Social & Moral Development Learning Log

What?
In this chapter, we read about the social and moral development that everyone goes through. Also, in class we discussed the emotional development as well. Kohlberg and Erikson's stages explain, in portion, our developmental processes. In Erikson's stages, he walks through the different stages of our psychosocial development. The handy memorization technique that we learned in class was helpful in remembering the names of the stages. In Kohlberg's moral levels, we can see how our moral development came to be, and also how it can change between the different levels. The chapter also discussed the adolescents' unique social scene and their different outlooks as they are developing. We discussed in class the differences between a clique and a gang and how they can be a support for adolescents. We also learned about the "imaginary audience" that causes adolescents to be self-conscious. In summary, adolescents' moral beliefs, their friends, and their social development all play a role in who they become and how they act in school.

So What?
It is extremely important to understand where our students are in the different moral and social stages so that we can better assist and understand them in their developmental process. If we have students who are in the "identity vs. role confusion" stage, we can support them by helping to define individuality and how to discover your own identity. We can help students understand rules and why we have them and how they help create a positive learning environment.

Now What?
I think it would be really interesting to learn some techniques that would help determine which stage our students were in. This would help in curriculum planning and building groups for group work. You would be able to assist your students through your teaching. Sense of self is extremely vital for students to understand and I would like to be able to learn some teaching strategies that would help them discover their sense of self.