INSET Brit School Tenerife
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Transcript of INSET Brit School Tenerife
Teenage brains in your classroomwith Nicola Morgan
Up-to-date science, classroom materials,
free advice, books and more: www.nicolamorgan.com
More information• Your handouts
• My website (www.nicolamorgan.com)– Today’s blog
Your handouts with hyperlinks This presentation
– Lots of free things– Teaching resources
• Free Brain Sane newsletter: wellbeing, brains, adolescence, stress, science of reading and learning, digital/social media
Today
1. Teenagers: brain and stress differences2. Stress – how it affects wellbeing and performance3. Strategies for schools, to improve wellbeing and performance
Think about:
1. Does this change or support your teaching?
2. What could students benefit from knowing?
3. How might you share this with students?
4. What about parents?
Teenage development: general principles
• Universal – but they are individuals• 1. State of Brain 2. Stage of Life• Understanding is very empowering• This understanding is based on:– Natural, necessary, temporary and
positive–With goal of independence
Understanding control
We want students to beactive agents of their wellbeing and performance:“It’s in your hands”
Main brain differences• From approx 11
1. Increase in neural (brain cell) connections
2. Loss (“pruning”) of connections3. Strengthening of connections
• Prefrontal cortex develops last (mid 20s)
Most important brain difference
Prefrontal cortex develops last (mid-20s):“control centre” – logic/reason, decision-making, impulse control, prediction
Limbic system, with amygdala – emotion, impulse, reward, reaction, instinct
PFC
Effects Teenagers may have difficulty with:– Impulse control – Risk-taking– Emotions (volatility/control) – Empathy
Emotion
• Hormones + stress also affect emotions
• Poorer at recognising emotions in faces
• Strong amygdala overpowers weaker pfc
• Control of feelings and responses (words and actions) may be weaker
Importance of social behaviour• Human nature, for all age groups• Social exclusion has great mental cost• So, big temptation to conform to group– Explains strength of peer pressure
• Social embarrassment + risk-taking greater brain activity in teenagers
See work by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore especially
Other effects: lost connections
• Loss or weakening of a previous skill• Clumsiness – especially in boys
• (Reassure that it’s normal, not their fault, temporary. If practise, can rebuild connections.)
The problem with teenage sleep• Teenagers need average 9.25 hours• But melatonin switches on later at
night– And off later in the morning
• So very likely to be sleep deprived:–Mood, stress, concentration,
performance• Use of social media at night does not
help!
Special teenage stresses• Change• Every schoolday – especially for
introverts• Exams: higher pressure, frequency +
stakes
Internet + social media (adults, too)
• Info overload – (The Organized Mind by D Levitin)
• Repetition of bad news emotional effect
• “bad maths” anxiety • Social networking – very important, but…– More ”friends” than can manage– Competition; “unrealistic goal of perfection”– Self-consciousness and lack of privacy– “Online disinhibition effect” cyber-bullying
Questions for you
1. What did you learn that surprised you?
2. What made special sense to you, perhaps explaining a particular behaviour you’ve observed?
First, what is stress?• Biological response to threat– Designed to maximise performance– Adrenalin + cortisol
• So, what’s the problem?1. If anxiety panic levels2. If cortisol builds up3. “Preoccupation”
2. Cortisol build upMany negative results:
• Sleep problems• Difficulty in concentration• Lower mood - affects self-worth and
relationships• More likely to make mistakes• Weak immune system – more minor
illnesses
3. “Preoccupation”• Brain “bandwidth”• Everything occupies some bandwidth– Including anxiety and intrusive thoughts– Need supreme control to stay on task
• Preoccupation lowers performance:1. Cognitive capacity (learning)2. Executive control (behaviour)
Daniel Levitin’s The Organized Mind covers this
But can’t they multi-task?• No! Remember “bandwidth”– Though 2% of people are “super-taskers”– And simple tasks have less impact
• We do not generally improve at multi-tasking– Those who allow most distraction are worse at
ignoring distractions – Trying to multi-task causes stress and learning
loss
The Organized Mind by Daniel Levitin
Preoccupation problems for teenagers
1. Worries and intrusive thoughts: “rumination”
2. “Scarcity” of time – too much to do3. Constant attempts to multi-task
– Social media / devices / smartphones • upsets/problems with friends/peers• distraction and info-overload
So, preoccupation is a double problem
1. It is stressful – it feels stressful2. Brain bandwidth is affected
Extra stress for introverts
• Introversion is not about shyness• Spend huge energy in all social situations• May do least good work in collaboration• Extra need for quiet time, switch-off time• If needs aren’t met more stress• Most school situations highly stressful• Society values extroverts introverts may
undervalue selves
And for “Type A” personalities
(Ambitious; perfectionist; take on too much; hurry)
• May deal poorly with failure• “Rumination” instead of moving forward• Need extra help with stress
management– And resilience
Teenage brains in the classroom
• Stress affects performance• Boys/girls reach stages at different times • If young for year, brain at earlier stage• Self-consciousness can be huge stressor• Learners often lack autonomy – special
problem for teenagers• Brain “bandwidth” issues
Four BIG consequences
1. Digital overload – ‘continual partial attention’ and exhaustion
2. Cortisol build-up 3. Scope for high anxiety4. Theft of time and peace• ALL can weaken performance
DISCUSS 1
• Can you think of a time when a student didn’t perform well because he/she had something causing “preoccupation”?
