Hello 750-ers!
Welcome to your first online class. After you have watched the PBS Frontline episode, please respond thoughtfully and thoroughly to the prompt questions below. In addition, you must fully reply to at least two peers. This must be completed before 7:55 PM Thursday, which is the completion of our class that day.
Remember, I'm not looking for pat answers -- I've been doing this a
long time and can't abide something like, "This information is important
because it helps me understand my students." Yes, I know it does. Dig
deep, reflect, and make connections to your own experience. This is how you are receiving participation credit for today's class!
As a reminder, this is a public blog, so just be aware before posting identifying details in your discussion that this blog is open to both past and future students.
Thank you for a lovely first day of class -- I look forward to seeing you all Tuesday!
1. Discuss what new information you have learned about how the adolescent brain operates. How does it differ from a younger brain, and how does it differ from an older brain? What are some examples the video gave, and what are some examples you have seen in your own life and work that illustrate this? You may discuss your own experience with adolescents (your own or others, students or not).
2. Discuss the importance of sleep. What does the video present, and why is this important? What are some real world examples you have seen that illustrate what the video discusses?
3. What new information did you learn about how adolescents process information like facial expressions and emotions? What surprised you, or what is something new you learned?
4. How does this one-hour episode help you better understand how adolescents think and feel? How can you use this information in your current or future classroom? What is an event in your past working (or living!) with adolescents that you realize now, if you could go back, you might understand better after having this information?
1. It is interesting that the transition phase as an adolescent is very similar to the transition phase as a baby. During both stages, an unexpected growth spurt and overproduction of cells is observed in the frontal cortex of the brain. According to Dr. Giedd, this process usually occurs in the womb, especially in the first 18 months of life. However, once they observed the same children over a period of time, scientists discovered that the grey matter, which is the thinking portion of the brain thickens during adolescence. Although by age six, the brain is 95 percent of its adult size, the frontal cortex of the brain is still continuing to develop. This explains why certain teenagers are getting involved in risky behaviors. One teenager explains in the video, “I just get little scrapes. It’s not that risky.” Their executive functioning is still developing as they lack emotional control, self-monitoring and working memory. For instance, scientists Charles Nelson explained that his adolescent son often forgets to bring books from school. Similarly, Nicole has constant mood swings where at times she feels confused, and unhappy. She also fails to monitor her own emotions as sometimes she doesn’t even know what she is feeling.
ReplyDeleteAs I was watching the video, I was reminded of my own frequent outbursts during high school. During the spring semester of sophomore year, my lunch period was changed from 5th period to 7th period. I came home crying, upset and threw tantrums at my parents. I constantly repeated how my guidance counselor was evil and hated me. I spent an entire hour crying as I will not be able to sit with my friends in the cafeteria. It felt as I will be rejected by my friends. Peers play a huge role during adolescence, and most teenagers want to fit in into a group. As adults, we all like to stand out with our accomplishments, talents but I believe as teenagers, we would like to blend in as much as possible. As future educators, we should never embarrass our students in front of their classmates as it could be a casual remark that we made in class, but for our students it might be something that changes their lives forever.
2. According to the video, the average teenager should receive approximately 9.25 hours of sleep, but most teenagers receive 7.5 hours of sleep. Since Nicole received more REM sleep than Charlie, her level of improvement during certain tasks was greater compared to Charlie. For instance, during a task, Nicole improved by 11 %, while Charlie improved by 6%. This suggests a positive correlation between amount of sleep and academic success.
During my student teaching I observed that my students in 7th and 8th period Living Environment classes were more engaged compared to my 2nd and 3rd period classes. Many of the 9th graders often slept during class time. One time, one of my students even fell asleep during an exam. As a student teacher, I assumed that my student was uninterested in the subject. However, after watching this video I learned that it could have been due to the rapid changes occurring in their brain. In the future, I will look at students sleeping in class, forgetting their homework, and their sudden outbursts as a part of their adolescent development.
3. Through the video I learned that teenagers often misread certain facial expressions and emotions. For example, an adult identified the emotion presented in an image as fear while the teenagers identified the same emotion as shock and anger. The researchers discovered that in an adolescent the prefrontal cortex region is less activated while their brain portion that controls emotion is highly activated compared to an adult. This higher activation of the emotional region could explain why teenagers experience emotional outbursts, and misread facial expressions. This is highly important as their misreading of the facial expressions will influence how they behave. As teachers, we should try to establish a responsive classroom that aims to create a developmentally appropriate classroom environment.
Delete4. This one hour episode gave us an insight into the teenage brain. As a future educator, it is important to understand the teenage brain in order to establish a responsive classroom. In the video, many of the adolescents explained that they admire their parents the most and appreciate their presence in their life. As a teacher, I will strive to be positive role model for my students.
During my student teaching, one student would always sleep in my class. Student A would sleep during hands on activities, inquiry based activities, and even during a test. Throughout the weeks, I was convinced that student A was not interested in science and was not making an effort. However, after watching the video, I realized it’s a part of their development process. Student A was perhaps not getting enough REM sleep, which was negatively influencing his academics. In the future, I would be more understanding as a teacher if I meet another Student A again.
It is interesting to hear the differences in how students perform throughout different class periods. The example you gave about a student falling asleep during a test is great -- it shows that it's not the disinterest in the subject, but the little energy the student is running on when he or she doesn't have enough REM. Even if it's as something as important or intimidating as a test, a student cannot perform unless he or she is getting enough sleep. It's important to remind ourselves this and not make assumptions about a student's interest or integrity in the classroom!
DeleteIt is interesting to understand that teenagers do not fully comprehend emotions or facial expressions and are continuously learning to grasp emotions as their brains are maturing. As adults, we tend to often believe that since teenagers have physically grown they that have completely matured, but they are still learning how to control their emotions. It is vital that we begin to comprehend teenagers and not always assume that they are only taking risks. Therefore, we can build a more positive environment for our students.
DeleteI also took notice of the same teenager who earlier proclaims, "On some occasions I wear helmets but not that much." This young athlete essentially (albeit unknowingly) equated minor scrapes and bruises to a traumatic brain injury (TBI). He truly represented the perfect storm of invulnerability and the lack of executive function confronting the adolescent brain.
DeleteMahfuza, I completely agree with you when you said "Peers play a huge role during adolescence, and most teenagers want to fit in into a group." While the documentary took a focused look at the brain itself, I have to believe that there are underlying motivations, such as acceptance and belonging, that result in some of the phenomena in the brain. Perhaps students teach each other to recognize emotions in faces a certain way, for example. They certainly influence one another regarding how to respond to certain situations.
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DeleteI too have had similar issues with some of my classes. The time of the day in which a class is held can make such a difference. I dont think it necessarily is a direct result of the rapid changes in their brain though. I have noticed that classes held in the morning have a higher rate of focused students than ones held in the afternoon, especially after lunch. Students are more fresh and prepared for the day than later in the day, unless of course, they did not get the proper amount of sleep that they should. Think about us as adults, when we sleep well, we have better mornings. But as the day goes by, we feel tired and fatigued. I personally feel very tired on days I have work, and then have grad school right after and I am an adult. Just imagine how a teenager must feel.
DeleteHi, Mahfuza!
DeleteWhen I see your own experience you share with us, my own experience just come out of my brain. I know your feeling. When I was teenager, I always felt very lonely and unhelpful,nobody could understand what I was thinking. I don't not have the true friends to talk with. later, when I am teacher, I will try to avoid the situation. I will add more time to talk with them instead of only reaching them academic skills.
I would also associate a sleepy teen with a lack of interest in the subject, but despite the video associates this behavior with the adolescent's development, we also need to be aware of how to deal with this and do not let them do whatever they want in class.
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ReplyDelete1) From the video I learned that there are similarities between how a younger brain functions in comparison to that of an older brain in a teenager. Although initial development starts from within the womb, it’s interesting to see how it develops in wavelength spurts. For example, a baby’s brain is developing so rapidly in spurts that it’s almost something that happens without parents realizing it. As early as 1-2 weeks from birth, a baby can understand and interpret his mother’s voice through sound recognition. However, as a child develops into a teenager, the brain undergoes more growth spurts as it did in the “baby phase” and will continue to do so up until a person hits their 20’s. According to Dr. Charles Nelson of the University of Minnesota, This happens due to changes within the frontal cortex of the brain. I learned that the frontal cortex itself could simply be understood to be the “control center” in which the brain grows, develops, and sets the pathway for how teenagers interpret information later on as they grow and become an adult. I was shocked to find out that by age six, a child’s brain size has already developed at 95% to an adult brain size. The only difference is that the younger brain has much more development to go though. You wouldn’t think that an adult could house the same size brain as a 6 year old being that their head is typically smaller to the eye. Since the brain has much more maturing to do, teenagers are often times misunderstood. They are misunderstood from a communication and emotional/hormonal standpoint. Teenagers are usually seen as emotional, hormonal, and sometimes combative. I found this to be eye opening because I would make life much harder on my parents, when really they were doing what was in my best interest. I never understood that all of the mood swings were do in part to having an immature brain.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I see how mood swings differ between teenagers and adults through working with both groups at my job. As a college advisor that deals with a diverse group of students, I see first hand how younger students tend to carry the added weight of peer pressure, they are risk takers, and are more daring. They get a rise out of pushing the envelope, but adult learners tend to be more reserved, more diplomatic, and know how to communicate with tact.
Gregory,
DeleteI appreciate your thoughts about peer pressure in younger students. This is an issue that must play in greatly for adolescents in terms of cognitive development. The facial expression study used photos of adults only I believe. I wonder how this would have changed with peers instead? Do adolescents struggle to read facial expressions in each other or is it only adults? I'm wondering how peer pressure might be affected by emotional misreading and reacting.
Greg,
DeleteI have worked with different grades and have noticed the effect peer pressure has on students of a younger age. Students now a days want to be in the NOW and tend to forget that they still need an education. It has a huge effect on the student and their behavior, especially when they are in a classroom with almost 30 peers and they want to stand out.
2) According to Dr. Mary Carskadon of Brown University, she states that 9.25 hours of sleep are needed daily, but most teenagers’ fall a couple hours short on sleep (7.5 hours). This is important because young people (and possibly adults) that start their day off with a deficit of sleep tend to be less attentive in school, they experience an off balance of mood swings, and it affects their overall performance. From personal experience, I find this to be a strong observation. When I was younger, I was had problems getting enough sleep, and it caused me to not focus as hard as I should have when I was in high school. In classes that I found to be “boring”, I would not take the best notes, I wouldn’t retain the information, and I would ask questions repeatedly on information that was just recently discussed in class. Knowing what I know now, I think if I had gotten 9.25 hours of sleep daily, I probably would have had a different outlook on classes that I didn’t find interesting. Also, I probably would have given more effort towards wanting to learn the information and retaining it. I thought the approach taken in Minnesota to start school at a later hour was a great idea. It was proven to give students that additional hour to prepare or to just simply wake up! They saw an increase in student attendance and that seem to be a great corrective action. I could relate personally to how students stay up too late because there are too many outside influences that keep them up at night. Teenagers today have access to the Internet, cell phones, and other such items that distract them from getting the rest that’s needed to be attentive academically. In the video, a sleep test study was conducted between Charlie and Nicole to determine how both teenagers sleep. Charlie, who appears to be a normal student, could not perform as well as Nicole because he simply did not acquire enough REM sleep to perform basic tasks. Nicole on the other hand, was able to get a normal night’s sleep and out perform Charlie across the board. Based on the information given, Charlie could use more daily sleep. I’m sure that if Charlie added a few more hours of sleep to his daily routine, he himself (and his parents) will soon start to see changes in his daily mood swings. He may actually even want to get up and go to school.
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ReplyDelete3) I learned that adolescents misinterpret facial expression and emotions of adults. I was surprised at how young adolescent think that it’s the parents who do not understand them, but it’s in fact the opposite. Usually, adolescents think their parents are “out to get them”, they are too strict, and are always controlling. However, it’s not the case. The communication of language and emotion is what is misinterpreted. I feel that teenage students are at a stage in their brain development where risk factors are involved. They want to be daring; they want to explore and be inquisitive regardless of the consequences. Teenage students tend to want to learn by trial and error and not by guidance. I think this was a great study to learn from because I will now be able to keep that in mind with my future children as they progress in their brain development. Rather than jump to conclusion that my children (or future students) are just being irrational, I will now put more effort to ensure that we both understand each other and maintain clear lines of communication.
