KIBABII UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF EDUCATION SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT: EDUCTION AND SOCIAL SCIENCE

NAME: ALEX LUGALIA

REG NO: EDS/0158/20

COURSE TITTLE: GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

COURSE CODE: PSY 311

PHONE NUMBER: 0718195208

Questions
1. Discuss the challenges adolescent face and how a teacher can help them
overcome.
2. Why is important for a teacher to have knowledge on exceptional
development.
Introduction
Adolescent is the loosely defined psychological period of development between childhood and
adulthood. Adolescence is a time of emotional turmoil and thus signals the beginning of
adulthood. This is accompanied by physical and emotional changes as depicted in the teens.
They go through a lot under expected to cope with hormonal changes, cubit, social and parental
forces, work and school precious. some of the changes the face are self-esteem and body image
stress, bowling, depression, cyber addiction, drinking and smoking, teen pregnancy, underage
sex, different behaviors, peer pressure and competition. These challenges are discussed below.

PHYSICAL CHANGES
Physical changes happen due to change in the teenager’s hormone levels.

Development of full breasts in girls can be awkward in the beginning. Girls may start to feel
conscious about their figure. And not all of these things satisfy the way they look and feel about
themselves. Change of voice and appearance of facial hair in boys is perhaps the most prominent
change that takes place during adolescence. Acne is one of the major problems. Muscle gain
sometimes leads to excessive body weight in teens. The growth of pubic hair in girls and boys.
Body odor becomes evident. Girls start their periods.

Solution

The best way a teacher can do to help the teenager get through the stage is to make them
aware of these changes.

Explain that it is normal for the body to change as every teenager goes through it!
Help them adapt to these changes – acknowledge the change and help them accept it.
Advise them to stay healthy and fit through a nutritious diet and exercise.

2. Emotional changes and problems

Hormones affect the teenagers not only physically but also emotionally.

Adolescence is the age between adulthood and childhood. Teenagers are often confused about
their role and are torn between their responsibilities as growing adults and their desires as
children. They tend to feel overly emotional (blame it on the hormones). Just about anything and
everything can make them happy, excited, mad or angry. Adolescent girls are vulnerable to
crying. Mood swings are common among teenage boys and girls. Bodily changes result in self-
consciousness. Children who hit puberty early may even feel weired. Feelings of inferiority or
superiority may arise at this time. Adolescence is the age when sexual feelings arise in
youngsters. Feelings and thoughts about sex can trigger a sense of guilt.

Solution

Puberty can be an emotional roller-coaster ride. Here is how a teacher can help to deal with
emotional challenges of the adolescents.

Assist them to take care of themselves. Tell your teenagers that it is okay to feel the way they are
feeling.
Encourage them to exercise as physical activity helps keep the serotonin (creates good feelings
and happiness) levels up.
Let them talk. Listen to them without judging and avoid giving them advice when they are not
ready for it.
Share your experiences of puberty or let them talk to an older sibling who has gone through the
same. It will emphasize that it is okay to feel the way they do.
Indulging in a creative activity that can help them channelize their emotions.

3. Behavioral changes
Overwhelming emotions can lead to impulsive behavior, which can be harmful to your child as
well as others. Mostly, it is just teen behavior that will last as long as their adolescence.

Adolescence is the time when children develop and exercise their independence. This can give
rise to questioning the parents’ rules (seen as argumentative) and standing up for what they
believe is right (seen as stubbornness).
Significant developmental change in the brain makes teens moody, tired and difficult to deal
with. The raging hormones in teenage boys can even push them to get into physical
confrontations. They would also want to listen to loud music. As a part of their new-found
independence, adolescents may also want to try new things and take risks, resulting in careless
behavior. Sometimes, peer pressure and the need to ‘fit in’ can make them behave in a certain
way or develop certain habits that are hard to break. teen’s dressing, hairstyle, and sense of
fashion also change, mostly to something that you may not approve of. Lying is one of the
common teen behavioral issues. Teens may lie to avoid confrontation with parents or out of fear.

