, and his ability to deliver this quality of work
further indicates his gifted status. All in all, his ClearSight and I-Learn scores, as well as
his performance in class were the two main indicators of his giftedness.
Cognitively, Sehej definitely exemplifies multiple traits of giftedness. The main
cognitive traits that are very apparent in his case are his keen power of abstraction,
interest in problem-solving and applying concepts, his intellectual curiosity and his
independence in work and study. For example, each month we do a genius hour
presentation. With Genius Hour, there is an overarching research question or topic that
is presented, and the students are responsible for collecting and analyzing research,
and then organizing the information into a presentation. Depending on the topic, the
students are instructed to select what they are going to research and present on, as
long as it answers the question and is on topic. This past month, the topic was on
Native American History Month, and the students had to research and learn about one
of the tribes that were native to Indiana. I was genuinely impressed with the work that
was produced from Sehej, as well as the quality of the presentation he created in such
little time. I believe that his cognitive attributes assisted with him being able to deliver
such quality and thorough work.
Socially and emotionally, Sehej is a perfectionist, has a mature sense of humor,
very confident, empathetic, kind, and self-motivated. He is also very mature and
responsible. He does not need much prompting to complete any task given to him. His
peers seem to get along with him fine, and he does make friends fairly easily. I do not
think he allows his gifted status to interfere with his interactions and relationships with
his peers and adults, however, as he ages I wonder if his perfectionism will start putting
a strain on his relationships with others. I believe that the academic expectations that
are placed on Sehej are now the same expectations he has for himself, which is why he
places such high demand and expectations on himself both academically and
behaviorally. According to Dakhlallah and Ahmad, “the sense of perfection that
manifests in the strong need to complete and carry out tasks with extreme accuracy”(p.
731), is one quality that needs to be considered when identifying a child as gifted. He is
a perfectionist when it comes to all of his work, but especially when it is his math work.
He can sometimes be a little self -critical, but at the same time is very self-motivated
and resilient, always aiming to do his best. I have noticed that he sometimes can get
hung up on his scores and grades, especially if it is lower than he expected or wanted.
As stated previously, Sehej has a high self efficacy, and gives 100 percent effort
consistently. This is why I believe that he is very self-motivated, and determined to do
his best, no matter what the assignment or task is. I would definitely say he is
intrinsically motivated, and knows what his purpose is for being successful at school. I
think he is very confident in his abilities, and also is aware of his strengths and
weaknesses academically. Hong and Aqui suggest that “students who are confident of
their ability intensify their efforts when failure occurs and persist until they succeed” (p.
192). With that being said, I believe that this is the case for Sehej. His perfectionism
seems to drive his motivation and persistence during learning.
After speaking with Sehej and interviewing him, I was able to gather that he is
very confident when it comes to math. However, he is aware that reading is more of a
struggle for him. However, the ironic thing about that is, he still performs above average
in Reading, in comparison to his peers. Once again, I believe that he doesn’t feel as
confident in Reading because, in his mind, he is not doing well because his scores and
results are not always perfect. Socially, he is very confident with himself, and has similar
interests like his peers, which is why I believe it is easy for him to make friends. During
the interview he did tell me that he has had some of the same friends for years. He said
when he first start attending the school in Kindergarten, he felt different because he was
bigger than most of the kids, and because of the Patka he wears, but as time went by,
he said everyone made him feel very welcomed and accepted. This is why I believe he
developed a healthy self- confidence.
Sehej has a very playful and welcoming personality. The emotion he displays
most frequently is happiness and laughter. He tends to always want to help adults and
his peers whenever he can, whether it be with everyday tasks or classwork. For
example, we have a disabled student that is in exceptional education, and he is non-
verbal. Sehej is always amongst the students that try to interact with this particular
student, whether it is reading to him, or trying to communicate with him on his device.
This is one personality trait that I think makes him very likable amongst his peers. His
sense of humor is a bit more advanced than his peers, but I have also seen him be
playful and appropriately interact with his peers. I would say that Sehej has a perfect
balance between being introverted and extroverted. I would say that he is not a risk
taker, but he is very curious. All in all, he has a really good personality.
Sehej expressed in his interview that he loves playing sports, but especially
football because he feels as if he is really good at football. When asked whether or not
he played for a team, he said that he did not, but planned on asking his parents if he
could in middle school and high school. I think school is the place where he is able to
play different sports and interact with kids his age, especially because he is the
youngest at home. He also said that he loves playing video games and spending time
with his family and friends. Other things that interest him are learning about new things,
and listening to music.
