Presentation:

Brain-Based Adolescent Development, or Why Are They Doing That…and How Can I
Make Them Stop?

Materials:
laptop and projector
Poster paper for groups
“Inside Amy’s Brain” article
“How to Teach Students About the Brain” article
“What You Should Know About Your Brain” article

Objectives:
1. To help teacher more fully understand the behaviors of the adolescent student and
what factors affect these behaviors
2. To provide teachers with strategies to change/modify these behaviors and improve
effectiveness in work with the adolescent student

Introduction:
Start with opening quote:
“Adolescence begins at puberty and ends…sometime.”

Discuss these points about adolescence:

 earlier onset of puberty and prolonged nature of adolescence, now lasting up to 15
years
 how quickly adolescents can change from one mood to another and how
unpredictable they can be
 the awkwardness of everyone regarding adolescence, both teens and adults and
the challenge that creates
 how complex adolescence is, given the wide range of tasks that must be mastered

Discuss these points about the adolescent brain:

 was thought to be very similar to adult brain and pretty much complete
 research has shown the adolescent brain is a work in progress and does not work
in the same ways as the adult brain
 we know a lot more than we did 15-20 years ago, but there is still more to learn
 as educators, there are things you should know about the adolescent brain because
they affect the behaviors you see in your classroom
 knowing about the brain can help you to be a better, happier and more effective
teacher of adolescents
 helping your students to understand the brain can help them as well
Group Activity/Participation:
In groups of 3 or 4, have teachers discuss and list 3 behavioral
“problems/concerns/complaints/things they would change” they see often in their
classrooms. Also have them discuss and list what factors they think cause these issues.

Groups will be asked to come up and act out an example of one of their concerns, and a
master list of concerns will be compiled for all to see.

Section 1: Brain Basics

Discussion Points:
 brain is an electrical system
 made up of neurons
 neuron has cell body, axon, dendrites
 at birth, 100 billion neurons, each with 10,000 branches—only 17% linked
 wiring influenced by genetics and experience
 “Neurons that fire together wire together”—the more they fire together, the
stronger the connections become—“LEARNING”
 Brain structures:
o Brainstem: unconscious physical functions; lizard brain
o Limbic system: around the brainstem; seat of emotions
 Amygdala: fear and anger
 Hippocampus: new memory encoding
 Hypothalamus: endocrine system/hormones
 Vential Striatal Circuit: motivation
o Cortex: “gray matter”; conscious thought, higher brain functions,
reasoning
 Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): executive functions: planning, weighing
consequences, managing impulses—VERY IMPORTANT in
ADOLESCENCE
 Brain processes:
o Use it or lose it: unused neurons wither away or make no connections
o Blossoming and pruning: right before growth spurt, dendrites are over-
produced (blossoming); experience and use it or lose it kick in and
branches not being used/fired shrink and disappear (pruning)
o Window of opportunity: experiences during blossoming/pruning have
huge impact of how brain gets wired; different skills, different windows
o Window of sensitivity: during blossoming/pruning, negative experiences
have a much greater impact on skills
o Myelination: fatty substance provides insulation; charges travel 100x
faster
 In adolescence, some areas are actively blossoming and pruning; some are still
developing; myelinization increases by 100%; windows for things like
relationships, communication, impulse control; executive functions
Section 2: Impulsivity and Anger
Discussion Points:
 Dr. Jay Giedd, NIH: Adolescent brain in NOT finished; second wave of
blossoming/pruning at age 12 in the PFC; changes in personality are common
 Job of PFC: think ahead, control impulses; in adolescents, still developing, so
they lack control and ability to think ahead like adults do
 Leads to verbal outbursts, bad decisions, poor behavior
 Calvin and Hobbes: “My trouble is my lips move when I think.”
 While it’s not the fault of the adolescent that his brain is still under construction,
it’s his responsibility to get it under control and the responsibility of adults around
him to help him do that
 If you don’t make those neurons fire together they will not wire together
 Tips for dealing with impulsive behavior issues:
o Be as direct and specific about behaviors as possible (be nice to others vs
no hitting, touching, or name-calling)
o Spell out consequences, reinforce understanding and FOLLOW
THROUGH
o Remind adolescents that behavior is a choice and refuse to power struggle:
“take your sails out of his wind”
o Maintain humor and hate the behavior, not the teen
 Smart kids do stupid things and can’t explain them; we think they are lying
 “What were you thinking?” “There has to be a reason.”
 Take the developing PFC that can lead to poor decision making, and add powerful
surging hormones in the brain that can cause erratic moods and behaviors—now
have a situation where rudeness and verbal abuse can lead to physical violence
because of quick tempers
 Hormones: chemical messengers made by a dozen different glands; help regulate
body functions, interpret incoming data, and direct responses; 50 different
hormones in humans
 At puberty, a message is sent to pituitary gland to start making sex/growth
hormones: testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone
 Boys: 5-7 surges of testosterone per day; 1000x the amount of T at the end of
puberty that they had at the start
 T overstimulates the amygdala and boys become emotional powderkegs: anger,
aggression, sexual interest, territoriality, dominance
 T is geared toward quick tension/release, therefore impulses are followed without
a lot of thought
 Girls: estrogen/progesterone production affects hippocampus, memory center;
gives girls some academic advantage; also results in over-amplified emotions that
can be so intense as to overwhelm them
 Add neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine—chemicals that
travel along dendrites, carrying impulses—which are affected by hormones as
well.
o Dopamine: feel-good transmitter; attracted to things that raise it (alcohol)
o Serotonin: mood stabilizer; enough, relaxed and confident; too little,
depressed and/or aggressive
 o Norepinephrine: energizer, fight or flight; important for memory storage;
effects mood as it rises and falls.
 Because hormones influence neurotransmitters, we can see serious mood swings,
as well as strong reactions to stress, sex drive, and appetite.
 To bring it back to brain structure, the PFC is not ready to help, so they lack
rationality and the ability to think through problems and challenges and make a
plan
 Teaching teens about their changing brains CAN help—more on that later.

