Adolescent Development

Middle school is a time of enormous physical change. It is also the dawn of the capacity to think conceptually, and a time of great curiosity about life, the world, and peers. Most of all, it is a time of preoccupation with self, when many young adolescents are swimming in self-doubt. At their most insecure, young people are taken from the safety of self-contained classrooms and asked to switch focus, environment, and teachers every 50-90 minutes. It is a time when young adolescents declare family to be irrelevant to what's really happening, and yet family has never been more important. In middle school, students whose bones are rapidly growing and realigning, whose proportions seem designed for anything but desks, are asked to sit all day, often without an opportunity to do what their bodies and nerves are asking for most—move!
In the Developmental Designs approach, we draw from Rudolf Dreikurs, Abraham Maslow, William Glasser, and the recent work of psychologist Edward Deci. Here are four needs that must be fulfilled if young adolescent minds and hearts are to be engaged in any learning—social or academic:
Four developmental needs
Relationship: I want to connect with others.To reduce fear and aloneness, young adolescents need to build and maintain relationships that provide safe ground upon which to make mistakes on their journey. These relationships focus on peers in a way that they never have before, but they also include powerful and reliable adult support. Young adolescents can't make it alone!
Autonomy: I want to be independent.The adolescent drive to function separate from adults is a powerful motivator. It works for school success when it drives middle level students to show that they can be given big responsibilities and freedom, but against success when it turns into rebellion. They need maps from caring adults to help them find their own way.
Competence: I want to experience success in what I do and feel like a worthwhile, significant person.Young adolescence feels like a make-or-break time for young people, a time when you have to demonstrate that you've got the right stuff or be seen as a loser. Adult scaffolding can make a crucial difference.
Fun: I want to have a good time. The need to enjoy moments of pleasure drives much adolescent behavior. Students will find their own fun during school hours (and sometimes pay a big price for it) if adults don't channel the need constructively.
Developmental Designs implementation in a school
What does a middle school look, feel, and sound like when all of these adolescent needs are taken into consideration? A school implementing Developmental Designs makes the creating of respectful, caring relationships a high priority. Every day begins with a homeroom or advisory in which students circle up to greet each other respectfully, share what's happening in their lives, and sometimes move around a bit in activities that teach important skills in a lively way. The morning meeting (we call it the Circle of Power and Respect) helps students make the transition from home to school and establishes a clear path into the learning day.

Transitions between classes are taught and practiced, as are all the routines of the school day. Nothing is taken for granted. Everything is modeled and rehearsed. The goal is the development of self-control through proactive strategies that put the emphasis on the prevention of rule-breaking. Consequences for all rule-breakers, no matter who or how small the infraction, are carefully introduced and consistently upheld. The consequences clarify the expectations, provide a chance to restore order, safety, and relationship, and maintain the dignity of the rule-breaker.
Each class the students attend uses the same language and routines to preserve a caring community. Each class has an opportunity for students to get to know each other, to do meaningful work, and to reflect on work afterwards. There is respect for the environment and materials. There is closure for students and teacher at the end of each period, and at the end of the day. Students ask and respond to open-ended questions. They have regular opportunities to help design and make choices in assignments that are meaningful to them. There is a balance in each class between teacher-directed lessons and independent and group work on skills and projects.
Like any comprehensive approach to professional growth, Developmental Designs calls for some paradigm shifts, is built on repeated practice, and thrives in a school climate of reflection and collaboration. Good relationships among adults are carefully cultivated through meeting structures and shared language, as well as through authentic, ongoing assessment of teacher practices.
Research Basis for Developmental Designs
The following categories of pedagogical research and practice create the theoretical framework for the Developmental Designs approach:
Child and Adolescent DevelopmentPiaget, Dreikurs, Glasser, Maslow, Deci, and othersSocial-emotional Learning (SEL)Vygotsky, Glasser, Goleman, Elias, Zins, Jensen, and others Engaged LearningDewey, Dweck, and others Supportive Learning Communities Senge, Bryk, and othersMulticultural UnderstandingBanks, Delpit, and others

http://www.originsonline.org/dd_index.php