Adolescent+Development

Adolescent Development
A. Burns, Moral Development First we should begin with the definition of morals by differentiating between ‘morals’ and ‘ethics’ as the two terms are regularly and wrongly used interchangeably. According to WiseGeek.com, “Morals define personal character, while ethics stress a __#|social system__ in which those morals are applied. In other words, ethics point to standards or codes of __#|behavior__ expected by the group to which the individual belongs….Who while a person’s moral code is usually unchanging, the ethics he or she practices can be other-dependent.” (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-ethics-and-morals.htm, n.d.) The changes taking place in the adolescent mind is that of growth. It is through experience, observation, and experimentation we __#|file__ away information for future use and reference. Adolescents are observing and taking notice of the actions of others and the result of those actions affect the people around them. For instance, when we are adolescents we begin to find ourselves being judgmental of others based on becoming more self-aware and more importantly how we fit into our immediate community and what is our role. This will many times result in being cause-oriented. One example from our readings, “Teens tend to become very cause-oriented. Their __#|activism__ is related to the ability to think about abstract concepts.” (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2009) After reading about cruelty to animals, he or she may become a vegetarian, or an __#|active__ member of an animal rights organization. These changes reflect the growth of the thought processes, and we find ourselves putting more logical thought into the “when I say this, others react in this way”; or “how do I feel when someone insults me/pays me a compliment? Others might feel the same way if I treat them with disrespect/encouragement.” We begin to realize we have opinions about others’ actions or treatment of others and of ourselves. The development of advanced reasoning skills, abstract thinking skills, the ability to think about thinking is occurring. This is where our moral development begins: acknowledging our thoughts and feelings about the world around us. As teachers and role models in the lives of adolescents, we need to return to our personal experiences as adolescents. What was it we wanted of the adults around us? How did we want them to respond? Did we want to hear, “I know how you feel”, or would we have been welcoming to an acknowledgement or if our adult would have shared a similar experience they had? Listening - without the intent to give advice - to an adolescent’s feelings and point of view is, in my opinion, the number one act of respect an adult is able to give. Following up by acknowledging an adolescent’s point of view and praising how much we (as the adult) can see the issue is important to him or her and he/she has put some mature thought into the situation. Of course, it is equally important to remind the student there are always two sides to a story and take the opportunity to discuss both sides. The big picture is adults want our adolescents to behave like adults, but many times we don’t take the time to teach them HOW to be an adult. Encouraging personal points of view which help shape our students’ moral development is a part of teaching them to be adults. On a side note, I felt uneasy reading much of the material on adolescent growth as the authors wrote as if they were observing wild animal activity in their native habitat. We as adults forget our adolescent experiences when we should be tapping into those memories and experiences in order to share with and understand the young people with whom we __#|work__. The situations may have different details, but the lessons learned arrive at the same destination. This sharing relationship will build trust, respect and maturity for all involved.

• Financial Literacy Class: Each group will be numbered from 1-4 or 5. The objective is to research banks and their options/offerings for checking accounts and savings accounts. Each like-numbered group is assigned a local banking institution and will research what the bank offers and requires for their checking and savings accounts. When the charts are completed, the numbers will break and return to their original group. Each person will report back to one another and share the findings. At this point, the group will decide, based on democracy, which savings account would work best for them as well as which checking account works best for them. An additional option is to give each group a scenario of a person or family situation to help decide the best options and why.
 * Additional Jigsaw Method Ideas **

• Consumer Savvy Class: Each group will be numbered from 1-4 or 5. The objective is to research the types of marketing approaches in advertising. Each like-numbered group is assigned one of the 9 typical forms of advertising found in the US and completes a characteristic chart of the 5-W’s and How. When the chart is completed, the numbers will break and return to their original group. Each person will report back to one another and share the background characteristics of marketing approaches. Each person will teach their group the details and will then take part in a PowerPoint summative assessment involving matching the characteristics with the correct marketing approach.

References Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2009. //Adolescent Growth and Development.// Taken from http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/350/350-850/350-850.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-ethics-and-morals.htm, n.d. //What is the Difference Between Ethics and Morals, n.d.//

Physical Development in Adolescence

By: Sidney Materi

Physical development during this time in a student’s life is not really comparable to any other time in their lives except of that when they were an infant. Changes that are occurring during this stage can be drastic. They are going through ‘growth spurts’ where they might have grown three inches over the summer or they have put on some excess weight (in males their muscles typically are where they see weight gain and females are seeing increases in body fat). They start going through all their normal ‘puberty’ phases that we are all accustomed to – males voices change, females will start their first menstrual cycle, and hair starts growing on places in their body that they were not accustomed to before (under arms, privates, face for males). Students also start to see the dreaded years of acne because their sweat glands are a lot more active. Lastly, as we learned from the video and reading we did in our pre-reading and after reading – that brains are still developing. Teen’s emotional, physical, and mental developments in their brain are still not at 100%, which could credit the typical hype of “teenagers!”

With so many different changes going on physically in a teen’s life – it will obviously have a large impact on the way they act and feel. Considering they are growing so much, this causes them to have a lack of coordination. They are not used to their new bodies and how gangly they may be now so they maybe not be as smooth as they once were. Along with this, they require more sleep than one would think around 9 hours of sleep a night for their body to keep up with all the ‘happenings’ going on within this phase of their life. In females this an area where they become over sensitive – especially about their weight because their body fat teds to be increasing during puberty. In some cases, this is when teenage girls develop eating disorders because they are so concerned with their weight.

Almost all the time there is the fear of teens about the fact that they are not going through the same changes as their peers – some might hit puberty way before their friends and others might be behind their peers. This leads to a variety of different issues. Males who go through puberty before others tend to be seen as more responsible and as leaders. Where areas females who go through puberty sooner – you can imagine – start to get peer pressure about dating and the like. To relate to that – they are going through these changes and are experiencing different feelings about the opposite sex so they may change the way they act to their opposite sex parents.

There are many ways we can help teens get through this ‘awkward’ phase of life as I like to call it. Puberty and the fact that you are going through all this physical development can be very overwhelming. I reflect back to my Middle School Philosophy class I took. We spent a great deal of time talking about how critical this period of development is in a teens life because so much is changing that they are so confused about and not accustomed too. One thing that is really important is that we don’t single out other students or compare them to others because this can make them insecure and upset. We don’t want them to have a negative experience when entering into the next phase of adulthood. The article by Virginia goes on to say that we should encourage and model: exercise, healthy eating habits, and getting enough sleep. I think the two words that we should always remember as educators and even as we become parents is “ROLE MODEL.” That is what we are, and we should think about that with every action we are taking because even if we do not realize it our students/children/peers/parents/colleagues are always watching! Just like Bandura’s social learning theory – students are observing us and watching what we model. On top of all these we need to be honest and up front with our students, and not lie to them about serious questions they have. We should present the facts about sex and puberty and also always be understanding. Support the fact that they are curious and asking questions instead of criticizing. They are going through a lot in their lives right now – so be patient with their extra need for grooming and space from other people!

Additional Ways to Use Jigsaw

__#|Nutrition__ Class: I will hand out 5 different colors of note cards. People with the same colored card will develop into one group. That group will then have to become the expert on one of the good groups assigned (each color will represent one of the food groups). They will then be assigned to become the experts on that food group. Once they have finished their research on that food group we will then go into groups that are comprised of one of each of the colors of cards so that each group has one person from each food group. Students will then share their knowledge with each other to develop a full understanding of all the food groups. Accommodations will be made for groups of students that do not evenly fit into the 5 groups – e.g. some group might have two fruits.

__#|Fashion Design__: There will be 5 different types of fabrics with each a different finish. Students will each be handed a different fabric. They will then be asked to research on whichever fabric finish they have been given (bleaching, mechanical, chemical, dyeing, or printing). After they have done their research to become experts they will then go into a group that has one of each that will be selected and will explain and show their classmates what finish they have and what it entitles.

