Introduction:

The small group discussion is an assignment to be submitted for a grade.  This is the second of five small group discussions to be submitted during the semester.  Read the directions carefully and read the Grading Rubric, which can be viewed by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric, then compose your response and submit your response by clicking Reply.   

Directions: 

Imagine that you re-connect with a good friend from childhood, through social media, and you decide to meet somewhere convenient for both of you, for example in front of  a nearby grocery store, or at a car wash, or in front of a dry cleaners, or in front of a store at a mall, or in front of a restaurant.  Your friend says that you probably won’t recognize him or her, because it has been so long and his or her physical appearance has changed, but he or she will be the one with an adolescent, who will be readily recognizable.  After having read chapter 11 Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence, complete the following Tasks. 

Tasks: 

1. Create a fictitious adolescent, between the ages of 12 to 19. 
2. Discuss whether or not the fictitious adolescent has had a growth spurt.
3. Discuss the fictitious adolescent’s cognitive development in terms of Jean Piaget’s fourth stage of cognitive development, which is the formal operational stage.  
4. Discuss the fictitious adolescent’s moral reasoning, in terms of Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning, which includes the preconventional level, the conventional level, and the post conventional level.
5. Create a statement about the fictitious adolescent’s health, by describing either drug use, a health problem, or an eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder, in the fictitious adolescent, or, a lack of drug use, a lack of a health problem, or a lack of an eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder, in the fictitious adolescent.
6. Reply to five classmates’ responses by asking a question, answering a question, offering a suggestion, giving praise, agreeing, politely disagreeing, providing encouragement, sharing a story, or offering a comment.  

How to Complete the Assignment: 

Read the six task items, and then compose a response to each of the six task items in the order in which they appear.  Be as specific as possible.  The responses should show that you have an understanding of the concepts being addressed. 

How the Assignment will be Scored: 

The assignment will be scored using the Grading Rubric for the assignment, which can be viewed by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric.  The Grading Rubric is based on the Task items, which are aligned with the Learning Objectives of the chapter, which are aligned with the Course Objectives that are on the Syllabus, and which are aligned with the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) for the course that are on the Syllabus.  If a response meets the criterion set forth in the Grading Rubric, then the response will earn 1 point.  If a response does not meet the criterion set forth in the Grading Rubric, then the response will not earn 1 point.  Each assignment is scored independently from previous assignments and each assignment is scored independently from future assignments.  

Where to Access the Score:  

The score for the assignment will be visible in the Grades area.  To view how the score was derived, you can view the points earned on the Grading Rubric by clicking the word Show Rubric in upper right hand of the page in the Grades area for this specific assignment.  If there is individual feedback on the assignment, then there will be individual feedback in the Assignment Comments area, which is right hand side of the page. 

Student Success Tip: 

Two Samples of Good Work are provided for students to use as a guide for how to gear their responses.  One sample is in a paragraph format and the other sample is in a numbered format.  Either format is acceptable to use when submitting your response.    

Samples of Good Work:

Sample 1

After re-connecting with my best friend from childhood through a social media Web site, we decided to meet at the nearest grocery store, and she told me she would be unrecognizable because her hair style had changed, but she had a 13 year old son, who would be ready identifiable, and my eyes saw a woman with an adolescent male, who was short, indicating that he had not had his adolescent growth spurt yet.  While observing my friend’s son in the grocery store, his thought processes showed that he was engaging in hypothetical reasoning, along the lines of Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, specifically, the fourth stage, which is the formal operational stage, as he interacted with a store clerk, by saying that since a candy bar he found was slightly damaged, then maybe it would be possible for him to receive a discount on it.  My friend’s son was also overheard talking to a nearby child the morality of stealing and it seemed as though he could be described as being in Lawrence Kohlberg’s first stage of moral reasoning, preconventional morality.  My friend told me that her son did not use illicit drugs, although some of his friends did at school. 

Sample 2

1. My friend from childhood’s son was 17 years old. 
2. He was a tall and thin adolescent, who had his adolescent growth spurt, which was readily identifiable, when my friend met me at the car wash last week, after having re-connected with her on an Internet Web site after so many years.
3. My friend’s son was having a running conversation with his mother about whether or not he could borrow her car, if he completed all of his homework, chores, and volunteer work by the end of the day, so he could go to the school event that evening, showing hypothetical reasoning, one of Piaget’s signs of formal operations, his last stage in his theory of cognitive development. 
4. The adolescent showed signs of post conventional morality, as he started a conversation with another adolescent sitting next to him, discussing abstract moral reasons for engaging in behavior that others might frown upon. 
5. He enjoys good health. 

Alignment of Assignment to the Course:  

This discussion forum topic ties into Student Learning Outcome (SLO) 1:

Student Learning Outcomes 1.  Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical constructs among the 4 main areas of human development (Physical, Cognitive, Social, and Emotional) throughout the lifespan.

This discussion forum topic ties into Course Objectives 3, 4, 5, and 15.

Course Objective 3.  Discuss key features of physical development across the lifespan, such as prenatal factors, heritability, puberty, hormonal changes, physical health, and biological aspects of mental health. 

Course Objective 4.  Explain and discuss the four stages of cognitive development proposed by Jean Piaget. 

Course Objective 5.  Differentiate among models of cognitive development that extend beyond Piaget’s final stage and across the lifespan, such as Sinnott’s research on postformal thought, Schaie’s 7 stage model of cognitive development, and Kohlberg’s cognitive stages of moral reasoning. 

Course Objective 15.  Discuss aspects of development that are of primary concern to adolescents, such as identity formation, status, and health concerns (eating disorders, drug use, depression, suicide, delinquency, and sexual behavior). 

This discussion forum topic ties into Learning Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 for Chapter 11: 

Learning Objective 1.  Discuss physical aspects of puberty.

Learning Objective 2.  Discuss Jean Piaget’s fourth stage of cognitive development.

Learning Objective 3.  Discuss Jean Piaget’s fourth stage of cognitive development.

Learning Objective 4.  Identify the stages in Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning.

Learning Objective 5:  Discuss health concerns of adolescence.

Rationale for the Assignment:

The purpose of the small group discussion is to apply the course material to the real world and to your own life by giving examples that are from evidence-based research and that are meaningful to you, and to show an understanding and mastery of the material, and to promote interaction with engagement with other students in the class.  This is due by Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.  Please see the Grading Rubric for the Small Group Discussion, by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric.