EXAM EXTENDED RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Q1. Consider the following two positions: i) Adolescence is all biological; ii) Adolescence is
all socially constructed. Provide an argument that balances these two positions. In your
answer, provide detailed examples to support your arguments.

- Adolescence is a modern term that is a recent cultural construct, as puberty is a set of

biological process that begins before adolescence and end before adolescence finishes
- The concept of adolescence begins in this historical context; the term emerges from
the late 1800 through three major changes
- The social change of the Child Labour Law
- The compulsory education
- Academic thinking

One of the many academics, Stanley Hall

- Negative view on adolescence
- Adolescence is a period of ‘storm and stress’: conflicts, problems and deviant
behaviour
- However, Hall studied adolescence in a poverty era which play a major factor into
this study

Jay Geidd - Have a more positive outlook on adolescence

- He studies the healthy body and risk take paradox
- - considering the biological factors that contribute into the development of
adolescence
- The hormonal changes begin in the hypothalamus,
 When the body reach a certain level of body fat threshold, it produces
leptin that delivers the signal to the hypothalamus
- Females,
- Early maturation for males have a negative effect
 They’re at risk of: depressed mood, eating disorder, negative body
image substance uses and conflicts with others,
 Physically mature but not emotionally
 Before the age of 12 - increase of getting breast cancer by 50%
- Late maturation doesn’t have as many risks as early maturation for girls
 Negative body image due to the slow development, however, they tend
to have a more favourable body in their late teens years
- Males
- Early maturation for boys tend to have a positive effect, opposite affect
compared to girls
  The positive effects included: favourable body image, more athletes
and increase in popularity but they’re open to substance and
delinquency much earlier
- Late maturation for boys included some problems as they will compare
themselves with boy who are matured
 E.g. lower grades, deviant behaviour, may be bullied and
substance uses
 There has been a single study that indicates early mature boys
have more success than late mature boys

- This further reinforces the notion of nature versus nurture by Judith Harris, who did a
research on nature versus nurture on a child and discover that peer group
(environment) were more influential than parents.
- The blank slate = brain is clear and your experience increase on the brain
(environment shape behaviour)
- However, Harris did not take in account the notion of genetics (nature).

In essence,
- The theory of the genotype-environment effects of genotype and environment make
essential contributions to human development
 3 type of genotype, passive, evocative and active
Q2. Discuss strategies to assist student learning in the classroom based on current knowledge
of human memory and cognitive load principles. In your answer, provide detailed examples
to support your arguments.

- Instructions is one of the major factor that contribute into a child learning, by building
on the knowledge of human memory and cognitive load principles will allow teachers
to instruct materials more effectively.

- Teachers need to be aware of the limitations in sensory and shorter/ working memory
when dealing/teaching with multiple sources of information.
- Constructing worked examples in a way that manage the controlled
processing of the working memory.
- In Mathematics,
 Example A: teacher explained how to solve the equations of a question
once and then letting the students work out 12 problems by
themselves,
 B) the teachers should go through 2 worked examples together and
then let the students solve the third one themselves.
 Example B is more effective because it contains a ‘modality
effect’ of dual-mode instruction through presenting the written
information in spoken form at the same time, called an audio-
visual presentation (Sweller, 2012). The teacher understands
that the controlled process of only allowing the working
memory to process 2-3 new pieces of new information. The
teacher allows the students to practice and have time to process
the new information to minimise unnecessarily mistakes. This
directed instruction will allow extensive practices which will
become automated into the long term memory, and will
become second nature, like driving (Arnett, 2014).
 Whereas, example A created a spilt attention effect by
separating the spoken information and the written material, as
the student have to think back to the spoken information’s
given by the teacher while understanding the written material.
This will create a negative cognitive load, as the student is
trying to process and integrated separated information’s at
once, tends to lead to many unnecessarily mistakes.

- When learning any new information, it places a cognitive load on the student working
memory, so it is important to minimise extraneous load (wasteful load) when
teaching complex material that has high cognitive intrinsic load.
- Teacher should format materials in a physical integrated manner rather than
placing the materials separately to reduce the spilt attention effect.
 A) For example, when teaching students about problem solving in
Mathematics, which is considered as a high intrinsic load of element
interactivity. Because it involves multiple elements interactions and
need to be learn at the same time, as compared to just learning the
alphabet of another language is low element interactivity, unless it
involves grammar etc..
  By physically integrated solutions into the diagram in a
geometry exercise
 Or when studying a Shakespeare play, instead of going to the back to
the book to search for the definition, write the definition next the word
or on the bottom of the page
 By integrating two sources together, the students do not need to engage
in an unnecessarily search process because the mental integration is
replaced by physical integration, thus, decrease in extraneous
cognitive load (Sweller, 2012).
 This also reduce the redundancy effect of unneeded information, as
the integrated materials convey the same information.
 This is time efficient and allows the students to learn in a more rapid
process
Q3. Discuss, with a supporting example, how the biopsychosocial model can be used to
explain school failure by some students. Identify and discuss intervention strategies that can
be used by schools, teachers, and the community that can be implemented to prevent school
failure based on the biopsychosocial approach.

