Teaching adolescents

Teens brain
How teens learn
How to engage them
Some activities
URSULA HUANCAS DONAYRE

 It now appears some of that baffling
behavior of your teenage child (or
student) may be the result of
neurobiology not raging hormones

 For many years it was thought that brain
development was set at a fairly early age.
By the time teen years were reached the
brain was thought to be largely finished.
However, scientists doing cutting-edge
research using magnetic resonance
imaging, or MRI, have mapped the brain
from early childhood into adulthood and
found data contrary to these beliefs. It now
appears the brain continues to change into
the early 20's with the frontal lobes,
responsible for reasoning and problem
solving, developing last.

 The decade-long magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) study of normal brain
development, from ages 4 to 21, by
researchers at NIH's National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH) and University of
California Los Angeles (UCLA) shows that
such "higher-order" brain centers, such as
the prefrontal cortex, don't fully develop
until young adulthood as grey matter
wanes in a back-to-front wave as the brain
matures and neural connections are
pruned. (see figure 1).

FOR TIME LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY
Figure 1.
Time-Lapse Imaging Tracks Brain Maturation
from ages 5 to 20
Constructed from MRI scans of healthy children
and teens, the time-lapse "movie", from which
the above images were extracted, compresses
15 years of brain development (ages 5–20) into
just a few seconds.
Red indicates more gray matter, blue less gray
matter. Gray matter wanes in a back-to-front
wave as the brain matures and neural
connections are pruned.
Source: Paul Thompson, Ph.D. UCLA Laboratory
of Neuroimaging
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/press/prbrainmaturing.cfm?styleN=one

 In calm situations, teenagers can rationalize
almost as well as adults. But stress can
hijack what Ron Dahl, a pediatrician and
child psychiatric researcher at the University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center calls "hot
cognition" and decision-making. The frontal
lobes help put the brakes on a desire for
thrills and taking risk -- a building block of
adolescence; but, they're also one of the
last areas of the brain to develop fully.

 Although scientists don't know yet what
accounts for the observed changes,
they may parallel a pruning process that
occurs early in life that appears to follow
the principle of "use-it-or-lose-it:" neural
connections, or synapses, that get
exercised are retained, while those that
don't are lost.

Brain Tissue Changes in
Development (15 year timespan)
Time-lapse Imaging Tracks Brain
Developing from ages 5 to 20
NIMH/UCLA Project Visualizes
Maturing Brain
Source: Paul Thompson, Ph.D. UCLA
Laboratory of Neuroimaging
"The most surprising thing has been how much the teen brain is
changing. By age six, the brain is already 95 percent of its adult size.
But the gray matter, or thinking part of the brain, continues to thicken
throughout childhood as the brain cells get extra connections, much
like a tree growing extra branches, twigs and roots...

...In the frontal part of the brain, the part of
the brain involved in judgment, organization,
planning, strategizing -- those very skills that
teens get better and better at -- this process
of thickening of the gray matter peaks at
about age 11 in girls and age 12 in boys,
roughly about the same time as puberty.
After that peak, the gray matter thins as the
excess connections are eliminated or
pruned...

...But the pruning-down phase is
perhaps even more interesting,
because our leading hypothesis for
that is the "use it or lose it" principle.
Those cells and connections that
are used will survive and flourish.
Those cells and connections that
are not used will wither and die. So
if a teen is doing music or sports or
academics, those are the cells and
connections that will be hard-wired.
If they're lying on the couch or
playing video games or MTV, those
are the cells and connections that
are going [to] survive...

...Right around the time of
puberty and on into the adult
years is a particularly critical time
for the brain sculpting to take
place...
... 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...
...The frontal lobe is often called
the CEO, or the executive of the
brain. It's involved in things like
planning and strategizing and
organizing, initiating attention
and stopping and starting and
shifting attention. It's a part of the
brain that most separates man
from beast, if you will...

...I think that [in the teen years, this] part of
the brain that is helping organization,
planning and strategizing is not done being
built yet ... [It's] not that the teens are stupid
or incapable of [things]. It's sort of unfair to
expect them to have adult levels of
organizational skills or decision making
before their brain is finished being built. ...
...doing drugs or alcohol that evening, it
may not just be affecting their brains for that
night or even for that weekend, but for the
next 80 years of their life..."

