Brain Facts
Brain Facts
Educators continuously explore approaches to instruction that support adolescents’ physical, cognitive, or socioemotional growth. This awareness guides lesson preparation by understanding the unique challenges adolescents face related to classroom learning.
This two-part assignment will provide students with an introduction to basic facts about the brain including brain function, anatomy, imaging, and stages of cognitive development.
Part 1: 5 Brain Facts (Topic 2 Reading is attached)
Based on the readings in Topic 2, create an annotated list of 5 Things Every Educator Should Know about the Adolescent Brain.” Include 5 statements – brain facts that assess developmental characteristics of adolescent behaviors. Follow each statement with a 50-75 word paragraph describing how each fact affects learning or brain development that promotes growth for students with physical, cognitive, or socioemotional needs. 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 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.
Submit your Top 5 brain facts and reflection as one deliverable.
Support your findings with a minimum of three scholarly resources.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
