Unit 6 - Adolescence - The High School Learners: (Final)
Unit 6 - Adolescence - The High School Learners: (Final)
Unit 6 - Adolescence - The High School Learners: (Final)
Objectives:
Defining Adolescence
Puberty Changes
Throughout life, growth hormones condition gradually increases in body size and
weight. Hormones flooding during adolescence causes an acceleration known as growth
spurts, which include a change in body dimensions like leg and trunk length and shoulder
width. Spurt in height is ascribed to trunk growth rather than leg growth.
In girls, the growth spurt generally begin at age 10 reaching is peak at age 11 and a
half, while slow continued growth occurs for several more years. 98% of the girls’ height is
generally reached at age 16. For the boys, growth spurt begin at age 12 reaching peak at age
14 and declining at age 15 and a half, while slow continued growth continues on for several
more years. Boys reach 98% of their height at the age of 17.
Growth in height is conditioned by stages in bone maturation. The muscles also grow in
terms of size and strength. Similar growth spurts occur for weight, muscle size, head and face
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maturation and the reproductive organs. All muscular and skeletal dimensions appear to take
part in the growth spurts during adolescence.
The hormonal changes during puberty is complex. Hormones are powerful and highly
specialized chemical substance that interact with bodily cells. Hormonal changes in the
hypothalamus and pituitary glands signal the entire process of sexual maturation.
Sexual Identity
An adolescent’s sexual identity involves sexual orientation, activities, interest, and style
of behavior (Bugwell & Rosenthal, 1996). Some adolescents are very anxious about sex and
are sexually active, others are only a bit anxious about sex and are sexually inactive.
In terms of sexual identity, adolescence is a period when most LGBT begin to recognize
and make sense of their feelings. Development analyst- Froiden, proposed a model for the
development of homosexual identity:
Coming to terms with a positive LGBT identity is usually difficult because of a variety of
reasons like family, race, religious culture. Risks to LGBT adolescents are real in a
heteronormative environment. They may suffer ostracism, hurtful jokes and even violence.
Self Esteem
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A major aspect of identity formation during adolescence is self-esteem. Self-esteem is
defined as one’s thoughts and feelings about one’s self-concept and identity. Most theories of
self-esteem state that there is a grand desire across all genders and ages to maintain, protect
and enhance self-esteem. There is no significant drop in self-esteem in the adolescence period.
An unstable self-esteem may fluctuate and cause severe distress an anxiety. In a Meyer study,
failure to meet the affection of the opposite sex – can be a major contributor to low self-esteem
among the adolescents. Girls are twice as likely to experience depression, while boys are three
to four times more like to commit suicide.
To meet the needs of physical development of the adolescents, parents must be aware
of manifestation of behavioral pattern that require closer communication, guidance and support.
The teens are especially addicted to modern gadgets- listening to music, video games, mobile
phone communication, and social media. These may cause shorter sleeping time, and may
cause depression. In school, teachers must be aware of possible drop in self-esteem among the
adolescents. Teacher’s support is crucial to protect learners against severe distress, and
anxiety over their school works and social relationships.
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Activity 30.
Cite five (5) ideas from this topic, and give a reason why each of
these ideas is important for the positive growth and development of
adolescents. Follow the example given:
Big Ideas from the topic Reason why it is important for the
adolescents’ development
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Objectives:
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Define overachievement and overachievement, and propose solutions to
underachievement.
Adolescence is the time for rapid cognitive development. At this stage, there is a
decrease in egocentric thought while the individual’s thinking takes more of an abstract
form. This allows the individual to reason in a wider perspective. Study shows the
development of executive functions comprised by cognitive functions that enable the
control of coordination of thoughts and behavior. Adolescence is the period of human
development that has great influence on the individual’s future life through character and
personality formation.
Through brain scanning, three peaks in brain maturation have been identified by
neurological scientists: these are at the age 12, age 15 and age 18.5 coinciding with
operational thinking process for logical reasoning.