Solution

Behavioral problems in adolescence can make life difficult for parents and even teachers in
classroom level. As a teacher you should be aware of this and know how to deal with it
effectively. Have a privacy conversation with some of them who have critical challenge in
dealing with their current state. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say. Do not judge or
criticize them, as it could worsen their behavior. As a teacher Let them know that you love them
just as they are. Encourage them to be true to themselves and not take on a personality just to
please others. Help them by telling them what you do when you feel sad, angry, jealous, etc.
They can try those solutions to come out of their own emotional issues since the adolescent child
is not completely independent in dealing with their emotions and needs your support. The
teacher should try to intervene when he or she realizes that the adolescent is falling in the wrong
company. Remember that adolescents are sensitive and may not take criticism well. As a teacher
you should remain calm, praise positive behavior, give them an incentive and also give effective
instructions

4. Substance Use and Abuse

Teenagers are vulnerable and can be easily swayed to the wrong side. Substance abuse is one of
the biggest problems that parents of adolescents around the world have to deal with.
Peer pressure is one of the significant factors that drive adolescents to take up smoking and
drinking or to do drugs. The tendency to take risk encourages most teens to try smoking or
drinking even before they are of legal age. What may start as a ‘thrill’, can become a habit if it
remains unchecked. If there is somebody who smokes or drinks at home, they can become your
teen’s role models. Poor self-esteem and the need to be ‘cool’ can push adolescents to smoke or
drink. Easy access to substances like cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and anabolic steroids may
increase the temptation to try illicit substances.
Solution

As a teacher try to assess your students so as to identify any erratic behavior and change in
moods and academic performance of the learner.
As a teacher do not spy on them or accuse them of any wrongdoing. Encourage them to talk and
be honest. Tell them what your concerns are and discuss the problem with them.

5. Educational challenges
High school is not all about fashion, friends, and parties. Children also have a lot of educational
activities on their plate. Pressure to perform academically and obtain college admission can be
stressful and make your teenager moody. Juggling school work, extra-curricular activities (must
for college admissions) and chores at home can be tiring. Distractions at school can result in poor
academic performance, which will add to the pressure.

Solution

The teacher should encourage the child’s aspirations for college education as what they need
is the encouragement to do well.
The adolescent should be advised to acquire good nutrition and exercise as this gives them
strength for endurance.
The teacher should cut down on classroom activities for the adolescents as they get worn out
easily and can not do a lot of tasks as younger adults can do.

6. Health problems
Adolescents are vulnerable emotionally and physically. Without proper nutrition and healthcare,
they are susceptible to illnesses. According to a 2015 WHO report, 1.3 million adolescents died
in 2015, a majority of them had preventable diseases.

Teenagers have a hectic schedule as they hop from one activity to another with little time to eat
or rest properly. Unhealthy eating habits prevent them from getting the nutrition they need.
Consciousness about their body can lead to eating disorders, especially in girls. Adolescent girls
who worry about their weight and appearance can develop disorders like anorexia or bulimia.
Stress can also lead to loss of appetite and sleeplessness in young children.
Unhealthy eating habits and a less active lifestyle could also lead to obesity – this is often the
case when your child consumes a lot of empty calories through fast food and sodas.

Solution

The teacher should be there for them emotionally and physically as this will help them deal
with any possible disorders.
Advise them to practice good eating habits and discipline to prevent them from having eating
disorders.

7. Psychological problems
Research has revealed that around 50% of mental health disorders that adults have, begin at the
age of 14. In fact, one-third of adolescent deaths are suicides triggered by depression. The most
common mental health disorders observed during adolescence are anxiety and mood disorders.
Social phobias and panic disorders are common among this age group. Girls may tend to have
more vulnerability to develop depressive disorders than boys
Teenagers may have self-esteem or confidence issues. The feelings of inferiority or superiority
often arise from their appearance, and acceptance of their body – skin color, beauty, and figure.
Poor performance in academics and low IQ can also demotivate them. They develop the ‘I’m not
good enough’ attitude towards life.

