Importance of Adolescent Physical Development to Teachers

Importance of Adolescent Physical Development to Teachers

Adolescent Physical Development

Introduction

Adolescence is a phase of life (10-19) years. Research implicates that this period has gained recognition recently because of its distinct characteristics demanding individual unique needs. It is a period I the growth of an individual which is described by fast growth (physical) and behavioural and psychological changes, causing a transformation to adulthood. It is a period above childhood and below adulthood characterized by enormous psychological and physical changes. Indeed, the experiences in this period are known to alter social perceptions and expectations. Besides, physical development and growth lead to sexual maturation, something which causes intimate relationships. Critical thought, abstract thinking and self-awareness also develop in this phase due to emotional expectations and maturity. Indeed, effective teachers are supposed to be equipped with solid ground on developmental psychology. Effectiveness in instruction is realized when teachers understand the students emotional, cognitive, social and physical needs.

Trends in Puberty over the Last 100 years and Reasons for These Trends

In most developed countries, the age of the onset of puberty has substantially fallen. Although there are apparent changes in both sexes, females (with clear biological markers) differ. In northern Europe, the age of the first menstruation (age at menarche) has reduced with three years in the past 100 years. This trend is caused by various changes in a combination of diverse social structures and public health successes. Successes in reduced childhood infections due to improved health status and childhood nutrition are the core factors causing a fast onset of puberty. Stress (caused by family disruption) is also another puberty accelerator because of its increase in many areas across the world. Body changes and increased sexual activity encourages curiosity and aggression, thus escalating escalate risk‐taking behaviours. Dissociation of social and physical puberty affects different communities disproportionately. Public health measures in different countries is a core determinant of the age at which children start their physical puberty.

The Effect of Early and Late-Onset of Puberty on Adolescent Physical Development and Social/Emotional Relationships with Peers

Can children handle both the psychological and physical effects in adolescence? Most kids who undergo early puberty do not require to be treated. Early puberty occurs in (9-14 years) in boys and (8-13) years in girls. Kids who show significant signs of early puberty and the progression before his time are termed as precocious puberty (central and peripheral) (1 in every 5000 kids is affected). It is more common in males than in females. The effects of early puberty include teasing, feeling of self-consciousness, poor body image, exploring sexuality earlier, seem tall and then stop growing than their peers, being treated as adults by peers. Girls are faced by higher rates of disordered eating, anxiety and depression. Boys are faced by higher self-image. On the other side, early puberty is no signs of puberty at 13 years in girls and 14 years in boys. Effects of late puberty include embarrassment and self-consciousness among peers.

How Changes in Physical Development Affect Cognitive Processing and Decision Making

Adolescence is the peak of risk-taking and sensation-seeking behaviour. Sensation seeking is regarded as a critical element in obtaining the experiences which facilitate independent decision making, which is essential for surviving in adults. Sensation seeking increases during adolescence, and it increases anxiety and appetite, something which is different in adulthood. Reward processing, motivation and inhibitory processing are some decision making processes which include risk-taking behaviours. Immaturities in making motor responses (simple inhibitory) show that most adolescents are faced by limitations when implementing control in their essential cognitive elements. Adolescents have a different degree of risk-taking behaviour when compared to children and adults. There is an added peak in sensation among the adolescents, and this is caused by immature cognitive control something which combines the processes which cause risk-taking behaviour. Indeed, adolescents have the capability of making executive decisions. However, they show limitation when it comes to exerting top-down modulation effectively and establishing response state, which affects making clear decisions. Immature reward processing influences cognitive control among adolescents.

The Role of Technology on Students’ sense of Interconnectedness

Technology is playing a critical role in increasing the capacity at which students collaborate and solve their problems. Indeed, technology is being applied by teachers in the classrooms to promote collaborative projects and teamwork and also linking many students from different far geographical locations across the globe. It is something which has broken down the traditional paradigm. For instance, the internet and different resourceful online platforms have enabled the quiet and shy students to be excited, thus allowing them to get online and be able to share their learnings. They are helped to feel that their voice matters and they also want to feel like the others. Recommended learning environments and recent developments in social and cognitive sciences are playing a critical role in facilitating and understanding learning processes. Some of these technologies include  Classroom pen-pals, “flipped” classrooms and some sites such as Khan Academy and like TED-ed are employed in creating educational videos and own video lectures.

Ways to ensure the use of technology in schools and the classroom is safe, ethical, and responsible.

The advent of technology has added complexity when it comes to classroom ethics. Technology has brought ethical issues long before learners know how to engage and solve various real-life situations from a moral point of view. As a result, there are several ways through which students can be assisted to navigate through the waters in the current digital era. One of the methods is taking care of the technological equipment used by learning how to be keen on what is shared, clicked or downloaded. Besides, exploring the safe and appropriate sites for research and learning is also essential. Adhering to Creative Commons, Fair Use Act and Copyright law is mission-critical. Other ways include helping in preventing cyberbullying, preserving cyberbullying, maintaining self-image, using netiquette, giving credit to sources and being ethical, thoughtful and practical digital creators among others is essential.

Conclusion

Teaching is a critical element which benefits from a concrete understanding of learners intellectual processes together with their social amongst other factors which are responsible for influencing the behaviour of individuals. In connection to this, it is essential to determine the developmental characteristics which are critical for teachers. Most learners pass through the rapid human changes during their adolescent hence calling the importance of the knowledge in adolescent development. Appropriate classroom experiences are derived from understanding the developmental characteristics of students in the middle and high school age. The success of students is defined by the changing sensitivity of students emotional and cognitive needs hence determining what should be employed to improve the adequate environment for facilitating education among adolescents. There is a great need for improving the training of teachers on adolescent physical development so that they can efficiently train and cope with the specific needs of adolescent students. Paying attention to developmental issues is vital to instructors because it influences their teaching practices.