Adolescent Development

Learning Objectives: Domains of Development: Identify and describe the three domains of adolescent development. Developmental Issues: Be able to describe and discuss basic developmental issues: nature or nurture, universality. Theories of Child Development: Be able to list and describe seven basic theories of child development: Biological, behaviorist/social, psychodynamic, cognitive-developmental, cognitive process, socio-cultural, developmental systems.

Learning Objectives: Developmental Periods: Be able to describe main characteristics of early and late adolescence. Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Describe developmentally appropriate teaching choices for adolescent students.

Three Developmental Domains: I. Physical Development: physical changes of body and brain. How does the domain of physical development affect adolescents in a school setting? II. Cognitive Development: changes in reasoning, concepts, memory, and language. What can we learn about adolescent cognitive development to facilitate student learning?

Three Developmental Domains: III. Social-Emotional Development: Changes in emotions, self-concept, motivation, social relationships, moral reasoning and behavior. How does an adolescent’s social-emotional development affect their learning processes and their overall-school success?

Effects of Context: Context: Broad social environments including family, schools and community services, neighborhoods, culture, ethnicity, and society at large, that influence children’s development. Give some examples of how context affected your own personal experience. Why might understanding a student’s context be useful in teaching successfully?

Nature and Nurture: I. Nature: inherited genetic characteristics and tendencies that influence development. Some characteristics are universal: Physical Development: Language Development, etc. Some characteristics are unique to individual: Temperament: characteristic ways of responding to emotional events, novel stimuli, impulses, etc. Maturation: genetically guided changes that occur over the course of development.

Nature and Nurture: II. Nurture: the environmental conditions that influence development. Physically: nutrition, activity, stress Intellectually: informal and formal experiences and instruction Socially: adult role models, peer relationships, community connections.

Nature and Nurture Effects: I. Effects of heredity and environment vary for different areas of development: Brain Development: genetic Speech Sounds and Use: environmental Experience and Success w/ School Subjects: environmental Response to Environmental Influences: genetic / environmental II. Extremes in Environmental Influences: deprivation, etc., may negate intellectual potential. III. Timing of Environmental Exposure Matters

Universality and Diversity: Universality: Developmental changes that occur in just about everyone are said to reflect a certain degree of universality. Diversity: Other developmental changes are highly individual reflecting diversity. Factors Affecting Development: Culture, family relationships, communication systems, values. More diversity in Social-Cultural Development.

Qualitative and Quantitative Change: Qualitative Change: dramatic developmental change that reflects considerable reorganization or modification of functioning. Ex: Walking, running, concrete to abstract thinking, etc. (change in qualities). Quantitative Changes: dramatic developmental changes that involve minor, measurable modifications over time. Ex: Height, weight, cultural conditioning, etc.

Theories of Child Development: Biological Theories: Focus on how genetics and physiology contribute to development. Emphasis on maturation. Behaviorism / Social Learning: Developmental change is almost exclusively due to environmental influences (nurture). Psychodynamic Theories: Interaction between certain inborn traits and the environment. Early experiences play a critical role in later characteristics and behavior. Sigmund Freud. Social-emotional needs.

Theories of Child Development: Cognitive-Developmental Theories: Emphasize thinking and how it changes over time. Children play an active role in their own development by seeking out new and interesting experiences and working actively to reconcile any discrepancies between old and new information. Cognitive Process Theories: Focus on basic thinking processes. How people interpret and remember what they see and hear and how these processes change during childhood and adolescence.

Theories of Child Development Sociocultural Theories: Study of social and cultural impacts on development. Process by which children become full adults vary from culture to culture. Roles in society. Developmental Systems Theories: Multiple factors combine to steer children’s development. From systems perspectives, no single factor predominates in directing the course of development: genes, children’s efforts at understanding, social experiences, reward, cultural tools, etc. combine to govern children’s physical, dognitive and social-emotional development.

Developmental Periods: Infancy (Birth – 2 years): Trust vs. Mistrust (Erikson)Basic human traits, emotional bonds, nonverbal communication, language expression, motor exploration and systematic approaches to learning begin during this period. Early Childhood ( 2 – 6 years): Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (toddler), Initiative vs. Guilt (preschool) Erikson. A period of creativity, fantasy, wonder and play. Language and communication skills develop rapidly. Physical changes are apparent. High levels of energy. Progressively more interested in peers.

Developmental Periods: Middle Childhood: (6 – 10) Industry vs. Inferiority (Erikson). Sustained attention to real-world activities. Persistence in mastering the customs, tools, and knowledge of community and culture. Early Adolescence: (10 – 14) Identity vs. Role Confusion (Erikson). Slow loss of childlike bodies and progress toward reproductive maturation. Dramatic reorganizations in learning processes and relationships with parents and peers.

Developmental Periods: Late Adolescence (14 – 18 years): Identity vs. Role Confusion continues and moves into Intimacy vs. Isolation in early adulthood. (Erikson) Sense of identity develops. Decision-making skills develop. Peer relationships highly important. Begin to take on adult responsibilities. Experimentation w/ drugs, alcohol, sex, violence. Differences in academic achievement and interests.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Capitalize on children’s strengths. Recognize the children’s immaturity serves a purpose. Meet diverse needs. Nudge children toward advanced thinking and behaving. Continue to gain knowledge about adolescent development. Obtain new perspectives from colleagues.