Depression is one of the common psychological problems associated with adolescence.

The stress and pressure of adolescence can create anxiety related issues, while mood swings can
lead to conduct disorder or oppositional defiant disorder. Eating disorders are also
psychosomatic as they start with the adolescent having a poor self-image and the need to change
the way they look by any means.

Solution

While moodiness and temper tantrums are normal in teenage girls and boys, they may not always
be what they seem. Identifying symptoms of psychological problems in adolescence is not easy
and needs the eye of an expert.

The teacher should try to check on the adolescent’s background.

He or she should try to fit in the learner’s shoe by either helping him or her to navigate through
the problems in a logical way to also avoid raising eyebrows among other learners.
Do not brush away their feelings, as that can make things worse for them, try to find out why
they feel and behave that way.
Encourage them to communicate with you. The teacher should create a friendly and harmonious
environment for them.

8. Social problems – dating and relationships

Attraction to the opposite sex begins during puberty. Adolescence is the time when their sexual
or reproductive organs start developing. At such a vulnerable time, it is but natural for teens to
feel awkward in social situations. Teenagers want to have an identity of their own. They tend to
look up to role models at home or outside. Adolescents also start thinking about what is ‘right’
and ‘wrong’ and question your take on certain things. They need time to understand and get
comfortable with their sexuality. Girls and boys start experiencing ‘weird’ feelings towards the
other sex and may not know what to do about it. This is the time they start dating. Your
adolescent may not be comfortable talking to you about it and may go with little information or
misinformation they have about it. Competition is another important aspect of a teenager’s social
life. Your child may compete with her peers in anything and everything. Their spirit of
competition speaks a lot about their perception of self – whether they have a positive self-esteem
or a negative one.

Sexual feelings and thoughts of sex may seem wrong to an adolescent, because of which they
may feel guilty.Their social circle expands during this time as they seem occupied interacting
with friends on social media sites, through their phone and outside.

Solution

Here is how a teacher can deal with social problems of adolescence –

Dating, romance, and sex are delicate issues that teenagers may not be comfortable talking
about. Don’t make it more awkward for the learners. Be confident and rational when discussing
the subject as teacher.
Sharing your dating and social life experiences in school can put them at ease sometimes.
9. Sexual health – unplanned pregnancy and STIs
The development of secondary sexual characteristics during adolescence gives rise to new
feelings in teenagers and pushes them to experiment with their bodies. Adolescence is the time
when teens experience their first kiss, the intimate dance with their ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’
and secret make out sessions. Without proper guidance, teenagers may become sexually active
before they are ready. This could result in unwanted pregnancies. Unwanted pregnancy is the
biggest risk that adolescent girls face. Unprotected sex can also lead to sexually transmitted
diseases like HIV.

Solution

The teacher should inform the learners on the consequences of premature sex
The teacher should talk to them about the consequences of unprotected sex and how it can
change their life.
The teacher should create Awareness as it is the only way to prevent early pregnancies and
sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in adolescents.
Teachers should hold and lead discussions and debates on sex education. They should also
promote academic success, connectedness and self-worth, all of which have shown to reduce
high risk behavior among teens. Teacher should also make it a point to interact with the parents
on how to help children deal with sex curiosity and stress that comes with adolescence. Having a
good dialogue with the parents and teachers can help to make them better informed on
consequences of early sex.

10. Addiction to cyberspace

The advent of social media has changed the way we interact with each other. It has affected
teenage lifestyles the most. Your teen may seem to spend hours on phone, texting, talking or
simply playing. Adolescents addicted to the internet tend to have fewer friends and a less active
social life. They lead solitary lives and are happy browsing the internet for hours. Addiction to
cyberspace also cuts short their physical activities, resulting in an unhealthy and sedentary
lifestyle. Internet adversely impacts academic performance.

