Transcript The Teenage Brain

The Adolescent Brain
David H. Vawter
([email protected])
Dave Vawter, B.S., M.Ed., Ph.D, D.A.D
“ This too shall pass”
Brainy Facts: What do we know
about the brain?
• Adult = 3 pounds
• 2% of our body weight
but consumes 20% of
our calories
• 70% water, it consumes
30% of the water we
drink
The brain develops from the back towards the
front. Beginning at the Cerebellum, then the
Amygdala, the
Basal Ganglia, the Corpus Callosum and then last the
Prefrontal Cortex.
Dr. Jay Giedd,
Neuroscientist
• Used MRI to scan the
brains of nearly 1000
healthy children ages
3-18.
• Between ages of birth2 and 9-10=
tremendous growth of
neurons
• Ages 2-3 and 11+=
massive pruning
During adolescence…
use it or lose it
• Fewer but faster
connections
• The grey matter
continues to thicken,
• Used connections will
flourish, unused will
die.
Brain Break
• Rally Robin
Frontal Lobe
•
•
•
•
•
•
Problem solving
Judgment
Planning
Organization
Self-monitoring
Emotions
• Attention
• Concentration
• Awareness of
abilities
• Self-control
• “do the right thing”
The CEO of the Brain
• The frontal lobes:
executive decisions
and moral/ethical
control
• Development
continues from back
to front through
early 20’s
• “It’s sort of unfair to
expect teens to have
adult levels of
organizational skills
or decision-making
before their brains
are finished being
built.”- Dr. Giedd
Misread signals
Everything is not as it seems to
them…..
• Teens relied on the
amygdala, associated
with emotion and gut
reactions
• Teens see anger
when it was not
intended
But what if the student is very
smart?
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ellect_(Frontal_Cortex)__Analyzing_the_B
rain_of_a_Teenage_Genius.asf
Catching ZZZZZZs
• They need 9 ¼
hrs…
• They get…6-7….!
• The biological
clock shifts in the
teen years
Sleep deprivation can
have a major
negative effect on
learning and
memory!
Turn off backlit devices
an hour before bed
“Teen Brain” or ADD/ADHD?
ADD/ADHD?
Does the teen have……
• Ability to "hyperfocus"
• Above average intelligence or higher
• Creative thinking
• The inability to focus causing problems with
grades, relationships, safety, self-esteem
• Famous people: Albert Einstein, Will Smith, Walt Disney, Ben
Franklin, Whoopie Goldberg
How do you help the ADD/ADHD
student?
• Remove clutter even from walls
• Allow movement, sit in the back or side
• Do not get angry at their behavior; that
will never fix the problem
• Give extra time if noticeably distracted
• Keep a stash of their materials in your
room; help them with organization
During adolescence…
period of high risk
• Drugs and alcohol can
alter normal
development of the brain
• Teens who drink are
exposing their brains to
the toxic effects of
alcohol at a critical time
of brain development
Image from Susan Tapert, PhD, University of California, San Diego
http://www.sfn.org/skins/main/images/brainbriefings/bb_Oct2002_large.gif
.
What about students from
poverty?
TEACHERS
MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!
Neurogenesis-the birth of new
neurons
• Evident in the hippocampus and perhaps in the
cerebral cortex.
• New neurons develop from neural stem cells
that remain in our brains throughout life.
• Continual turnover of neurons - old ones die
and new ones are born - and these new neurons
can participate in circuits that underlie
learning.
Common Factors
in the Lives of
Low SES Kids!
Neurogenesis is the raw material for learning!
Chronic Stress …
1. Creates emotional problems
(Burgess et al. 1995)
2. Lowers IQ, reading scores
(Delaney-Black, et al. 2002)
3. Causes Memory loss
(Lupien, et al. 2001)
4. Shortens dendrites
(Cook and Wellman, 2004), (Brown, et al. 2005)
5. Causes neuron death
(De Bellis, et al. 2001)
6. Fosters inappropriate attachments Schore, A. 2002)
“What were
you
thinking?”
Under High
Stress, Brains
Engage in
Bottom-Up
DecisionMaking
for a More
Reflexive
Strategy
Arnsten AF. (2010) Stress signaling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function
Teachers who
criticize, hold
negative
attitudes and
use sarcasm
as classroom
discipline will
activate the
fear and stress
areas of the
student’s brain.
This
activation
alters
the
student’s
ability
to think
and learn.
What does this mean for
EDUCATORS?
• Crucial time in brain
development
• Willful
pigheadedness?
• Making mistakes
• Providing structure,
helping them get
organized, making our
content relevant,
getting them involved
in learning
SUMMARY: Brains Can Change
for the Better
 Brains physically change every day
 Targeted classroom teaching can make
dramatic changes in days
 DNA is not your destiny
 Teachers are the strongest change agent in
student’s lives
Brain Break
The Adolescent Brain -Part
Two: Strategies for the Classroom
WHICH OF THESE FACES WALKS
OUT OF YOUR ROOM?
Movement
Relevance
Relationships
Use ART, DRAMA, MUSIC!
MOVEMENT, ENGAGEMENT, FEEDBACK, COMMUNICATION
STATIONS
Work in Groups!
• Plan
• Select with partial
choice
• Let them use
GoogleDocs to create
presentations
• They create the
assessment
Novelty
• Dress Up
• Change the room around
• Go outside!!!
Speed Teaching!
The Six R’s
• Reflexes
• Reflection
• Review
• Reteaching
• Relevancy
• Ready for what is next
Reflexes
• TPR
– Hand Checks
– Movement
Reflection
• Long term retention
Review
• Not how many times…..
Reteaching
• Differentiation
Relevancy
• Two Kinds
– To their lives
– Why
Ready
• Cognitive Dissonance
• Anticipation
When they get to be about 25, they’ll
realize their parents and teachers
were pretty smart people.