Adolescent Development and Communication Skills Syllabus Masters in Teaching Winter 2007 2009 Middle school and high school teachers live in a bi cultural world that of their adult peers and that of the adolescent youth they guide Gaining a greater understanding of this adolescent culture the values at play their approach to communication and the dynamics underlying the social construction of identity is our goal for the quarter We ll approach the developmental themes of this period of life from multiple perspectives beginning with a traditional overview of adolescence and begin exploring these themes through various models of identity development and the lenses of gender race class and sexual orientation Although adolescence is often addressed as one contiguous time we will frame our work in terms of middle and high school aged youth The second half of our time together is devoted to developing effective communication skills We ll focus on simple interventions designed to provide supportive and clarifying communication to help develop boundary maintenance and the ability to interrupt processes when necessary and communication strategies for facilitation and persuasion Assignments Adolescent development group assignment Each group will identify a specific themebased problem adolescents often face Based on that theme the group will design an educational product addressing both prevention and problem resolution Each group s project must use appropriate imagery and language for middle school youth and for high school youth You must ensure the readability of your product You will provide a rationale based on the developmental themes and a theoretical framework You should provide a brief bibliography of the materials you use to develop the product Examples of other such products must be part of the final presentation Adolescent development individual assignment Your winter classroom observations include assignments specific to your observations and interviews For each required conversation ask each interviewee the following questions What three challenges does faculty experience with their students regarding adolescent development How does the school address marginalized students eg students of color queer students etc and ensure opportunities for their well being and growth Include these responses in your field journal and bring to discuss in class In addition you need to interview at least one of the school counselors and explore the developmental models they use and they see used by faculty Communication skills Working in triads you and your partners will take turns acting as intervener character and observer The intervener practices the active listening skills we re developing The observer provides direct feedback following the role play The character presents an ongoing problem for the intervener Each of you will develop two characters an adolescent character and a parent character using the demographics of your current school placement You need to develop an ongoing problem for each character that can be introduced developed and resolved over the course of a two or four week period You will need to have conducted your research on the demographics of the school by the beginning of Week 3 of the quarter If you have difficulty arriving at a problem let me know and I ll help you Reading Each week you have specific reading assignments that will be posted on Moodle as a PDF file They are reported in the syllabus on a weekly basis Additional readings will be assigned For our communication skills component you will work with Adele Faber s text How to Talk so Kids can Learn Schedule Week 1 January 9th 09 00 10 30 Overview brainstorming small group activity 10 45 12 00 Introduction to Faber triad development listening skills Week 2 January 16th 09 30 12 00 Guest presenter Ms Resa Hoiland arrives 9 30 or so If Ms Hoiland finishes before noon please work on small group projects Reading Sadowski M 2003 Adolescents at School p 1 18 145 166 scan through How to Talk so Kids can Learn Week 3 January 23rd 09 00 10 30 Erikson s developmental stages 10 45 12 00 Active listening and engaging cooperation Reading Miller P 2002 Theories of Developmental Psychology 4th ed p 144 163 Kotre J and Hall E 1990 Seasons of Life p 141 194 Faber Chs 1 2 Week 4 January 31st Focus on the Nation Sustainability Week 5 February 6th 09 00 10 30 Racial identity development models Social Learning Theory 10 45 12 00 Problem solving Praise and Criticism Reading Miller P 2002 Theories of Developmental Psychology 4th ed p 165 211 Adolescents at School p 19 54 Helms J 1992 A Race is a Nice Thing to Have p 23 36 Faber Chs 4 5 Week 6 February 13th Day of Presence Activities Week 7 February 20th 09 00 10 30 Gender identity development models Bem Sex Role Inventory Gilligan 10 45 12 00 Engaged curiosity Reading Sax L 2005 Why Gender Matters p 1 38 77 139 234 271 Adolescents at School p 55 68 Faber Ch 6 Optional reading Theories of Developmental Psychology 4th ed p 279 338 Week 8 February 27th 09 00 10 30 Sexual Orientation Stonewall Youth presentation 10 45 12 00 Punishment Reading Way N and Chu J 2004 Adolescent Boys Exploring Diverse Cultures of Boyhood p 235 292 Adolescents at School p 69 106 Faber Ch 3 Week 9 March 5th 09 00 10 30 Immigration and Class 10 45 12 00 Teacher to parent peer to peer Change character to adult Reading Adolescent Boys Exploring Diverse Cultures of Boyhood p 295 316 Faber Ch 7 8 Week 10 March 12th 09 00 10 30 Group presentations 10 45 12 00 Final role plays
View Full Document
Unlocking...