What do I know about my brain?

Answer True or False

1. The brain learns best by reciting and repeating information.

2. The brain is largely a finished product by age 12.

3. During adolescence, the brain is becoming more efficient, but it
is also losing some of its potential for learning.

4. The teen brain responds to stimuli differently than the adult
brain.

5. Hormonal changes are responsible for teens emotional
outbursts.

6. We notice depression and mental illnesses
more during the teen years because teens
have more feelings.
7. The teen brain reacts in the same way to
emotional threat as it does to physical threat.
8. The average teen needs more than 9 hours of
sleep every night.
9. The reason teens struggle to get up in the
morning is because they dont go to bed until
late at night.
10. The teen brain should stop every 15 minutes to
process new information.

Learning
Is
Connecting
How are teen brains
different?
Neural Pruning
Starts in the womb when neurons over
populate
Neural pruning ends around age 3
Like pruning a tree; the strong survive
Scientists see this happening again
around 11
More neural pruningover half by age 15


Use it or lose it!
Stop!
List what you do in a day.
Create a pie chart.
Divide up sleeping, reading, writing,
studying, playing an instrument,
playing a sport, listening to music,
working, TV, movies and video games.
How are you wired?

What fires together wires
together.
Whats happening with my
emotions?
Information is processed differently
Rely on amygdala rather than frontal lobes
React, dont process
Fewer executive functions-motivation,
planning
Rapid changes in dopamine levels
Face studies
From driving to drugs
risky business

What emotion is this woman
expressing?
The teen brain responds
differently to the outside
world.
100 % of adults identified fear.
Fewer than 50% teens saw fear
Teens saw sadness, confusion, anger
and shock
Teens read visual cues differently
Boys were more impulsive

Too much emotion

Produces adrenaline
Produces cortisol-stress hormone
Energy is re-directedfight or flight
Difficult to think and remember
Brain can not differentiate between
emotional and physical danger
If rejected, takes 32x before you feel
safe


Stop!

Think about.
a time when you or someone
you know over-reacted in a
situation. How could you hav

Share with your neighbor
During adolescence mental
illness can surface
In the 10
th
grade, 64% of boys and 89%
of girls report being concerned about a
friend who is depressed.
Higher percentage of depressed teens
used drugs and alcohol
Schizophrenia is thought to be
triggered during neural pruning
Research has shown that

Writing about a problem helps rid
our minds of upsetting thoughts
and thus improves our ability to
maintain and process
information
memory and learning
We need our sleep...
Our brains review and sort material
while sleeping
Information is stored and discarded
Rats reconstructed their days in their dreams
Studies have shown sleepers perform better
Teens need 9.25 hours of sleep; most get 7.5
Melatonin levels differ
How does the teen brain learn
best?
Scientists saw more activity in the
Cerebellumphysical coordination
Use movement
Use emotion
Take brain breaks
20 minute maximum attention span
Review 10, 24 and 7
Pause, reflect, discuss, connect
Know your memory


Puzzles Prime the Brain for
Problem Solving

When encountering a mental block, take a
brain break and focus on a puzzle or word
game. Puzzles, word games and brain
teasers stimulate activity in the frontal
lobe and right hemisphere, making neural
connections more flexible for future
problem solving.

Mind Mapping
Mimics how our brains work
Uses BOTH left and right hemispheres
Visual
Spacial
Kinesthetic
Shows
Connections
Relationships
Associations
Ticket Out the Door
Ideas that struck you
Questions you still have
Thoughts, connections or suggestions