4) This one-hour episode helped me realize that adolescents are inevitably going to grow, and with growth comes maturation. I think that this video will prepare me to better maneuver my classroom, how to interact with my students, and how to bring out the best in them. I also feel that it will make for a better classroom environment that will drive communication reinforcement. I now will have a clear understanding of why teenagers feel the way they do. Furthermore, it will bring out the best in me as a teacher. Since I now have a better understanding of how the brain works in teenagers, I now know how to ask my current students clear-cut questions to make sure that they understand me when I deliver information to them. Most importantly, I know now how to understand them better. This will only make for a positive work environment for all.
Gregory Lawing
Greg,
DeleteI like how you pointed out how as the teenage brain develops, it itches for things like risk, also that they want to learn from trial and error and not from guidance. I don't think I would've known this if I didn't see this video and it's definitely a piece of interesting information. I definitely agree that it does help us prevent (whether it be with our students or our own children) jumping to conclusions about when a teenager is "just being an irrational teenager." It will allow us to understand them better and them to feel more connected to us or the classroom.
Greg,
DeleteI really appreciate the fact that you pointed out that inevitability. This is something that often gets overlook when dealing with a young mind, for whatever reason/ multiple reasons. And that with time comes growth for the most part, and it is equally important to allow that growth process to occur in our youth.
I think its so important to try to understand them and remember that we were once in their shoes. Like the video stated, kids just want us to understand them. I remember as a teenager myself, I always wanted to be able to talk to my mother without her on my back 24/7 and interrogating me. I wanted to share certain things, but didnt think I could because I didnt have that relationship. An open safe communication line is so important. Teenagers need to feel like they can trust adults.
Delete1. Watching the video I found that the adolescent brain develops just as much as what we think of as the most formative developmental stage—1-3 years old. I also found it surprising to learn that there are complex differences in the brain of a 13 year old compared to the brain of an adult. Before watching this video, I might have associated the 13 year old brain closer to one of the adult, if any, but I’m seeing now that the adolescent brain is an entirely separate (and large) stage of development in and of itself. An example the video gave was the difference of where the brain responds to certain things: in an adult, reactions may come from the frontal cortex. Yet in an adolescent, it may come from a lower area of the brain, triggering an emotional reaction rather than something more thoughtful or logical.
ReplyDeleteWhile I wasn’t fully aware of this, I cannot say I am the most surprised. I think of my teenage years and how little I understood my emotions. One minute I would be laughing with my sister and the next I was crying in my bedroom. And, like one girl in the video, I’d be able to shake it off as though I was never upset in the first place, continuing on in whatever fun we were having. (It would be kind of nice to have the last part of that teenage brain back now…)
2. In the video, teenagers who were not sleeping enough were examined and the results were akin to one suffering from a major sleep disorder. The average teenager collects about 7.5 hours of sleep a night, which is almost two less hours than they require. This effects their mood, their ability to think, and their ability to perform and react appropriately. It was interesting to see the improvement of administered exercises before and after a good night of rest. However I am not surprised — I was the student in high school constantly falling asleep in class. Lessons seemed to drag on for hours, and some days I would come home not being able to recall anything I had been taught that day. Sure, I had some boring teachers, but the little sleep I would get made school nearly impossible some days. I think this is particularly important in high school, where students are more likely to be staying up late watching television or texting their friends. Teachers may find students falling asleep in their class as a mark of disrespect, but I don’t think it should be thought of as so. Some students, like one boy in the video, simply cannot fall asleep at night. No one is to particularly blame because he is tired— it is a symptom of being an adolescent. One way we can improve upon this is teaching students that they are quite literally at an advantage when the sleep. They perform better the next day, and their REM reinforces what they’ve learned the day before. It is a more enticing piece of advice than simply saying “you’ll feel better.”
Paige, I like your thought process regarding teachers seeing "sleeping in class" as a mark of disrespect-- and how you don't feel that it's the case. I agree with you. From experience, till this day, I have no clue how I passed HS Geometry. The class in particular was my final class period of the day. It was long, boring, and I just did not have the energy to stay awake for it. By 1:45pm, I was mentally exhausted from trying to just stay awake in the classes that I had early on in the day. I went to a school that had block scheduling (classes were 90 mins long), and I'm almost positive that I slept for 70 of the 90 minutes. I feel if the class was shorter (the traditional seven 45 minute long classes), I probably would have had been more alert. When I think back on my actions, I find that it was because I just did not go to bed at a reasonable hour. I was not attentive, I did not put my best effort towards the class, and unfortunately earned a mediocre grade. I was thankful for that grade though, as it was needed to graduate. I'm sure my teacher thought I was just lazy and disrespectful across the board, because my progress reports would indicate that I could try harder. She was 100% correct. I didn't try my best. Aside from that, I think my teacher probably should have pulled me to the side to ask me why was I so tired in her class. Maybe a little intervention, encouragement, and motivation would have been the appropriate course of action. After watching this video, this will be something that I will be on the look-out for in my future students. I will bear in mind that the students I plan to teach are growing beings, and they're simply going through and adolescent growth phase.
DeleteI also had similar experiences during high school. Throughout the entire school year, I would often fall asleep in my US History class. I tried to be attentive in class, but it was impossible to keep my eyes open. My teacher even changed my seats, multiple times. I used to sit in the back, and then my teacher changed my seat to the front of the class. After a month, she changed my seat again. After three months, my teacher gave up and just let me sleep in class. I often felt guilty of sleeping in the class. I wish my teacher could have explained what I was going through. I still wonder if changing seats make a difference in student attentiveness or attitude. Sometimes adolescent do not understand what is happening to them, or why they feel the way they do. In the future, I will reach out to my students first instead of waiting for them to ask for help.
DeleteMahfuza,
DeleteI have the same question! What can we as teachers do aside from changing seats? How do we battle this lack of sleep in the classroom? Perhaps it is our responsibility to be vocal about what we are seeing in our own students and help advocate for them to get the things they need to succeed? And how do we help them battle increasing distractions? I know I still spend far too long attached to a screen before bed. I know it isn't good for me and keeps me from falling asleep as quickly as I might. If I had an iPhone when I was in high school, I would have gotten even less sleep! Perhaps we can help educate our students about managing their distractions.
Paige,
DeleteI too remember that emotional rollercoaster. It was scary to not feel in control of my reactions. Everything felt like life or death in the moment. But then I had trouble remembering the previous moment. This might be a gift. If we remembered every strange reaction or mean response we had as teenagers, we might have trouble maintaining those relationships now. I get flashes of terrible things I said to my parents or friends back then and try to quickly put them behind me. It is amazing our parents put up with the yo-yo for so long. I wonder if they remember the details better than we do. I'm certainly going to ask mine.
Paige,
DeleteI also found myself falling a sleep in class since I only slept an average of about 7 hours a night. I slept way below the 9.25 hours that is recommended for adolescent to sleep. I was too young at the time to really understand the importance of sleep. My parents always told me to go to sleep earlier but I never took their advice. Perhaps, it was the fact that my mom never went to sleep early and so it did not help me sleep early. My son is 13 months now and I hope to really stress the importance of sleep when he is much older.
Paige,
DeleteIt's great to see that most of us came to the same conclusion concerning sleep and how the lack thereof effects students relationships with their teachers. Just as the students studied on this episode of Frontline misread adults facial expressions, I think often teachers can misread the behavior or body language of teens. It is important for all of us as teachers to take this into consideration and I think it's wonderful that you can relate to teens by remembering your own experience as a teen.
I think your point that teachers often misread the behavior or body language of teens is really important. Even though I can remember being a teen and being so tired in class that I would doodle or talk to friends to try and stay awake, but even with those memories, I still take it personally when students fall asleep in my class. In those situations, I find it really helpful to take a step back and take all of the factors discussed in this video into consideration. However, I, like, several others on this thread, am confused about what the next step is. Once you've been able to draw on your own experiences as a teen as a source of empathy, how can we as teachers help our students stay awake in the classroom? The video mentioned the Minneapolis School District's decision to begin the school day later, and I personally think that should be considered here as well. But without control of the school start time or our students' sleeping patterns, what can we do in our own classrooms?
DeletePaige, I agree about how teachers may agree that students sleeping in their class is viewed as disrespectful. Students may definitely find it difficult to sleep due to distractions such as tv shows, interactions with friends, the vast use of the internet and also texting. Even I remember as a teenager, I would often sleep rather late because I got caught up texting a friend or watching a late movie on a school night. Now, are there any possible methods to maintain our students focused and awake? Probably, students need to engage in interesting activities in class to remain focused.
DeleteDear Paige,
DeleteI share your idea regarding our years as adolescents. As you mentioned, it is difficult to understand their feelings and emotions since they are growing and developing emotional and physically. One of the things that I learned during this video was how their brain establish different connections using differently sides, which lead to miscommunication with adults. Sometimes this occurs me with my children and students, some days they are happy, others sad. I am pretty sure that after watching this video, I will be able to understand their emotions better.
ReplyDelete3. One study conducted mapped the differences between the adult and the teen brain. The MRI for the 13 year-old brain showed teenagers were not able to correctly read all the feelings in the adult face shown. Furthermore, they found that teenagers may find anger and sadness when they may not be there.The video said that if this inability to recognize correct facial emotions is in fact the case, then there is an inevitable discrepancy: the adult will feel one way and the child will react in a way that may not always follow suit. I found this particularly interesting—it seems like some kind of “proof” to my 9th grade self that it wasn’t entirely all “my fault” for whatever miscommunication happened with my parents. As I mentioned before, I think the study that showed the teenage brain reacting from a lower part (denoting a emotion-based reaction) seems entirely accurate upon reflection.
4. I’ve taken away a few important pieces of information from this video. Being tired, forgetful, and sometimes suddenly emotional are not simply stereotypes of teenagers. Nor do they create these issues themselves. These all factor into the stage of their cognitive development. As teachers we should remind ourselves of this and use it to help students in the classroom, rather than to hinder them. I think it would be beneficial to share this information with students, not only teachers, that way they don’t have to feel as misunderstood—and therefore disconnected—while in the classroom.
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ReplyDelete1. This video provides interesting information on the development of the teenage brain. The teenage brain is compared to the young brain due to the large wavelength growth spurts throughout its development. According to Dr. Jay Giedd, the process can occur in the womb or even throughout the first 18 months of their life, but also this development occurs throughout their adolescence when there is a large wavelength growth spurt in the frontal cortex of the brain. It is surprising to understand that although the brain by age six has developed 95% of its adult size, the gray matter continues to thicken creating connections and grasping information throughout their childhood and adolescence. The video surprised me with the information about teenagers and their "risky behavior". According to Dr. Charles Nelson, since the frontal cortex of the brain has not fully matured, teenagers may not usually make the best decisions, and are more intrigued in taking risks. It makes sense now because as adults, we are more conscious about taking risks or avoiding danger rather than teenagers.
ReplyDeleteThis video reminds me of how I was when I was a teenager. I would often disagree with my parents, I would cry, throw large fits for minimal things such as a bad news from a friend or even when my parents would not let me go out with my friends. During that time, I honestly believed that mostly everyone was against me or did not want to see me happy. I realize now that as a teenager I could not fully control all my emotions or anything minimal would bother me. I realized that teenagers tend to have mood swings, feel uncomfortable with their surroundings, may have experienced peer pressure or they just find it simple to make risky decisions. Teenagers may tend to push boundaries and can be bolder when it comes their actions rather than adults.
2. The video explains that sleep is vital in the adolescence stage, as teenagers engage in school and may not focus properly as a result from the lack of sleep. According to Dr. Mary Carskadon, in order for teenagers to remain alert and focused throughout the day, it requires an amount of 9 1/4 hours of sleep, but teenagers are only acquiring 7 1/2 hours of sleep, which narrows their rest time and may affect their learning. Not only teenagers seem less focused in the beginning of the day, their energy builds up again throughout the day and become more alert by the time nightfall arrives as opposed to adults. For example, in the experiment by Professor Carlyle Smith, Nicole and Charlie experienced improvement patterns based on the REM hours of sleep. As the two teenagers regrouped three days later to discuss the results, it was shown that Nicole improved greater in all activities than Charlie due to the increase in the REM hours of sleep. This is important because this concludes that teenagers who acquire more hours of sleep, are more focused and work more efficiently the next day, rather than teenagers who only sleep a couple of hours.
This video reminds me of when I would sub for both middle school and high school. I did notice that the students who were in the afternoon classes performed well than in the morning periods, especially 1st period. It is interesting how the students from the 1st period class were often distracted with their surroundings and were not focused on the lesson rather than the students who were in the 6th or 7th period class. This correlates with how students are more aware and alert as the day progresses, rather that when the school day has just begun.
