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Adolescents… What are they thinking?. Heather Von Bank Ph.D. Assistant Professor FCS Child Development & Family Studies. Quiz time!. Brain development quiz. Growth & Development During Adolescence. Pruning the Tree: Brain Development Inside the mind: Cognitive Changes
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Adolescents…What are they thinking? Heather Von Bank Ph.D. Assistant Professor FCS Child Development & Family Studies
Quiz time! Brain development quiz
Growth & Development During Adolescence • Pruning the Tree: Brain Development • Inside the mind: Cognitive Changes • Adolescents in FCS Classroom
Why do teenagers have difficulty… • Being rational, controlling impulses, showing good judgment? • Are they just naïve, willfully disobedient, disrespectful, selfish. …sort of
Pruning the Tree: Developing Frontal Cortex • Reason why adolescents have difficulty reasoning, controlling impulses, judgment (5:07) • Under-developed frontal cortex responsible for controlling, planning, working memory, organization, & regulating mood
Use it or loose it principle • What we do today strengthens skills for tomorrow… • How to make decisions: Decision making skills • Making ethical decisions: “What Do You Want the Virtual World to Say About You in 10 Years” • Social skill development: Mock Job Interview
100% of adults identified this as FEAR • 50% of teens identified this as SHOCK or ANGER Identify this emotion
Emotional Regulation • Amygdala • Teens: Rudimentary part of the brain that controls emotions • Adults: Frontal cortex regulates emotions • EXAMPLE: Emotional Intelligence
Inside the teenage mind: Cognitive Changes • How thinking changes during adolescence • Concrete into formal thought • Thinking about possibilities • Problem solving “The Mangoes Problem”
Potential for Abstract Thought • Think about situations that don’t exist • The Trolley Problem • What would you do?
Consider Many Factors • Sarcasm, metaphors, double entendre • Panda mating fails: veterinarian takes over • Miners refuse to work after death • New obesity study looks for larger test group • Children make nutritious snacks • Criminals get nine months in violin case
Metacognition:Thinking about thinking • Imaginary Audience “…everyone is doing it” • Peer influence to drink • Talk about it, • Write about it, • Role play, • Publicize, • Teach the steps • Personal fable “that’s not going to happen to me” • Texting & driving • 97%: say it’s dangerous • 89%: reply to text in 5 min • 77%: have seen parents text & drive
Adolescents in FCS Class • More critical thinking opportunities • Stimulate formal-operational thinking • Hands-on learning.. How about Service learning!! • Metacognitive skill training? • Encourage healthy eating or classroom management • Create a design magazine in groups • Play school with preschool children • Opportunities to practice self-monitoring &adapting