• Intellect and prior knowledge are what humans use to make sense of their world. These allow them to adapt and interact with the environment and its ever-present changes.
• The four processes in organizing and adapting constructs are schemes assimilation accommodation equilibration.
• People are also influenced by the knowledge they construct themselves. These are known as physical, logico-math, emotional, and social-arbitrary.

IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING:

• Students can examine and study academic and social criteria through experimentation and discovery. They can access prior knowledge and experiences to increase their cognitive processes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING:

• Teachers should provide a more stimulating and interactive classroom that would encourage learners to fuse together prior knowledge and new experiences to problem solve and develop cognitive abilities.
  
  

1. Punishment / Obedience (motivated by fear of punishment - an eye for an eye)
2. Reciprocation (motivated by what one receives for right choices - you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours)
3. Social Approval (motivated by what others expect in behavior - good boy, good girl)
4. Societal Maintenance Orientation (motivated by keeping of law and order)
5. Social Contract (laws that are wrong can be changed)
6. Universal Ethical Principle Orientation (moral responsibility to make societal changes regardless of consequences to oneself - Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr.)

IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING:

1. Most schools label students in stages 1 and 4 (i.e. punishment and law / order).
2. Students must be responsible for their moral growth.
3. Students must hear a variety of views so that they may decide what is right and wrong.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING:

1. Teachers should offer more opportunities for debate about issues so students can hear a variety of perspectives.
2. View issues from a global perspective-how do other cultures look at these issues?
3. Students will begin to move into the upper stages of morality as they look beyond existing laws to decide what is right and wrong.
   
   

His research was grounded in the development theories developed by Piaget. Elkind believes that children develop in stages related to age, and that by pressuring children to grow up fast, some of the development stages may not be fully developed.

IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING:

Elkind believes that pressures to grow up too quickly create frustration in young people. This pressure to grow up more quickly is a result of the precedence of adult and corporate need over needs of the children. This influences learning because the expectations of children are often governed by an expected maturity that is not there.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING:

Elkind believes that if any of Piaget's developmental stages are rushed, this can influence the emotional, intellectual and social relations of a child. Less emphasis should be placed on rapid success, visible progress and achievement, all of which pressure adolescents into feeling too accountable. They should be given opportunity to develop their creativity and individuality in school.

The needs of adolescents fall into key polarities: the need to need/the need to be needed, the need to move inwards/the need to affect the outer world, the need for routine/the need for intensity, the need for myth and legend/the need for fact, the need for stillness/the need for activity, the need for separateness/the need for belonging.

IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING:

Adolescent learners stay engaged when their emotional, physical and intellectual need are being addressed.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING:

Teaching should be individualized to meet student needs. When teachers recognize, understand and meet the needs of adolescents, students will enjoy learning and be more productive. When needs are met, communication gaps and problems are reduced.

More information about Charity James

Humans go through eight stages of psychosocial development. In each stage there is crisis and unique development. If a crisis is overcome successfully, a positive part of the person is developed. It is possible to go back and "redo" a stage if one did not complete it successfully the first time.

IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING:

If the first three stages are completed successfully, students will bring trust of the world, autonomy, and initiative to school. Once in school, students should be encouraged to learn on their own to foster industry. Young adolescents that are encouraged to explore many different roles, challenged with goals, and given freedom and respect will more likely acquire positive identities.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING:

Teachers need to have a keen eye for students who may not have successfully completed one or more of the stages. Teachers can help satisfy unmet needs for students (i.e. hugs or affections if a student has not successfully developed trust). If necessary, teachers should strive to develop responsibility, self-rule and industry in their students. Teachers of adolescents should encourage students to question and explore as they seek to discover and define themselves.