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PSY307 - RP 3

The document discusses the importance of teaching middle school students, who are in Piaget's concrete operational stage and Erikson's stages of Industry vs. Inferiority and Early Identity vs. Role Confusion. It emphasizes the need for innovative teaching approaches that foster critical thinking, self-expression, and acceptance of diverse problem-solving methods while addressing the impact of trauma on students' learning. The author advocates for structured routines and emotional support in the classroom to enhance students' cognitive and social development during this pivotal age range.

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11 views4 pages

PSY307 - RP 3

The document discusses the importance of teaching middle school students, who are in Piaget's concrete operational stage and Erikson's stages of Industry vs. Inferiority and Early Identity vs. Role Confusion. It emphasizes the need for innovative teaching approaches that foster critical thinking, self-expression, and acceptance of diverse problem-solving methods while addressing the impact of trauma on students' learning. The author advocates for structured routines and emotional support in the classroom to enhance students' cognitive and social development during this pivotal age range.

Uploaded by

lp8964
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lily Pampolina

February 12, 2025

PSY307 RP 3

Professor Glatt

RP Week 3

​ Although I am unsure of what age of students I wish to teach in the future, from this

week’s reading I am drawn to consider a group of middle school students. Middle school

students fall in Piaget’s concrete operational stage, a stage when logical thinking is prominent,

but abstract concepts begin to become more possible to work through and comprehend. I feel as

though at this age, 10-12 years old, a teacher may be pushed to consider teaching approaches that

are innovative and creative in how they create an intentional and academically inclusive

environment. For example, from a learning standpoint, it is likely that these teachers may have to

consider their students’ reliance on tangible facts as opposed to conceptual computations, which

requires the use of clear and tangible examples, as well as hands-on activities. From a social

standpoint, teachers are bound to encounter their students developing the early stages of their

identity, where acceptance and peer comparison is both rampant and impactful to an individual's

sense of self. This social constraint may push a teacher to explore methods that encourage

self-expression, as well as activities that emphasize utility and contribution over comparison.

​ Early middle school students fall in Erikson’s stage of Industry vs. Inferiority, though

later middle school students may begin to progress into the stage of Early Identity vs. Role

Confusion. In both of these stages, students seek belonging in group settings and from their
peers, making it important for teachers to foster an environment in which students do not feel

that they have failed for utilizing approaches that are different from the majority. In cases of

classroom learning, highlighting the importance of different perspectives on how problems are

solved or ideas are formed can help students realize the utility of diverse approaches.

Emphasizing multiple-solution avenues and collaborative learning can reinforce identity

development, particularly in cases where students are able to discuss and experiment with the

approaches that are most practical to them. This may also reinforce moral development such that

students do not feel they are breaking rules for using a non-mainstream route. I believe that this

approach will allow students to become more comfortable with taking risks academically without

feeling judged for what they deem most effective. Evidently, there are subjects, such as math,

where students may be confined to a single technique or approach to get the correct answer, but I

believe with the support that is found in other subjects of learning that critical-thinking will still

be fostered and that students will develop a sort of resilience that does not cause them to limit

their learning potential.

​ Kahneman discusses potential bias that System 1 develops that may inhibit learning,

known as heuristics. Confirmation bias, in particular, is often difficult to overcome in middle

school students, since they struggle to think critically about their identity and the true meaning of

events since they are easily influenced by the general thought of their social circles. In these

scenarios, I believe teachers must work to encourage slow, reflective, and deliberate thinking that

is offered by System 2. I would approach teaching using a variety of activities, but one activity

that comes to mind is journaling processes. In both math and science lessons, writing predictions

on how to solve a problem, followed by the real approach, and ultimately followed by a

reflection or revision of their initial thoughts may help students to understand their thought
processes and rethink their cognitive biases. I think that having a tangible analysis of problem

solving may help students to reflect on how their learning and understanding has shifted. In

humanities lessons, a similar technique may be used, in asking students to write down their

initial thoughts or opinions about an event or reading before they share their thoughts to the class

or a smaller group. This can encourage students to reason within themselves and grapple with

why they feel such a way about the material they have just absorbed.

​ Lastly, I will look to briefly discuss trauma and how it may affect the development of

middle school students. In the case of the pandemic, I have observed myself how students have

found difficulty in concentrating in classrooms and planning the completion of their assignments.

This effect may force teachers to not only take a methodical approach to teaching, but also an

emotional one that incorporates mental check-ins and is adaptable to the differing responses from

their students. I believe it would be beneficial for teachers to create a classroom routine. FOor

middle-schoolers, although they often switch from class to class, having a predictable schedule

within a class may help to encourage students’ focus. Knowing that each lesson is broken up into

several different variants, especially if one includes collaboration, can encourage interactivity

and desire to progress through the class. In terms of mental check-ins, teachers can provide

themselves as optional and safe resources for students who are comfortable coming to them for

help. Tools like the stress thermometer from this week’s Stress and the Brain reading can be used

as a non-verbal cue for teachers to understand the mental conditions of their students, allowing

them to adapt their lessons.

​ Ultimately, I believe that middle school is a pivotal age range in cognitive, social, and

moral development and that exploring how students are best taught at this time is both
interpretable and essential. Effective teaching requires using multiple perspectives to create an

environment where identity formation is possible and acceptance is persistent.

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