What makes teenagers
tick?
Notes for my
PCE IATEFL presentation, 10 April 2015
2. My legs are too long and the chair’s uncomfortable.
Teens go through many changes connected to their physical growth
and development. These include tiredness, lack of sleep and aches connected
with actual growing bones and muscles, dropping of voice for boys, onset of
menstruation for girls etc. All these can make them feel uncomfortable, tired
and even irrational.
3. I got to sleep at 4 a.m. and I’m tired.
Once
kids reach puberty, their wake-sleep cycle changes and stays that way until
their early 20s This is a biological change.
They tend not to get sleepy until after 10:00 p.m., and then when they do wake up, it takes them longer to get fully wake. In fact, most aren't really wide awake until early afternoon.
They tend not to get sleepy until after 10:00 p.m., and then when they do wake up, it takes them longer to get fully wake. In fact, most aren't really wide awake until early afternoon.
Sleep experts say today’s teens are sleeping less than they ever have.
Physiological changes, social pressures and factors such as TVs and other stimulating gadgets in the bedroom contribute to late nights and mood swings.
Lack of sleep also impacts on teenagers' education as it can leave them too tired to concentrate in class.
NHS report, 2008
Hampton Court House, in Surrey, UK, said the
change to 13:30 from the usual time of 09:00 will be more productive and less
stressful for students.
Teenagers have a biological disposition
"to going to bed late and struggling to get up early", the school
said.Headmaster Guy Holloway added that scientific evidence had shown that many did not sleep sufficiently during the week, causing a "significant impact on teenage cognition and mental and physical health generally".
BBC News, 10 May 2014
Are those girls looking at me and laughing?
It’s bad enough to have the nasty side effects of hormonal changes like spots and greasy hair, but they coincide with feelings of self-consciousness and inadequacy with the fellow students we find attractive.
5. Why are we reading about xxxx?
Dropouts don’t leave school
because we don’t give them enough facts, but because they don’t find any
meaning in them
Gertrude Moskowitz, Caring and Sharing in the Foreign Language Class, 1978, Newbury House
Teens want to know how what they do connects, how it’s relevant. We need o engage in a dialogue with them about this.
6. I’m thinking!
Silence may be an honest reaction to what the teacher is saying.
We know that young people develop at separate ages. Why do we insist that they should develop at the same pace?
Charles Handy
7. I’m not lazy. I’m BORED!!!
Human beings feel best in flow, when they are fully involved in meeting a challenge, solving a problem, discovering something new.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Finding Flow, 1997, Basic Books
Martin V. Covington, The Will to Learn, 1998, Cambridge University Press
Imagination is more
important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the
world.
Albert Einstein
Young people who seem stroppy and uncooperative .. simply cannot help blocking out negative remarks when they feel they are under verbal attack. When criticised … there is reduced activity in the areas of the brain relating to emotional control and empathy. They have difficulty controlling this emotion and find it challenging to understand others’ perspective.
Journal of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Adults have a developed anterior cingulate cortex, which … can help detect mistakes..
This part of the brain is still being wired in teenagers, making it more difficult for them, even when they recognise a mistake, to learn from it.
Frances E Jensen, The Teenage Brain, 2015,
Thorsons
John
Atkinson’s Motivation Theory:
All individuals can be characterised by two learned drives, a motive to approach success and a motive to avoid failure.
Martin V Covington, A Will to Learn,
1998, Cambridge University Press
J Rosenberg,
Society and the Adolescent Self-Image, 1965, Princeton University Press
Coyne & Lazarus, Handbook on Stress and Anxiety,
1980, Jossey-Bass
What’s wrong with this student’s writing?
What’s right with it?
Aims of marking
u To show
students what they are doing right
u To show
students where they need to make improvements
u and how?
u To encourage
students
u To enable
students to reflect on their own writing
u To celebrate
the effort the students have made
u To enable
teachers to notice skills / language areas that need to be readdressed in class
Our job as teachers is not to point out differences between our
students’ language and standard English. That is too negative a role. Our job
is to encourage the growth of language by appreciating the learning steps.
Julian Edge, Mistakes and Correction, 1990,
Longman
9. The dog ate
my homework.
They need …superb attention, planning and
organisational skills, all of which develop more slowly in boy.
Frances E
Jensen, The Teenage Brain, Thorsons, 2015
How can we
help?
Introduce
different ways of planning
Bring in
texts on effective study skills
Have a
discussion / role play on topic
Check that
students have own strategy / scheme
Get parents onside
In summary, Teens:
Brain still
developing
Can’t deal
with mistakes
Over-sensitive
to criticism
Need to know
why they are doing something
We
need to take into account how the developing brain works
What
they are really saying is..
Help
me!
Praise
me!
Understand
me!
Give
me some space!
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