Learning In Early Adolescence Research Articles

Technology and Creativity on early adolescence: A case study during COVID-19 pandemic.

Distance education was imposed due to the sudden suspension of schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Impact of technology use on distance learning in early adolescence was the main aim of the current research. Asynchronous teaching methods were implemented in a digital classroom environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teaching practice was enriched with the use of technology-based tools. Results revealed that such a teaching practice method could have a positive impact on students' creativity, increasing their motivation to create and develop new forms of social interaction. Students who did not actively participate in face to face educational process, took an active participating role during distance education. This research is regarded as original, as it concerns a case study of asynchronous teaching during the first period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Experience of Learning: Early Adolescents in Organized Youth Programs

Although researchers and policymakers have focused on school as the critical place in which learning occurs, organized youth programs offer different environments in which early adolescents can learn. However, early adolescent learning in organized youth programs is an under-researched area of learning, which may limit the ability of youth development practitioners to respond appropriately to early adolescent learning needs. The purpose of this article is to describe the experience of learning in an organized youth program by finding meaning in early adolescents’ lived experience through a phenomenological methodology. For youth in this study, learning in an organized program is an experience of discovering new ways of seeing themselves and others in their worlds. Learning is comprised of feelings of anxiety that are tempered with the comfort young people find within themselves. Learning is also a relational experience marked by an emerging sense of ownership that shapes one’s sense of self. This study invites youth development practitioners to recognize the significant role they can play in cultivating early adolescent learning

Sex-specific associations between co-exposure to multiple metals and visuospatial learning in early adolescence

The predisposition, severity, and progression of many diseases differ between males and females. Sex-related differences in susceptibility to neurotoxicant exposures may provide insight into the cause of the observed discrepancy. Early adolescence, a period of substantial structural and functional brain changes, may present a critical window of vulnerability to environmental exposures. This study aimed to examine sex-specific associations between co-exposure to multiple metals and visuospatial memory in early adolescence. Manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), and copper (Cu) were measured in blood, urine, hair, nails, and saliva of 188 participants (88 girls; 10–14 years of age). Visuospatial memory skills were assessed using a computerized maze task, the virtual radial arm maze (VRAM). Using generalized weighted quantile sum regression, we investigated sex-specific associations between the combined effect of exposure to the metal mixture and visuospatial working memory and determined the contribution of each component to the outcome. The results suggest that sex moderates the association between the metal mixture and visuospatial learning for all outcomes measured. In girls, exposure was associated with slower visuospatial learning and driven by Mn and Cu. In boys, exposure was associated with faster visuospatial learning, and driven by Cr. These results suggest that (a) the effect of metal co-exposure on learning differs in magnitude, and in the direction between sexes, and (b) early adolescence may be a sensitive developmental period for metal exposure.

“I buy it, but how do we pull it off?”: A structured process for teacher candidates’ interdisciplinary curriculum development

This We Believe advocates the use of a curriculum that maximizes early adolescent learning by integrating multiple disciplines rather than teaching them in isolation. The development of an interdisciplinary curricular unit is a common assignment in middle grades teacher education programs that seek to prepare teacher candidates to undertake this curricular approach in their future careers. However, this common assignment presents challenges to both the instructors who design the project and the candidates who undertake it. This article offers middle-level teacher educators a structured process that guides candidates’ development of a high-quality interdisciplinary unit through clear and intentionally sequenced steps that are rigorous but approachable.

Improving Middle School Teachers’ Self-reported Use of Social Dynamics Management Practices

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of a professional development program on sixth grade teachers’ use of social dynamics management (SDM) practices. SDM practices represent teachers’ active attempts to incorporate classroom social dynamics into everyday instructional and behavior management strategies. Sixth grade teachers (n = 17) from two middle schools were randomly assigned to receive the Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Success (SEALS) or to a business-as-usual control condition. Teachers who received the training and consultation provided by SEALS reported more frequent use of SDM practices aimed at managing the general social dynamics of their students and supporting youth who are socially isolated. The latter effect was maintained at a post-intervention follow-up. These results build on a growing body of research on the role of teachers in shaping their students’ peer relationships.

Social perspective-taking performance: Construct, measurement, and relations with academic performance and engagement

Social perspective-taking (SPT), the social-cognitive skill of inferring, considering, and evaluating others' perspectives, is critical in allowing students to engage not only with others in social interactions, but also with many academic materials and activities. However, due to complex conceptualizations of SPT, as well as challenges to its measurement, little research has examined the role of SPT in student learning. Using a new measure, the Assessment of Social Perspective-taking Performance (ASPP), this article presents evidence that SPT can be conceptualized as a set of measurable developmental performative skills relevant to classroom learning in early adolescence: articulation of actors' beliefs/intentions and positioning of actors in their social contexts. Examination of its psychometric properties provides evidence that ASPP can precisely assess students' SPT performance across varying levels of those skills. Lastly, we find positive associations of SPT with academic engagement and standardized test scores.

Early deprivation disruption of associative learning is a developmental pathway to depression and social problems

Exposure to psychosocial deprivation is associated with elevations in numerous forms of impairment throughout the life-course. Disruptions in associative learning may be a key mechanism through which adversity, particularly psychosocial deprivation, increases risk for impairment. Existing data consistent with this claim come entirely from correlational studies. Here, we present the first experimental evidence relating psychosocial deprivation and disruptions in multiple forms of associative learning. Using data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, we demonstrate that randomized placement into a family caregiving environment during the infant/toddler period as compared to prolonged institutional care normalizes two forms of associative learning in early adolescence: reward responsivity and implicit motor learning. These forms of associative learning significantly mediate the effect of institutional rearing on depressive symptoms and peer relationships. In sum, we provide evidence for a novel pathway linking early experience to psychopathology and peer relationships through basic associative learning mechanisms.