Section 3: Communication
Discussion Points:
 It seems that adolescents are very quick to misinterpret and escalate verbal
incidents
 Adults say it’s hormones or “attitude” or guilty conscience—but it’s more
 Adolescent brain interprets emotional expressions differently than adult brain
o Adults use PFC to read emotions and distinguish subtle differences
o Teens use amygdala—seat of fear and anger; a gut reaction that is often
wrong; also makes them hypersensitive to seeing emotions as anger
o Also likely to misinterpret fear or surprise as ANGER—not strong at
reading emotions
 Misinterpretation+gut reaction+lack of self-control--this combination leads to big
problems: react first (often incorrectly), think later
 Tips for Improving Communication
o Teach respectful, productive communication and expect it
o Present your feelings clearly in words as well as reactions
o Stay cool as the adult
o Practice checking things out (asking for clarification) with them so they
know how to do it
o Apologize if you misinterpret or get carried away
 Tips for Talking
o Use “I” statements
o Discuss a particular incident and don’t generalize
o Be as SPECIFIC as possible when asking for something
o Ask questions that require more than a one-word answer
o Avoid attacking
o Deal with one topic at a time
o Listen actively
 Eye contact
 Don’t interrupt
 Short acknowledging phrases
 Open posture
 Ask for clarification
 Check for understanding
 Some volatility is not brain-based; it’s testing limits
 Need to learn a balance of expressing and controlling emotions
  Do not allow adolescents to step over the line with swearing or throwing/breaking
things

