Teaching Strategies when dealing with the adolescent brain
The adolescent brain is still in the development process and will therefore require compatible strategies for learning. Research has shown that the brain undergoes a period of increased production of gray-matter during early adolescence. Nerve impulses are generated by the gray matter which handles processing of the brain’s information, while white matter transfers brain information from one lobe to another and then out to the spinal cord. The myelin sheath, a fatty layer that wraps around the neuron’s axon assists this transmission of nerve impulses. Only white matter has a myelin sheath; the sheath allows impulses to travel faster and more efficiently; however, isn’t fully
…show more content…
Learning is a process of building neural networks in the brain, through concrete experiences, symbolic and abstract learning. A concrete experience is one where a young person can smell, hear, touch, and see the experience such as petting a dog. Seeing a dog in a book and looking at pictures of dogs is a symbolic experience. Then, at some point, young people will start to make generalizations about types of dogs they have never seen, or experienced, this is abstract thinking. The most important of the three is the concrete experience because without it the other two will have little or no meaning. Abstract thought does not completely develop until late adolescence; therefore, the most effective teaching styles encompass concrete experiences for adolescences.
Important Facts
A young adolescent brain can hold 7 pieces of information, plus or minus two items in working memory. Show them that the information fits together, and in a meaningful way. Short-term memory stores approximately 7 items of information for 30 seconds unless there are strategies in place to remember the items. Working-memory stores approximately seven items for 20 to 30 minutes, if not determined as meaningful the information will be lost and not stored in long-term memory. Teachers can use systems such as rhyme, rhythm, rap, chunking, storytelling, and mnemonics as
Paul Thompson in the article,Startling Finds on Teenage Brains,claims that over the last several years,as school shootings have seemed to occur with disturbing frequency. Thompson supports his claim by first describes fourteen year old Nathaniel Brazill´s case because he shot middle-school teacher Grunow. He then explains his and other people's research that is about the thoughts of teens like how he was talking about how he was working on mapping the patterns of brain growth.Lastly, the author explores into the fact that teens have a massive loss of brain tissue. Thompson´s purpose is to inform the reader the thoughts that teenagers have and how when people are teens they have the most brain tissue loss so that they themselves know the thoughts
Researchers can look at the brain of a teen to examine their behavioral decisions.Teenage brains these years are more active and dynamic which means it’s still developing.Processing in the Limbic system is a result of risky behavior.The construction of a teenage thinking brain is not cable of fully processing necessary to make responsible decisions.At this stage the brain is still developing.The brain changes depending on interactions, helpimg the teen make changes. At this time the brain will need focused and support for a healthy connection.Surrounding impacts the child faces such as challenging situations is an effective technique.Parents need to consider the teens emotional
In the article, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” (May 25, 2001), by Paul Thompson, the author argues that teenagers should not be legally treated as adults because their brains are not fully developed. First Thompson raises a question whether teenagers should be tried as adults after the trial of fourteen-year-old Nathaniel Brazill who is charged with second-degree murder for the shooting of his middle school teacher. Following up the numerous questions from reporters and teen advocates, Thompson informs the audience about the loss brain tissue in teenage brains and its correlation to the teenagers’ violent tendencies. After elaborating that teenagers need the correct guidance to steer their development onto the right path, he concludes
After viewing the Frontline program titled Inside the Teenage Brain I learned a significant discovery scientists have found about the teenager's brain. I also learned that just as there is a growth spurt in infants’ brain, there is a second-growth spurt during puberty. In addition, I also learned how teen's emotions are so different from adults' emotions. I was very surprised with everything I learned about the teen's brain, but my point of view about teen violence and juvenile delinquency hasn't changed.