Exceptionality and Peer Victimization Involvement in Late Childhood

This study examined subtypes and stability/change in peer victimization involvement among students with exceptionalities. Data were collected over spring of fifth grade and fall/spring of sixth grade with 1,861 students in 36 rural schools as part of a cluster randomized trial of a context-based intervention (Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Success [SEALS]) designed to support students’ transition to early adolescence. More than 74% of students with disabilities were involved in peer victimization, and they were more likely to be nominated as victims and bully-victims than students without disabilities. Students with disabilities, but not academically gifted students, had more stable involvement in peer victimization over time. Being socially marginalized in the network differentiated peer victimization stability. Although there were no differences between intervention and control schools in students with exceptionalities’ peer victimization involvement, students with exceptionalities in intervention schools were less likely to perceive classmates encouraging bullying. Implications of interventions to reduce the risk for peer victimization are discussed.

Directed Consultation, the SEALS Model, and Teachers’ Classroom Management

Directed consultation is presented as a professional development framework to guide and support teachers in the implementation of evidence-based interventions that involve contextual and process-oriented approaches designed to be incorporated into daily classroom management. This approach consists of four components: pre-intervention observations and interviews with school professionals, professional development workshops, online training modules, and team- and individual-level implementation meetings. In the current study, directed consultation was used to train sixth-grade teachers to use the Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Support (SEALS) program, a multicomponent intervention model, to promote productive and supportive classroom contexts during the transition to middle school. The current report involved classroom observations in 14 schools (7 interventions, 7 controls) as part of a broader cluster-randomized control trial. A total of 144 classrooms were observed in late fall of the sixth grade during ongoing professional development training activities and again in the spring at the completion of the SEALS training. As compared with control classrooms, teachers in intervention classrooms used more positive feedback and less negative feedback and redirection. Furthermore, teachers in intervention classrooms provided more effective use of classroom structure, feedback to students, behavior management, communication with students, groups and social dynamics, and motivation strategies. Results are discussed in terms of implications for professional development activities aimed at enhancing classroom management.

Conceptual Foundations and Components of a Contextual Intervention to Promote Student Engagement During Early Adolescence: The Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Success (SEALS) Model

Decades of research indicate that many early adolescents are at risk for developing significant school adjustment problems in the academic, behavioral, and social domains during the transition to middle school. The Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Success (SEALS) model has been developed as a professional development and consultation program to train teachers in universal (Tier 1) instructional and classroom management strategies to address the correlated risks experienced by students during this time. This article reviews the conceptual foundations of the SEALS model, provides an overview of SEALS intervention components, describes the SEALS professional development training and consultation framework, reviews preliminary findings of the impact of SEALS in rural school settings in the United States, and discusses research needs and future directions regarding the use of the SEALS model.

Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Strengths: Promoting Productive Contexts for Students at-risk for EBD during the Transition to Middle School

This study involved a pilot examination of the impact of the Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Strengths (SEALS) model on the 6th grade academic and social context following the transition to middle school. Two middle schools from a high poverty Appalachian school district were randomly assigned to the intervention and control condition. Following the SEALS training, students in the intervention school had higher peer norms for academic effort. Also, teachers in the intervention school had sustained levels of positive efficacy for meeting the instructional, behavioral, and social needs of all students while control teachers had a declining trend in their efficacy to meet students' needs across the school year. Further, compared to students in the control school, students in the intervention school with elevated levels of aggression were more likely to associate with academically productive peers and less likely to associate with peers who were identified as bullies or as victims. Implications for future research and for the development of strength-based programs for students at risk of EBD are discussed.

Changing Perceptions of Preservice Teachers: Innovations in Middle Schooling Teacher Education

For the past twenty years, the disengagement of early adolescents has been the focus of much of the literature related to middle schooling. In response, some universities in Australia have introduced teacher education programs that focus upon graduating specialised middle schooling teachers. Constructing such programs is at the centre of much debate and discussion, however, it is advocated that positive futures for early adolescents can be enhanced through quality middle schooling teacher education programs (Education Queensland, 2004). At a Queensland university campus, middle schooling elective units were introduced as part of the Bachelor of Education (primary) degree. The design of the units was to support preservice teachers to gain the theoretical and pedagogical knowledge to engage and promote early adolescent learning. An innovative approach to the delivery of the units was promoted by a partnership agreement between local schools and the campus. The partnership allowed preservice teachers to combine university classes with opportunities to visit exemplary classrooms to observe, participate and reflect upon middle school teaching practices. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the 38 first-year preservice teachers’ perceptions of their first middle schooling elective unit and to ascertain whether the combination of university classes and school-based experiences assisted their development of middle schooling concepts and approaches. Data were gathered using pre-test and post-test questionnaires combined with guided written reflections to record their views before, after and during the unit delivery. Results indicated that initially 34 preservice teachers had little understanding of middle schooling concepts and pedagogical practices, however, 11 participants recognised that bullying and peer pressure were issues experienced by early adolescents. The collation of the written reflections supported the combined delivery of the middle years unit further supporting the inclusion of school experiences with university delivered units.

Positive Self-Esteem and Learning in Early Adolescence

Positive Self-Esteem and Learning in Early Adolescence