Identity TIPR

The children that I observed in the elementary school resource classroom were in the Industry v. Inferiority: fourth stage of Erikson's psychosocial development. The students in the class had some level of a learning difficulty that led them to be behind their peers in the general curriculum classroom. The students all exhibited signs of a feeling of inferiority at times probably due to a lack of success during this stage of development, and likely due to a lack of success in previous stages of development, as well. Some of the children put the assignments they were given down, others put themselves down. One boy avoided the work as much as possible by putting his head down, getting up to get a drink, wanting to give the teacher a hug, or complaining that his stomach hurt. He had the most difficulty with each subject than any of her other students.
I believe that Marcia's theories of Identity diffusion and Identity foreclosure were shown by the students in the class. The student who avoided his work the most was exhibiting Identity diffusion. There were a few students who were the class clowns and made jokes about the assignments and in so doing, exhibited Identity foreclosure. The teacher was very patient with the students and made positive, encouraging comments that helped them to refocus and to try again when something was difficult for the students. When T wanted to avoid his work by getting a drink, she let him get one after he had done a problem and then she asked him to do more problems after he sat back down in his seat.

The students all needed to gain some level of competence and confidence in their abilities to perform the tasks that were asked of them. I believe that with more time, effort, and a lot of patience, the majority of the students will be able to feel some level of Industry, rather than inferiority. There were at least two students with an Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that may not catch up to their peers, but they can continue to progress in their knowledge of the core subjects that they are taught. I believe that the teacher helped the students to successfully navigate toward Industry by encouraging them when they struggled, reteaching tricky concepts with more clarity, and giving positive praise to them when the were successful.

I was aware of the student's particular needs when I taught my mini-lesson and I did my best to accommodate them. I spoke loudly and clearly, checking the students' reactions for understanding. I differentiated my lesson for T by writing single digit multiplication problems with 1, 5, and 0 while I taught the other students The Box Method with 2 by 2 digit multiplication problems on the board. I checked each student's work and helped those who needed more instruction and I gave positive praise to each student as they worked.