Brain Activity Part 1&2 - Brain Facts, Create an annotated

Brain Activity

Part 1: 5 Brain Facts

1. Create an annotated list of 5 Things Every Educator Should Know about the Adolescent Brain."

2. Include 5 statements - brain facts that assess developmental characteristics of adolescent behaviors.

3. Follow each statement with a 50-100 word paragraph describing how each fact affects learning or brain development that promotes growth for students with physical, cognitive, or socioemotional needs.

4. Provide at least one scholarly resource for each statement.

Example:

Fact: The amygdala is the brain’s emotional control center.

The amygdala regulates the brain’s response to emotions such as fear, excitement, and pleasure.   As part of the brain’s limbic system, it is located next to the hippocampus – the part of the brain that plays a significant role in converting information from working memory to long-term memory.   Exposure to long-term stress has been found to cause damage to the amygdala which may account for why some students, particularly those from poverty, struggle to regulate their emotions and behavior (Lau, et al., 2016).

 Part 2:  Reflection

Select two of the facts from your Top 5 list, and in 250-500 words, reflect on and describe ways in which the brain affects learning, constructs knowledge, acquires skills, and develops thinking processes. Be sure to describe opportunities to improve instructional practice and facilitate student learning with the use of technology.