I have also noticed how middle and high school students gain energy as the day progresses. In the morning classes, the students are like zombies, so many of them basically sleep walk through the first few periods of class. But by sixth, seventh and eighth period they are whirlwinds of energy, hurricanes gathering up speed. I wonder how come adjustments have not been made in the way we educate the adolescent student?
Delete3. Based on the video, I understand that teenagers do not fully comprehend emotions, facial expressions or can simply misinterpret them. I find it surprising that teenagers cannot fully distinguish different types of emotions and facial expressions (such as shock, anger or fear). Teenagers usually believe that adults think the worst of them and that they do not make the right decisions. According to seen students who automatically become defensive when an adult is giving them advice or reach out to them when they do not request any approximation. It is interesting how they see these types of actions as a form of reprimand rather than constructive criticism. Therefore, I have learned that teenagers may not view things similarly as adults do and it is vital to bond and understand them, with the purpose of helping them and creating a positive environment.
ReplyDelete4. This episode helped to better comprehend that teenagers have a different approach on their understanding and their emotions. I realized that although teenagers are physically grown, their emotions and their brain are continuously growing and have not fully matured yet. This information is vital for my future classroom because I am fully aware that all teenagers are in a phase where they are experiencing different emotions and are trying to find themselves. As a future educator, it is required to be patient and comprehensive towards teenagers due to the fact that their brains and emotions are still developing. An event that occurred recently, one of the students in the classroom that I was subbing for, the student would always become defensive when the teacher or I would reiterate that she had to complete the assigned task for that period. What I learned from this video is that as adults, we may think that they student does not care about the assignment and that we as adults are against them. As educators, we should approach our students and begin to comprehend their emotions and what is occurring in their lives. If we understand teenagers and realize that they are maturing, as educators we can build a more positive environment as students realize that we are actually there to help them and not criticize them. Thus, understanding teenagers not only helps with their development, but it also creates a better environment for both teachers and students.
Elizabeth: Great point regarding teachers being there as a support system and not a dictator/critic. I feel that students need to really understand their roles as students and our roles as educators as well. Simply put, it has to be that way so order can be maintained in the classroom too! I also think there has to be a fine line between patience versus authority when dealing with young adults. At the end of the day, they are there to learn from us, and the only way they can do that is to feel a level of trust and respect on both ends. In dealing with my students at work. I feel they are seeking this ongoing give and take relationship. "You do for me, and I do for you". It's pretty interesting how their minds work.
DeleteA student may not realize that they are experiencing an abundance of brain development changes, but we as educators can be that one to show them that you get "more with honey than with vinegar". It's easier to embrace your support system because they make the learning environment better for ever! Teenagers have so much peer pressure to act out, show off in front of their friends; their emotions are running wild, and they simply are just thrown into situations to just survive. I think this is why we are educators. So we can get our students to see the world through a different set of eyes and to see things profoundly.
Greg Lawing
I agree with the give and take relationship where most students abide by, “You do for me, and I do for you.” I have noticed that students seek respect and fairness more than knowledge. It is the relationship of respect between the student and the teacher that serves as a foundation for learning. During my 2nd period class, I had a Student B who would often come late to class. In order to motivate him in class, I used positive reinforcement. I also allocated more time to help him as I circulated the classroom during group discussions. Once the student realizes that the teacher is trying his/her best to help them, eventually they will respond. Slowly, I noticed Student B making small changes. He started to arrive early to class and started to participate more in class. At the end of the semester, Student B started to attend tutoring sessions and ask questions about various scientific topics. It was amazing how little things such as a praise can make a difference and serve as a pathway to motivate a student.
DeleteGreg: I absolutely agree with your comment. It is true that we need to place a fine line between creating a healthy relationship with students but also, making an assertive and learning environment for students. I think the "you do for me, and I do for you" is a great approach for both educators and students.
DeleteMahfuza: I also agree with your comment in how small comments of reassurance leads to long term positive results for students. I noticed that students respond well when teachers help them little by little and give respect, which leads to a positive outcome for learning. Motivation is important for students to progress in school!
Elizabeth,
DeleteUnderstanding that adolescent do not interpret facial and emotional expressions, we need to be able to control are emotions and keep are personal problems outside the classroom. We cannot wear our emotions on our sleeves because are students will pick up on them and their reactions may not be suitable in the classroom. I need to work on that since is very easy for me to show my emotions through my facial expressions.
Maryori, you are establishing a valid point. Sometimes as adults we do tend to show our emotions through our facial expressions and students can also view that. Controlling our emotions and leaving our personal issues outside the classroom is beneficial both for the students as well as the teachers.
DeleteDoña Elizabeth,
DeleteSomething that I noticed when I teach my students or talk to my nephews is that I try to hold back emotion. I don't try to show any emotion to my students and I think it is the same with most Adults who work with adolescents, we tend not to show emotions to them in order to keep our composure as well as not show them a sign of weakness. I think how adults express themselves has a huge effect on the way students/teens perceive the meaning of different facial expressions.
Elizabeth, I find your interpretation of the section on emotions similar to my own. I also thought that the teens in the MRI were processing the emotions of fear as anger and shock because that's what they've come to expect from adults. I think it's awesome that you have that in mind and that you recognize the differences in how adolescents process their emotions about themselves and how perceive the way adults feel toward them.
DeleteHi all! I missed our first class together but am looking forward to meeting you all on Tuesday.
ReplyDelete1. I found this episode really illuminating. I learned that the transition into adolescence features the same rate of frontal cortex growth as the transition from womb to baby. Cognitive flexibility is being developed and tested. Consequences for specific actions are not fully grasped yet. Risk-taking and a lack of responsibility come naturally. In a younger child, asking for help is much easier, play is expected, and sleep comes more easily. In an older brain, we assess emotions in others with more logic. In a teen brain, facial expressions in others are assessed more heavily in the emotional regions of our brains. This helps illuminate the reactivity of many teens.
I really appreciated the idea that teenagers struggle to get many things they need to succeed, such as adequate sleep and play. I was really interested in the video's examples of learning with and without proper sleep. The difference in skill growth in a well-rested student versus a sleepy student was staggering. I also appreciated the video's examples of emotional conversations between the Rhode Island brother and sister that seemed quite dramatic but was quickly resolved and seemingly forgotten. It gives me context for the wacky energy my students frequently bring into my classroom. As a drama teacher, I get to provide play in some version or another every day. Sometimes, teenagers struggle to stay focused and in control while playing in my class. They easily get carried away with "fun" activities and go too far. They cannot control their reactions to their peers. This may be because of their developing emotional regulation and lack of freedom to play in other areas of their lives.
2. Sleep seems to be one of the key components to success in the teenage years. The video showed many familiar scenes of yawning students struggling to stay awake, let alone comprehend new information in a classroom. I was surprised to learn that most teens are lacking 2 hours of necessary sleep each night. I remember sleeping until midday many weekends as a teenager myself. I have frequently been frustrated in my own classroom by sleepy students and their lack of energy. I've read it as a lack of interest. I taught an 8th Grade Drama class first period for the past two years. The information presented in this video helps me understand that my students' lack of energy in the morning was more tied to their own need for sleep than a disinterest in the subject. Though I am not sure how to best address this issue as a teacher. I will have to keep thinking about it!
While this was not covered in the video very extensively, I like how you pointed out that a lack of play was something that was lacking. I have read a couple of reports and studies that show when a school increases gym or recess their test schools go up (http://www.today.com/parents/want-kids-listen-more-fidget-less-try-more-recess-school-t65536).
DeleteI also feel like the lack of sleep was underreported. They said 2 hours then based that off of the children needing 9 hours of sleep, but only getting 7.5. I feel like that is being very generous. When I was in high school (even now) I almost never get 7.5 hours of sleep and now that there's so many more things keeping us up (internet, netflix, iphones, etc) I feel like the gap between needed sleep and gotten sleep has gotten even wider.
Janie,
DeleteAs a drama teacher myself, I definitely relate to your experiences of students bringing in wacky energy to the classroom. I think a lot of times, play is kept out of the classroom because there is a fear of losing control of the students, or allowing that wacky energy to take over and surpass any and all objectives you might have had for the day. Even though as drama teachers we are all about play, I find myself having those moments of fear or wanting control too. It was very illuminating for me to watch the mom of those two teens sit and calmly listen while the argument ebbed and flowed, and gave me a new strategy to use when some of my students get carried away. She obviously knows her kids very well, and can tell whether she needs to intervene or not, and when she decided she didn't need to, she waited for the storm to pass. I definitely plan to incorporate that strategy into my own teaching practice.
3. I was totally surprised by the information presented in the video about interpreting facial expressions. It often feels like there is a lack of understanding and clear communication between teenagers and adults. Culturally, we tend to roll our eyes at their overreactions and attribute the dramatic behavior to hormones. This video helped me understand that teenagers might just be experiencing our interactions in different ways. If they react first with emotion before logic and misinterpret our reactions, clear communication becomes very difficult. This information makes me even more excited to teach drama. I think it could be a great place to practice reading emotional cues from others and controlling our reactions. If the teenage years are a journey to more self-control and cognitive flexibility, I have a great opportunity to help them along in their journey.
ReplyDelete4. This episode gives me more empathy for the adolescent experience. I was really struck by the contradiction they experience between wanting independence and needing our help. It inspires me as a teacher to not give up on a student who seems resistant to my influence. And it reminds me that we all, adolescent or adult, can struggle to ask for help. I want to model that behavior for my students and make it okay to admit when you are in over your head. I have a 14-year-old niece and we've always been quite close. She is starting to really push me away but still asking to communicate regularly. We FaceTime when she requests it but then I get frustrated when she has nothing to say. This episode has inspired me to not get discouraged. She is asking to talk because she needs something from me. It is important for me to not give up on her in those moments. I am reinterpreting some of our past interactions and trying to shift my perspective in the future.
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DeleteJanie, great point on how students may actually need our help and we should keep on encouraging even though the student may resist at first. It is understandable that since teenagers are still deciphering emotions and facial expressions, they may place a wall, but as educators we should never give up and continue to give words of reassurance because this way students can begin to find trust in their teachers and therefore create a positive environment.
DeleteHi Janie,
DeleteI agree with you on many of your points. After watching the program I definitely sympathize with the kids I have worked with. I was very surprised as well when the face recognition studies concluded teenagers may not interpret the same thing we do because of the different parts of the brain we are each using. The eye rolling example you mentioned is spot on. A student rolling their eyes at an adult can be seen incredibly disrespectful but the student may not realize it is. Also, as a mom it is challenging to have your child want their independence. With the video it eases my worry of my child not needing me anymore because in reality they really do and now more than ever.
Janie,
DeleteI agree with you that the source of much of the conflict between students and adults is miscommunication. In addition to the brain developing, I think students this age suddenly find themselves in adult bodies but don't have the experience to behave like adults. Nor should they. I think the examples in this have been valuable to all of us by reminding us to pay close attention to the nuances in the behavior of teens. Teaching drama seems like an interesting way to teach different perspectives not only for the students but for the teachers as well.
I agree with the idea with you share with Janie. It is very important to talk with teenager and help them solve the problem with their parents. It is because that teenagers don't have the ability to completely understand the communication with their parents and friends. Their brains are not built completely. As a teacher, we indeed pay more attention to the teens students.
Delete1 I learned that as adolescence approaches a significant growth spurt occurs before puberty even though by age 6 the brain has grown 95% of its totality. I also learned that pruning takes effect by discarding unused information/connections in the brain. It is fascinating how a teenagers perception differs from an adult and how a teen will partake in riskier behavior. The video show's a young boy stating "I only get a little scrape" and shares he wears a helmet on occasion as he does skating tricks. The dangers of not wearing a helmet are completing absent from his thought process. In comparison to a responsible adult who would wear a helmet or a child who would wear a helmet because was told to do so. Dr.Geidd explains hormones aren't solely responsible for raging emotions but the changes happening in the frontal cortex of the brain. As the frontal cortex is developing their decision making and thought process lets a teen feel invincible.
ReplyDeleteThis growth spurt in the brain relates to puzzling and surprising emotions that I see emerge in my students. On a daily basis I can see the different facets of emotional processing when comparing a 1st grader and a 5th grader. On occasion I see one of my students come in very talkative and eager to greet me and the next day not want to talk at all. The video allows me to understand in depth why and how an adolescents are thinking and feeling. That it is not their fault but their frontal cortex’s.
2.
