Understanding the teenage brain.

1. Teenagers: Is
anyone in
there????
TIRP IV 11/9/13

2. “How Are You Today?”
(choose one of these)
Passionate
Amazing
Slightly Irregular
Excellent
It’s a Long Story
Very Blessed
Nearly Illegal
Awesome
Beautiful
Feels like June

3. • “(They) carry everything too far;
they love to excess, they hate to
excess- and so in all else. They
think they know everything.”
Aristotle

4. The answer to:
• “What were you thinking?”
• “Why in the world did you think that was
an OK thing to do?”

6. “Brain Damage”
• Bill Cosby

7. Are today’s kids brains different?
• Read the handout- look up
when finished.
• Find a partner at least 2 rows
away and sit.
• Discuss and agree on the 5
statements that you think are
having the biggest impact in
your classrooms.

8. Brains are
Vulnerable
• We know that brains absorb positives. It
quickly learns brand new languages, picks
up culture and the family’s experiences.
• But this same brain also absorbs negatives.
It absorbs toxins, mixed messages, apathy,
problems fear, anger, threats or violence.

9. Begin with Prior Knowledge
Let’s figure out
what we
already know
about
teen behavior.

10. Myths about Teens
1. T F
2. T F
3. T F
4. T F
5. T F
Peers influence how kids turn out more
than parents
Birth order plays a significant role in
teen behavior
Teens learn how to behave by watching
parents
Teenagers lying is a direct result of
bad morals or lack of ethics.
The content of what teens learn is mostly
irrelevant outside of school

11. Myths about Teens
6. T F
7. T F
8. T F
9. T F
10. T F
Extreme positive parenting may help a
very troubled kid succeed
The teen brain is like an adult’s, but with
much less experience
The relationship with their parents
influences teen behaviors
Terrible parents may turn a normal kid
into a delinquent
The correlations between behavior at
home and behavior outside the home are
very large and statistically significant.

12. Quiz Answers
1. T F… Peers influence how kids turn out more
than parents-- YES…After age 5
2. T F… Birth order plays a significant role in
teen behavior-- Controversial-mixed studies
3. T F… Teens learn how to behave by watching
parents -- Most parents do things teens don’t
4. T F… Teenagers lying is a direct result of
bad morals/ethics-- Often it’s a typical teen brain.
5. T F… The content of what teens learn is mostly
irrelevant outside the school-- Most schooling
offers little to teenage lives except voc/ed.

13. Quiz Answers
6. T F… Extreme positive parenting may help a
very troubled kid succeed-- Yes, it can and does.
7. T F… The teen brain is like an adult’s, but with
much less experience. Different in many ways.
8. T F…The relationship with their parents
influences teen behaviors.-- In narrow areas.
9. T F… Terrible parents may turn a normal kid
into a delinquent-- Only the bottom 25%.
10. T F… The correlations between behavior at
home and behavior outside the home are
very large and statistically significant-- No way.

14. Common Conflict areas between teens and teachers
Teacher issues
Unfinished work
Bullying
Tardiness/truancy
Lying/cheating
Attitude/inattention
“Why do I need this?”
Teen issues
vague directions
boring lessons
failure as a threat
inconsistency
“they don’t listen to
me”
“Why do I need
this?”

15. Story Time!
• Look over the 6 areas of concern
(complaint) teens have about their
teachers.
• What one complaint do you think your
students might have about your class that
is valid?

16. Story time part 2
• Form groups of 3 or 4 using your number cards. If
you are an even number, you must be in a group of
other “evens”, odds with odds.
• Find a comfortable place to STAND and take turns
briefly sharing your teen complaint. Brightest
colored shirt goes first.
• Listeners will ask a question or offer suggestion.
• I will signal “30 Sec” with one whistle and “time to
stop” with 2 whistles.

17. Old Paradigm: Little to Big Brains
New Paradigm: Predictable Periods of
High Vulnerability (0-5 and 12-18)

18. Overview of Teen Brain:
5 Behavior-Related Features
• Vulnerability to stress,
rewards or risky behavior
• Greater sensitivity to
rewards but less
awareness
• Lessened ability to read or
manage emotions
• Fuzzy brain is sleepy
and weak at spontaneous
problem-solving skills
• Poor at future orientation

19. >Time in School = >Dendrites

20. Teen Brain Issues
#1:
Vulnerability
to stress,
rewards
or risky
behavior

21. Coping Strategies
•
•
•
•
•
•
Drugs, alcohol, smoking
Antisocial behaviors
Eating disorders
Depression, suicide, cutting
Lying
Denial

