High schoolers are considered to be in the Late Adolescents developmental stage, which ranges from ages 14-18. While creating lesson plans to help students progress on their personal journeys, there are implications to consider that relate to students' physical, cognitive, and social-emotional developments. Special attention should be given to each developmental domain, because as "educators respect the entirety of psychological functions, they are taking a holistic perspective on child development. Wise educators realize that the child is greater than the sum of his or her separate parts" (p. 5).

Cultures vary in the skills they value and promote in their youth. Some cultures and families might encourage their children to become proficient in math and science while others might emphasize music or emotional awareness.

"Classrooms in the United States tend to be dominated by the traditions of European American backgrounds, and students from different backgrounds may bring talents and family assets that are not noticed or appreciated" (p. 71).

To help all students feel competent and able to succeed, teachers can utilise the strengths each student brings to the classroom from their unique family and culture backgrounds.

An adolescent's brain is still in the process of developing its prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for critical thinking. Adolescents are able to think about their actions differently than they could before, but their reasoning is still far from perfect. Teenagers display different levels of intelligence in different contexts because "as adolescents are developing high-brow intellectual abilities, they also are gaining a taste for adventure" (p. 186).

It is reasonable for teachers to set high expectations for adolescents, because the students' brains are functioning and growing in important ways. However, students might feel they are not able to meet those expectations if they are usually in environments where they don't have to practice critical thinking. Not every high school student's brain develops at the same rate, so students who do not have as mature brain development as their peers may feel less intelligent and less motivated to expand their abilities.

With the understanding that all students will be developing at a different rate, teachers need to individually "guide children in sustaining attention and regulating impulses" (p. 188). Helping students focus and achieve goals will help them practice regulatory skills that can propel their learning.

When children reach Piaget's formal operational stage, "[t]hey can think logically about abstract concepts, hypothetical ideas, and statements that contradict what they know to be true." (p. 201). With the ability to comprehend abstract ideas, students in this stage are cognitively able to understand much more than they could have before; however, adolescents often cannot understand difficult concepts right away.

Vygotsky theorizes that "children’s ability to benefit from subtle guidance from an adult indicates that an ability is in formation: 'proximal development' means that a new facility is emerging" (p. 215). Even though most adolescents are developmentally capable of higher thinking, they still need adequate adult support and guidance.

The problem is then raised that some students do not receive enough cognitive support from teachers to perform well academically, and thus they do not have the same opportunity to learn challenging tasks. This is why scaffolding information becomes critical in the classroom.

Students need to learn how to effectively store and recall information to succeed in school. There are three learning strategies that help improve those skills: rehearsal, organization, and elaboration. Rehearsal is a familiar strategy which can involve studying with flashcards to remember pieces of information. Organization is the process of grouping information together in ways that make sense to the student. Elaboration requires that a student takes the new information they are learning and connects it to concepts and facts they already know (p. 256-7). Elaboration is the most effective learning strategy, and among high schoolers, "it is primarily students with high academic achievement who use existing knowledge to help them learn and remember new information" (p. 257).

When teachers encourage students to elaborate on what they have learned, they are not just asking them to stuff more information into their brains. Instead, elaboration provides a way for students to strengthen their schemas, or "tightly integrated ideas about specific objects or situations" (p. 245). When students are able to make connections in their learning, they can become confident in their ability to remember and perform well academically.

Our textbook defines intelligence as "the ability to apply past knowledge and experiences flexibly and in a culturally appropriate manner while accomplishing challenging new tasks" (p. 274). In my experience, intelligence is not something that public schools attempt to measure, and in a survey I conducted, I learned that many people did not think their intelligence was accurately reflected in high school. Still, I think that intelligence is something students think about and use to compare themselves with others, and I think that educators can learn from different methods of intelligence tests, and in particular, from dynamic assessments.

Dynamic assessments involve testing a student on what they are able to accomplish with help and direction from a teacher. Instead of measuring what they are capable of doing in the moment, they attempt to measure what they will be able to do in the future (p. 290). Even if teachers do not give students official dynamic assessments, they can help their students set goals and focus on progression.

The emotions children feel can be influenced by their temperament, defined as "a child’s typical and somewhat stable ways of responding to events, novel stimulation, and personal impulses" (p. 430). A child's temperament can determine how they react to learning complex material at school or how they deal with changes to their circumstances. Mary Rothbart introduces three types of temperament children embody that help explain their reactions and emotions. The types are extraversion, negative affectivity, and effortful control (p. 431).

Looking deeper into negative affectivity, a student who embodies this temperament might be shy and not comfortable speaking in front of the class or asking questions. This could decrease the student's motivation to learn if he/she feels that nothing makes sense and there is no way of getting help. As teachers are watchful for signs of different temperaments, they can detect when students need more encouragement or support. They can also adjust their lessons and assignments to fit the needs of their students, from the ones who are excited about group work to the ones who do best on their own.

While preparing my Field Project, I learned that the best types of goals are ones that focus on personal progress and not relative comparison to peers. However, it is nearly impossible for students to go through high school without comparing themselves to others. This comparison affects the way students perceive their own academic ability, whether it boosts their self esteem or lowers it.

As children develop and learn new skills, it makes sense that they "base their self-perceptions on a growing record of performance . . . In the minds of children, their ability to meet standards and their impressions of how classmates judge their abilities become intertwined" (p. 448). A student might perceive they are smart if they consistently earn good grades. Their self confidence might increase if they are usually the first person in class to answer a teacher's question. Conversely, a student who is always receiving low grades and who usually takes the longest on tests might have a low perception about their ability.

To counteract comparison in the classroom, teachers should give constructive feedback to all of their students. The feedback should include praise for what the student is good at as well as direction in areas where growth is needed. Recognizing successes and opportunities to grow in all students, teachers can cultivate a positive learning environment where each student is held to a standard of improvement.

There are two different kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is fueled by the desire to learn or accomplish something for the sake of becoming better or more capable to act. Extrinsic motivation is fueled by rewards or material incentives that are achieved through success.

Although extrinsic motivation is an easy way to get students engaged in material early on,"intrinsically motivated children are eager to learn classroom material, tackle assigned tasks, use effective learning strategies, and achieve at high levels", which means it should be the target motivation for classrooms. (p. 496).

If students can become intrinsically motivated to learn in school, they can develop habits and strategies that will help them be successful in any area later in life. Helping students look at the bigger picture can help them persevere through challenging goals, even if they are not proficient at first.

Parents and teachers strive to teach young children the difference between right and wrong, and Lawrence Kohlberg constructed six stages of moral reasoning: punishment avoidance and obedience, exchange of favors, good boy/good girl, law and order, social contract, and universal ethical principles. People generally go through those stages in that order, but the "ranges in moral reasoning at a given age can be significant, especially among older students. In the high school classroom, each of the [six stages] of reasoning may be evident" (p. 529).

Each student will have a different idea of what is morally right and why. As a teacher, my job will not be to enforce a certain moral code on my students, but to give them opportunities to explore moral dilemmas, have conversations about morality, and make plans to spread moral actions.

McDevitt T. M., & Ormond J. E. (2020) Child Development and Education, 7th Edition. Pearson.