Page 162 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Training Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 162
e they can multitask, their brain is not yet ‘wired’ enough for this activ-
ity and they are not very good at it. Encouraging them to stop and think
about what they need to do and when they need to do it will help increase
blood flow to those areas of the brain involved in multitasking and slowly
strengthen them (Jensen & Nutt, 2014). Writing instructions and directions
down, in addition to giving them orally, and limiting instructions to one
or two points can help adolescent students focus more easily. Teachers can
also help adolescent students better manage their time and organise their
tasks by advising them to use calendars and suggesting they write down
their daily schedules.
Apart from executive functions, evidence shows the prefrontal cor-
tex is involved in several other high-level cognitive functions and capac-
ities, including self-awareness (Ochsner, 2004) and theory of mind (Frith
& Frith, 2003), that is, the ability to understand other people by attributing
mental states such as beliefs, desires and intentions to them (Frith, 2001).
On top of neural development, major hormonal changes are occurring dur-
ing puberty. While it is impossible to dissect every important influence on
adolescents’ social and emotional behaviour, both neural development and
hormonal changes probably influence their social cognition. In one study
(Choudhury, Blakemore, & Charman, 2006), the development of perspec-
tive taking was investigated before, during and after puberty. The results
show that the development of social perspective taking undergoes pertur-
bation during puberty parallel to the discontinuous processes of brain mat-
uration. This means that adolescents may find it difficult to understand the
perspective of others.
Understanding that these difficulties may also be due to a student’s
neurological and hormonal background is important for teachers. It is eas-
ier to work with possible misbehaviour (deriving from not respecting an-
other person’s perspective) when appreciating that such behaviour could be
due to neurological and hormonal changes rather than simple egoism and
deliberate disrespect. Talking to students openly, explaining the changes
occurring in their brains to them helps them to become more aware of these
situations and focus more intentionally on other people’s perspectives.
What occurs in the brain during learning and learning
difficulties and what this implies for teacher practice
Attention and learning do not occur in isolated brain structures but by
way of various layers of neuronal nets that are interconnected via complex
162
ity and they are not very good at it. Encouraging them to stop and think
about what they need to do and when they need to do it will help increase
blood flow to those areas of the brain involved in multitasking and slowly
strengthen them (Jensen & Nutt, 2014). Writing instructions and directions
down, in addition to giving them orally, and limiting instructions to one
or two points can help adolescent students focus more easily. Teachers can
also help adolescent students better manage their time and organise their
tasks by advising them to use calendars and suggesting they write down
their daily schedules.
Apart from executive functions, evidence shows the prefrontal cor-
tex is involved in several other high-level cognitive functions and capac-
ities, including self-awareness (Ochsner, 2004) and theory of mind (Frith
& Frith, 2003), that is, the ability to understand other people by attributing
mental states such as beliefs, desires and intentions to them (Frith, 2001).
On top of neural development, major hormonal changes are occurring dur-
ing puberty. While it is impossible to dissect every important influence on
adolescents’ social and emotional behaviour, both neural development and
hormonal changes probably influence their social cognition. In one study
(Choudhury, Blakemore, & Charman, 2006), the development of perspec-
tive taking was investigated before, during and after puberty. The results
show that the development of social perspective taking undergoes pertur-
bation during puberty parallel to the discontinuous processes of brain mat-
uration. This means that adolescents may find it difficult to understand the
perspective of others.
Understanding that these difficulties may also be due to a student’s
neurological and hormonal background is important for teachers. It is eas-
ier to work with possible misbehaviour (deriving from not respecting an-
other person’s perspective) when appreciating that such behaviour could be
due to neurological and hormonal changes rather than simple egoism and
deliberate disrespect. Talking to students openly, explaining the changes
occurring in their brains to them helps them to become more aware of these
situations and focus more intentionally on other people’s perspectives.
What occurs in the brain during learning and learning
difficulties and what this implies for teacher practice
Attention and learning do not occur in isolated brain structures but by
way of various layers of neuronal nets that are interconnected via complex
162