22. Perry, B. (1997) and Surgeon General Report (1999)

23. What do adolescents worry about?
(Stressors)
•
•
•
•
•
Schoolwork and tests
Strained relationships with parents and peers
Pressure for good college/good job
Money
Insecurity about appearance and physical
development
• Global issues
• Concern about future

24. Stressors continued
• Individual crises
– Death of a friend/family member or poor
health
– Poverty
– Discrimination
– Family violence
– Divorce/separation

25. Vulnerability to Stress,
Rewards or Risky Behavior
Compared to any other age group,
teens have a greater vulnerability
to the challenges of:
•Stress, pressure and anxiety
•Drugs and medications
•Reward-type behaviors
(gambling, smoking, racing,
sex, foods, screen time, etc.)

26. Causes of Teen Vulnerability
The most likely cause
involves highly unstable
levels of brain chemicals
(dopamine, serotonin and
GABA) and receptor sites that
have not had the “exposure”
or “experiences” that adults
typically have.
On the right, the red you see
are the dopamine sites.

27. Teens and Drug Abuse:
Using Ecstasy as an Example

28. Research Tells Us Drugs Do
Long Term Brain Damage
Note damage to serotonin neurons years after ecstasy abuse

29. Reality Checks for Teens
Shows Real Damage From Drugs
Posters for sale at…http://amenclinics.com/store/

30. Examples of
Vulnerability
If a teen and an adult,
age 30, both experienced
drugs for the first time,
the odds are much greater
that a teen would become addicted to them
(ecstasy, cigarettes, alcohol or meds). Stressed
teens are more likely to become depressed or use
drugs. This is a risky time of life!

31. The Results…
Teens have the
highest risk of any
age group for:
• Head injuries
• Drug usage
• Car accidents
• Unsafe behavior
• Depression

32. Teen: Texting and Driving
What does Dr. Phil say?

33. Teens Lead All Age Groups
With Cases of Depression

34. Social Status Strongly
Influences the Brain

35. Social experiences
throughout life influence
gene expression,
dendritic remodeling,
brain chemistry, heart
rate and behavior.
However, during our
early years, these
influences have a
particularly profound
effect.
Champagne and Curley (2005)
Social Status and the Brain

36. Teachers Strongly Influence
Student Social Status
How?
Through
affirmation,
drama, teams,
recognition,
cooperative
learning, positive
feedback, skillbuilding and giving
responsibility and
leadership roles

37. The #1 most idiotic
thing I ever had a
student do.

38. Stop-N-Think
• Stop #1 What
have you
learned so far
that you can
put to use in
your teaching?

39. Teen Brain Issues
#2:
Greater sensitivity
to effects of stress,
drugs and rewards
but they have much
less awareness
that it’s happening

40. Sensitivity to Rewards
• Greater sensitivity to rewards
but less awareness of the
effects of any substance.
• This means a teenager who
smokes dope, uses crack
or drinks alcohol needs
more to feel the same effect.
• But their body is being affected MORE
than an adult’s body.
• This can create catastrophic risks.

41. Binge Drinking Starts Early;
Teens Have Delayed Awareness

42. Teens Seek Novelty (green) before their
Built-in “Brakes” (frontal lobes) are Ready

44. Question: Is the teen brain closer
to that of an adult or a 3 year old?

45. Teenage Risky Behaviors…
“We Won’t Get Caught”
• Unauthorized Parties
• Sneaking Out Late
• At the Wrong Places
• Driving Fast
• Using Drugs/Alcohol
• Accepting “Dares” •
• Seeing Forbidden Others

46. Resistance to Peer Pressure Grows with
Age…Early Teens Especially Vulnerable

47. Marijuana is #1 Illegal Drug
for Teens 13 and Older (alcohol is #1 legal drug)

48. Changing Brains
• Gray matter (brain cells) thickens
first (between ages 11-13) and later
thins (reduces 7 to 10%) between
the ages of 13-20. There’s a growth
spurt of gray matter in the teen brain.
(Paus et al., 1999).
• Electrocortical evidence indicates
that a wave of synaptic proliferation
occurs in the frontal lobes around the
age of puberty onset. This may
account for the “fog” of the teen brain.
(McGivern et al. 2002)

49. This 15-year longitudinal study
shows the vast amount of
brain changes during
the teen
(12-19)
years.

50. Think Legos, not Legoland
Teens are often in a
developmental fog
• Teen brains often
overproduce synapses,
causing slow and
frustrating decisionmaking
• Frontal lobes are still
very immature
• Certain areas are
growing very rapidly
but are unconnected

51. Use it Or Lose It
• Get into groups of 3 by your number cards
(one group is 1,2,3 next group is 4,5,6
etc. Hint: #1,4,7,10,13,16,19, 22, 25, 28,
31 are looking for the next two higher
numbers)
• The “middle” number in each group will
pick up handouts for everyone.

