Day 1 - Teen Brain

In response to the article the biology of risk taking by Lisa Price, one of the main ideas in the article that I took note of was "providing adoslescents with sufficient scaffolding, or a good balance of support and autonomy may be particularly important".

To make a connection to this point, our instructor Vel quoted Marion Small, that we should not "over scaffold" as a cognitive gap arouses curiosity. The teenage brain is developmentally similar to an adults (as per Price's article) and as per the video we watched in class, some teenage brains are capable of performing great things, like the 16 year old scientist profiled in the video.

However, the major difference between a teen's brain and adult's brain is the development of the prefrontal cortext, which is responsible for executive function, and controlling the limbic system. Since the adolescent's prefrontal cortex is less mature than an adult's, they may engage in impulsive behavior, although the article mentions at the end that 80% of students won't experience any issues. The article refers to risk taking behaviors (i.e. taking drugs) and the video we watch in class, shows some very dangerous acts, but the majority of adolescents won't engage in these behaviors. However, it is important to be aware of the adolescence's willingness to take risks due to changes in their brain, although in general the article and video were not referring to taking risks in the classroom (i.e. volunteering to answer the question the teacher is asking)

I think the main thing to keep in mind as it relates to teaching math in the classroom, is that the teenage mind is capable of solving complex problems, but it also tends to be rebellious in nature.
Our instructor mentioned during the first week of class, he is selling the idea to his class, that he's on their side, and they are a team, with the ultimate goal of improving mathematics. I think it would also be good to create a fictionary "character" to rebel against in the classroom. For example, another parental figure that says adolescents can't do math and don't want to put in any work or effort. It is also good to let students know that you are aware of how adolescents learn differently. I think I will teach a brief mini-lesson on the adolescent brain during my first week of school, so that students know that I "get them". This may be a more effective approach than trying to build relationships through common interests which doesn't allow you to reach all students. Some of the students I've taught that I've built good relations with, I had nothing in common with them. Nonetheless, there's a fine line to walk between too much structure and building connection as we discussed in class. The article mentions that adolescents need structure, yet they resent it.