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The Power of the Adolescent Brain


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Looking back on my high school days, I often wonder how I managed to retain most of the information I learned. By the end of senior year, I was mentally exhausted and completely convinced that senioritis wouldn't wear off in time for college. Unmotivated and disinterested, the only time the classroom seemed interesting was when I was working on something that related to my future college career.

After studying the vast changes that occur in the adolescent brain, I'm not surprised that "senioritis" has become a popular term to describe the lack of motivation that comes with senior year. What I am surprised about is that senioritis isn't actually "teen-itis," especially since secondary education seems less geared toward formal thought processes and more focused on lower-level thinking.

The biological changes that take place during adolescence provoke an increased desire for peer acceptance, risk-taking, and reward-seeking, among other behaviors that are typically associated-- although often misinterpreted-- with teenagers. As a future middle-high school teacher, it is my goal to study proven teaching strategies to better incorporate the changes in my students' cognition in order to better engage them in the curriculum. With opportunities to promote healthy risk taking (i.e. performing a creative skit in front of the class despite fears of social repercussions), learn from peers (through group work and presentations), and earn rewards (with game-based lessons), I will be able to transform the classroom into a stimulating environment that keeps students active and in charge of how they learn.

Using the changes in my students' cognition to enhance my teaching style, I hope that my future classroom will become a solution to senioritis.
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  1. mbFebruary 4, 2018 at 4:01 AM

    Allison, what interesting connections, thank you! I am especially pleased that you are using this platform to make connecitons beyond "requirements." Let's get you some followers!

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