The video shows sleep is an important factor for every person but most importantly for a teenager. When a teenager gets a good long night sleep it can play a factor in how well they may do on a test next morning . An experiment conducted by Carlyle Smith concluded a good night's sleep resulted in better functioning in cognitive tasks. Even though a good night sleep is crucial, falling asleep for some teens is difficult on it’s own. The video presents a set of teens agreeing how difficult it is for them to fall asleep at night. The lack of asleep adolescents are getting is due to their internal clocks delaying the time they go to sleep. They are falling asleep later at night yet waking up at the same time to go to school. It becomes difficult to wake up and once awake they feel drowsy and lack energy . The lack of sleep effects how they function throughout the day not allowing to use their full potential in school. The 9 hour recommended hours of sleep are so important school districts have altered the time in order for high school students to get more sleep and perform better in school.
3.
ReplyDeleteIt was very surprising for me to learn that teenagers have a hard time deciphering their own emotions and hard for them to understand adult emotions as well. An experiment conducted by Deborah Yurgelun- Todd showed adults and teenagers use different parts of their brain to make out facial expressions and emotions. I believe that the difference of interpretation of a teenager in relation to an adult’s, plays a big part in the lack of communication many parents have with their teenage son and daughters. Often this leads to misunderstandings and information getting lost as one thing is understood differently by each person.
4.This episode helped me learn and understand that teenagers not only go through a physical growth spurt but a rapid growth and development in their brain as well. Many times during the video I thought to my self “oh no wonder it all makes sense now”. Yes, I was aware adolescence is a difficult stage but did not realize how different and complex a teenager’s brain is from an adult‘s. I believe that the term “ young adults” is wrongfully used or shouldn’t be used at all. The adolescence are not children or adults they are teenagers. Teenagers do not think or act as adults, they engage in risky behavior and do not have proper knowledge of emotions. The term “young adult” puts high expectations on a teenager that they simply can not live up to because their brain is not prepared to do so.
As I mentioned earlier daily I get a variety of different emotions from my students. I have come across students that cry or become agitated in a split seconds. I had a beautiful student who started to laugh uncontrollably and cry at the same time during a math lesson. I asked what was wrong and as she cried and laughed simultaneously and said she was remembering her grandfather dieing years ago. I was puzzled, I did not know what to say but to send her for a walk and have her get a drink of water. Looking back I realized that she could not control her emotions. She laughed in order to distract her peers from her sadness yet could not hold back her tears. Knowing the changes her brain was going through I could’ve sat down and talked to her more in depth about how she was feeling and letting her know it was ok to be sad.
After watching the video I am much more aware why adolescence can be hard not only for teenagers but for parents and teachers as well. With this new information I can construct different ways on how to approach my students. As well as educate and help parents that might be having a difficult time unde
1. The adolescent brain goes through a second major brain production through a series of prunes and organizing the neurological pathway similar to that of an infant in the first 18 months. In a younger brain it’s forming the base and the overall skeleton of it but during puberty the brain goes through a greater level of development. The older brain is pretty much established but development still takes place but not as much as the younger and adolescent brain.
ReplyDeleteThe video makes a comparison between an infant and an adolescent that both have tantrums but express it in different ways. It’s another phase of child development. I remember my brother when he was 12 years old asking for a new toy that came out and when my parents would not provided it, he will go into a tantrum. So here we have a 5ft. tall adolescent behaving similarly to a toddler having a tantrum. This new information helps me see adolescent in a new light.
2. Based on the video adolescents are getting too little sleep. The average amount of sleep that adolescents get is 7.5 hours. However, they need 9.25 hours of sleep for optimum brain operation. Sleep is important because it affects their mood, memory and learning. The video presents a series of tasks that show how Nicole, who slept more than Charlie, performed better in those tasks. In the other tasks, Nicole improved by 44%, while Charlie only improved by 10%. This means that having a good amount of sleep is crucial on the capability to learn. I have seen in the case of my brother who did not like to sleep and it was very difficult for him to get up for school. As a result his grades were not very good and now I understand the cause of it.
3. Adolescents process facial expressions and emotions very different than adults. Their perspective on the expressions was completely off and it’s proof that their brain is still developing and has not reached maturity yet. It surprised me that the adolescents are not able to process facial expressions and emotions correctly, and it’s believed that this is due to the adolescent using a different part of the brain to process facial and emotional expressions. Even though most young people feel they are misunderstood, this finding shows that the opposite is true, and the adolescent don’t process this area correctly leading to inappropriate behavior.
4. You may assume that the adolescents are approaching maturity given their physical development, however their brain is still undergoing major development during puberty. This information will help me to be more understanding and patient working with the students and not assume they know how to behave or do something. They are not adults and may need to be taught how to be socially appropriate, or behave in the classroom. I can find myself many times losing my patients when working with adolescents. I remember I was helping a group of adolescents to perform a play at a church. During the practices they would be on their cell phones and have side conversations. I felt so disrespected and I wanted to yell. I got very frustrated from that event. However, with this new information, even they may seem grown, they have not developed emotionally and their brains are still undergoing development, therefore I need to keep that in mind so I can keep my sanity and not take it personal.
Maryori Casado.
Maryori, I agree with your comment on how we should understand students and how patience is important in a classroom. We may think teenagers have developed physically; however, teenagers are still learning and their brains are continuously developing. I experienced a similar situation like yours at a high school in regards to students and their phones. Although you may repeat to the students to put away their phones, it is a challenge for them to break away from technology. Adults may get frustrated, but it is all a work in progress. We should learn to comprehend teenagers, which can lead to long-term benefits.
DeleteHi Maryori,
DeleteThe experience you shared about your brother having a toddler's tantrum at the age of 12 is a great example the growth spurt a human has as an infant and in adolescence. It is interesting how your brother was almost as tall as an adult but had a tantrum similar to a toddler. Again you had a first had experience on how the lack of sleep affected your brother's performance in school.A good point mentioned on question number 4 is that a lot of us assume that adolescents even though look like adults on the outside the brain is undergoing major development. With this information we are a lot more well aware and educated on why teens act the way they do.As you wrote not taking your students behavior personally is a great tip for current and future teachers.
Luz
While watching this video, my fifteen year-old self related to the young man when he was talking about wanting to get out of his parent's house as soon as possible (and being very open about it in front of his parents). It was a really good clip for the producers of the show to use to compare with the interview of the researcher explaining frontal cortex development in teens. These children's parents have invested in them, probably asking little in return. For someone in their twenties to make such comments would seem rude and presumptuous but it is understood that the young man's comments are without malice considering his age. Although I remember having the same feelings at that age of needing to escape, I don't recall ever being so bluntly vocal about it.
ReplyDeleteSleep is a topic that I've been thinking a lot about recently in my personal life. I've had a career for over ten years with a schedule that makes having a normal sleep schedule impossible. In addition to working twelve to fifteen hours a day on average, I may start work at seven A.M. on Monday one week and then four P.M. the following. The weekend, which is supposed to be the time to refresh, amounts to two days of lethargy and low-productivity. When the segment covered the way lack of sleep affects students, a lot of the behavior I've seen in students in the classroom in the past made a lot of sense. In addition to understanding certain students who I've seen regularly tired and "cat-napping" in the classroom, I can now relate to them as well.
Last year in the classroom where I did my fieldwork, a student complained to their parents about the teacher not liking them and this got back to the teacher. I had been observing this student and the teacher and saw no evidence of the teacher not liking this particular student. When the researcher in the film discussed her research with facial expressions and adult -vs- adolescent reactions, it was the first example that came to mind. I never thought that this child was misrepresenting the truth, I believed that she felt as thought the teacher didn't like her but
I couldn't see why. I found it interesting and was curious what the outcome would have been had she been part of that experiment.
I think this was a worthwhile Frontline to watch. The bottom line is that children that age have developing brains and a developing brain can have a hard time communicating with a fully developed brain. It was nice to see that the parents of the children featured in the video seemed to understand this and had the patience to tolerate the mood swings and other behaviors that were a result of their growth.
I can very much related to your comment about a student claiming a teacher doesn't like that. And I agree, only in VERY extreme cases do I find that a teacher ever dislikes a student so much that's obvious. Though I liked your point about neither the student nor the teacher being wrong. The teacher did not dislike the student, but because of teenagers inability to properly read facial expressions and emotions, he honestly thought the teacher didn't like him, he wasn't being dramatic or hyperbolic, he truly thought that, so while he was wrong (I hope), it is understandable why he would think that.
DeleteI wonder if the findings on how teens interpreted the facial expressions of adults say anything about how teens interpret each other's expressions (facial, verbal, etc.). I also recall in the documentary that teens sometimes self-reflect because they are surprised at what comes out of their mouths. Do they view their emotional reactions in a narrow set of terms (e.g. happy, sad)? How does child brain development impact the emotional development and the range and complexity of a teen's emotional understanding? Those are some ideas and questions I had.
DeleteI couldn't agree with you more about the relating to your 15 year old self wanting to leave the house. I had this very same view/ opinion while watching this scene play out in front of my eyes. I feel almost foolish at this point in my life to even have had these views, much like you said, these parents have invested a tremendous about of time and resources raising these teenagers and all he can think about is getting out of the house. How foolish was I to think like this, now that I am on my own, I often wish I could just go back to my parents house and live for free.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe teenage brain is different from a younger brain because the teenage brain has gone through a pruning process that has not yet occurred in the younger brain. Pruning occurs as the brain develops, the parts of the brain that are not being used get weaker and more are eliminated, for example, someone who reads a lot, the part of their brain that is involved in reading will stay stronger whereas someone who does will have a pruning process and will not be as strong of a reader.
ReplyDeleteIt is different from an older brain because it has not quite finished developing. The brain goes through a growth spurt very similar so that of an infant. For example, the teenage brain has difficult properly labeling facial expressions and emotions.
An example of this would be one of my students will ask for something and if the answer is "no" she will think I am mad at her and that's why I said no. She has difficulty reading my facial expressions and my emotion even when I use a neutral affect.
Sleep is among the most important things you can do for your body. The video states that the average teenager needs roughly 9 hours of sleep, but only gets 7.5 hours. I feel like even this is an overestimate because the teenagers they interviewed noted they went to sleep at midnight or even 1 or 2 am, and if they have to get at school by 8 or 9, and accounting for the amount of time it takes to get up (which was also illustrated to take a long time) then these teens are getting well under 7.5 hours, maybe even 5-6 hours. Some school have started school later to have the student get more sleep, but then on the other end of the day, they'll be missing out on after school activities such as sports because they're still in school. These afterschool activities are also important for brain development.
Some real world examples I have seen are inside my own classroom, a student will be especially cranky or edgy and then you will find out they didn't sleep well the night before. This happens to me too, on nights that I don't get a proper amount of sleep, I have less energy and patience, it's harder for me to stay engaged and present and I have a full developed brain, it so much more severe to these students whose brains are still changing.
When teenagers were shown a picture of a facial expression and asked to identify it, they saw shock and anger whereas adults saw fear. Teens use a different part of the brain to assess facial expressions and emotions. This changes my perspective on why teenagers act this way. Before, I just assumed it was because they were moody teens whose hormones and body changes made them more agitated in general, but it turns out it's all a misunderstanding because their brains are seeing an emotion that isn't being expressed by their parents or other adults.
This helps me realize that there is a science behind why teenagers act the way they do and that it's not just "hormones" or "teenagers behind teenagers" there is an actual, scientific reason behind it and because of this it is easier to interact with them, be patient with them, and not take things so personally. I find that if there is a legitimate reason behind it, I have a lot more patience and it's a lot easy to handle it.
My students are all at this age, so there are a lot of things. A specific example would be a conversation I was having with a student where they wanted to go out for lunch. I had to think about it for a second, make sure there was enough staff in the classroom so I could go with him and what time we could go. After a very few moments, he got mad and stormed off. I know realize he misread my facial express as anger when I probably was just thinking hard, but as I think about it now my furrowed brow could look like I was displaying a negative emotions, like anger or frustration, so he could have easily misread it as that.
1. Before watching Frontline’s “Inside the Teenage Brain,” I had not realized that the brain experiences growth “spurts,” both in infancy and in adolescence, and that those are the only two times during its development that it grows at such a rapid pace. The video compared it to the growth of a tree; during infancy, or the first few years of life, the brain grows at a rapid place, but during adolescence, the gray matter in the frontal part of the brain is thickening, and developing new connections, like a tree might grow branches or leaves. It was also interesting to me that cells and connections that are used continue to grow, while those that are not used wither and die. This made a lot of sense to me in terms of my own development; I hated geometry in 9th grade and just decided not to work at it. Then in college, I took Technical Theater and was expected to draft and build set pieces according to exact measurements, and it was incredibly difficult for me.
