As an instructor or anatomy & physiology, I am most intrigued by the physiology of the teenage brain and how it affects behavior. I have witnessed students struggle with depression and seen the devastation it has on their ability to excel academically. I have seen students unwilling to interact with peers and therefore miss out on beneficial collaborative learning activities. And I have experienced the frustration of students seemingly rushing through assessments only to demonstrate little understanding of concepts. And the list goes on……. It is frustrating to watch students in any of these situations, but I find that understanding the development of their brain and the behaviors that are related, is a positive way of appreciating the place that each of these student are currently in. They are in a state of brain development that interferes with the ‘adult’ behavioral norm. They simply do not have a brain that works like ours, the adults. Arthur Allen does a nice job of summing up these differences in the article “Risky behavior by teens can be explained in part by how their brains change” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/risky-behavior-by-teens-can-be-explained-in-part-by-how-their-brains-change/2014/08/29/28405df0-27d2-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.html Reading it helps to understand how the changing brain can account for the teen behaviors previously mentioned.
This image shows how the brain develops through early adulthood (the early 20’s). While it may sometimes be easy dismiss erratic, disruptive or seemingly lazy behaviors as teenage personality flaws, this evidence scientifically suggests that we should not do so.
Knowing about physical changes and the effect it has on teenage behaviors, helps educators empathize with their students. How we react to these behaviors is important in constructing an environment in which all students can learn. The video, written for adolescents, gives some important ideas that can be shared with students as we struggle to understand adolescence along with them. It is important to have conversations with students about their developmental level and guide them to navigate through what can be a frustrating or awkward period of life.
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