All of life is education and everybody is a teacher and everybody is forever a pupil.

-Abraham Maslow

Student Development is the single most important factor in the field of education.  While this standard focuses primarily on the developmental needs of students, the three domains are also pertinent in this standard because a well rounded approach must be taken. The three domains include academics, social, and career.  The academic focus is naturally developmentally appropriate due to the grade level of the students.  The social needs of the students are most important when considering developmental level.  Working with students in the middle level I must consider many of the stages as students are changing so much during this time.  It is important to be considerate of those stages while counseling.

Having worked in multiple levels and taught multiple grades, I am most connected with students in middle school.  I find that I am strong at building relationships with students at this level and my goal is to work with middle school students.  I enjoy the needs of these students as well because they are often capable of handling situations for themselves but are also in need of guidance when it comes to their career plans and their educational plans.

Below is an attachment for an action plan myself and two colleagues have created for a middle school based on relevant data and student need.  This action plan is developmentally appropriate and demonstrates an understanding of specific needs of middle school students.  The plan is particularly geared toward students who are dealing with a great deal of change in their development in a variety of contexts and addresses the needs of a diverse population.  I believe this information best shows my understanding of student development and the particular student needs.  Also within the artifacts is a positive behavior support chart defining specific expectations for how a middle school student should behave in a variety of settings.  The chart was created particularly for middle school students based on their developmental needs.

The action plan attached was created by Courtney Johnson, Kat Kiser, and Kandice Schlagel.  This particular document can be attributed to many other standards, including Guidance Curriculum, Communication, Assessment Strategies, Cultural Diversity, and Program Management.