One goal is to learn what teachers can do to take
advantage of the time when their students' brains change
the most. If some parts of the brain develop sooner than
others, for example, perhaps school subjects should be
taught in a different order.
Teenagers are four times as likely as older drivers to be
involved in a crash and three times as likely to die in one,
according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
"Right now our first subjects are reaching driving age," Giedd
said. "What better application could there be than saving
their lives?"

Knowing what their brains are going through might also motivate teenagers
to change their own priorities. "What you do with your brain during that
time," Giedd says, "could have a lot of good and bad implications for the
rest of your life."
Eventually, brain studies might help resolve conflicts at home. Teenagers are
capable of learning a lot, but the parts of their brains related to emotions
and decision-making are still in the works. As their brains undergo rewiring,
teenagers are particularly vulnerable to risky behavior, such as drinking and
driving too fast.
Brain immaturity can explain why the teen crash rate is so high.

A recent study by Lebel and Beaulieu (see below)
reinforce the above findings that the human brain
doesn't stop developing at adolescence, but continues
well into our 20s. The study is the first long-range
investigation, using a type of imaging that looks at brain
wiring and shows that in the white matter there are still
structural changes happening during young adulthood.
The white matter connects different regions to facilitate
cognitive abilities. The study suggests that connections
are strengthening even as we age in young adulthood.
C. Lebel, C. Beaulieu. Longitudinal Development
of Human Brain Wiring Continues from Childhood
into Adulthood. Journal of Neuroscience, 2011.

First, Different learning styles and curves. Ever wonder
why teens seem to put off the easier material until last
minute? Or why there must be complete silence for him
or her to study effectively? Both of these are largely
due to the teen’s learning style.
The way that a teen learns has a big impact on his or
her study habits.
You might notice that teens learn better under pressure
so he or she puts off studying until the day before the
test.

Teens whose learning styles are at
their best when there are no
distractions will need complete
silence when they are trying to
study.
When teens are not in the
situation that best fits their learning
style, they will have trouble with
their study habits as well.

There are four
different
learning styles
that affect a
teenager’s
study habits,
these are
visual, auditory,
actual
learning,
and analytic.

Visual learners. There are those teens that
are visual learners. These teens work best with
visual representation of the information. This
includes pictures, symbols, charts, diagrams, and
colors.
Auditory learners. These teens learn best if they
hear the information. When auditory-
learning teens study, you might find them reading
aloud because it helps them to better learn the
material when they hear themselves read it aloud.

Actual learners . When it comes to practical
subjects like Math and English, these teens
would rather do some trial and error rather
than actually read and learn the rules first.
Although, it might sound contrary to what
most parents think their kinds should do, it is
not good to try to change your child’s
learning style. Instead, find ways that you can
help develop his study habits through this trial
and error kind of learning style.

Analytic learners .These kinds of learners deal well
with details. You might notice your teen reading
and rereading the information, while taking some
time to reflect on what was just read in the
meantime.
An analytic learner deals well with lists, patterns,
homework, and practice exercises. Since this kind
of teen deals well with goals, set some steps and
study goals for your teen to aid in his study habits.

Second, Parental influences. Parents are a huge
influence in regards to teenage learning but,
Teenagers don’t learn much from parental warnings
and lecturing.
Most parents have tried that without much success.
And unfortunately, one or both parents all too often
cave in when their children get in trouble. Each time
parents do so, a valuable lesson isn’t learned and a
mistake is apt to be repeated.
Also, Teens that were implied with tremendous amounts
of discipline by theirs show more promise than most
teens.

Third, Peer pressure. Peer pressure is one thing that all
teens have in common. You can’t escape it. It is
everywhere. Whether it is pressure to conform to a group
norm or pressure to act, peer pressure is something
everybody has to deal with at some time in his or her life.

 Finally, Teacher’s influence. Teachers play a
significant role in teenage learning. Since teachers
can affect how students perceive the course
materials, it has been found that teachers who
showed enthusiasm towards the course materials and
students can affect a positive learning experience
towards the course materials. Finally, Teacher’s
influence. Teachers play a significant role in teenage
learning. Since teachers can affect how students
perceive the course materials, it has been found that
teachers who showed enthusiasm towards the course
materials and students can affect a positive learning
experience towards the course materials.

Teaching adolescents

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