Section 4: Sleep
Discussion Points:
 Average teen needs 9 hours 15 minutes of sleep and gets about 2/3 of that
 Tendency is for teens to not be able to fall asleep until very late and then have a
lot of trouble getting up in the morning
 Puberty impacts sleep in two ways:
o How the brain regulates sleep and the amount of sleep needed changes
o Timing of sleep/wake cycle shifts and can shift severely
 Why sleep? Lets brain rebuild/replenish cells that have been working all day;
allows for the reinforcement of connections made during the day
 When adolescents don’t sleep it is very difficult for them to focus, learn, reason,
work and drive safely.
 “Make them go to bed earlier”—even if they did they probably would not get
more sleep because of the cycle shift
 Circadian rhythm—internal system that affects hunger, alertness, socializing,
sleeping and waking; affected by hormones; usually corresponds to movement of
the sun
 Brain keeps track of light entering the eye and as it begins to get dark, cells in the
hypothalamus send a message to the pineal gland, which secretes melatonin—
sleep chemical. Darkness increases production; sufficient sleep makes it stop.
 Melatonin surges happen later and the drop happens later too in puberty—teens
overalert at night and oversleepy in the morning
 They need more sleep, but get tired later and have to be up earlier (6:15 start at
some high schools)
 Sleep late on the weekend, but this can throw off the cycle even more
 “lazy”—for the most part not true; they are fighting a losing battle against their
bodies to stay awake
 Lack of sleep is not just about being tired; serious consequences:
o Impairs memory—bad for learning
o Increases cortisol (stress hormone)—compromised immune system
o Lack of alertness—driving
o Impaired glucose processing—weight gain
o Less ability to control strong emotions—mood disorders
 Tips for Better Sleep
o Remove nighttime stimulation: limit caffeine; no video games, phone, TV
after 9-10pm; provide wind-down time with quiet reading, quiet music or
mellow activity
o Be tolerant of weekend sleeping, but monitor it so they don’t get day/night
turned completely around
o Encourage eating of breakfast—fuels the brain
 o Adrenaline counters melatonin, so early morning teachers especially
should plan activities that are novel and involve activity—moving,
drawing, building, discussing, roleplay
Section 5: Learning
Discussion Points:
 So what can we do in the classroom to make our adolescents better
communicators, and less angry, impulsive, and sleepy?
 Stimulating activities: keep them active in the learning: discussing, presenting,
drawing, building, roleplaying
 Movement: research shows that the cerebellum—the part of the brain that controls
motor activity—also controls cognitive thought processing. Incorporating
movement into all classes may help students learn material better
 Communication practice: temporal lobe maturation means better communication,
but practice is needed. Try reader’s theater, debate, oral presentations alone or in
groups, guided discussion
 To combat faulty decision-making and distraction and build attention and focus,
use project-based and problem-based learning, both in groups and individually
 Use materials and topics that are meaningful and appeal to the emotional side
 Put aside even a little time and teach about the brain—helps students learn to
control their cognitive and emotional health and their learning; brain-based
teaching strategies improved confidence and engagement and produced higher
achievement.
 Brain knowledge can help students who believe they are not smart because they
realize that they can change their brains by improving how they approach learning
and how they study
 Quote from a ten year old: “Now I know about growing dendrites when I study
and get a good night’s sleep. Now when I’m deciding whether to watch TV or
review my notes, I tell myself that I have the power to grow brain cells if I
review. I’d still rather watch TV, but I do the review because I want my brain to
grow smarter. It’s already working and feels really good.”
 Teach activities to help focus and achieve positive mood, which results in better
learning of material:
o Visualization of place that is happy, calm, safe—lets new info flow into
the thinking brain
o Visualize lesson material and describe what you see—historical event,
meaning of a word, math procedure with “dancing numbers”
o Relaxation breathing at the start of class—calm, alert, focused
o Connect learning to brain changes and enough sleep
o Do a certain amount of repetition and practice—it sharpens the brain
o Encourage students to experiment and collect data on themselves (long
breaks vs short, multitask vs one task, music vs no music, work at desk or
on bed)
o Talk about why strategies like short breaks or connecting learning to
something pleasant works
o Have students make and keep a chart of level of effort vs results