Emotional+System+in+Adolescents

Members of the Nashua-Plainfield staff studying **emotional development in adolescents** may use this space to post documents and links pertinent to their work. Members of this team are:

 * =Jen Kalainoff =
 * =Lori Lee =
 * =Amanda Rahmiller =
 * =Deb Turnball﻿ =

==== (This form contains the same questions as below, but is available in a live Word document. This makes it easy for you to download a hard copy of the questions, and work on them without coming to the Wiki. Please just remember to upload your changes regularly, so that others can benefit from your work.)====

= Questions to Guide Your Study- Date Edited: =


 * ===__**WHY**__ should educators learn about emotional development in adolescents?===

Adolescents' frontal lobe is not fully developed. The frontal lobe is involved in critical thinking, problem solving, and judgment. It controls your impulses, emotions, assesses risks, and sets goals and priorities. Therefore, adolescents make decisions based on their emotions as opposed to rational thinking. These choices oftentimes frustrate educators, but we need to acknowledge these facts to be more patient and understanding of adolescents.

The amygdala is the emotional center, it scans all incoming stimuli for emotional significance. If this isn't fully developed students can't filter out important information. They can't apply "emotional brakes" so their decisions are all over the place, where adults take the same stimuli and process it in the frontal lobe before reacting to the same situation. Due to their larger amygdala, male adolescents are more willing to fight. Educators need to teach males how to keep their emotions in check. These techniques may include taking deep breaths, having some alone time, counting to ten, or leaving the situation in general. This also leads to boys acting out more than girls and therefore, tend to be diagnosed more with ADD. Girls on the other hand, become depressed more frequently and earlier. As educators, we need to keep a close eye on the girls who seem more withdrawn and reserved and work on their self esteem and get them involved in some activity. It might also be good to pair them up with a mentor and encourage any positive behavior that they exhibit, no matter how small. If students are able to associate an emotion to any material being taught, they will be able to strengthen the retention of that material. Educators need to spend time preparing a "hook" for lessons, using a variety of visual aids, incorporating hands on tools, stimulating their senses, etc. It is important to continually pull from this massive "bag of tricks" to keep students guessing and engaged.
 * ===__**WHAT**__ should educators know about emotional development in adolescents?===
 * ===What should educators __**DO**__ because of what they know about emotional development in adolescents?===


 * ===Below, craft a series of very specific questions (at least 5) that will guide you in exploring your topic. You may add to your list of guiding questions at any time.===
 * ===**Now that we know what part of the brain influences how and what we do, how can we best use this information in dealing with students.**===

= Several resources to get you started: =

"His Brain, Her Brain" - Cahill, Larry. //Scientific American //, May2005, Vol. 292 Issue 5, p40-47 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hxh&AN=16729945&site=ehost-live

"The Amazing Teen Brain" - Shute, Nancy //. U.S. News & World Report //, Feb2009, Vol. 146 Issue 1, p37-39 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=36883782&site=ehost-live

"Inside Amy's Brain" - Sprenger, Marilee //<span style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="medium-font" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. Educational Leadership //<span class="medium-font" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, Apr2005, Vol. 62 Issue 7, p28-32 <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="medium-font" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=16712181&site=ehost-live

"The Brain Game" - <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="medium-font" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rinaldo, Denise //<span style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="medium-font" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">. Scholastic Choices //<span class="medium-font" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">, Feb/Mar2006, Vol. 21 Issue 5, p10-13

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="medium-font" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Teaching with the Brain in Mind" - Jensen, Eric

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mih&AN=19725185&site=ehost-live

[|Inside the Teenage Brain: An Interview with Deborah Yurgelun-Todd] ( PBS Frontline)

[|The Emotional Lives of Adolescents] (Education.com)

[|Inside the Teenage Brain] (PBS Frontline)