====To start out we need to first understand what socio-emotional development really is. How do children start to understand who they are, what their true identity is, what they are feeling, what they expect to receive from others? These concepts are all at the heart of their social-emotional wellness. This all can contribute to a child’s self-confidence and empathy, their ability to develop meaningful and lasting friendships and partnerships, and their sense of importance and value to those around them. Children’s social-emotional development influences all other areas of development. For example, cognitive, motor, and language development are all greatly affected by how a child feels about themselves and how they are able to express ideas and emotions.==== ====According to Erikson, there are eight stages of socio-emotional development. The socialization process consists of eight phases or also known as the “eight stages of man.” Each stage is regarded by Erikson as a “psychosocial crisis,” which arises and demands resolution before the next stage can be satisfactorily negotiated. One can picture these steps in an architectural sense, satisfactory learning and resolution of each crisis is necessary if the child is to manage the next and subsequent ones satisfactorily, just as the foundation of a house is essential to the first floor, which in turn must be structurally sound to support and the second story, and so on. The stage that adolescences are in is called, Learning Identity versus Identity Diffusion, from ages 13 or 14 to about 20. The adolescence learns how to answer satisfactorily and happily the question of “Who am I?” But even the best, adjusted of adolescents experiences some role identity diffusion. Most boys and probably most girls experiment with minor delinquency; rebellion flourishes; self – doubts that can flood the youngster, and so on.==== ====Peer influence is a dominant psychosocial issue during adolescence, especially during the early stages. Young teens are highly cognizant of their physical appearance and social behaviors, seeking acceptance within a peer group. The desire to conform can influence food and many other decisions the adolescence may make. They are also going to make decisions without putting too much reasoning or thought. Most likely you’ll find that adolescences are more interested if they can have a friend and look cool than in their decision and it’s outcome.==== ====Something interesting in the article, Adolescent Growth and Development, talked about how there are two classification groups of females that focus on foods. The first group focuses on eating junk food. According to this group they are associated with being with friends, having fun, gaining weight, and guilt. Where the other group is eating healthy is associated with family, family meals, and home life. The article goes on to explain, “Obviously, teens adopt or develop food preferences and make food choices based on associations with feelings of being accepted and having fun with peers and may use food as a way to exert independence from families and parents.”==== ====In the early stages of adolescence is a time of great cognitive development. Cognitive development is associated with memory, reasoning, problem-solving and thinking. At the beginning cognitive abilities are dominated by concrete thinking, egocentrism, and impulsive behavior. Middle adolescence is characterized by growth in emotional autonomy and increasing detachment from family. The bulk of physical growth and development is completed during this stage, however body image concerns may continue. The late stage of adolescence is characterized by development of a strong personal identity.====
 * Socio-Emotional Development **
 * Catheryn Kunz **

**What are the implications for a teacher?**
====In the article, Adolescent Growth and Development, talks about the importance of nutrition for adolescences. Because this is a time where biological, psychosocial and cognitive growth and development, nutrition needs to be at the same level of each individual student. They need to understand what they are putting in their body and how it is affecting them.==== ====Another thing we as teachers can do to help is by understanding that teens are more interested in their social life than basically almost any other thing. They are going to make choices that probably aren’t the best and that aren’t well thought through. Their choices they make might just because it makes them look cooler or to fit in with peers. We as teachers need to understand that they are making decisions based on that and we can help them by giving them information and guidance along the way. I think we as professionals should keep a cool head when a situation like that is presented. That way we can still have a good relationship with our students.====

**Jigsaw Method**
====I really like the jigsaw method. One way I can do this activity is in a nutrition or wellness class. I can have my students split up into groups. Each group will be a different food group. The groups are suppose to find out what is in that food group and how many servings they are suppose to have in one day.==== ====Another way I can use the jigsaw method in a classroom is in a life skills class. We could be working on decision making skills and I could put the class into groups again. Each group would get their own case study. They will have to read the study and work together on how they would handle the situation.====

References:
Stang, J. and Story, M. Adolescent growth and development, Chapter 1