Although he does seem to have a good relationship with his parents, I am not
sure if his family is catering to his social and emotional needs, being that they are
majorly concerned with his academic growth and success, which in return can be
detrimental to his social and emotional development. Although his academic abilities are
some of his major strengths, I believe that his resilience, self-efficacy, determination,
and motivation to do well are also major strengths he possesses. I think his weaknesses
are his perfectionism, and lack of emotional awareness. As previously mentioned, Sehej
only displays happiness and laughter, but is not always open about any other emotion
he may be experiencing or feeling. From the collected data and conversations with
Sehej and his parents, I think that Sehej will continue to feel academically supported
and do well academically. However, I think that as he grows older, his need to be
perfect and inability to show emotion will hinder him developing healthy relationships
with people.
Being that Sehej’s perfectionism often leads him to be a bit self-critical, I would
recommend that this be addressed sooner rather than later. According to Grugan et al.,
“perfectionism has long been recognized as a psychological factor that can enhance or
interfere with the healthy adjustment of young students who are academically gifted”
(p.1631). From this I gathered that perfectionism could have both positive and negative
affects on gifted students, which is why this was one major area of concern in regards to
Sehej. I would suggest that Sehej participates in growth mindset activities. This is more
of a developmental approach, which according to Mofield and Chakraborti-Ghosh, is an
approach that “focuses on emotional growth toward ideals, which include reflective
judgement, authenticity, self actualization, creativity, commitment to goals,
responsibility, and a strong sense of self-efficacy” (p. 484). The development approach
can also be implemented using Affective curriculum. For example, both at home and at
school, his teachers and parents can help him redefine what success is and looks like.
They also can offer encouragement when he feels as if he weren’t successful. Lastly,
helping him see he can learn from making mistakes would be very beneficial as well.
In order for Sehej to be successful socially and emotionally, I also would suggest
that the fact that he doesn’t show emotion be addressed as well. Even if this means he
is talking with someone one on one, journaling, or etc, I think it is important for him to
have emotional self-awareness, and know how to deal and manage the emotions he
feels. Zeidner and Matthews state that “helping gifted children develop emotional skills
may yield numerous cognitive, affective, and social benefits for both the student and…
social environment that accrue over time” (p. 170). The simplest way to ensure that
students are developing socially and emotionally would be giving students journal
prompts and teaching Social-Emotional Lessons, which is a program that our school
utilizes.
I truly believe that Sehej will be very successful academically, socially,
behaviorally, and emotionally, if his perfectionism and lack of emotion traits are
addressed. Those are very important things to address, especially due to the fact that
these qualities can yield negative results. Furthermore, social and emotional
development are skills that all students need, but because gifted students have different
pressures and high expectations on them, it is even more important that he is equipped
with the skills to deal with his perfectionism and lack of ability to show emotion. I predict
that, once these things are addressed and cultivated in a healthy way, Sehej will
continue to develop and grow as a learner and person.
Resources
Dakhlallah, N. M., & Ahmad, J. A. S. (2022). Social And Emotional Characteristics of
Gifted Children. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(8), 728–740.
https://doi.org/https://www.journalppw.com/index.php/jpsp/article/view/9808/6400
Grugan, M. C., Hill, A. P., Madigan, D. J., Donachie, T. C., Olsson, L. F., & Etherson,
M. E. (2021). Perfectionism in academically gifted students: A systematic review.
Educational Psychology Review, 33(4), 1631–1673.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09597-7
Hébert, T. P. (2021). Understanding the social and emotional lives of gifted students
(2nd ed.). Routledge. Retrieved 2022, from https://www-taylorfrancis-
com.ezproxy.lib.purdue.edu/pdfviewer/.
Hong, E., & Aqui, Y. (2004). Cognitive and motivational characteristics of adolescents
gifted in mathematics: Comparisons among students with different types of
giftedness. Gifted Child Quarterly, 48(3), 191–201.
https://doi.org/10.1177/001698620404800304
Mofield, E. L., & Chakraborti-Ghosh, S. (2010). Addressing multidimensional
perfectionism in gifted adolescents with affective curriculum. Journal for the
Education of the Gifted, 33(4), 479–513.
https://doi.org/10.1177/016235321003300403
Olszewski-Kubilius, P., Lee, S.-Y., & Thomson, D. (2014). Family environment and
social development in gifted students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 58(3), 199–216.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986214526430
Test Results Utilized
1 Clearsight Testing by Cambium Assessment, Inc.
2. I-Learn Data - Indiana’s Learning Evaluation Assessment Readiness Network (IDOE)
3. Dibels Testing - Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills
(https://dibels.uoregon.edu/about-dibels)
4. Interview with Sehej
5. Interview with K- 3 teachers
6. Interview with Parents