The prefrontal cortex, which is the anterior part of the frontal lobes, controls understanding consequences, impulse control, abstract thinking, long range planning, and mental flexibility (Ortiz 93-94). Researchers at UCLA, Harvard Medical School, and the National Institute of Health have been working together to understand brain development. Their research has shown that at a young age the brain overproduces gray matter, which is the overall thinking part of the brain. After this comes the pruning process in which gray matter is removed. Paul Thompson from UCLA describes this time as a "massive loss of brain tissue" (as quoted in Ortiz 94). The average amount of tissue lost per year is one to two percent (Ortiz 94). While this pruning process is taking place the myelination is occurring simultaneously. Myelination is when white matter, what insulates the brain, makes brain process more efficient. This process is also thought to shape brains neural connections for adulthood (Ortiz 95). With age, the brain becomes denser and more organized which makes it better at processing and understanding information. Changes in the brain also can happen late into the twenty's (Beckman 3). A member of the UCLA research team reported that "[The] frontal lobe undergoes the most change during adolescence-by far. It is also the last part of the brain development" (as quoted in Ortiz 94). For most, full brain development is reached during the ages
The three most important structural changes in the brain that occur during adolescence takes place in the Corpus Callosum, Prefrontal Cortex, and the Limbic System. The Corpus Callosum is a bundle of axon fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres together. In adolescence, this part of the brain thickens to improve information processing. The Prefrontal Cortex is involved in judgement, decision making, reasoning, and self-control. In adolescents, this part of the brain is beginning to develop and be used more
Based upon scientific findings, the adolescent brain is constantly growing and changing. The character Romeo, in Shakespeare’s famous play, displays how his adolescent brain is growing and changing. For instance, in the play, it states,”She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair, to merit bliss by making me more despair.” (1.1. 218-219) This quote reveals that Romeo is deeply in love with Rosaline but as his youthful brain changes he quickly falls in love with Juliet with little knowledge of her. Not to mention, in the article, Are teenage brains really different from adult brains, it conveys, “Teenagers experience a wealth of growth in synapses during adolescence” (Edmonds). This small excerpt informs us that the synapses that help us make reasonable decisions are at an increase. In the same source, another significant
When asked if teenagers can understand the true meaning of love, I would have to weigh in that I do not believe teenagers can perceive the concept of love.
The brain has the function of making their body work and help with the teens brain daily life. The gray matter is where nerves are located. They are affect the way the person acts. The gray matter is where the nerves are located . One nerve is made up of neurons-a nerve cell-The neuron is made up of dendrites, axons and nucleus . The dendrites receive signals from axon terminals and this is a synapses. As a teen grows the brain starts pruning its synapses. With this the brain is taking out instructions the brain can already do or already knows. This is making room for new ideas. The brain secretes many hormones and neurotransmitters. A well known and used neurotransmitter is dopamine. Dopamine gives the brain a faster production time to make decision.
The article “Inside the Teenage Brain” by Marty Wolner states that recently, brain researchers have been able to do a great quantity of detailed studies on the human brain. Despite previous thoughts about the teenage brain, development of the brain through the teenage years is very dynamic. The teenage brain is still learning how to process certain information properly in the thinking part of the brain, so often teens may not process all the information necessary to make responsible decisions. Nevertheless, the teenage years can be very stressful for both parents and for teens. Getting through the teenage years can be difficult, but with the right amount of healthy communication, discipline and support the road ahead won’t be so rough. At this
Most adults can usually store between 5 and 9 items in their short-term memory. This idea was put forward by Miller, and he called it the “magic number 7”. He hypothesized that short term memory could hold 7 (plus or minus 2 items) because it only had a certain number of “slots” in which certain items could be stored. However, Miller did not specify the amount of information that can be held in each slot. This leads into the idea of “chunking”. Chunking refers to the
During teenage years your brain is under the influence of massive hormonal messages. Our brains are being reshaped. Depending on what the teen is doing will shape our brains that certain way. As a teen, being exposed to drugs, alcohol, inappropriate websites, violent movies/video games will affect and shape our brains and how our future will be by exposing our brains for addiction. There is constant changes in the teenage brain as well as the social and academic changes makes it hard for teens to figure out who they are at such a young age.
The teenage brain is different from the adult brain version because it is not fully developed. The part of the brain used for emotions like rage and fright, the amygdala is much more developed than the frontal cortex (used for thinking through your thoughts). The way scientists found this out was pictures of Teen’s brains in action. (Teen Brain…). This would explain why teens tend to be more angry and impulsive compared to adults. Teens have a higher chance of impulsive acting, starting fights, do risky behaviors, etc. Knowledge of the teen’s frontal cortex’s lack of development can assist guardians, teachers, and lawmakers in unlocking the answers on management on how to manage adolescent behavior.
When one compares the structure of the adult brain and the teenage brain, there will be several differences between the two. Adults have stronger connections from one nerve cell to another, and they all have essential communication skills. However, teenagers have more synapses and have weaker nerve connections. Also, their frontal lobes aren 't fully developed. This causes adolescence to have impulsive behavior and they typically do not recognize consequences in a situation. In the early twenties the brain becomes fully developed, so people are very good at making decision and they are able to think abstractly. There are many factors that contribute to the construction of the brain; some things help the brain develop normally, other things interrupt the process. There is a substantial amount of distinctions between the adult brain and the adolescent brain, and these includes behavioral and structural differences.
Learning has been described by Howe (1980) as ‘cumulative’ i.e. whatever we learn at any time is influenced by previous learning. It is also clear that developmental processes and learning processes are closely interlinked. Whilst psychologists agree that learning is affected by past experience and is relatively permanent there are differing theories about exactly what changes when learning takes place and what mechanisms are involved. An important issue is whether the focus is on overt behavioural changes (that which can be seen) or covert, cognitive changes (the unseen change in thoughts). The concept of learning is broad and there are different psychological theories as to what is involved in that learning process.