Kayla’s

 story  
“Kayla  is  a  Year  7  student  who  is  physically  more  mature  than  her  peers.  She  excels  in  sports  and  visual  arts  at  
school.  She  liked  maths  and  science,  but  now  often  complains  of  forgetting  class  content  and  not  being  able  to  keep  
up.  Some  students  have  said  that  she  can  be  withdrawn  and  doesn’t  share  personal  information.  Other  staff  
members  have  mentioned  that  she  sometimes  doesn’t  show  up  for  class.  You  notice  that  she  has  difficulties  with  
peers  of  her  own  age  and  hangs  around  with  older  students  who  have  been  previously  reprimanded  for  using  illicit  
drugs.  She  has  a  supportive  home  environment  however  her  parents  have  very  limited  English  language  skills,  and  
are  struggling  financially.  She  has  said  to  you  that  she  actually  wants  to  do  well  at  school  and  hopefully  do  visual  
arts  at  university,  but  just  needs  more  help.”  

Adolescent  development  &  teaching  

 Kayla’s  Brain  and  cognitive  development  
Developmental  Issues:    

Kayla  is  experiencing  hot  and  cold  cognition  from  

the  stimuli  being  presented  through  subjects  such  
as  sport  and  visual  arts,  maths  and  science.    

This  results  in  the  struggle  Kayla  faces  in  

remembering  content.    

Kayla  display  she  is    a  kinaesthetic  learner,  resulting  

s  her  less  developed  schemas  within  maths  and  
science.    

Kayla  expresses  her  interests  in  visual  arts  and  

sports,  which  in  turn  relates  to  her  selective  
attention.    

t  is  also  plausible  that  Kayla  is  experiencing  a  lack  

of  her  automatic  processing  being  slow  and  delayed  
due  to  her  delinquency  with  certain  classes.    

Maths  and  Science  use  split  attention  with  diagrams  

and  equations,  which  is  harder  for  Kayla  to  
understand  and  remember  certain  content.    

Biopsychosocial  can  explain  Kaylas  psychological  

difficulties,  brought  on  by  her  early  maturation  .    
 Kayla’s  Physical  development  
But  Why?  
rly  maturation  Comes  with  a  host  of  
gatives  for  adolescent  girls.     ▪  Western  society  values  a  think  build,  but  early  
maturation  tends  to  lead  to  a  short  and  heavier  
build  for  females  
Include:  
▪  Attention  from  older  males  
Depressed  mood  
▪  Behaving  to  fit  in  with  peer  group  –  older  males/
Eating  disorders   peers  
Delinquency   ▪  The  reasoning  for  older  social  group  can  be  
attributed  to  active-­‐genotype-­‐environment  as  
School  problems   Kayla  may  be  seeking  an  environment  that  
supports  her  
Aggressive  behaviour/  anti-­‐social  
behaviour  

Conflict  with  parents   Menarche:  

So  Kayla  has  developed  early…  now  what?  
Negative  body  image  
Adolescence  comes  with  exploration  of  
Substance  abuse   identity,  self-­‐esteem,  body  image  
Friends  are  integral  in  adolescence  as  a  
support/nurture  framework  
 Kayla’s  social  development  

ocial  issues:  
Kayla  expresses  clear  social  developmental  issues  as  the  vignette  
highlights  her  withdrawal  from  peers  as  well  as  an  unwillingness  to  
express  personal  information.    
The  vignette  also  depicts  Kayla’s  newly  formed  social  circles  with  
older  students  who  have  previously  been  associated  with  illicit  
drugs  and  risk  taking  behaviours.    
These  particular  social  changes  stem  from  her  early  maturation  
and  have  evidently  affected  her  engagement  in  a  school  setting.  
Peer  pressure,  mental  health  and  a  period  of  ‘identity  crisis’  play  
key  roles  in  the  issues  faced  by  Kayla.  
 Strategies  to  help  Kayla’s  developmental  
issues  include:  

and  cognitive  strategies:  