ReplyDeleteThe adolescent brain differs from an older brain in its assessment of risk and danger; the video presents that adolescence is a time when humans are prone to engage in risky behaviors without an understanding of the risk involved. One example presented in the video was the teenage boy at the skate park, who discussed his decision not to wear a helmet most days and said that he didn’t think what he was doing was dangerous. This statement was supplemented by him and other teenage boys doing flips on skateboards in the park. I have these eight-foot storage cabinets in my classroom, and one eighth grade student was determined to sit on top of them one day because he thought he would like the view from the top of the classroom. He came into class and promptly scaled the side of the storage cabinet, then picked up one of the extra keyboards I kept up there and moved it over so he could sit. I was completely panicking, and he couldn’t understand why. I tried many times to explain to him why it was unsafe, but he kept saying that he’d been able to do it, so it clearly wasn’t unsafe. The section on assessing risk and danger helped me understand just how different his assessment of the risk was from mine. It’s not that he wasn’t thinking about how dangerous it was; it’s just that in his mind, he’d been able to do it safely, so it probably wasn’t that dangerous.
2. I remember being told as a teen that my body needs eight hours of sleep a night; however, this video presents that adolescents actually need 9 ¼ hours of sleep a night in order to fully recharge, or “fill up the tank.” In this section, they presented a clip of teens sleeping or struggling to stay awake through their first period class while their teacher tried to keep them engaged. This clip was all too familiar to me. I thought about my constant struggles to keep students awake during first and second period. A lot of students won’t even begin coming into school until third or fourth, and when I press them as to why, they say they just can’t get up that early. Students are coming to us from all five boroughs; some say their school bus picks them up as early as five AM. Learning how much sleep adolescents actually need threw that fact into harsh perspective for me.
I also didn’t realize that sleep is an important part of rehearsing and consolidating information learned throughout the day. I thought that its importance began and ended with “recharging the tank,” or providing energy for the day, so to learn that it is actually a vital part of the process of learning and remembering information reinforced how important it is that adolescents get enough sleep.
3. I was surprised by the findings that adolescents not only process facial expressions differently than adults, but that they process and perceive appropriate reactions to those expressions as well. That contributes to several layers of possible miscommunication between teens and adults. It has become somewhat of a stereotype of adolescence that many teens feel that adults don’t understand them, but this video actually lends credibility to that line of thought; however, rather than adults simply willfully misunderstanding teens, both parties are perceiving and processing information differently. I recently heard another staff member at my school recite the old addage that “there are three sides to every story- yours, mine, and the truth” to a student who had recently had a conflict with another student. This video calls for a re-examination of that phrase; adults and teens may perceive events differently, but neither interpretation is necessarily more “true” than the other. Both parties have simply process the information differently, and need to be able to come to an understanding of how the other person processed it.
ReplyDelete4. One piece of information presented by this video was that the area of the brain that triggers emotional response, or “gut reactions” is much more active during adolescence than in adulthood. Furthermore, Dr. Charles Nelson posits that the dramatic mood swings are due in part to changes in hormones, but also to changes in the frontal cortex where we identify and regulate emotions. Learning the science behind it was interesting, though it definitely did not surprise me. One afternoon about a month ago, several male students began discussing a woman, and the moment her name was brought up, several of them began yelling over each other and referring to her as a “shrew” or using other words that I found offensive. I chose that moment to make a comment about the language they were using, and it was like throwing gas on the fire- all of a sudden they were all screaming about how wrong I was, and they were still using the same words to describe her. Watching this video made me think about the process their brain was going through and how I could use that information in the future. I imagine that as soon as the woman’s name was spoken, their emotional reaction took over, causing them to spew out all of these words. What I should have done was waited for that period of heightened emotion to pass, and then tried to begin a discussion about the language we use.
The piece of advice I found most thought-provoking was given by Ellen Galinsky at the end of the video. She said that the most important thing for adolescent development is relationships, and teens will often say that they want their parents to “bear with them” through their mood swings or whatnot. That idea of bearing with adolescents in my classroom through their emotional ups and downs, and really paying attention and being present with them through all of it instead of immediately reacting or trying to shut it down, is something I will definitely take with me into my classroom from now on.
A nice, thoughtful response, Brigid!
DeleteThe teenage brain was once thought to be very much like an adult brain. Before the MRI could scan and present images of the brain, it was assumed that after the age of 3, little change in the brain occurred. However, adolescence, it was discovered, was a stage of child brain development where great change occurred. For example, just before puberty, the brain of a child develops a thick layer of grey matter by the front cortex. It also became clear that the brain in its adolescent stage does have significant differences than the adult brain or the brain of a young child. Older brains have well-developed frontal cortexes while that part of the brain is still developing in the brain of an adolescent. The frontal cortex correlates with executive functioning, decision-making and planning. Because the adolescent’s brain does not yet have a well - developed cortex at the beginning of puberty, they tend to be unable to control their moods well. Adults are much better at controlling their moods. I can remember a particular instance when I was upset. Thank I thought about what had been going on well in my life and my mood changed. Yet, when I try to cheer up an angry teen, I’ll be ignored, disregarded, lashed out at, or deemed irrelevant. Teens in my experience, especially regarding my students, lack the ability to change their minds and feelings in the moment.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the research presented in the documentary, teens need 9.25 hours of sleep every night, but they get 7.5 hours per night. That is a deficiency of an hour and forty-five minutes every day. Moreover, the circadian cycle for teens shifts so that they fall asleep later in the evening and awake later in the day. In the video, a researcher carried out an experiment to assess if the amount of sleep a teen obtained correlated to academic performance, and what he learned was that teens who sleep the 9.25 hours they need perform better academically than students who do not get the sleep they need. This year I taught Period 1 U.S. History. The attendance was awful. From a roster of about 27 students, approximately 13 would attend consistently, and all of 4 of them arrived late. What I was told by staff was that delaying the start time of the school day would be fruitless, as students would continue to simply arrive late.
Once, in preparing an English 10th grade class for Lord of the Flies, I showed my students an image (l ink: https://boredanddangerousblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/flies-11.jpg) of two characters’ faces. Almost universally, students in the class said the boy on the right was angry, while my co-teacher and I saw a mood of contemplation and reflection of the severity of the situation. That was similar to what the documentary presented regarding research that examined how teens interpreted facial expressions. Most interesting to me from that study was that the parts of the brain that were active when interpretation faces were different between adults and teens, and that teens relied on feeling and gut reaction to understand the facial expressions.
In the documentary, there was a case of a girl who did well in school and was sometimes moody. She was shown arguing with her brother before resolving the issue. The mother took a sympathetic approach to her teen daughter’s behavior. A more tolerant, understanding approach may be beneficial. Whether joking or more serious, students have told me “ya’ll teachers can’t relate” and “ya’ll don’t get what we go through.” A sympathetic approach could create space for greater levels of understanding and learning.
I agree with you on question number 2 because sleep is absolutely necessary for the well-being of adolescents.
Delete1). I was aware the human brain is a work-in-progress and continues to grow and develop after the teen years but I never fully grasped the process. There was a key analogy which helped me to better understand and visualize how this unfolds. Comparing the growth of the human brain to that of a tree, especially with regards to the “pruning” process and how it gives the brain its shape “for the future,” helped me get a better handle on how the brain continues to grow through, and beyond, the teen years.
ReplyDeleteLike some of our fellow classmates, I am a paraprofessional in the DOE. Specifically, and officially, I am a 1-to-1 Mobility Paraprofessional which means I work with visually impaired students on a one-to-one basis. I ensure their safety as they navigate their way around school and around New York. I bring this up because this past school year I had the pleasure of working with a particular student for three months who is severely visually impaired. Although highly intelligent and creative, this student is emblematic of an adolescent who completely lacks executive function. For example, every weekend this particular teenager would ride his bicycle on the streets of the Bronx, often without a helmet. This is a severely visually impaired student, mind you, riding his bicycle, often without a helmet, through the streets of the South Bronx.
Believe me, I did my absolute best to discourage this behavior. I lectured and warned him. Teachers lectured and warned him. His counselor lectured and warned him. Finally, I found and put him in touch with a tandem bicycling program specifically created for visually impaired people. He would still be able to ride a bicycle through Central Park but he would be safe because he would be seated behind a sighted guide. The promise of this program actually appealed to him but as of our last meeting he was still riding his bike without a helmet and had not made further contact with the organization.
2). Sleep is crucial for all of us but especially so for the growing and still developing adolescent brain. I believe the video makes a strong case for later start times to the school day. And since these studies are over a decade old I wonder why more school districts haven't at least experimented with later schedules the way the schools in Minnesota have done? As I and some of my fellow classmates have mentioned we can't help but notice how so many teenagers essentially sleepwalk (or outright sleep) through the first few periods of class. While I do feel it makes sense for more school districts to at least experiment with later start times I also understand the impact this could have on after school programs and the community at large. So, I wonder (and I know this proposal could be way out there) if a comprise could be reached? How about implementing a combination of a collegiate-influenced schedule with that of the traditional model?
3). I had no idea that an adult sees a face full of fear while a teenager could look at the same face and see it full of anger. The disparity in interpretations was mind-boggling. In the classroom, facial expressions go hand-in-hand with tone of voice. While I have a pretty good poker face, going forward I will definitely be more aware of my facial expressions around my students.
4). Because I primarily work with middle and high schoolers this documentary helped me organize and understand so much of what I have observed and experienced in the field. I have been trained to maintain a steady and consistent tone of voice with my students because it helps them process directions more fully. But, as I wrote before, I will now pay closer attention to my facial expressions.
I agree with you in question number 4 because, adults have to maintain stability in front of a classroom full of adolescents who are learning who to manage emotions and conflicts.
DeleteHi Lucio. Last year I took at class at LIU and was given an assignment of listening to an NPR story called "Batman". In the podcast on This American Life "Batman" is a blind man who rides a bicycle, I believe here in NYC. He uses echo honing radar and clicks so he can ride his bicycle and "see" his way with radar. He mentions some horrific falls, but says he wouldn't have become independent if his mother had discourage him from riding. There were some thoughts in the story I didn't completely agree with and he does some reflecting on how he treated other blind kids when he was a kid, which I found very insightful as well. The tandem idea sounds like a really good one and a I hope your student gets a helmet, too! Here is a link to the story: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/544/batman
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ReplyDelete1. What I find interesting is the comparison between the child's and the adolescents physical body. The larger physically doesn't necessary have the mental and cognitive growth to match. While, I assumed that the brain matter was keeping pace with the body. Mental growth spurts have been recorded to two significant stages. Once as a child and the other transition within the teenage years. The Frontal Cortex is central to the development of children and adolescents. Even though the brain is ninety-five percent in size as referenced in the video, the maturation is continuing growing, thickening and connecting. It brings me to my thoughts of viewing social behavior from teenagers. Realizing now that their brain, is increasing, comparing, and associating. Continually developing and reasoning. Examples range from experimenting, testing the boundaries, no consequences, and invulnerability. For example, the brother and sister were auguring. Followed by making up. Playing extreme sports without safety protection and feeling invincible. I saw my neighbors children testing the boundaries of language and social cues in their teenage years. Emotionally teenagers are fluctuating, and their feelings can miss read. Because their judgment can be more emotional driven than adults. Teenagers are receiving signals from a different part of the brain than adults. They have mood swings, and they are emotional.
Delete2. While the video explains the biological clock that manages the teenagers sleep schedule. Teens build up a deficit approximate two hours of less sleep a night. Compounded in our era by apps, social media, the technology which further detract from essential rest. They're less likely to learn and retain, on less sleep. The quality and amount of sleep are keys to success in learning. It is paramount that a teenager has rem sleep to learn and function. I know single parent homes where teenage students are taking care of siblings. Or, taking part-time jobs to help support the family. Young teens need sleep as a component for successful learning.
3. I learned how much the teenager's data and psychological references are still associating and developing. How their verbal description to recognize pain, fear had a different baseline. Their emotional language is not going to correlate with that of adults. The activation in the brain is less than the adults. I also learned that teenagers and adults brains are not processing information the same. And, that the degree to how this information is process is different. Adolescents and adults don't read the same emotions which cause miscommunication. Furthur, causing incorrect responses. What I learned are teenagers view and process information different than adults.
4. It helps by knowing that these beautiful human beings are incredibly complex. On so many levels, that I am to foster an environment where communication and learning can grow. That there are so many factors that influence learning. How important as a future educator to understand the cognitive and emotional processes of teenagers. How important it is to keep teens engaged. Helping teens become problem solvers and individual thinkers. Realizing that they are going to test the boundaries and have emotional mood swings. But, as a future educator, I know how hormones, the frontal cortex will cause them to feel vulnerable. I learned the lack of sleep could affect learning. Knowing and building on all this and more knowledge helps me to prepare and give me students the best environment to grow and learn without judgment and prejudice.
