Introduction:

The discussion forum topic is an assignment to be submitted for a grade.  This is the seventh of ten discussion forum topics to be submitted during the semester.  This is a two part assignment.  Part 1 is to submit a response worth up to 4 points, and Part 2 is to reply to at least two of your classmates’ responses worth up to 1 point, for a total of up to 5 points for the assignment.  Read the directions carefully and read the grading rubric, then compose your response and submit your response by clicking Reply.     

Directions: 

Part 1:

Imagine that you re-connect with a good friend from childhood, through social media, and you both decide to meet at a nearby grocery store.  Your friend says that you probably won’t recognize him or her, but he or she will be the one with an adolescent.  What will you expect and what will you look for?

Tasks: 

1. Discuss whether or not the adolescent has had his or her growth spurt.

2. Discuss one element of Jean Piaget’s fourth stage of cognitive development.

3. Describe one component of Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning.

4. Create a statement about either drug use, a health problem, an eating disorder, or a lack of drug use, a lack of a health problem, or a lack of an eating disorder in the adolescent.

5. Reply to two classmates’ responses.

Sample of Good Work: 

If I re-connected with my best friend from childhood through a social media Web site, and 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 an adolescent son, who would be ready identifiable, then at the store, I would look for an adolescent male, who was tall and thin.  I would listen to hear how the adolescent’s thought processes were working, to see if he engaged in hypothetical reasoning with a clerk in the store, for example, if he said that since a candy bar he found was slightly damaged, then could he receive a discount on it.  I would listen to how the adolescent spoke with a nearby child about abstract moral concepts and reasons for or against engaging in certain behavior, and I would listen to how the adolescent spoke to my friend about whether or not to use drugs and how some of the students as his school used drugs, but he had not tried drugs yet.     

The purpose of the discussion forum topic is to apply the course material to the real world and to your own life by giving examples that are meaningful to you.  This is due by Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.  Please see the Grading Rubric for Discussion Forum Topic.

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: 

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.

Part 2:  

After submitting a response to the discussion forum topic, view your classmates’ responses and reply to at least two classmates’ response by asking a question, answering a question, offering a suggestion, giving praise, agreeing, politely disagreeing, providing encouragement, sharing a story, or offering a comment.  This is due by Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.  Please see the Grading Rubric for the Discussion Forum Topic.