Snapshot Assignment

A) I hope to teach Graphic Design at both the high school and college level. The typical age of a college student has many of the same development challenges as a high school student does. Students who are returning to college after time away tend to be a bit more advanced and mature than their counterparts.

B) Erikson would place students at the high school and early college level somewhere between his Identity vs. Role Confusion stage and his Intimacy vs. Isolation stage (Woolfolk 100). Relationships amongst friends and love interests are the central development point for students at this age. Anyone that still remembers these school years knows that this is true. My friends and love interests most definitely helped shape who I became today. A student’s adult identity and self-concept are defined in these years and who students are surrounded by, both in and out of school, are vital to their development.

Marcia expanded on Erikson’s idea of identity formation by focusing on two essential processes in achieving a mature identity, exploration and commitment. Exploration is trying out different beliefs, values and behaviors until the individual finds one that suits them. Commitment is when an individual has made a decision in regards to politics or religious beliefs, etc (Woolfolk 103). When students get to high school they have the opportunity to meet a whole new group of people with varying beliefs and behaviors, this is repeated and exemplified when students get to college as there is an even broader range of people attending from all over the world at times. This melting pot of differing ideas allows teenagers and young adults to experience and learn from different cultures to decide for themselves what best suits their desired lifestyle. They take this time to decide that they either agree with their parents beliefs or choose their own set of values and ideals from their peers.

C. Students at the high school and early college age are all over the spectrum of morality in regards to Kohlberg’s stages. People mature and advance at different times and there can be a freshman in high school at the Obedience Orientation stage and even after going through high school and college still be at the Preconventional Level (Woolfolk 113). There are also students who mature very quickly and can go from the 1^st stage to the 6^th stage within a years’ time depending on individual circumstances. Circumstances involve individual experiences, family life and peer pressure. Everything teenagers and young adults experience is another notch in their maturing belt, whether it be a class or party they are invited to. A student’s home life is a major factor in how and when they mature emotionally (Woolfolk 87). If a student has a happy and safe home life, they are more likely to feel free to express themselves and be able to mature at a healthy rate. Similarly students are susceptible to the influence of their peers, if they are friends with someone who is more mature, they in turn will be more mature to fit in better with their friends.

Works Cited

Woolfolk, Anita. Educational Psychology: Active Learning Edition. Boston: Pearson, 2014. Print.