Who is the Adolescent?Weaving the Web of Democracy: Teaching All People’s ChildrenMIT Winter 2006What occupies and preoccupies the adolescents that you will be teaching? What are the cognitive, social, physical and emotional changes they are going through? How do the social, historical and cultural contexts influence the ways in which adolescents develop? How might this knowledge about the adolescents in your classroom shape and focus your teaching decisions?The goals of our work together this quarter are:- To develop strategies for learning about the students we are teaching. - To examine, challenge and inform our individual assumptions about the nature adolescence.- To compare and contrast what a broad range of sources say about the nature of adolescence.- To synthesize the information from these sources and then use what we learn to examine howto make learning experiences relevant and effective for the adolescents in your future classrooms.To accomplish these goals we will:1. Survey the adolescent world. Together we will brainstorm the kinds of places and information that we have access to that will help us to paint a portrait of the adolescents in your future classrooms. We will spend two weeks sleuthing these sources and will analyze, compare and contrast what they seem to explicitly/implicitly imply about adolescents. 2. Examine the themes and potential myths of adolescence:We will examine and analyze the results of our surveys using the perspectives of sociology and psychology. Between weeks 4 and 8, we will examine what the professional and academic literature says about particular themes (i.e., cultural, historical and social contexts surrounding adolescents; identity development; the role and function of peer groups; emergent sexuality; and cognitive development). 3. Identify characteristics of relevant, meaningful and supportive learning environments for adolescents:Throughout the quarter, we will regularly consider the implications of what we learn fromour sleuthing for relevant student pedagogy, be it in public, professional or academic forums. In weeks 8 & 9, you will shift the focus of your observations in the field and consider how the ways lessons, classrooms and schools are organized are/aren't congruentwith your current understanding of adolescence. In the final two weeks of the quarter, youwill analyze and present a particular lesson you have observed, explain how the lesson is relevant to the adolescents in the classroom, and revise if necessary to make it more relevant.WEEKLY SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR FIRST THREE WEEKSWeek Guiding question Homeworkone Who is the adolescent? KWHLK:- examine prior knowledge & assumptionsW:- identify questions about adolescence that are important for future teachersH:- brainstorm places and sources of information- develop work groups for sleuthing- identify particular types of information that would be informative for our work.At the threshold, chapter 1 two Who is the adolescent? Gathering & examining dataIn your sleuthing groups you will - analyze, compare and contrast findings.- identify a question to focus and deepen your groups examination of this place for next week.- share with whole class (i) important highlights of your sleuthing, (ii) question you plan to examinefurther, and (iii)strategy for examining question.WL:- revisit KWHL – notice what we are learning, questions we still have and new questions that are emerging.Sleuth your source & be prepared to share what you learned & wondered aboutBring in what you are learningfrom the interviews with school personnel to these discussions. See Winter Classroom Observation Guide for specific kinds of prompts. Ask your teacher permission to do an anonymous survey students interests, hobbies, pastimes, work, etc.three Who is the adolescent? Gathering data, cont…Once again your sleuthing groups will: - analyze, compare and contrast findings.- share with class (i) important highlights of your sleuthing, (ii) your current take on how this information might be important to consider as Dive back into the source that you investigated looking specifically for information to the question your group identified last week.Bring in what you are learningfuture teachers, and (iii) new questions that emerge or old questions that seem all the more important.WL:- revisit KWHL – notice what we are learning, questions we still have and new questions that are emerging.from the interviews with school personnel to these
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