Adolescent development is exemplified through multiple aspects highlighted in the chapter. Namely, the authors mention brain development despite the fact that the prefrontal cortex does not yet reach maturity (Bergin & Bergin, 2019). Moreover, physical development is also highlighted through the notions of growth spurts and puberty, which correlate with multiple body changes. As a result, even the sleep pattern requires alteration. Hence, while adolescents tend to sleep less than they used to, they require more hours due to the aforementioned growth spurt. Similarly, eating disorders and drug use are also linked to adolescent experiences, as teenagers are more likely to have such experiences.
In regards to cognitive development, further changes have been highlighted in the chapter. Namely, the key concept of abstract and logical thinking has been exemplified in relation to adolescence. Piaget and the theory that adolescents enter a formal operational stage have also been discussed. As a result, teenagers improve their information processing, problem-solving skills, and reasoning. Moreover, the concept of intelligence is highlighted as contrasting in traits, one being successful intelligence which allows an individual to practically apply their knowledge in an academic, professional, and social setting.
A particular learning issue that was identified is the need for more detailed statistics on whether intelligence does, in fact, depend on socioeconomic factors. Research shows that general intelligence is, indeed, affected by the environment (Flores-Mendoza et al., 2021). Thus, it was challenging to understand the level to which cognitive and developmental factors align with socioeconomic ones’ when it comes to the term successful intelligence. The issue was selected due to the fact that the interactions between the physical and environmental factors are difficult to comprehend despite the connection between the two. Nonetheless, the barrier to understanding the extent to which cognition relates to general intelligence, as well as experience and practical knowledge, persisted.
Successful intelligence, in particular, is the principle that relates to the selected issue. Namely, the term is applied when intelligence is perceived as the ability to implement theory into practice in education, a professional setting, and when interacting with others. Thus, a social setting is, indeed, present in the notion of general intelligence. Another principle that the aforementioned issue applies to is problem-solving, which, according to the authors, is maximized on a cognitive level during adolescence (Bergin & Bergin, 2019). Problem-solving, however, is also a matter of both physical and social characteristics, as a solution can be acquired through cognition, while its implementation may correlate with effective interactions with the external world. Nonetheless, cognition in itself may also correlate with the external factors that have been exemplified previously.
There are multiple key ideas mentioned previously that I have encountered in my practice. Namely, the effects of sleep deprivation under the condition that adolescents require more sleep have been observed as resulting in impaired thinking and concentration in an academic setting. Another practical observation is the presence of complex problem-solving skills (Mustafić et al., 2019). Namely, I have observed teenagers who are put under pressure in class exemplify this characteristic by developing innovative and creative outlooks on questions asked by teachers. Despite potentially not having knowledge on the subject of not knowing an answer to a question, problem-solving techniques allow them to recover from a potentially negative situation. As a result, they avoid the problem while applying successful intelligence in an academic setting, hence, illustrating that cognition development is maximized.
References
Bergin, C. C., & Bergin, D. A. (2019). Child adolescent development in your classroom, chronological approach (1st ed.). Cengage Learning.
Flores-Mendoza, C., Ardila, R., Gallegos, M., & Reategui-Colareta, N. (2021). General intelligence and socioeconomic status as strong predictors of student performance in Latin American schools: Evidence from Pisa items. Frontiers in Education, 6. Web.
Mustafić, M., Yu, J., Stadler, M., Vainikainen, M.-P., Bornstein, M. H., Putnick, D. L., & Greiff, S. (2019). Complex problem solving: Profiles and developmental paths revealed via latent transition analysis. Developmental Psychology, 55(10), 2090–2101. Web.