Sherie, in regard to your answer to question 2, thank you for noting the rise of technology since this video first aired in 2002. There is so much research that suggests that staring at a screen all day has terrible effects on the quality of sleep once is able to attain. Furthermore, as a society, we have a constant need for entertainment, communication and engagement -- our poor brains never get a rest. I think it would be interesting to incorporate the changes we have experienced as a society into the research shown in this video. I am very interested in seeing down the road what affect the rise of technology is having on the teenage brain. It should also be noted that anyone who is currently a teenager, has likely known no life without a computer or cellphone.
Delete1.The young brain do not perceive emotions and adult brain can distinguish emotions accurately. In the experiment the adults interpreted the emotions like fear and the adolescents interpreted like shock or anger.This shows that adolescent brains are still developing. This perception affect more the students with behaviors issues.
ReplyDelete2. The video shows that the clock of adolescents is not programmed to go to sleep early and wake up early in the morning. The video present that adolescent sleep an average of seven and half hours, but it is not enough, that implies that teenagers function best when they sleep more and start school at the later time. I have three adult daughters. When they were teenagers, my second daughter, went to sleep late and she fell sleep in the class. Meanwhile my youngest daughter slept for many hours (over 8) a night and performed better in school.
3. I learned that adults interpret emotions like fear and adolescent interpret the same emotions as something different, That surprise me because I expected like the researcher that adolescent will correctly identify emotions in facial expressions.
4. I hope to created a safe atmosphere and community in my classroom. This way students will feel understood and that they may feel comfortable approaching me with any problems. I feel that it is important to always be a good listener. A previous of mine was very dramatic, now I understand that brain development in teenagers plays a mayor factor in behavior and mood swings.
Mercedes Moronta
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ReplyDelete1. First I would like to point out the that the video Frontline's "Inside the teenage brain" was a very interesting watch. I found many parallels to my own upbringing that I could easily relate to. But the most fascinating findings that I learned is that the brain reaches it's full size after the age of 2. Just think, at such a young age, where so much is still yet to be learned the brain has already reach this capacity, I find this to be amazing. As far as how the brain actually differs as a young person and a older person. I would like to address this question by using my personal experiences, as a now older person in life, I see the importance of things and words and everyday experiences much more then I did as a young person. I notice in the video how much the young people were at odds with the adults. And this is much like my personal experiences growing up. My parents and adults would often try to get me to follow rules and or tell me things about life and I just did't heed to there advice. And now looking back upon it, they were so right! I think as a young person I was so stuck on figuring out things for myself that I didn't respect or understand were my parents were coming from. Sometimes a person can be so caught up in a battle that they loose focus on why they are even fighting in the first place.
ReplyDelete2. As far as sleep is concerned, the importance of this can not be understated. I was always told that I needed at least 8 of sleep a night to be functional the following day. But in this video, I believe they said the actual number is more then 9 hours a sleep per night is needed to be fully functional the next day. They gave a very interesting example of this by showing a teenage 1st period class and the students who were there and just out of it from seemingly not enough sleep the night before. I can easily look at my own life to illustrate this importance, if I don't get the proper rest I need from the previous night my mind and brain just won't function at it's full capacity the next day. I'm not as shape I am not focused and I just won't complete my task at the level which may be needed on that particular day.
3. This next question about facial expressions was extremely interesting to me. Mainly because teenagers often talk about not being understood, but the findings according to the video that are that due to an area of the brain not being fully devolved that teenagers often misinterpret facial expressions. I found this very surprising just due to the fact that I would think an individual which is often misunderstood would have more of a ability to understand others.
4. The biggest thing I got from this video was trying to put myself in their shoes. All of us was once teenagers in our life. And we all hopefully have evolved from those experiences, and we all I think had very strong views while we were teenagers. Trying to understand this while respecting that teenagers views and feelings in my opinion is the most I got from this video. Because fighting there views isn't necessarily going to help either individual involved.
Before watching the video, I believed that the most brain growth happens during the first few years of a person's life. However, I learned that the most rapid growth happens during the years of adolescence. This explains all the different changes, moods, and attitudes in adolescents. Teenagers often feel invulnerable and invisible when they are determined and confident; they are the ones who take the most risks. Unlike an adult brain, the teenage brain is still growing and learning; therefore it is as if the rapid changes in behavior, mood, and attitude are necessary.
ReplyDeleteThe video states that the average teenager does not get enough sleep. The average teenage is supposed to get at least 9 hours of sleep, but is only getting 7.5 or less hours only. This explains why they behave certain ways, and I believe is directly related to their academic performance. Reflecting back to my own classroom, I noticed that students who go to bed early, come to school on time almost every day or most days, and typically do well in their academics. It is not the same for those students who go to bed later. Many of my students have even said that they do not go to bed until 1am or 2am in the morning because they are playing video games or are on their cell phones.
From this video, I learned that teenagers see and view the world differently than adults. As adults, it is typical to assume a teenager is just being defiant or irresponsible, but they don't see it that way. They read expressions completely different than an adult does. Researchers discovered that in an adolescent brain, the prefrontal cortex region is less activated while their brain portion that controls emotion is highly activated compared to an adult. Their interpretation of expressions and the world is simply based on how they see it. Teenagers believe we should let them make their own mistakes, that we have forgotten what it’s like to be teenagers. I think this can be true. As an adult, we tend to forget that we too at some point in our lives wanted to explore the world on our own and learn from our mistakes.
I think this video helped me understand that it is not their fault, Teenagers cant control what is happening to their body. We also need to be more mindful and remember that we were once in their shoes. This video helped me to see that its so important to try to understand them and remember that we were once in their shoes. Like the video stated, kids just want us to understand them. An open safe communication line is so important because they need to feel like they can trust us.
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ReplyDelete1. Before watching Frontline’s “Inside the Teenage Brain,” I had not realized that the human brain experiences two rapid growth spurts. The first period of growth occurs during the first 3 years of life. In the video, the narrator points out that a 1 week old baby is taking in and processing data at such a rapid pace, that she is already able to recognize the sound of her mother’s voice. By age 6, the human brain reaches 95% of its adult size. The grey matter in the frontal portion of the brain beneath the forehead (used to think) continues to thicken through out adolescence, and grow extra connections. During the teen years, just before puberty, the brain experiences a second wave of rapid production in this frontal area. The video seems to stress that the main difference between the adult brain and the adolescent brain, is the size and development of the frontal cortex.
ReplyDeleteI was unaware of the so-called “pruning down” phase, which occurs after the second wave. The brain enters a “use it or lose” mode, in which cells and connections that are not used, wither and die, while the remaining (used) connections thrive and shape the brain into what it will look like in its adult form. This resonates with me, as this particular point in time is when I began to struggle in Math and Science, but was able to preform exceptionally in my Art, English and History classes.
2. The video stressed over and over that teens are not getting enough sleep. The researchers found on average, that teens were getting 7.5 hours a night, while 9.25 hours is actually required for teens to be optimally alert. Furthermore, teenage circadian rhythms (internal biological clocks) were out of sync with standard school hours. The video also expressed that lack of sleep compounds the shifts and changes in mood teens experience, making them vulnerable to depression. The video also expressed that sleep (particularly REM sleep) is important for the acquisition and performance of learned tasks.
Examples from my own life that illustrate this are not exclusive to my teen years, though I do remember this was the only point in my life that I was naturally prone to sleeping past noon. More recently, I know that if I sleep less than 8 hours, I am slower to digest new information and am less productive when preforming tasks. I’m also moodier and more prone to misinterpreting the emotions of others, causing me to react emotionally myself.
3. I was surprised that teens were not able to identify facial expressions accurately, though I do have to admit, one of the photos shown definitely looked like “shock” to me. It was also surprising to hear the researchers claim that teens saw anger and sadness where there wasn’t any. This could help explain why teens sometimes react disproportionately to a given situation -- if teens aren’t able to read emotions, they can’t react appropriately. The explanation given by the video for why this seems to happen is that the frontal region of the brain is not fully developed. Adults use the frontal cortex to Asses facial expressions, while the teenage brain uses a different part of the brain, leading to more of a “gut response”.
Dear Rachel P,
DeleteMost of the information from this video was new for me as I think it was new for you, but I appreciate how the experts and doctors explained the process of development in adolescents because it will help me to trait my kids and students with more consideration and empathy. I also learned that sleep is crucial not just for adolescents but for me as well. Don't forget to have a good night sleep!
Part I A.
ReplyDelete1.- With regard to what I learned about how the adolescent brain. Well, first thing, as mentioned by Dr. Giedd video, is that today we know there is a lot of activity very dynamic in the brain of a teenager, and that is the most tumultuous time in brain development from a child leaves the womb. Dr. Giedd has found that the area called the frontal cortex cell overproduction occurs just before puberty, in this second wave there is excess cell production and is manifested by a thickening in actual gray matter in the frontal parts of the brain. He tells us that at age 6 children and have a brain of 95 percent of its adult size. But in one part of the brain during those years until puberty brain cells grow in their additional connections, it is as if we look at a tree grow, both up and down, in their branches and roots.
Moreover, Dr. Nelson Those cells and connections that are used will survive and flourish, while the other cells and connections that are not used wither and die are told. Also as says Dr.. Carskadon, the dream of teenagers has gotten into a window constantly narrowing, despite having many things at your disposal. Dr. Nelson also says that in the prefrontal cortex, the part that lies behind the forehead, is involved in the planning behavior, the use of strategies, a technical term we call cognitive flexibility, there occurs the changes of opinion and troubleshooting. While Dr. Giedd informs us that part of the brain is still being built during the years of adolescence and teenagers are capable of enormous intellectual and artistic achievements. But this basic part of the brain that gives us the strategies and organization and perhaps warns of potential consequences is not fully on board yet, the speech of the caller CEO. In that sense, I think you have to make room for the argument that makes dr. Nelson, regarding the changes that occur frontal cortex, so he believes give the child the Gradually Ability to Regulate Those powerful emotions, to solve problems more Effectively, to be more planful in Their behavior. So what's really new here is our Ability to Explain That the child development work we've Known acerca for quite some time.
Part I B.
ReplyDeleteAs for the difference of a younger brain, and how it differs from a larger brain, I could see that Dr. Nelson mentioned the hippocampus, unexpected reactions, changes are fast that even surprised themselves, as if were invaded by other bodies or brains, I'm reminded me of the movie Big (Tom Hanks) than when it looked in the mirror did not believe, and his mother thought the guy was someone else and not her son. So with the arrival of puberty expresses that there are changes underway that are quite substantial in brain development with the particularity of being very fast. We can infer that the brain is not the same as it is in a period of gradual transition to maturity.
Among the examples I can point in the documentary, I can say that we have the cases of Charlie, first, fight to let him sleep longer, if they are not parents remembering the routine activities he has to do, it seems that not would alone. In the other case, showing that transition period we passed all stops not even look like a child, but not perceived very well that his body is growing and is too old to use a small car. But on the other hand, practices that Charlie performs in the workshop of his uncle helps develop your brain. So there I infer that practices activities are necessary to help teens develop their brain. What practices combined with their own genetic inheritance to consolidate the wiring in certain parts of your brain and not in others.
Regarding my own experience as a teenager, I can say, in my case, I remember my childhood and adolescence was very active, we had available championships in science, math, writing, we read of all, we devoured the magazines of comics, memory of the fourteen or fifteen had read Your erroneous zones, you can if you think you can, even novels as the godfather. We had many activities in painting, sculpture, crafts. Also in dance choreography and good scenery. In sports, which were varied: athletics, football, basketball, baseball. As well as many marine research activities, flora and fauna, especially insects. I made many trips and internal and external tourism. So at that time I did not sleep much because I liked to be ready to participate in all these activities, was intense and much enjoyment. I think it was my best stage of life despite having an overly strict father, but as long as you cumplieras with studies everything was fine. So I wonder why my eldest son (Miguelangelo, 12) is very slow, forgetful, irresponsible with their homework, even though I'm slope, but if I neglect is delayed. It is very stressful, and do not deny that I lost patience many times.
Part 2.-
ReplyDeleteI think it's very important respect on hours of sleep, I think what they do in Minnesota, but I also think that society should provide plenty to keep the youth population within a framework that helps them make the hours needed to sleep. Regarding the importance of guiding adolescents in terms of the number of hours needed for sleep, which will report a profit in cognitive development and in brain development. This is confirmed by KYLA WALHSTROM, which tells us found as a result of the later start time is that students attending classes were more attentive in school, are more alert, more involved and more are progressing. Moreover, he says SARAH VAN DER WERF students who perform more activities after school do better when they are involved in activities and sports and choirs and plays and all those things.