Solution
During computer lessons the teacher should ensure that the learners are doing more productive
things on the system other than surfing the net.
Do not say ‘no’ to the Internet. That will only make them adamant. Instead, talk about your
concerns and help them work on other things that do not require a computer.

11. Aggression and violence

Aggression is especially a concern with adolescent boys. Young boys start to develop muscles,
grow tall and have a course, manly voice. In addition to that, they are moody and vulnerable and
can let others get under their skin. Adolescent boys can get into fights at school. Worse, they
could start bullying others, which is a major problem that adolescent boys and girls have to deal
with. Boys may fall into bad company and be drawn to acts of violence, vandalism, and
aggression. They could be easily swayed to own or use a firearm or a weapon too. Impulse acts
of violence can lead to serious consequences, including death. According to the WHO report,
interpersonal violence causes around 180 adolescent deaths around the world.Teenage girls are
likely to suffer violence or aggression by a partner.

Solution

Children tend to imitate what they see at home. The following remedies for problems of
adolescence will help abate aggression, violence and related issues.

Teach them to be kind and considerate. Nurturing relationships at home can help them
become less aggressive.
Teach them life skills and the importance of compassion. Lead them by being their model.
Make them try alternative ways while in school or at home such as going for a run, doing
yoga or using a punch bag, for venting out their anger. This way, they understand that it is
alright to be angry but how they deal with it makes all the difference.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, adolescent being a normal change from childhood to adulthood, it poses a lot of
challenges to both young girls and boys. This calls for immediate action as acting with delay
may sabotage the lives of the young teens. Moreover, they are not mature enough to cope up
with physical, emotional and psychological changes in their lives
b) Why a teacher should have exceptional knowledge on development.
The term exceptional is used to describe a group of children that has very specific developmental
needs.
Exceptional development is the name given to the range of activities and therapies that helps
these children unleash their potential. students with disabilities present a variety of physical,
sensory, cognitive and communication needs that impact the ways the interact with and
experience the world. although they have the reverse cognitive comma motor and sensory
profiles, children with severe disabilities are consistently require instruction that is extensive,
intensive and individualized, materials that are substantially adopted and modified and methods
of assessing information that are individualized to help them acquire maintain generalize and
transfer skills across settings.

There are several reasons why a teacher should have exceptional knowledge on development as
stated below:
To be able to recognize pupils who progress rapidly or slowly and differentiate the work, the
presentation, the content, the worksheets, the homework etc. to cope with a full range of pupils
and not just the average.

Enables Teachers to recognize when students are in need of extra support, which could include a
wide range of differences in ability: health issues (examples: attention deficits, type 1 diabetes,
asthma, severe allergies, limited strength, and autism)
struggles with speech (examples: delayed skills, apraxia, receptive disorders, selective mutism,
orofacial disorders, and stuttering), emotional and mental challenges (examples: depression,
anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia)

Being able to recognize the needs of individual students and to then obtain needed services to
help ensure student success is of paramount importance and is reliant on a core knowledge of
human development. With the exceptional knowledge a teacher can easily label a slow learner.
By labelling a child, the child will receive extra services that they may not have been able to
receive otherwise. For example, the student may be able to receive instruction in a learning
support room at a place that works for them. they can receive frequent repetition and instruction
in a much smaller setting with the other students just like them.
With the knowledge on exceptional development, a teacher can easily know any gifted child.
Characteristics such as ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age
peers, surprising emotional depth I understand the activity at a young age, strong sense of
curiosity, enthusiastic about to unique interest and topics and also matures of humor, by knowing
this the teacher should apply a few teachings strategies like, treating students as individuals, let
students explore their passion, infuse enrichment into activities, build in time for flexible
learning groups, embrace creative questioning and encourage self-directed learning with the
students.

