Ego development is an implicit aim of higher education and can be one of its most significant results, according to R. P. Weathersby. There are several developmental stages, each having characteristics to describe personality traits, style of behavior, conscious preoccupations, and ways of thinking. From lowest level to highest, the stages are: (1) impulsive; (2) self-protective; (3) conformist; (4) conscientious-conformist (self-awareness); (5) conscientious; (6) individualistic; (7) autonomous; and (8) integrated. Researchers have shown how concepts about the roles of students and faculty and teaching practices correspond to ego development stages. Generally speaking, instruction based on lectures and exams corresponds to the conformist or a lower stage. By contrast, instructional methods permitting active participation, discussion, and decision making are better suited for students in the middle and higher stages. Guided design is a teaching strategy in which small groups work together to make decisions about open-ended problems. The teacher guides students in a slowed-down process written in the form of instructions and feedbacks. Use of guided design in a theater history course improved student interest and achievement dramatically in one semester, even though adapting the content to the strategy was difficult and time consuming. An outline of the method using a hypothetical problem serves as an illustration. Examination of ego development strongly suggests that active participation in the higher order thinking skills is likely to produce more deeply understood, complex outlooks on life. (SG)