- The biopsychosocial model is the intersection of biological, psychological and social

factors overtime in adolescent.
- The biological factors:
- Genetic
 E.g. Offspring of alcoholic parents
- Hormones
 E.g. females with a rapid increase in testosterone will engage more
with sexual behaviours
- puberty timing
 early maturation links to risk taking
- brain development
 the social emotional system matures much faster
 the brain recognises the need for social rewards of peer acceptance
over anything
- The psychological factors:
- Psychological traits
 Example of stable personalities disposition (Extrovert, introvert)
- Psychological state
 Depending on the situation
- Sensation seeker
 Engage in risk taking behaviours due to the underestimate of the risks
for peer’s acceptance
- Social factors: includes the influence of peer, family and social
- Peers
 Forms friendship with people who are similar to us
 The peer affect – influence our actions
- Family
 The kind of parents you have
 Warmth = constant monitoring – less risky behaviours
 hostility = not enough attention = neglect – more freedom to engage in
risk taking behaviours
- Community
 The role of the neighbour
 Role models

- These factors that leads to developmental cascades for adolescence

- Due to the parental neglect  problems of self-regulating behaviours  peer
rejection  hanging out with bad influence peers (deviant behaviour, drugs)
 disconnection with the school from peers and teacher  drop out

These are some of the strategies that teachers, school and community can implement:
- Teachers can use the GRIP method as an approach to deals with troubled students
 - G (Gather) information, looks out for signs, risk factors, decide if more
support is needed, similar to the early identification and intervention
(Standrock)
- R (Respond): talk and listen to young person, show empathy, but avoid taking
on counsellor role
- I (involve) others, refer to counsellor, stay in touch and review progress, also
associated with the intensive individualised attention (Santrock)
- P (Promote) positive school environment, tolerance, positive feedback and
teaching style
- Schools is a place that a truck load of stress on adolescence, so it is important for
schools to also introduce effective coping strategies to counteract the stress load as
well.
- Through constructing a workshop around the coping styles for males and
females
 Females – talk to peers and focus on a hobby
 Males –encourage them to participate in sports
- Promoting resilience
 Positives thinking and attitudes
 Social skills
 Teach well-being

- Community can come together and create community-wide programs that consist of
a number of different services (Santrock, 2014)
- health promotion campaign
- collaborative approaches - established a safe environment for kids to get
together and talk about their problems
Q4. Coping is an important aspect of resilience and well-being in adolescence. There have
been a number of coping mechanisms/strategies identified in the research literature. Discuss
at least three of these strategies. In your answer define key terms and provide examples of
how school processes may assist adolescents in developing these mechanisms/strategies and
promote well-being.

- The ‘Building Resilience: Social and Emotional Learning materials’ (DEECD, n.d.)
has provide a various topic to deal with stress and mapping out coping skills

1. Personal strengths (p. 87)

- By being aware of their character strengths allow students to demonstrate
these strengths at school
- It will improve their wellbeing, positive behaviour and academic
achievements
- Activities that school can implement to promote personal strengths:
 Usually individuals have to draw on their character strengths, decision
making skills when face with a moral or ethical dilemma
 Dilemmas scenario
 Get the kids into a small group and give them a scenario each
 This activity will allow the students to access their logic
thinking, values, awareness of actions and emotions
 By evaluating the available options, the positive and negative
outcomes, what advices is needed and identify the strengths for
this scenario
 This activity allows the students to access their actions and
whether if there is always a better way to do things  this will
maximise unnecessarily stress and conflicts

2. Positive coping (p. 99)

- Positive coping is associated with optimistic thinking, it allows greater
persistence with challenges and better capacity to use resources
- This can be learnt through direction instruction, practice and role-modelling
- It is important to understand the negative effect of pessimistic – links with
higher depression
 Teachers and parents can easily transmit pessimistic thinking styles
- Activities that school can implement to promote optimistic thinking:
 Constructing examples of pessimistic responses and get the students to
argue those responses with optimistic answers
 For example,
 PR: I gave the wrong answer – so I’m stupid
 OR: At least I gave it try and continue to work on my mistake
 This activity will allow students to be more positive and be opened
minded about every situations  having a better view on life which
will reduce stress and depression

3. Stress management (P. 129)

- Stress is a part of life so it is crucial for students to understand what stress is
and how to cope with it will allow them to manage future challenges
- It is an important skill for keeping themselves well and healthy,
 - A healthy mind is as important as a healthy body
- Activities that school can implement to promote stress release:
 Teachers can spare 5 minutes before the class start to mediate with the
students
 Teacher can open the app of ‘headspace’ and follow the instruction
along with the students
 this will help the teacher to relax and regain strength after a long day
of teaching and allow the student to be present and focus in the
classroom
 This activity allow student to achieve mindfulness even in the hardest
time, as school place a lot of stress on students, so it is beneficial if the
school counteract that stress load as well

- These activities will help students:

- Achieve future success, analysing their skills set that facilities their personal
and social capital
- Self-discipline through considering, controlling and justifying their emotional
responses
- Have better effective communicate in group tasks
- Able to manage their relationship more effectively
-