52. Use it or Lose It con’t
• There are 3 main paragraph. Assign those
paragraphs by number card order.
• Everyone in group silently reads article.
• For your assigned paragraph create 1
question you would like to ask the others.
• Ask questions in order.
1 train whistle means 30 sec. left
2 train whistles, time to stop

53. Inside the Teenage Brain
• The Wiring of the
Adolescent Brain
Video clip

54. Teen Susceptibility to
Age-related Risks
• Teens are particularly susceptible to the risky
extremes of novelty. Novelty juices up their
unstable systems with brain chemicals like
dopamine and noradrenaline.
• They choose short-lasting, immediate rewards
over larger, delayed rewards. Their underdeveloped frontal lobes play a significant role in
reckless behaviors.

55. Stop-N-Think
• Stop #1 What
have you
learned so far
that you can
put to use in
your teaching?

56. Teen Brain Issues
#3:
Lessened
ability to read
or manage
emotions

57. 1 in 12 High School Seniors
Faces Serious Distress

58. The Teenage
•
Emotional “Stew”
Emotions are essential to
learning, and teens are still
learning how to understand
and manage emotions.
• They are poor at reading
emotions, and weak at
selecting the right friends.
• They often can’t read
sarcasm, nuances or hints
very well or
get their mind outside their
own world of feelings.

59. Inside the Teenage Brain
• “You Just Don’t
Understand”
Video clip

60. Emotional Processing Speed
Slowest at Ages 13-18

61. When Teens Get Depressed,
Affected Brain Areas Hurt
Cognition and Memory

62. Teen Report on Their Depression
Highlights Magnitude of Stressors

63. Actual Depression Stats May Exceed
“Official” Numbers Says Teen Report

64. Depression and Drug Abuse
Correlated at Ages 12-17

65. Teens and Suicide
Nearly 2 million
adolescents in the U.S.
each year attempt
suicide, and almost
700,000 receive
medical attention for
their attempt. From
ages 10-24, every year
the risk increases.
(AACAP, 2001).

66. The Emotional Brain
In the mature brain,
more of our everyday
decisions are a result
of many integrated areas.
In the teen brain, many
decisions are made by an
instant unfiltered reaction
from the amygdala,
shown on the right.

67. Hypothalamus driven individuals:
– Male (males have larger hypothalamus and, in
general, are more driven by it)
– Hypothalamus knows 3 words: eat, kill, sex
(Robert Sylwester)
– Biggest reason for HDI is the way brain
functions: thoughts fire neuron pathways.
Every firing makes it easier to fire the next
time. The more often you think something, the
easier it is to think the next time.
– Kids reflect the world they grow up in.

68. Time for… Wake up the Brain

69. Directions
I’ll read off the numbers listed in black, in
sequence. After each number, the letter
below tells you what to do:
“H” = raise hands, say “Hooray!”
“S” = flash a “Hollywood smile”
to your neighbor
“C” = clap twice

70. 1 2 3 4 5
H C S H S
6 7 8 9 10
C S H S H
11 12 13 14
15
S C H S

71. More Directions
I’ll still read off the numbers listed in
black, in sequence. Under each number,
the letter is now in either CAPS or lower
case. If it’s in CAPS, respond while
standing up. If in lower case, respond
while seated. Remember…
“H” = raise hands, say “Hooray!”
“S” = flash a “Hollywood smile”
to your neighbor
“C” = clap twice

72. h c S H s
6 7 8 9 10
c S H s H
11 12 13 14
15
s c H S

73. Even MORE Directions
I’ll still read off the numbers. If there’s an
underline, do everything the same as in
the last slide. BUT, on the next slide, do
the opposite of what it would have been.
Here’s an example…
“H” (by itself) = stand and say “Hooray!”
BUT…
With a sequence of “s - C - H” … the
underscore on the “C” means the next
letter, “H” is now a be seated “Hooray!”

