Erikson's Eight Stages Of Development In The Classroom

Students all undergo intellectual, social, cognitive, physical, and emotional development and these changes ultimately impact their learning and growth. As a future high school social studies teacher, it is crucial that I understand students will be at different stages of development which will be dependent on their learning and life experiences. I plan to create a learning environment that engages students in opportunities that meet all their needs to help them grow and reach their full potential. This will mean a demand of differentiation in the classroom which is the tailoring of instruction to meet the diverse learning needs of students pertaining to the content. It is important to have students set short-term and long-term goals so they

Adolescents will be in a prominent stage of cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development at the ages of 12-18. Erik Erikson provides in his eight stages of psychosocial development that most individuals in this age range will be in the stage of identity vs. role confusion. In this development stage, high school students will be in search of a sense of self and personal identity as they experience social situations. They will start to develop values, beliefs, and goals as they transition into the independence of adulthood. Individuals will either find their identity or be unsure of who they are and struggle to find their place in society. Although students are in this age range, they still may be in one of the previous stages due to an incompletion of that role. The stage before this one is industry vs. inferiority. At this stage students will seek approval in their work or will result in feeling inferior, doubting their own abilities. As a secondary educator, I will assist students in this process of finding their purpose in society, guiding decision-making,

Each student enters the classroom with unique prior experiences based on their life experiences inside and outside of school. On the first day of school, for each class, I will include a learning activity that involves students to fill out an informational survey so I can become aware of their prior experiences, interests, multiple intelligences, needs, and strengths {Get-to-Know-You Student Survey}. As a high school teacher, it can be difficult to make connections with every student from grades 9-12 in all six classes being taught. This activity will provide me with the necessary material to get to know my students and how I can apply their modern issues and experiences to history. The students will fill out their contact information, family information, if they have access to the internet at home, in and out of school activities, plans after high school, favorite things, health concerns, how they like to receive information, etc. I believe that this activity can positively impact learning because students have the opportunity to tell me beneficial ways they learn or what they may need assistance in. Students know themselves the best. This will also help me keep the content engaging for all students when I use different instructional strategies. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence provides the nine different ways students may thrive in the classroom. A student may work