Offer  tutoring  to  Kayla  in  the  subjects  she  is  struggling  with  
(Maths  and  Science)    
Scaffold  lessons  to  incorporate  different  delivering  methods  to  
stimulate  her  kinaesthetic  learning.    
Refer  Kayla  to  speak  to  a  counsellor  so  that  they  can  explain  the  
different  changes  her  body  is  making  and  how  this  impacts  her.    
Sit  down  with  Kayla  and  develop  goals  of  how  she  can  improve  
her  academic  work  within  Maths  and  Science,  therefore  helping  
her  develop  a  growth  mindset.    
Refer  Kayla  to  services  such  as  Youth  Beyond  Blue  if  she  feels  
she  needs  to  talk  to  someone  autonomously.    

http://www.brainbalancecenters.com/our-­‐program/  
 Strategies  to  help  Kayla’s  developmental  
issues  include  

ical  strategies:  
Discuss  with  kayla  the  biological  changes  she  is  undergoing  
and  the  normality  of  the  way  in  which  her  body  is  
developing  
Advise  active  participation  in  sports  activities  and  healthy  
ifestyle  to  balance  hormonal  changes  
Positive  psychology-­‐  gratitute  journal  
Grow-­‐mindset  approaches  to  developmental  issues  

search:  
d,  A.  (2012).  Adolescent  portraits:  Identity,  relationships,  and  challenges  
d.).  Boston,  MA:  Pearson.  
L.  D.,  Dahl,  R.  E.,  Woodward,  H.  R.,  &  Biro,  F.  (2006).  Defining  the  
daries  of  early  adolescence:  A  user's  guide  to  assessing  pubertal  status  
ubertal  timing  in  research  with  adolescents.  Applied  Developmental  
e,  10(1),  30-­‐56  
re  2-­‐  Biological  foundations.  

http://quotesgram.com/marti
positive-­‐psychology-­‐quotes/  
Strategies  to  help  Kayla’s  developmental  
issues  include  

ocial  strategies:  
•  Offer  strategies  of  coping  to  kayla  to  counteract  the  overflow  of  pressures  to  keep  
up  with  peers.  
•  Help  Kayla  set  goals  and  track  those  by  writing  them  down  and  also  becoming  
familiar  with  emotional  language  to  better  express  herself.  
•  Suggest  that  Kayla  write  down  one  good  and  one  bad  thing  that  happens  everyday,  
to  allow  her  to  become  reflect  and  responsible  for  her  actions  and  thoughts.  
Research:  
Roffery,  S.  (2008).  Emotional  literacy  and  the  ecology  of  school  well-­‐being.  Educational  
and  Child  Psychology,  25(2),  29-­‐39.  
Hill,  D.,  &  Brown,  D.  (2013).  Supporting  inclusion  of  at  risk  students  in  secondary  school  
through  positive  behaviour  support.  International  Journal  of  Inclusive  Education,  17(8),  
868-­‐881.  
Seligman’s  PERMA  model.  
Arnett,  J.  J.  (2013).  Adolescence  and  emerging  adulthood:  A  cultural  approach  (5th  ed.).  
Boston,  MA:  Pearson.  
Lecture  4-­‐  mental  health  
Lecture  7-­‐  social  and  Emotional  learning  
 
Strategies  to  help  Kayla’s  developmental  
issues  include  

al  strategies:  
Offering  to  help  Kayla  come  to  a  
reasonable  balance  between  right  and  
wrong  
Suggest  ways  in  which  she  could  handle  
social  pressures  and  pressures  from  
family  who  are  culturally  different  
Help  Kayla  become  aware  of  the  ways  it  
is  acceptable  to  justify,  react  and  
contribute  not  only  at  school  but  in  her  
future  life  endevours.  

earch:  
dd,  J.  L.  (2012).  The  digital  revolution  and  
escent  brain  evolution.  Journal  of  
lescent  Health,  51  (2),  101-­‐105.  
ett,  J.  J.  (2001).  Conceptions  of  the  
sition  to  adulthood:  Perspectives  from  
escence  through  midlife.  Journal  of  Adult  
elopment,  8(2),  133-­‐143.  
Personal  Reflection:  Rachel  Foster  

Key  unit  findings:    

▪  Students  constantly  under  

construction  
▪  Award  effort  rather  than  ability  
▪  More  than  just  classroom  
content  
▪  Learning  pits  occur  at  all  stages  
of  the  learning  journey.