ONCE1174 - The Teen Brain
Course Description
One of the most turbulent periods in brain development occurs during adolescence. The teen brain actually functions very differently from the adult brain. Certain kinds of thinking, such as decision-making, actually happen in different parts of the brain for adolescents and adults.
Understanding these complex changes can help calm the rough seas of the teen years, but also provide your teen with critical support and understanding that will promote better decision-making, better mental health, and better outcomes at school.
Come find out the important ways in which the teen brain is developing. Identify behaviors and attitudes that are influenced by these changes. Then learn to offer constructive strategies for establishing a better understanding of and communication with your amazing teen.
This online, self-paced course is offered in partnership with LERN/UGotClass.
Course Outline
Unit 1
Brain Development
- The Brain Under Construction
- Hormones
- The Evolutionary Advantage
Unit 2
How the Teen Brain is Different from The Adult Brain
- The pre-frontal cortex
- The Amygdala
- Risk-taking
Unit 3
How Teens Make Decisions
- The Need for stimulation
- Emotions
- Problem-solving
- Behavior
Unit 4
Your Teen at School
- Learning Strategies
- Technology
- Exercise
- Gender Differences
Learner Outcomes
Course outcomes
After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:
- Know about the important brain development activities that occur during adolescence
- Become aware of how brain development in teens impacts behavior
- Employ developmentally appropriate and compassionate responses to adolescent behavior
- Learn how to support and engage adolescents in ways that are appropriate for their developmental level
Course objectives
- Describe and discuss with other students the key developmental brain activities that occur during adolescence in the online discussion forum and describe at least three major changes that occur during adolescent brain development.
- Identify behaviors that characterize teen behavior as relates to mood, risk-taking, and decision making and describe these to class participants in the online discussion forum.
- Develop skills in communicating effectively with adolescents and identify three key strategies that result in positive interactions. Students will share examples of effective strategies with other class participants in the online discussion forum.
Notes
Instructor: Julie Coates, is an experienced researcher, teacher and trainer in the area of students with ASD. She teaches courses at the graduate level in adult and higher education for the University of South Dakota, does seminars, training and online courses for K-12 teachers, and has experience teaching in an elementary school. Coates wrote the pioneering book Generational Learning Styles. She authored a chapter on students with ASD as co-author of the new book, The Pedagogy of the 21st Century.
This one-month, online self-paced course is offered in partnership with LERN/UGotClass.