Guide to Lesson 24

Adolescence: Review

The textbook accompanying the course is very informative, accurate and well-written. I encourage you to read the entire book, try answering the questions the author poses, take time to make sense of the figures, charts and graphs presented and enjoy the anecdotes and stories she uses to illustrate her points. However, I know that time is important to you and when you get down to the business of studying for the tests, you would like some guidance in determining what is really important to process.

Here are my general guidelines for studying the reading material for this lesson:

The reading is all review. For this lesson, you will be tested on the material from chapters 14-16 that are used in the video to discuss the development of the three adolescents, Ashley, Bayleigh and Alejandro. Check the Telecourse Student Guide to see which key terms and concepts you will be expected to review.

Here are my guidelines for reviewing the videos for this lesson:

The video discusses three adolescents who are each unique in their own way but also are dealing with many of the same challenges faced by every adolescent.

The video uses these three teens to emphasize some of the material from the previous three lessons. Ashley, for instance, is dealing with the challenges of growing up in the inner city but is keeping to the values and standards of her strong family. She experiences a poor person-environment fit at school but is self-motivating.

Bailey is younger than the other two teens but was forced to mature early because of a brain tumor. Her cognitive development was accelerated as she had to deal with her illness and also make important decisions regarding her treatment and her life.

Alejandro is also a determined adolescent. His goal is a medal in swimming in the Olympics. As the video emphasizes, he has had to mature early as he left his family to train in the U.S. However, as the video also points out, he may have foreclosed on an identity and is not exploring other options at this time. The exploration necessary for identity formation may come later in life for him.