Standard one of Appalachian State University's Middle Grades Education standards states that, "middle level teacher candidates understand and apply the major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to young adolescent development that support student development and learning." By producing each artifact provided and described above, I have successfully demonstrated my ability to meet the expectations set out in standard one. 

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The Inquiry Project was designed as a way for teacher candidates to engage with diverse peoples and cultures to grasp a deeper understanding of our students. By diving into racism, gender stereotyping, sexuality, and socioeconomic differences in today’s society, I was able to better educate myself on different societal constructs while also reflecting on how these elements may impact my future students' lives both inside and outside of the classroom. This project allowed me to research the impact different societal constructs place on students as well as have a baseline understanding of strategies to best support various student needs. Providing a space that fosters the developmental growth of young adolescents is essential, and understanding and appreciating factors such as those discussed in this project ensures that I have the ability to provide such an environment for all students. 

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The Young Adolescent Advocacy Project (YAAP) was a way for teacher candidates to choose a topic that they felt passionate towards learning more about in order to support a greater student population. My partner and I researched the impact on students involved in households with parents going through a divorce. This topic is something that we both found ourselves being passionate about, and I had a personal connection to the topic. For the project, we researched students coming from divorced homes and the personal and academic hardships these students may face. Additionally, we provided resources for educators, parents, and students in order to provide students with the utmost support during these circumstances. This project also tackled false stereotypes that are attached to both families and children coming from divorced homes. By gaining a deeper understanding of divorce and its impact on students, I gained greater perspective on how to continuously support young adolescent development and learning during such times. 

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The Hate U Give movie guide was intended for teacher candidates to create an interdisciplinary product that tied together concentrations to Common Core or North Carolina Standards and a young adult film. For the project, my partner and I chose to use the movie The Hate U Give to create a movie guide aligning with eighth grade English language arts and social studies curriculum. In addition to focusing on the curriculum, we were also challenged to focus on factors contributing to young adolescent development and create activities that aligned with supporting various developmental factors. The characteristics of young adolescent development that we specifically focused on were moral, social-emotional, and psychological development. Focusing on these characteristics allowed us to apply the major concepts of development into activities that align with relevant themes throughout the film. By applying the concepts of development, we created a final product that would allow students to be supported in their own personal development and learning. By providing a relevant film that applies to many societal factors today, students would analyze and reflect on their growth as it relates to the experiences of the characters throughout the film. 

 

I feel these three artifacts greatly reflect my practice with understanding and applying the major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to young adolescent development. The first artifact was completed during one of my earliest courses within the education program at Appalachian, and I feel it was the spark to my continued interest in researching the diverse characteristics present in life during adolescence. The second artifact highlighted a topic that I feel very passionate about, and this passion, I feel, better prepares me to continually collect new strategies and practices to support the diverse needs of my adolescent students. Lastly, the third artifact highlights my ability to incorporate media with content and curriculum and make it relevant to my students' lives. All three artifacts have prepared me to be a lifelong learner, which will be evident everyday in my future classroom.