Ariel Van Dyke's Ed Psych Blog

The students in the classroom that I observed at I feel are primarily facing Erikson's psychosocial crisis of Identity vs. Role Confusion and bit of Intimacy vs. Isolation. I noticed that a lot of students would get embarrassed after contributing in a discussion or would cower in the face of talking in front of the class about something personal that they thought about in regards to the lesson. Observing them in groups and then with their friends also showed that they were not completely in tune with their identity because they acted so differently in different groups of people. It was also fun to observe the students navigating the roads of intimacy. In the class and wandering the halls I saw a lot of people mingling with friends and people of the opposite gender and it was so precious and amusing to watch them navigate social dynamics in their pursuit of connection. The most prevalent of Marcia's identity states that I saw was Moratorium because the student's had a lot of...

At the beginning of the year I will try and establish trust by being kind and reliable in my classroom. I will establish an environment of respect for my students and I will do what I tell my students I will do so that they can know I take their education and development seriously. By showing kindness to all students they can feel secure coming to me with their needs and by being reliable they can develop a sense of security in the routines of my classroom so there is not uncertainty or doubt about what to expect in my class.  I will then help my students establish autonomy by giving them the background knowledge and skills they need and then allowing them to rely on their own skills first. We will do activities that begin with individual work and work up to pair work, group work, and then class work rather than the other way around. This will allow students to learn to depend first on themselves before relying on my or other student's skills or knowledge. Then I will allow ...