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A new capacity known as Hypothetic-Deductive Reasoning emerges in the
adolescent reasoning from general facts/situation to a particular conclusion. This is
deducing from variables and generating & recognizing a truth, expressed by the
transitional process of deriving a conclusion from a hypothesis, example to this is your
experiment done in high school about the pendulum experiment.
Scientific evidence shows that while the adolescents may acquire the
capacity for formal operational thinking, only experience and education will allow them to
practice it. Experiments in Science and problem solving in Math subjects actually help in
actualizing formal operational thinking.
Metacognition
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(a) speed in information processing, coupled with greater awareness and control and
acquired knowledge base – a more efficient kind of thinking compared with that of
younger children,
(c) increased volume of information processing coupled with longer memory span along
many areas of domains of knowledge. The adolescent transforms from being novice to
becoming a near-expert.
Overachievement
During adolescence, children may acquire a very high academic grades in spite
of not getting IQ grades that are at the top 3 or 5 per cent of the bell curve. The case of
overachiever is a reminder that the IQ test is not the only determinant in school
achievements. There are other factors such as motivation interest, work habits and
personality development. Beyond statistical achievement in curricular subjects (math,
English, etc.), the overachieving adolescent may demonstrate superior work habits,
greater interest in school works, more consistency in doing assignment, and
more/performance consciousness. Overall, they show more responsibility,
consciousness and planning compared with “normal” achievers.
Characteristics of overachievers:
Underachievement
The adolescent may perform below the standard set. Possible potentials do not
cope with the opportunity to learn and score in the top quarter of measured academic
ability. Grades are below measured aptitudes for academic achievements.
Underachievement may become more pronounced when high school class work may
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become too demanding. Withdrawn underachievers refer to those who have a more
pronounced tendency to be passive resulting to being submissive and docile. They
follow the path of no resistance, not reacting to given assignments and school
regulations. Generally quiet, they do not participate in class activities. Aggressive
underachievers are those who tend to be talkative, disruptive, and rebellious.
There are behavioral tendencies which may accompany cognitive growth during
adolescence:
Idealism – refers to imagining the far-fetched and less ideal situations at home, in
school and in society. The teen may imagine a utopia or heaven on earth leading to
discouragement when social realities become harsh (example, unexpected low
grades and family break ups)
Increased argumentativeness – teens enjoy learning through the use of group
dynamics including role play, discussion, debate and drama. Strict implementation of
the use of English language in the campus has been the strategy of most universities
to develop argumentative students who later on transform into leasers in politics,
business and other top professional fields.
Senior high school were designed to provide attention to occupational skills that
are absent even among the college graduates. The Department of Labor and
Employment reports that there are mismatch between academic preparation and job
skills, thus worsening the gap between employable graduates and potential jobs or
employment.
The following are basic personality factors that match with attitude and work
experiences, as identified by John Holland.
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Investigative – this personality prefers tasks that are conceptual such as in
the fields of science and technology as in chemist, scientist, technologies,
etc.
Conventional – this personality prefers structured tasks that cater to the
needs of others, such as in office jobs and manual labor.
Enterprising – this personality prefers independence and innovation in
business and other enterprises that reflect autonomy and personal initiative.
Artistic – this personality prefers unstructured tasks that show ability for self-
expression such as artists, musicians and performers.
Parents and teachers must be able to recognize the cognitive development paths
among the adolescents and create situations that will foster higher thinking skills
through:
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Activity 31.
Ex. The problem-finding thinker I believe that every problem has solutions, I
just have to identify the real problem and
think solutions and apply them.
Exploring solutions
Ex. Overachievement/ underachievement I believe that there are gifted learners, but no
dull learners, only lazy or unmotivated
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learners. I may not be super intelligent but I
can achieve my goal if I work and study hard.
Increased complexity
Objectives:
During the adolescence, the teens develop social cognition in the context of family
structure, the school, the community and media. They also manifest emotions which need to be
regulated for success in school as well as of their wellbeing. In the classroom, the teachers has
the mandate for creating a positive learning environment, while facilitating the students’ sound
moral judgment.
