1. Adolescents… What are they thinking?
Heather Von Bank Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Family Consumer Science
Child Development Family Studies Area
Heather Von Bank Ph.D.
Assistant Professor FCS
Child Development & Family Studies

2. Quiz time!
Brain development quiz

3. Growth & Development During Adolescence
Pruning the Tree: Brain Development
Inside the mind: Cognitive Changes
Adolescents in FCS Classroom

4. Why do teenagers have difficulty…
Being rational, controlling impulses, showing good judgment?
Are they just naïve, willfully disobedient, disrespectful, selfish.
…sort of

5. 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
Inside the Teenage Brain

6. 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
Decision Making Skills
Making Ethical Decisions: Internet safety
Social Skill Devleopment: Mock Job Interviewhttp://

7. Identify this emotion 100% of adults identified this as FEAR
50% of teens identified this as SHOCK or ANGER
An example for a teenager would be their outbursts. They might be perfectly happy one moment and then just turn around and be absolutely miserable and scream, "I hate you, you're the worst parent," and then a moment later, say, "Oh, dear Mom, that was great. Thanks for doing that." And there are cycles which can occur sometimes from a parent's perspective on the order of a nanosecond, although they probably sometimes take minutes. That lability is probably because the frontal cortex is not adequately overseeing the middle part of the brain that actually gives rise to the emotion.

8. Emotional Regulation Amygdala
Teens: Rudimentary part of the brain that controls emotions
Adults: Frontal cortex regulates emotions
EXAMPLE: Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence Lesson Plans

9. Inside the teenage mind: Cognitive Changes
How thinking changes during adolescence
Concrete into formal thought
Thinking about possibilities
Problem solving “The Mangoes Problem”
Problem Solving: The Mangoes Problem

10. Potential for Abstract Thought
Think about situations that don’t exist
The Trolley Problem
What would you do?
Abstract Thought: The Trolley Problem

11. 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

12. 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
Teach the Steps to Resist Peer Pressure
Texting and Driving commercial

13. 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
Metacognitive Skill Training
Critical thinking, address a problem in the school, whether it’s the arrangement of food in the cafeteria to affect students’ choice lunch choices to addressing classroom management, let the students have a say!
Formal operational thinking, they can think about multiple possibilities, give them the chance to think outside the box while still learning the content. For class in family housing,

14. Any questions?

15. List of References/Resources
Topic
Sites
Inside the Teenage Brain
Decision Making Skills Making
Ethical Decisions: Internet safety
Social Skill Development: Mock Job Interview
Emotional Intelligence Lesson Plans
Problem Solving: The Mangoes Problem
Abstract Thought: The Trolley Problem
Teach the Steps to Resist Peer Pressure
Texting and Driving commercial
Metacognitive Skill Training