Anyone whose teaching and research interests include adolescence and emerging adulthood might encounter undergraduates bringing their questions about life into their courses. Many emerging adults are asking: “What does it mean to be me?” “What does it mean to be me within the place I came from?” “How do I make sense of myself right here, right now?” “What should I do next?” These questions of theirs lead the way.
Teaching college students about adolescence can be a wild ride. Many college students are not that far removed from adolescence themselves which allows for a depth and breadth of conversation that can be fun and fascinating while also making me feel quite old! There can be drawbacks to such relatability between the subject topic and the students when discussions devolve into sharing stories of “well when I was a teenager…” While fun in moderation, these derailments do not further the scientific goals of a psychology classroom. To combat this, I tried to fill my Adolescent Development seminar-style course with structured activities to help my students make connections between their own lives and the literature on adolescent behavior.
