Assessing Play Behaviors - Classroom

Regarding the learning and playing of this child in the classroom setting, I do not feel that they fit well whatsoever. He is the type of child that needs many different types of teaching styles to fully engage him in learning. This correlates the differences in play he needs. The classroom play is very limited. While the lessons being taught are substantial for many of the students, it does not reach him many of the times. He has been diagnosed with a severe form of A.D.H.D. which also comes into play in the classroom. I feel that by the teacher knowing of this information, she does not try hard enough to engage him in classroom activities or find ways that will stimulate him.

Once again, using Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, I found that in the classroom, he is spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, and naturalist intelligent. The naturalist intelligence was something that did not surprise me at all. He loves to play outside and go up north with his family. Due to me having prior knowledge of that information, it was easy for me to assess him based on that as well as his play in the classroom. The activities they do regarding science and anything that can be related to outside sparks his interests. He is able to focus more on the given task while still putting his own personal stamp on it. I definitely think he is advanced in this intelligence as well. According to the criterion we made, he can easily relate to the natural world around him. Bringing in elements from nature such as leaves, flowers, small insects, etc. he can take an activity and play with it all day. I found this interesting because he would gravitate more towards learning instead of going off for free play. He wanted to immerse himself in what was going on and did not enjoy leaving the lesson to do something else. Also, he would replicate the elements he was introduced to by making structures with blocks or trying to find the puzzle that best suited the elements he learned about.

His fine motor skills were again easily assessed during the classroom play setting. Whenever the teacher would give him a task, such as using scissors for an assignment, he would easily and readily accomplish it. When he was in a more structured environment such as the classroom, he was teacher directed so he knew that when he was told to cut something, he would cut it. This was not so much of a play activity other than when using the scissors he was able to create different pieces that fit together for the life cycle of a flower/animal/etc. Even though I was able to assess his behaviors in this environment, I do not feel that his play was optimized. Unlike the non-structured environment, it was more so of doing what the teacher asked and his creativity was not able to shine through.