Formerly a publication of The Brain Store
Let′s face it-the weather is more predictable than the average teen. Suddenly, even the brightest and most cooperative students become argumentative and distracted. The good news is there are ways you can navigate these abrupt shifts and still be an effective teacher.
Recent neuroscientific findings have revealed that the teenage brain is actually undergoing developmental changes that can cause extremely erratic behavior. Although you can′t change these behaviors, this new resource demonstrates ways you can adapt your teaching style to effectively reach and teach teens. In the first chapter of this lighthearted but informative book, you will explore the biology of the teenager′s brain. Then, chapters two through six answer questions about specific characteristics of the teenage brain that seem most puzzling to teachers and parents-changes in cognition, the need to socialize, difficulty communicating ideas and feelings, building a self-identity, and why some teens engage in risky behavior.
You′ll be entertained by the accounts of real-life experiences and enlightened by the research-based teaching strategies for managing students′ everyday difficulties, conflicts, and crises. With the proper tools, teaching teens has never been more rewarding!
Learn more about Sheryl Feinstein′s PD offerings
Sheryl Feinstein is an Associate Professor at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD where she teaches in the Education Department. She is the author of a number of books, including
Secrets of the Teenage Brain 2nd Ed (2009), Corwin Press;
The Praeger Handbook of Learning and the Brain 2 vol. (2006), Praeger Publisher;
Parenting the Teenage Brain: Understanding a Work in Progress,
Teaching the At Risk Teenage Brain, and
Inside the Teenage Brain: Understanding a Work in Progress (2009), Rowman & Littlefield Publisher;
101 Insights and Strategies for Parenting Teenagers (Fall, 2009), Healthy Learning Publishers; and
Tanzanian Women in Their Own Words: Stories of Chronic Illness and Disability, (2009), Lexington Press.
In addition to teaching at Augustana College, Feinstein consults at a correctional facility for adolescent boys and at a separate site for Emotionally/Behaviorally Disturbed (EBD) adolescents in Minnesota. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2007-2008 to Tanzania where she taught at Tumaini University in Iringa and conducted research involving the adolescent. In 2006 she was a fellow at Oxford, UK.
Prior to joining Augustana College, Feinstein was an administrator for a K-12 school district in Minnesota and taught in the public schools in South Dakota and a private school in Missouri.