• How might you have helped that student now that you know the psychology?
DISCUSS 2
• What stress-inducing challenges does our school day create?
• Do we sometimes expect teenagers to “get on with it”?
Teenage brains in your classroomwith Nicola Morgan
Part 3: Strategies
Up-to-date science, classroom materials,
free advice, books and more: www.nicolamorgan.com
Strategies for Wellbeing1. PERMA – “engagement”/”flow”2. Build resilience3. Educate re stress + anxiety
management4. Value and cater for introverts + all 5. Improve sleep6. Manage screentime7. Read for Pleasure – or similar
1. PERMA model of wellbeing
P = positive feelingsE = engagement: deep focusR = relationshipsM = meaningA = accomplishment: www.VIA.org
Work by Martin Seligman – see his book, FlourishTeaching Wellbeing in Schools by Ian Morris
2. Build resilience Ability to “bounce back” – a learnable skill
• Avoid:– Over-protection: bad things happen– Helicopter parenting / teaching: we need
to experience failure
Encourage:• “Growth” mindset – Carol Dweck– Praise effort not talent– Understand how we become skilled
• Recognise who might need extra support: perfectionists; difficult home; anxious
See DRIVE by Daniel Pink
Also encourage with:Metacognition – “Why did that go wrong? Could I have
acted differently?”• “What steps can I take to do better next
time?”• “How can I let go of that mistake?”
1. youngminds.org for classroom resources2. Teaching Happpiness & Wellbeing in Schools by Ian Morris
3. Authentic Happiness website
3. Educate about stress• What stress IS – good and bad• How to recognise your own
symptoms• “Preoccupation” and digital
distraction• “RELAXATION IS NOT A LUXURY”– Tell parents + high-achievers
Emphasise: relaxation benefits performance
Better sleep
Better wellbeing
Better performance
Better wellbeing
Less stress
Educate about stress cont’d
• Give strategies:A. Breathing skills – for panic or general
relaxationB. Down-time – activities to reduce
cortisol~ Varied ~ Deliberate
C. Perspective: ~ you are not alone ~ this is not forever ~ talk
On my
website
4. Value your introverts• Educate all re personality strengths• Teach self-understanding; motivate to
practise weaknesses rather than avoid• Be aware that they may do best work
alone• Build strategies into teaching• Do not criticise quietness• Offer sanctuary: time, place, permission
– Quiet Power by Susan Cain
Teach “Sleep hygiene”1-2 hours before bedAim:
1. Wind down to lower heart rate/stress – calming activities
2. Stimulate melatonin (sleep hormone) – make brain think it’s bedtime
3. Create routine – same things each evening
Many tips on handouts
6. Educate re screen-time• Teach: social media is great, BUT:
1. “You will get your work done faster and better if you switch off distraction”
2. Powerfully tempting and addictive 3. Screens hinder sleep
• Strategies: “pomodoro” technique; remove devices from sight– Intrinsic (self-generated) motivation:
experience of benefit
Teenagers who read daily for pleasure…
– Do better at school and afterwards– Have higher self-esteem– Understand themselves and others better– Have greater knowledge and vocabulary– Have a perfect strategy for managing
stress
– See my website for proper evidence
Readaxation: “The deliberate act
of reading in order to relax, improving wellbeing and performance.”
Why does it help stress and wellbeing?
• Makes us focus on something outside of us• Chance to forget worries and switch off• Permission to be alone• It is freely chosen• Creates a state of “engagement” or “flow”• Aids sleep
DiscussResilience ~ Stress education ~ Sleep ~ Screen-time ~ Introversion
Thinking about your topic:A. What are our challenges?B. What ideas do we have to help?
DISCUSS
1. Which facts/ideas did you find most interesting, useful or enlightening?
2. What do you think your students might find interesting?
3. How would they benefit from this understanding?
4. How could you share it with them?