I will use my case, I remember that in those years when I was a teenager, I went to bed around 8:30 no later than 9 pm, to get up at six o'clock, and my brother Alberto almost always she slept around 12 or one in the morning, so I would wake me no problem, but my brother never on time to school, academic achievement between he and I were exponentially opposites. I know there is a taxonomy that age relationship with the amount of hours needed for sleep.
Dear Mahfusa,
ReplyDeleteI agreed with you regarding the importance of sleep and the connection with improving the abilities, especially the movement. When teenagers sleep well, they tend to be more focus and react rapidly to particular situations. Also, according with the statistics from the video, when adolescents have a good night sleep, they are more focus in class, raising their hands and participating actively. Speaking for all teachers who teach during first periods, is really an enormous challenge!
Rachel Guadrón
1. I was not familiar with the effects of the circadian clock on our brains. From the video I learned that the circadian clock “shifts forward” during puberty, which is why adolescents wish to sleep in. It was also very interesting to hear that the brain of the adolescent goes through a shift similar to that of the brain of a baby. Babies’ brains are first developing and parents have thought they only get one chance to stimulate their child’s brains early to develop the growth of important cells. Scientist have said this does not happen only once, that there is a second push, which happens during puberty in the adolescent’s brain. During this time, there is a “grey cloud” which causes adolescents to do and say things they themselves don’t even understand. The teens in the video went through rapid mood swings, probably accounted for by these rapid changes and overwhelming new growth. Dr. Jay Giedd says in the video, “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 the teen is doing music or sports or academics, those are the cells and connections that will be hard-wired.” I find this hypothesis very interesting to think about and wonder if these skills really are hard-wired, and how much our adult lives are actually impacted by the moments we go through puberty.
ReplyDelete2. I mentioned the circadian clock above, which I find very interesting. I remember wishing to sleep in when I was an adolescent and I’ve seen that one of the students I tutor, who is 16, requires much more sleep than myself or his older sister. On Saturdays I noticed a difference with his demeanor and attitude because he slept in on those days. His math skills are always much more advanced and his smile is wider.
In the video REM sleep is discussed as the two teens are monitored during sleep. Doctors in the video state that adolescents should be getting 9 ¼ hours of sleep a night, but the average hours a night during the video’s making was only 7 ½. The effects of the brain not getting enough sleep and processing learned information during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is huge. I do believe it is a societal factor as to why students are not getting enough sleep. Night was a time I remember feeling the most freedom and staying up late was something I felt I needed to prove my individuality and was a time of less powerlessness, which the teens express themselves. The discussion as to whether or not to start school later for high school students seems like a fun one to me. I am inclined to agree that school should start later because students need more sleep. However, I think this may pose a problem for working parents; and, as mentioned in the video, students with active afterschool lives gain a lot from those experiences as well. Of course, if more physical and artistic opportunities were available during school, this may not be as much of a problem.
This is Emily Lazar. I've never blogged before!
DeleteThat's ok! Thanks for letting me know.
Delete3. Here, Dr. Deborah Yurgelun-Todd and her associate, Staci Gruber perform a study with adults and 13 year olds in which their brains are scanned with an MRI while showing them black and white photographs of faces showing emotions. I, as well as the adults in the study, recognized fear on the black and white photographed faces, but the teens in the video saw anger and shock. The doctors attribute this to differences in communication, but I wonder if teens, who take part in the risky behaviors of adolescents,such as the skaters in the video, or the teens taking drugs, are not more used to experiencing the feelings of anger and shock from adults than they are fear. Later in the video a teen mentions she doesn’t feel comfortable asking for help when she wants it, but wishes someone would ask her how she’s feeling. Teens in the video express they want someone to talk to. I believe they find adults unapproachable and think it’s very important to build trust with my students. Nikki and her sister seem genuinely happy to speak with their mother on the phone. Their mother mentions the pit in the stomach feeling that used to occur when her parents would return home and never wanting her children to feel this. I wonder if the teens don’t believe that adults can feel fear. Perhaps this feeling occurs because they are often times dominated by adults and they are quicker to recognize anger and shock in the eyes than they are fear. I like that this section of the video points to the communication breakdowns or misunderstandings that may occur between adults and teens and will keep this in mind when working with my students.
ReplyDelete4. This video helps reinforce the idea that patience and trust are so necessary when working with adolescents. I’ve had some other classes that have helped me understand how important it is to listen to my students and work from a strengths based approach. Each one of my students will be different and I should get to know each one to best tap into their personal resources and motivate them to learn. I will push myself to remember that adolescents are going through physical and neurologic changes which affect their moods and their motor abilities and that though they are physically larger than younger students, they are not fully familiar with their own thoughts, feelings, and physical selves. Their home lives are extremely formative as well and each student will have a unique culture and access to the very important resource of sleep. I think this information will help me better deal with students who may be arriving late to school or putting their heads down during class. If a student is truly sleep deprived, sleep may be the best thing. I also will keep this in mind when writing lesson plans and preparing my students for tests. I will remind students to get a good night’s sleep before the test and not overwhelm them with extensive homework so they can perform better.
Emily Lazar
I learned that from this video that the teenage brain goes through an unexpected growth spurt in the Frontal Cortex. According to Dr. Jay Geed, the growth spurt usually happens when the baby is in the womb or within 18 months after birth, During this period of time, depending on the teenager's activities, the brain beings a process in which it saves specific information based on activities done by the teenager and disposes information that a teenager does not put any mind to. The teenage brain will most likely continue to be careless/stubborn after a small accident, which is unlike the decisions that a fully developed adult brain will make. For example, if a teenager and an adult were skateboarding at a skate park and both fell and scraped a part of their body, the teenager is most likely to return to the skate park without any protection. Whereas the adult will most likely return the next day, fully protected, learning from their mistake. I have witnessed this personally at my job. Students are required to wear the proper uniform, some students tend to forget one of the pieces of the uniform and get reprimanded. Yet the next day, the student continues to make the same mistakes. Compared to an adult who would attempt to fix their mistake as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteSleep is very important for all age groups. But it is needed the most when a person is an adolescent. According to the Frontline video, teenagers are getting an average of 7 1/2 hours of sleep, which is 2 hours less than the recommended amount of sleep humans should get. Lack of sleep has an immense amount of effect on a student's cognitive ability throughout the school day. As the video states, students are basically starting their day with an "empty tank", which has an effect on the what and how they learn. For example, I have witnessed students come to school and during first period they have their head down, sleeping. When asked "why they are so tired?" their response is typically "I went to sleep at 12 because I was playing video games or watching tv). Mind you, these students range from 10-12 years of age. One of the questions that can be asked from this video is, will student alertness improve if school started at a later time? or will their Circadian Clock shift forward again and affect their sleeping pattern.
What I found interesting is that teenagers are not able to correctly identify facial expressions like an adult can. For example, within the video they had teenagers identify a facial expression (which was fear). The teenagers falsely identified the facial expression as anger. Another piece of information that I found surprising is that Teenagers and Adults use different part of their brains to identify facial expressions. Personally, I thought Adults and children and teens all use the same parts of their brains for different activities. One of the questions that I have is, Do teenagers relate facial expressions to what they see in their home/school setting? Adults at times do not want their children/students to see them vulnerable, therefore not expressing any feelings and containing their anger.
This episode helped me realize how different adolescents think and feel compared to adults. It has opened my mind to change my attitude towards my students when they lack of sleep. It has also made me realize that teens are not lazy. Their brain is changing therefore affecting their behavior. Also, the part of the brain that controls organization and making better decisions is not fully developed. It also shows that in order to become a middle school/ high school teacher, you must have patience. Which at times I can lack when working with 6th graders. This information would have been very useful when I first started as a teaching fellow. It would have taught me that it is not always hormonal changes that affects adolescents, it is also mental/brain changes that they are facing.
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DeleteBikelby, in regard to your answer to question 4- I find it funny how much compassion we all have for teens now after seeing this video, and it didn’t even touch upon the role that hormones play, or the social and physiological challenges that teens experience (Poor teens!). I also found it interesting that the teenage brain was using a different area to evaluate facial expressions, and that they did not have a fully developed frontal cortext. I had previously thought any difference between teenage and adult behaviors was due to a lack of life experience, maturity or knowledge. I will certainly view teens with more compassion and patience after seeing this video.
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ReplyDeleteI think it's very important respect on hours of sleep, I think what they do in Minnesota, but I also think that society should provide plenty to keep the youth population within a framework that helps them make the hours needed to sleep. Regarding the importance of guiding adolescents in terms of the number of hours needed for sleep, which will report a profit in cognitive development and in brain development. This is confirmed by KYLA WALHSTROM, which tells us found as a result of the later start time is that students attending classes were more attentive in school, are more alert, more involved and more are progressing. Moreover, he says SARAH VAN DER WERF students who perform more activities after school do better when they are involved in activities and sports and choirs and plays and all those things.
I will use my case, I remember that in those years when I was a teenager, I went to bed around 8:30 no later than 9 pm, to get up at six o'clock, and my brother Alberto almost always she slept around 12 or one in the morning, so I would wake me no problem, but my brother never on time to school, academic achievement between he and I were exponentially opposites. I know there is a taxonomy that age relationship with the amount of hours needed for sleep.
ReplyDeleteShahanaz , I agree with you in relation to which we learned about teenagers , it is the adult who must be aware of the changes that they spend in order to help them cope as best that period transition. "I think this video helped me understand that it is not their fault , teenagers can not control what is happening to your body "
1. I learnt a lot of new information about how the teenager brain operates. “If the teenager is doing music, sports, or academics, those are the connections that will be hard wired. If they are lying on the couch or MTV, those are the cells and connections that are going to survive.” There is one area in the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which acts as the CEO of the brain, controlling planning, working memory, organization, and modulating mood. “As the prefrontal cortex matures, teenagers can reason better, develop more control over impulses and make judgments better.” I learnt about the brain start to develop in the womb. And the first 18 months of life is the most significant stage for development in baby brain. In this process, brain produces way more cells and connections than can possibly survive. According to Dr. Giedd, the second development happens in the teenage stage—between age 10 and age 13. In this process, teenager brain prunes and organizes its neural pathway. According to Giedd’s study in younger brain, the younger brain is already 95 percent of its adult size. The gray matter is the thinking part of the brain, which is getting thicker. As the kids growing, their brain functions better. So in their teenager stage, many thinking skills, happening in the brain such as judgment, organization, planning and strategizing, start to form and gradually improves. It is also answer of the question about the difference between teenager brain and younger brain. However, compared to the adult brain, the organization, planning and strategizing skill are not done being built yet. “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.” That is the difference between teenager brain and adult brain. The video also proves the idea from Di. Giedd again. And the example from the video also help me connect to my own experience. When I was young, I always depend on my daddy. When I met problems, I always ask for my dad’s help. I don’t completely have the ability to solve one problem. Sometimes, I also have a kind of “teenager mood” in communicating with my parents. I always question what my parents tell me, even that it is a good suggestion from them. I don’t want to follow my parents’ rule.
ReplyDelete2. It is unquestionable about the importance of enough sleep on the brain. according to the study of Mary Carskadon, teenagers need to sleep more than 9 hours on average every night, but most teens get about seven and a half hours of sleep each night. So “these sleep debts can have a powerful effect on a teen's ability to learn and retain new material -- especially abstract concepts like physics, math, and calculus.” In the video, they do an experiment between Charlie and Nicole about the relationship between sleep and their academic skill. Nicole perform better than Charlie because Nicole has more sleep time than Charlie. I actually have the same experience on it. When I was studying in high school, I always have less sleep time because of too much homework. I feel very tired when I get up and cannot focus on my study, particularly in my math and science class. So I have to drink more coffee to make me feel concentrated on my study. I also have an example about my students. I have worked in pre-kindergarten for one year. I know one of kid J. He always come to school early because of his parents’ work. So sometimes he doesn’t have enough time to sleep. When I work with him, he told me he was tired and didn’t want to eat at all. In this case, I let him take a nap early to give him more sleep time.
ReplyDelete3. Teenager brain is not done being built. So, sometimes, the teenager brain doesn’t have a good ability to solve some problems in their facial expression and emotions. From the video, we can know that teenager sometimes cannot control their emotions and they may get moody quickly, because their brain doesn’t master the skill to think about the questions/problems completely. Teenager may misunderstand other people, including their parents and friends. So that why teenager has more conflicts, including verbal and physical, than adults. From the study of teenager brain, I can understand why teenager has their “teenager period”. In this period, they don’t understand their parents and don’t follow the rules. They try to do everything opposite to the directions from their parents and teachers.