Teachers who specialize in working with students with visual impairments have a broad
knowledge of the effects of blindness and low vision on students’ lives development and learning
process. They also understand the impact of visual impairment on early childhood development,
communication skills, social skills, orientation and mobility, functional life skills and
independence.

Teachers who specialize in working with students with severe and multiple disabilities have a
broad knowledge of disabling conditions and their effects on students’ lives, development, and
learning. Teachers with this specialization are familiar with a wide range of assistive and
argumentative equipment and strategies and select appropriate devices to help students with
severe or multiple disabilities derive maximum benefit from instruction.They are resourceful in
researching customizing, and crating devices and strategies to help students perform tasks they
cannot otherwise handle.

Teachers are adept and fluent in using appropriate tools and carrying out a wide variety of
meaningful strategies for conducting functional vision assessments for students with visual
impairments to determine the efficiency with which they use their visual abilities and skills.

It would also be prudent for a teacher to have an understanding of human growth and
development and problems which may arise in exceptional circumstances. If a child suffers from
pain in their legs during or after a physical education course, teachers should have some
understanding of the possibilities of fractures or nutritional deficiencies.

A teacher having knowledge on Mental development is similarly appropriate to creating lessons

which meet and challenge a child's skill level. Children may be in varying stages of development
which hinder or allow them to practice abstract thought and object or personal permanence.
Abstract thought is especially important to subjects like math and science, which may involve
lessons about things which are intangible.

Exceptional knowledge will help a teacher in understanding the characteristics of students with
disabilities and improve his skills in implementing research-based interventions. This will help
him examine the conditions contributing to the cause of learning disabilities and explore the
implications of learning disabilities and explore the implications of learning and behavior
attributes of students with learning disabilities in academic and develop areas such as reading,
written language and behavior and emotional development.

A teacher having exceptional knowledge on development will enable him or her explore
characteristics relative to academic achievement, language and communication. This will enable
him or her to work more efficiently with disabled children to ensure their safety and increase
their academic success.

Exceptional knowledge on development enables teachers to recognize students who do not

follow typical patterns of development and to then assist those students in obtaining needed
educational support to improve student’s success.

The teacher is able to nurture students with exceptional talents and abilities so that they are able
to develop interest in learning. A student who is good in sports can be encouraged to continue
advancing on his or her talent.

Having exceptional knowledge on development will enable the teacher to group students
according to their intellectual abilities and given different tasks to handle so that they can both
succeed in the same environment.

Exceptional knowledge enables the teacher to figure out a way to modify the curriculum in a way
that is both exciting and differentiated by taking risks with new methods and being willing to use
imagination as a way of connecting with exceptional children.

The teacher having exceptional knowledge on development will also free him or her from
frustrations of the learners. He is able to accept multiple failures and success with each
individual. He will maintain a mindset of continual growth when his or her ideas don’t result in
achievement with the next children.

Exceptional knowledge on development will enable the teacher to plan on his teaching methods
and making the right choices so as to accommodate individual learners’ differences for example
in the case of students with hearing impairment he or she may use demonstrations of a certain
concept so as to sooth them

Conclusion

Also, it is imperative for a teacher to have exceptional knowledge on development so as to fit in

every learner’s shoe by reducing some of the restrictions and barriers that hinder them from
learning effectively. This will make learning enjoyable and interesting. When a teacher has an
intricate understanding of exceptional development, they can make assessments about different
abilities of students in a classroom

References

Adolescents: health risk and solutions; The world health organization

Hing Keung Ma; Internet Addiction and Antisocial Internet Behavior of Adolescents; The United
States National Library of Medicine.

Categories of exceptionalities and definitions.(2001). Retrieved April 13, 2017 from

http://www.peelsschools.org/parents/specialialed/Documents/b7categories.pdf

Hallahan,D.P., &Kaufuman,j.m.(1980). Exceptional children introduction to special education.

University of verginia. Retrieved April 14, 2017 from
http://www.nimhindia.gov.in/EXCEPTIONAL%20CHILDREN.pdf