Cognition & the Developing

Teenage Brain

What’s actually going on in there?

• What type of changes occur as the adolescent brain matures?

What’s actually going on in there?

• What type of changes occur as the adolescent brain matures?

What’s actually going on in there?

• What are the implications for educators, teaching methods & adolescent cognition?

Inside The Teenage Brain

FRONTLINE - January 31, 2002

How would you compare yourself to the 1st teens in the video? (The one talking sassy to his parents.)

How would you compare yourself to the 1st teens in the video? (The one talking sassy to his parents.)

Students said they wouldn’t talk that way to their parents or they’d get lickins. They have no problem talking to adults like that in general – just

not to their parents. They also said they’d give lickins to their kids if they spoke that way to them.

How would you rate your level of frustration with adults? Really frustrated, not so much etc.

How would you rate your level of frustration with adults? Really frustrated, not so much etc.

Frustration levels vary depending on the adult. They appreciate adults that try to get to know them.

Video has mostly haole parents and students and it looks like everyone is from the mainland. How does life there compare to life in Hawai`i?

Video has mostly haole parents and students and it looks like everyone is from the mainland. How does life there compare to life in Hawai`i?

Mostly the same but students responded that there were no “brown people” in the

documentary. 

How do you feel about the brain cell hypothesis mentioned in the video – “Use it

or lose it?”

How do you feel about the brain cell hypothesis mentioned in the video – “Use it

or lose it?”

All students agreed with the hypothesis and they said they know that if they use drugs they kill brain cells that will be lost forever.

My Future Research Strategies Will Take a Deeper Look Into the Role of

Myelin Development in the Adolescent Brain.

Myelin isa white fatty substance

that forms a medullary

sheath around the

axis cylinder of some

nerve fibers.

I Will Also Be Looking at the Function of The Frontal Lobe in the Developing Adolescent

Brain and Its Role In Teenage Behavior and

Judgment.

Thank you for your time,

participation, and suggestions.

ALOHA!