4. From the one-hour study, it really helps me understand some behavior from teenager. I don’t really have some experience work with teenager, but I do have a little experience to live with my cousin. She always closed the door when she came back from the school. She felt tired to talk with their parents, because she always misunderstood their parents. I think talking with teenager is very important. Sharing the feeling and experience with teenagers can help them solve their misunderstanding.
ReplyDeleteRachel , it's good that the video can confirm the disastrous lack of sleep that an adequate amount in children and adolescents , the information provided by these specialists confirms what we already see in our children. I never leave this point for mine . " The video also said that lack of sleep aggravates mood shifts and changes in the experience of adolescents, making them vulnerable to depression. The video also said that sleep (particularly REM sleep ) is important for the acquisition and performance of learned tasks . "
ReplyDelete1. Certainly it is amazing how adolescent’s brain function and operates! Learning about all the parts of the brain such as the front and pre front cortex of the brain and the roles in the adolescent’s development motivates me to learn more about this fascinating stage of children. this PBS episode shows me that adolescent’s brain “have a different set of challenges”, among we can find deal with house rules, good relationship with parents, etc. Teenagers assume that the world rotates around them, and just do not accept rules and patterns of behavior. I found very interesting how neuroscientists can explore the living, growing and activity of the human brain using technology such as the large imaging machine used by Dr. Giedd, until the point of measure the over production of cells in the brain before puberty. In this episode I also learned the comparison between the first weeks of being a baby and the transition to a teenager. I clearly understand what the doctors said about “pay close attention to the changes” in both stages, because it happens fast, but are crucial in the child’s life. I can see this clearly in my students too. .
ReplyDelete2. The reality is that teenagers do not sleep enough in our days. This video shows a vivid scenario every morning in the classroom “a teacher is trying hard to engage a group of sleeping adolescents”. Dr. Carskadon said “adolescents are not feeling the tank during the night” because they are distracted by electronics, therefore, they start the day with an empty tank. I learned that their biological block announced the proper time to go to bed, sadly they just ignored it, as a consequence, the same biological clock will not be helping them in the morning. This is important because affect their abilities of think, to perform and react appropriately, according with dr. Carskadon. Having a good night sleep is very important, and it was demonstrated with the studies in two adolescents. I was amazed by the results, when the adolescents have a good time sleeping, their abilities improved, showing me the importance of sleep. In my teaching experience, I can notice quickly when my students sleep enough, or when they not. Usually, students who sleep well are aware of the lesson, engaging, and motivated. On the contrary, who do not have a good sleep, is always struggling and disengage. This also can be apply to adults.
3. According with experts, adolescents have difficulties to determine adult’s facial expressions, therefore, it will be a “miscommunication between adults and teenagers”. This is very true, sometimes, my youngest son asks me “Why are you upset? But at that moment, I am not upset, maybe I am tired, or worry for something. As the doctor explained in the video, he just does not understand my feelings and there is a wrong respond to my facial expression. After watch this episode and learn that adolescents used a different part of the brain to related emotions and feelings (interior front part of the brain is less in adolescents, but the emotional is more than the adults), I understand my son’s concerns and feelings regarding facial expressions.
4. The development of adolescents is a very important stage of their lives, and as a mother and teacher of adolescents, I understand clearly the variations and waves (physically and emotionally) that adolescents are passing through. This video touch my heart and teaches me to be more aware of adolescents’ feelings and to pay more attention to their changes. I don’t want them to feel that I am prejudged them or ignore them. I also understand that since we live in a society that is less actively, as adults, we have to offer more options to an actively movement (practicing sports) to our children. This will help them to stablish good communication with adults
I agree when you say it is important to be more aware of adolescent's feelings and to pay more attention to their feelings, most of their bad behavior comes from a lack of communication and understanding of their brain stage.
Delete1. I definitively found the video interesting, I have learned that there is an unexpected qrowth of over production of cells just before puberty in the first 18 months of life, but there is a second wave of over production happening during adolescence, associated to the gray matter thickening. It is a popular believe that in the first 3 years there is a big change in children, but this is incorrect, since there are changes going on in the children brains in early stages the changes are higher during adolescence. The main difference with adults is that during adolescence some parts of the brain are not fully developed yet like: organize, strategies and as their brain is in development this will help them to change from a state of mood to another easily, which doesn't happen in adults.
ReplyDelete2.Sleeping is important for teenagers since the same same part of the brain that was working when the teenagers are learning their new skills continues to rehears and practice when the student sleeps, the brain consolidates and improves what the have just learned. I definitively consider that sleep is important to learn, some of my students did not do well in evaluations done during morning hours, so my school decided to do the evaluations right after noon.
3.In comparison to an adult's brain; teenagers use a different part of their brain to asses the emotion on people faces, as a matter of fact the activation of the pre-frontal cortex is less in teenagers than it is in adults, in contrast, the more emotional region has more activation compare to the adult. It is perfectly understood teens are a lot more emotional than adults since they get excited more easily by things happening in their surroundings even more protected with animals and nature.
4.I think this video was very reveling regarding adolescence behavior, we all know they behave that way because they are in an stage, but thanks to this video we can tell what is really going on in the teens brain during this stage and what do we need to do to make them get involved in an specific topic, besides, knowing this we can better advice their parents about what to do with their teen at home and how to carry on. I do not deal much with teens but I came across some drugs and bullying situations which are difficult to deal with, after this video I realize how important is to constantly be talking to teens, because sometime most of their behavior is a result of a lack of communication and understanding from parents and teachers.
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ReplyDeleteAlexandra Colon 07/07/201
ReplyDelete1- I learned from the video I watched that there is a big difference between a teenage brain and an adult brain. For instance, the teenage brain going through a lot changing in the front cortex. Those changing are due to lack of development. The teenage brain is not still fully developed at the age of twenty one. I watched on the video that at the age of twelve and thirteen years old, teenage take risky behavior because their brains are not developed to be responsible for those risky behavior. I observed on the video how children easily change their mood because they feel parents do not understand them they way they expect for. They feel that they parents look at them like a trouble. Clearly, the video shows the children talking, arguing with their parents because they do not want wake up early to go to school. I also observed how vulnerable is the teenage brain to the point that they can experiment using drugs and drinking alcohol. On the other hand, the adult brain is fully developed because the brain adult is able to make plan and organize activities. Front the picture presented in the brain scan for both teenage brain and adult brain I saw how the adult brain shows less activities while the teenage brain shows more emotional activities. From my experiences as a secondary teacher I can say that the teenager's behaviors I observed from the video are similar to my students' behaviors. For instance, they do not analyze and see consequences from their wrongdoings.
2- I strongly believe that teenage need to sleep the hours necessary in order for them to be capable to do their work next day at school. From the video, I observed that during a math class all students were sleepy. They could not even paying attention to their math teacher. I also love the fact that the school administration decided to open school at 9:00AM, giving students more time to sleep. This decision had a great impact in students' academic progress. They were more focused on their class and obtained better grades.
I can bring this example from the video to my own experience. My daughter in her first years in high school went late to bed, she was having bad grade. I sat down and talked to her about how important was to go early to sleep. She started sleeping earlier then the usual and she graduated with excellent grades from high school.
3. I learned that teenage process information like facial expressions so quickly looking at adult faces. I am a little bit confused from that part because I looked at the different faces from the adults and I saw the same than the teenage saw. They saw upset face and so on. I would say that I learned that through the facial expression people can express their feeling.
How does this one-hour episode help you better understand how adolescents think and feel? How can you use this information in your current or future classroom? What is an event in your past working (or living!) with adolescents that you realize now, if you could go back, you might understand better after having this information?
4- After watching this video I feel very excited and happy because I learned more what in fact going on in a teenage brain. Even though, I have a tone of experiences with my teenagers and the way I can fully understand my children is going back to my own experience as a teenager. I remember the way I made silly decision, taking my experiences It is easier for me to understand them and apply the same rules my parents did with me. I can say that I am a successful mother. Of course, this video helped me a lot to understand more my students. I am very grateful from you to present this video because I learned more the reasons why a teenage brain works different to showing us the adults.
I apoligize for posting my assignment after the limit time, but my lop top was extremely slow. I know that I made a mistake for not asking my daughter to post it on her lop top earlier. I hope you understand that I have not experience posting work online.
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ReplyDelete4. The episode gave me a greater sense of empathy for all the teens are going through, specifically related to the changes taking place in their brains. I think that drawing comparisons between the growth experienced by the teenage brain, and the period of growth experienced during the first 3 years of life, gave me an increased perspective and understanding of teenage behaviors and emotions. I found it especially poignant when one of the researchers suggested that parents should view their teen’s outbursts as they did when they were young children or babies; that the main difference was the size of the body having the tantrum. This is certainly an idea I would carry into a classroom, and would help me not to evaluate teen behaviors by adult standards of appropriateness.
ReplyDeleteI used to give my younger sister a hard time for sleeping in on the weekends because my parents gave me such a hard time about it. I now understand that we were both victims of our teenage circadian rhythms, and extremely sleep deprived. I would also like to go back in time and present my parents with information from this video, to defend my teenage self from judgment, and get those meaningful missed hours of sleep back.
1a. to think and or suggest that we all learn the same way would be a disservice to us all. And the importance of understanding this ideology is just as important and goes hand and hand when trying to identify a learning style to fit an individual or group’s needs. This seemingly simple yet crucial thought process can help promote learning and also provide greater understanding on how someone can maximize his or her learning potential. Just think, if you can relate and or reach a person through what helps them learn best, in theory you should be able to encourage a greater learning potential. Take for example myself, from my personal experiences and the fact that I am an adult now, I fully understand how I learn and retain information. I retain and learn information much better when I can visually see it and verbally hear it. If a person explains a concept to me through words… I can quickly process and understand it much better than I could if I read the exact same information on paper. On the contrary, I am well aware that many findings suggest and support the notion that learning styles often receive negative findings, I personally just don’t agree with these findings. To further my thoughts, in the school where I am doing my fieldwork, the teacher uses video, which uses hip hop to help the children learn math, and the kids love it and sing along and seemingly are more proficient in math, and I found this to be extremely impressive.
ReplyDelete1b. as an educator, the most important findings for me is the actual performance of the population I am servicing. Again granted the evidence may not be strong in favor of these methods. But I have seen firsthand the difference that learning styles can have on a developing mind. I watched a group of 3rd graders this week learn math through very unconventional ways and it worked. By using hip hop to use words that rhyme and I saw kids who had tremendous problems in the beginning learning the math, and those same children learned toward the end. Also, I can harbor on my own experiences knowing that I too learn much better when the learning experience is geared more to my strengths.
2a. in the article Gardner, it cites IQ testing and SAT testing as ways to measure intelligence. While I do understand that these are test that can give an individual an idea as to the potential of their intelligence. I am vastly opposed to agreeing with the thought that this is a good way to measure intelligence. Please allow me to elaborate. These test use a uniform system of testing, and this ideology assumes that we all learned the same things? Take for example a child who grew up in a poor area as appose to a child who grew up in a wealthy area. The dialogue that this child may engage in, in these areas would seemingly be very different. The resources that these children would be exposed to would be very different thus effecting the learning of that child. This would also have an effect on the child’s vocabulary to some degree… and these types of things would affect the score this child would receive on test such as IQ and or SAT test. But just because this could affect scoring on a test, this isn’t and shouldn’t be representative of their measure of intelligence. The child who had less resources is at an alarming disadvantage and this can be seen on scores related to test I just spoke of… But again, this isn’t indicative of their intelligence. The child who didn’t have the resources could be just as intelligent if not more intelligent and the other child, just with a lack of knowledge due to lack of exposure.
ReplyDelete2b. I find this question to be extremely difficult. Because I see intelligence in multiple ways. But for the sake of this question I will attempt to answer it one way. For example I have a friend who I find to be extremely intelligent, her name is Sam. Sam always and I mean always does well on every darn thing she does. It’s actually a little sickening. But she also puts an extreme amount of time into each and everything she does. For example, Sam will study days upon days to be overly prepared for each and everything she does academically and professionally. To the point where she could actually teach the topic seemingly better than a professor could and or was prepared for work assignments to a higher degree then I can even explain. But she prepared so darn hard I understood what made her intelligent, it was her preparation. I knew she was intelligent when I took a few classes with her and she stared to teach the class on a few occasions at the professor’s request. It was quite a seen. And I actually value her preparations, it showed me that intelligence isn’t innate and it can be learned.