74. 1 2 3 4 5
h c S H s
6 7 8 9 10
c S H s H
11 12 13 14
15
s c H S

75. Stop-N-Think
• Stop #1 What
have you
learned so far
that you can
put to use in
your teaching?

76. Teen Brain Issues
#4:
The Fuzzy Brain:
Sleepy and poor
at spontaneous
problem-solving
skills.

77. Bored? Let’s Ask 81,000 Students
from 110 High Schools
Data was collected and
analyzed by the Project
director of Center for
Evaluation and
Education Policy. The
study was Indiana
University's Annual High
School Survey of
Student Engagement
(HSSSE). The survey
was released 2/28/07.

78. How Often They’re Bored in School
Source: Yazzie-Mintz (2007) Indiana University's Annual High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE).
He’s project director of Center for Evaluation and Education Policy. Survey released 2/28/07.

79. Teens Tell Why They’re Bored
Source: Yazzie-Mintz (2007) Indiana University's Annual High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE).
He’s project director of Center for Evaluation and Education Policy. Survey released 2/28/07.

80. Data on Adolescent States
• Students spend over one in
four minutes slumped, sleeping
or resting (28% of their time) in
a state of apathy (Csikszentmihalyi, 2005)
• A monitor recorded the
amount of time kids ages 8-15
spend in the upright position. Of
the 529 in this study, mean
uptime was 5.4 hours (range
1.5 to 10.3 hours) Eldridge, et al. 2003.

81. Effects of “Fuzzy Brain”
Teens are more likely to do
“stupid” things and to lie
about it than those at other
ages. They can’t
think through…
1) better options
2) how to tell
parents/teachers the truth
3) the likelihood of
getting caught eventually

82. Teens and “Fuzzy Brains”
• Teen brains are in a wild state
of metabolic flux, PLUS:
• Many teens eat poorly which
can impair cognition
• Many teens don’t exercise
• Many teens do drugs/alcohol
• Teens are influenced by
“mob” mentality” of their peers

83. Why Do Some Teens Often
Appear “Brain-Dead”?
• Typically, teens have significant
sleep deprivation and daytime
sleepiness (Carskadon et al. 1998).
• The result is typically drowsy
teens in class and academic
underperformance. (Maquet, 2001)
• Less sleep contributes to poor
emotional
regulation
(Dahl, 1999).
• Daytime naps are a great idea
for
teens
(Maquet, et al., 2002).

84. Inside the Teenage Brain
• “From zzzzz’s to
A’s”

85. Girls Take the Lead
• The frontal lobes of girls
mature faster than those of
boys during puberty.
(Sowell et al., 1999).
• This lets girls “connect
the dots” better than boys.
While female brains mature
between 18 and 25, it takes
boys longer (age 20-28) to
catch up to girls’ brain
development.

86. Teach teens
HOW to
organize their
thoughts.
Mind
mapping is
one of many
smart graphic
organizers.

87. Stop-N-Think
• Stop #1 What
have you
learned so far
that you can
put to use in
your teaching?

88. Teen Brain Issues
#5:
Poor at
future
orientation

89. What Drives Their Brains to
More Risky, Crazy Behaviors?
• Their brain is experiencing
new feelings (fun and pleasure)
from brain chemicals that
they’ve never had before!
• Yes, hormones do play a part
in the attraction and risk-taking
of sexual nature (mating)
• In addition, other forces include:
being liked by peers (affiliation), and thinking
that they are in charge (autonomy).

90. Risk Perception Skills Weaker in
Teens than in Pre-Teen Years

91. Teens
often make
decisions
even a 9year-old
would call
stupid.
“What were
you thinking?”

92. Emotional Processing Speed
Slowest at Ages 13-18

93. Lack of Planning
• Teens have trouble anticipating the
consequences of their behavior because they
rely on their immature frontal lobes.
• They don’t see options very well. They get
confused easily under stress and rarely plan
more than one move ahead.
• One reason they get in trouble is they don’t
think ahead of how to solve potential problems
for each upcoming adventure.

94. Practical
Suggestions
Proactive problem-solving is
essential. Help them think
through potential awkward
situations and emergencies
to anticipate problems and
develop solutions. Discuss
pros and cons of various
options. On the spot, teens
will be unlikely to do this,
and that failure could cost
them their lives.

95. Teens and Crowd Morality
• Most legal infractions, injuries and fatalities
occur with peers in the “mob effect.” Teens are
highly susceptible to peers—more so than to
parents or teachers.
• Teenagers spend an average of 28 hours a week
digital (video, TV, internet, etc.) and most of it
is spent alone.
• Teens often seek out peers (even if it’s negative)
and are more likely to engage in risky behaviors
in peer groups than alone.

96. Stop-N-Think
• Stop #1 What
have you
learned so far
that you can
put to use in
your teaching?

97. Teaching teenagers?