Human Emotions
Emotions are known as human feelings that are manifested by varied conscious or
unconscious moods. It is a subjective reaction to internal or external stimuli that involves
physical change, action or appraisal. The unique patterns of emotions are: (a) event that is
strong or important, (b) physiological changes in heart, pulse rate, brain activity, brain levels and
body temperature, (c) readiness for action often describe as “fight or flight”, (d) dependence on
the emotion on how the stimulus is appraised or interpreted.
Biologists view that the part of the body that controls reaction is the autonomic nervous
system connected to the glands and muscles in the body. The system has two parts: (a) the
sympathetic part- which excites or arouses emotions, (b) parasympathetic part – which
depresses body functions. These parts coordinate for arousal or slowing down amid the
changes of life.
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Emotions function by focusing attention, motivating and enabling the individual to face a
situation in life or withdraw or run away from it. Positive emotion like interest and joy motivate
the individual to continue his endeavor, while negative emotion may cause withdrawal from what
may be perceived as bad or dangerous. For Charles Darwin, there are six emotions: interest,
joy, happiness, sadness, anger, disgust and fear. Other scientists expanded the list to
include love, pride, hope, gratitude, compassion, jealousy and anxiety.
Social Emotions
Social emotions start to emerge as early as the toddler years (15-24 months) comprised
by such feelings as envy, embarrassment, shame, guilt and pride. Observable emotions during
these stage may not be accurate but they can be a problem if not controlled. Among early
learners, emotions affect learning, since learners pay more attention to things with emotional
significance. In time, emotional competence can be developed by the child, this means he gains
the ability to regulate emotions and understand the emotions of others.
The girls are more skilled in regulating emotions than the boys, but twice as likely to be
depressed. Teen girls are also more likely than the boys to have both positive and negative
interaction family and friends. Adolescents usually stress from relationship with parents, friends,
sweethearts, and from pressure from school works. Thus, they are stereotyped as moody or
negative, poor emotion control. Some studies argue over against stereotyping adolescents
pointing at other emotions among teens such as boredom, tiredness, sleepiness, social
discomfort like awkwardness and loneliness. Other observations are that most adolescents are
not moody, while some are frequently angry, anxious or sad. An important lesson to high school
teacher is: you should not only dismiss emotional negativity as a normal phase, but
should address the needs of teenagers who are chronically moody or unhappy.
Today, the adolescents have easy access to culture of various media particularly in
social media and games. Almost all homes have TV sets and mostly have access to the
internet. Findings indicate that electronic communication negatively affects adolescents’ social
development. Social skills are impaired because of the absence of face-to-face communication
leading to unsafe interaction. Girls are particularly vulnerable to online socializing, while boys
gaming lower their academic achievement. Socially insecure teens become victims rather than
beneficiaries of the modern gadgets innovation of the digital age.
The overall implication is that emotional skills influence the adolescent learners’ success
in class work. Learners who are able to regulate their emotions tend to be happier, better liked
and better able to pay attention and learn. Interventions by the schools and the teachers can
reduce learners’ emotional distress, while raising test scores and grades. The teachers play
important role in promoting positive changes for adolescents. As the teens are susceptible to
peer pressure, the negative influence of social media, drug use and addiction, early romantic
sexual adventures, the teachers and the school can conduct interventions to assist the youth
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with focus on risky and inappropriate behavior while promoting positive development among
adolescents.
Activity 32.
1. Surf the internet for topic related to socio-emotional development of adolescents. Then,
write the problem, findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the study.
2. Answer the following:
a. What do you think makes the adolescents differ from those who have not yet reached
the age of puberty?
b. What social activities do you think?
Review the 14-Learner-Centered Psychological principles in the first part of this module
and answer what is asked.
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C. Synthesis of physical, Cognitive and Socio-emotional Development of Preschool
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Objective: Choose strategies that are developmentally appropriate to the
preschool children.
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Cluster 3- Developmental and Social factor
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